HARMONY FROM THE HEART
Drawn together by a love of a capella singing in 2011, The Vocal Network is a Christchurch barbershop quartet whose sweet soulful sound is pure championship gold. On a warm Sunday evening in New Brighton, I catch up with the group’s talented singers as they gather to rehearse their latest repertoire.
In September, against tough competition, they won the coveted 2019 Barbershop Quartet National Champion trophy, taking out the top prize for the third time (having also done so in 2013 and 2016). They say it was their performance of ‘Birth of the Blues’ that really nailed it for them this time.
“We’d tried this arrangement a few years ago; it was beyond us at that stage, but we’ve matured since then,” lead singer Ed Dempsey explains, who first discovered barbershop harmony as a school student in Ontario, Canada.
“We decided to bring it back and this time it clicked. It’s a challenging piece but very rewarding.”
As a group, the four have connections going back many years. Ed and tenor singer David Merriman have been singing together in quartets since the 1990s and are also members of Christchurch ‘pops’ choir The Vocal Collective, (which toured the USA this year, delivering a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall). The Vocal Network’s other two members, Andrew Grieve (bass) and Aaron Chandler (baritone), grew up singing in the same school choirs and share memories of singing in the first-ever barbershop quartet at Shirley Boys’ High School. Together, these four have developed a unique harmony, not just in song but also in purpose.
“Every year we get our heads together and think about what we want to achieve,” Aaron explains – also an accomplished trombone player, arranger, pianist and all-round musician.
“It’s not all about competition; we have so much fun as well. We’ve performed at Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park and numerous other shows and gigs.”
On one memorable occasion, they were asked to sing some a capella arrangements of Ed Sheeran songs for a radio station. “We ended up singing with Ed Sheeran that day!” Andrew says. He also recalls how the quartet was also once invited to sing at an exclusive venue to set the scene on an extravagant marriage proposal.
Valentine’s Day is always busy for the quartet with their romance-themed singing telegram service in big demand. As well, they are sought-after as performers for corporate functions, birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions.
“We got a call one year to sing for a man having cancer treatment,” Aaron says. “His work colleagues wanted to do something special for his birthday. That was awesome: all the nurses came to his room to hear us sing for him – it was really powerful.”
In November, they hosted an evening called Voices in the Community to showcase Christchurch’s breadth of vocal talent.
While not strictly competition-focussed, the quartet nevertheless aspires to reach international competition standard. They have sought out vocal coaching from the country’s best and next year’s goal is to attend a summer school in barbershop harmony in Nashville, USA.
In turn, they continue to share their passion for a capella singing with others; Andrew is currently coaching a local high school quartet and observes that New Zealand has the biggest high school harmony championship of anywhere in the world, (Young Singers in Harmony). “It’s a truly unique event!”