The Hawkseye 

As contest time draws closer, more and more time is spent running the contest set from curtain open to curtain close, so that the men can get a good feel for the overall performance. During the time lapse between the final rehearsal at home and the first rehearsal at the contest site, the men are asked to work on their own thinking through the entire set and practicing their moves.

By the time we arrive at the contest site we should be ready to perform. The final rehearsals there are basically spent polishing. We usually have two or three fairly intense rehearsals, then on the day of the contest we take it slow and easy with a gradual crescendo leading up to the time we enter the pipeline. At this point psychology enters into play. Each man must enter the stage knowing that no one who performs on that stage that day could be better prepared than he is. As directors, we each have our own methods of motivating. In my opinion, the single most important thing to do at this point is instill confidence in every man. I have heard it said that amateurs practice until they get it right, while professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong. I like for my men to think of themselves as professionals, with the contest plan so implanted that they couldn’t possibly fail to perform at the highest level. I never mention "peaking on stage." This to me implies that the quality of the stage performance is left to chance. By this time we should be so well prepared that we could perform our best set 10 times in a row if necessary. When you hear someone say "we left it in the dressing room" you are hearing someone whose director is missing the point. The actual time on stage should be the most rewarding time of all and the most fun. It is our opportunity to thoroughly entertain for the best and most knowledgeable audience we could ever have, people who understand and appreciate barbershop harmony as much as we do. Their applause is our reward for the thousands of man hours we have spent preparing for these few minutes on stage. It just doesn’t get any better than this! These moments are to be cherished for the rest of our lives.

There is one more thing that I should mention. In reality we are constantly preparing for competition. We should try to make every rehearsal a masterpiece. Every week we should reinforce the basics of good singing, which in my opinion begin and end with singing in tune, or more specifically, not singing flat. We should always practice expressive faces, even during a warm up or a craft session so that they get to be second nature. We should take the same approach to every song in our repertoire as we do to our contest numbers. Why should we sing only two songs really well? If we practice these things weekly, when contest time comes around we simply apply these same techniques to our new music. I think it is important to remember that just appearing on the International Contest Stage is a privilege. Every man in the chorus competition is already a champion. This should be the ultimate learning experience that can only make us better regardless of where we finish. I have been the Director of the Vocal Majority since 1974, and I can tell you that we learned more from our 2^nd place finish in 1978 than from all our gold medals combined.

I believe it’s important for each chorus to set ambitious but realistic goals. For some, simply finishing in the top 10 or even the top 20 might represent a considerable accomplishment. Earning a 5^th place medal for one might be just as meaningful as winning the gold is for another. The important thing is to learn from the experience and then strive to improve. Winning doesn’t happen overnight, but with a burning desire to be the best, a commitment to excellence from every man and continual improvement, amazing things will happen.