The Pan Pacific Barbershop Championships are held once every three years and include competitors from around Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the USA. Held concurrently this year were the AAMBS (Australian Association of Men Barbershop Singers) and NZABS (New Zealand Association of Barbershop Singers) National Championships. This is Vocal Evolution’s second triumph at the AAMBS Championships and their first at the Pan Pac level.

Alex and the guys have been absolutely thrilled to have been able to perform at this contest let alone become the first Australian group to post an A-level score and hit the top twenty!

Our heartfelt thanks go out from all the guys to everyone who was barracking for us whether in KC or back in Australia. This is the result we were hoping for.

Also, our thanks to Matt Bostick for the photo above.

The boys formed a flash-mob in the dining room at breakfast and performed “A Hard Day’s Night” for the diners to alert everyone that we were performing a free concert that evening.

We then heading to Camp Cheley which is nestled in the mountains just outside of Estes Park. It’s become a bit of tradition for quartets from Vocal Evolution to perform at their chapel service when they have been in town the last couple of years. Our coach, Eddie Martinez, has strong connections to the camp arranged for us to perform there. There were about 500 people present in and around the outdoor auditorium which had magnificent views out to the Rocky Mountains. Words, and even pictures, really don’t do justice! A definite highlight for us.

After an early dinner we rushed back to the YMCA campsite to the wonderful auditorium on the grounds to perform a free concert for the campers. The house was full and very welcoming as they got to see and hear Vocal Evolution and quartets Continental Drift, Refridgerator plus International Collegiate Contest competitors, the Fishbowl Boys. The Fishbowl Boys received a rousing standing ovation at the end of their performance. They certainly are in fine form!

Vocal Evolution returned to the stage after the quartets and three standing ovations and two encores later they finished what we’re sure will be a performance that will linger in the memories of the boys for a long time!

I was great to meet and greet with the audience afterwards. One attendee stated, “I had no idea what to expect but I LOVED what I saw!”

A very successful day. Tomorrow we leave Estes Park and head to Kansas City.

Eddie has been involved with Vocal Evolution from early on in our existence and was a major influence in the chorus taking out the Australian National title in 2009. As always he worked us hard and pulled no punches and as a result got us singing better than ever in no time. A very exciting session.

We took our tour bus straight up Trail Ridge Road on our arrival to look at the spectacular scenery. Perth (and Australia in general) has a pretty flat landscape so we were mightily impressed by the mountain vistas. Access to snow is also rare for most of us and many of our touring party made the most of getting amongst the snow on the mountain during our stops.

At the top of Trail Ridge Road we disembarked to find out what it was like to sing Waltzing Matilda (arr. Alex Morris) at an elevation of over 12,000 feet (3,700 metres). We were certainly sucking in all the oxygen we could out of the thin atmosphere!

After the sightseeing we heading to our accommodation in Estes Park, the YMCA of the Rockies, hung the Aussie flag from the balcony and settled in for the night.

Tomorrow, we rehearse!

Afterwards we were able to meet with the guys from the chorus and perform our contest set for them. We couldn’t have asked for a more friendly and encouraging welcome. What a great bunch of guys. They then performed a couple of songs for for us including a fantastic version of “Nearer My God to Thee”. This over 100-voice chorus make amazing music and we can’t wait to hear what they bring to the contest stage. Our sincere thanks to Music Director Darin Drown, George Davidson and all the guys for allowing us to come and visit and rehearse.

We will be spending a few days in Colorado relaxing, rehearsing and being coached by Eddie Martinez and Cindy Hansen before we head to Kansas City to appear on the International stage.

Tomorrow we will be resting up in the morning and then having our first rehearsal together before meeting with and singing for three-time International medalist chorus, Sound of the Rockies.

Check out the full review of the Hammer & Tongues show by artsHub here.