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Buzz Brown continued... I attended their rehearsals on Monday evenings about once or twice a month and was given learning CD’s for all the songs that they were learning. So I drove to Northbrook on Monday afternoon to be at their rehearsal from 7:00 - 10:30 p.m. After rehearsal I would drive to my daughter’s home in Grayslake, Illinois, which was about 40 minutes north of the Northbrook Chapter's meeting place. I would stay overnight, visit my daughter and see the grandchildren and then return home on Tuesday. As competition time drew closer I went in about three times a month. The New Tradition also had a weekend retreat at a college in Kenosha, Wisconsin. We rehearsed Friday night and all day Saturday with a performance for the public on Saturday night. We were coached by three international judges in all the categories of competition and made marked improvement that week. Learning the moves with the cowboy hats were important, but we also were instructed in the importance of each individual member striving for perfection in sound and expression. Because we sang in eleventh position, we did not get to see the choruses that ranked ahead of us in scoring, but we knew we did well. I told Jay before going on stage that I had been waiting for this moment since 1969, the last time the Harmony Hawks were on the International stage. He said to me, "We’ll make sure that you have some hardware to wear around your neck then." When the winning choruses were announced we were happy to be in the medallist category. When the medals were handed out following the chorus contest, we met in a large banquet room at the Hilton Hotel. Jay said to the assembled members and families that we should honor the "Rookies" by awarding their medals first. That was ME. Each section leader then awarded the medals to the men in their respective sections until all 87 medals were handed out. Some members had all 17 medals that the chorus had won. Being part of a medalist chorus was marvelous and worthwhile adventure for this lifetime barbershopper.
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