Harmony, Incorporated
Harmony, Incorporated | |
|---|---|
Official Harmony, Incorporated logo | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Providence, Rhode Island |
| Genres | A cappella barbershop music |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Members | 1,992 (October 2015)[1] |
| Website | www |
Harmony, Incorporated is an international organization of women singers that focuses on education, friendship, and barbershop singing. Founded in 1959 by Peggy Rigby, Charlotte Sneddon, Mary Avis Hedges, Jeanne Maino, and Mary Perry in Providence, Rhode Island, the organization currently has just under 2,000 members in the United States and Canada and is closely affiliated with the Barbershop Harmony Society.
History
In 1957, several members of Sweet Adelines International (SAI) broke from the organization in protest of a policy limiting membership to Caucasian women. In 1958, chapters from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Orillia, Ontario, also left SAI to form Harmony, Incorporated.[2]
Harmony, Inc. was incorporated in the State of Rhode Island on February 26, 1959. The founding member chapters of Harmony, Inc. were the Melody Belles of Providence, Rhode Island; Sea Gals of New Bedford, Massachusetts; The Harmonettes of North Attleboro, Massachusetts; Harmony Belles of Barrie-Orillia, Ontario; and the Harborettes of Scituate, Massachusetts.[3]
In 1963, a Sweet Adelines chapter in Ottawa, Ontario, was threatened with expulsion after accepting a Black woman, Lana Clowes, as a member.[4] As a result, Ottawa's Capital Chordettes left SAI to become the seventh chapter to join Harmony, Incorporated.[5]
In 2013, Harmony, Inc. announced the creation of the Affiliate membership category, extending membership to men involved with the organization.[6]
Contests
Harmony, Inc. annually holds international and area-level conventions and contests for choruses and quartets. These events provide opportunities for education, evaluation, and fellowship.
Quartets who win the international gold medal are called "Harmony Queens," and are considered champions indefinitely; they may not compete again. A chorus that wins the gold must sit out of competition for one year and may compete again in the second year following their championship.
Recent Quartet champions
- Take4, 2022 International Quartet Champions
- Hot Pursuit, 2019 International Quartet Champions[7]
- Aged to Perfection, 2018 International Quartet Champions[8]
- Charisma, 2017 International Quartet Champions[9]
- Taken 4 Granite, 2016 International Quartet Champions
- LiveWire, 2015 International Quartet Champions
- Moonstruck, 2014 International Quartet Champions
- Spot On, 2013 International Quartet Champions
See full list at List of quartet champions by year.
Recent Chorus champions
- Northern Blend Chorus, three-time International Chorus Champions (2010, 2017, 2022). Their 2017 win ended The Village Vocal Chords' streak of 19 consecutive championships.
- New England Voices in Harmony, from Nashua, New Hampshire, two-time International Chorus Champions (2014, 2018)
- A Cappella Showcase from Milton, Ontario, four-time International Chorus Champions (2008, 2012, 2016, 2019)
- The Village Vocal Chords, based in Metro Chicago, Illinois, 20-time International Chorus Champions, including 19 consecutive wins from 1979 to 2015
- Derby City Chorus from Louisville, Kentucky, five-time International Chorus Champions (1998–2006)
See full list at List of chorus champions by year.
Areas
Harmony, Inc. is divided into geographical areas,[10] and the membership of an Area consists of all the chapters and Associate members assigned to it by the International Board of Directors (IBOD).
For purposes of administration (particularly of contests and events), the society is organized into geographical areas as follows:
- Area 1: Ten chapters, located in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador, and Prince Edward Island
- Area 2: Twelve chapters located in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the Province of Quebec south of latitude 46'N
- Area 3: Ten chapters located in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia
- Area 4: Eleven chapters located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, and California
- Area 5: Eight chapters located in Ontario
- Area 6: Nine chapters located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
- Expansion Area: All other provinces and states of Canada and the United States not included in Areas 1 through 6
See also
- Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
References
- ^ "Harmony, Inc. Annual Meeting Membership Totals, October 2015" (PDF). Retrieved September 25, 2025.
- ^ Averill, Gage (2003), Four Parts, No Waiting, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-511672-0, p. 132.
- ^ "History book – Harmony, Inc" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2016.
- ^ Cote, Starr (March 12, 1963). "'Sweet Adelines' rebel at ruling barring Negroes". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ "Canadian Adelines asked to form own 'open' group". The Ottawa Citizen. March 21, 1963. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ "Harmony, Inc. welcomes men as affiliate members".
- ^ "Hot Pursuit Crowned 2019 Harmony Queens". FloVoice. November 9, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
- ^ "Official Scoring Summary, Harmony, Inc. International Quartet Finals, Orlando, Florida, November 3, 2018" (PDF). November 3, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ "Official Scoring Summary, Harmony, Inc. International Quartet Finals, Halifax, Nova Scotia, November 4, 2017" (PDF). November 4, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 27, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
- ^ "Locate a Chapter – Harmony, Inc".