all about OVH
Okanagan Vocal Harmony (OVH) is a mixed voice a cappella chorus based in Kelowna, BC.
OVH is a part of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), in the Evergreen District. The Evergreen District includes Alaska, Alberta, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and beautiful British Columbia!
The Barbershop Harmony Society was the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbershop music as an art form. The historical and legal name is the 'Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc'. (SPEBSQSA). That's quite the mouthful! And most importantly, barbershop music is being sung in many ensemble sizes all over the world, not just in quartets and not just in America.
Some of the other barbershop organizations are British Association of Barbershop Singing (BABS), Barbershop in Germany (BiNG), Society of Nordic Barbershop Singers (SNOBS), Sweet Adelines International (SAI), Barbershop Harmony Australia (BHA), Southern Part of Africa Tonsorial Singers (SPATS), and quite a few more.
Barbershop Harmony Society was founded in 1938 and was exclusively a men's organization. In 2018, a decision was made to welcome women as members to add a new layer to the society. Chapters were told that they could stay exactly as they were as a male-only club, or they could choose to change and grow, giving the choruses and quartets the ability to be all-male, all-female, or mixed. 'More people, sharing more harmony, and more joy, in more ways'.
OVH has jumped on this change of membership and is now a mixed voice chorus. The ultimate goal would be to build up the Okanagan Vocal Harmony Chapter to have a mixed voice chorus, and a mens chorus. While we continue to sing in the TTBB vocal range, the sound of a men's chorus is something that you can't get from mixed voices or a women's chorus. That's what we get when our instrument is the human body! We can only use what we have. We can't just put in a different mouthpiece, filter, or change the namebrand to change how we sound when we are singing. Though it would be pretty cool to do!
OVH has jumped on this change of membership and is now a mixed voice chorus. The ultimate goal would be to have more than one mixed voice chorus, mens chorus, and mixed quartets throughout the Okanagan Valley. While we continue to sing in the TTBB vocal range, the sound of a men's chorus is something that you can't get from mixed voices or a women's chorus. That's what we get when our instrument is the human body! We can only use what we have. We can't just put in a different mouthpiece, filter, or change the namebrand to change how we sound when we are singing. Though it would be pretty cool to do!
OVH sings many genres that have been arranged in the barbershop style, and we sing in very close 4-part harmony. Barbershop music is a cappella music, so we don't need to find venues with a piano, or make sure that we have electricity to plug in sound systems and instruments. If we can get there, we can sing there.
OVH sings many genres that have been arranged in the barbershop style, and we sing in very close 4-part harmony. Barbershop music is a cappella music, so we don't need to find venues with a piano, or make sure that we have electricity to plug in sound systems and instruments. If we can get there, we can sing there.
Some of our current repertoire songs are Under the Boardwalk, Sentimental Journey, Cups (Miss Me When I'm Gone), Cabaret, Bye Bye Love, and so many more. Barbershoppers sing about love. A lot.
We have a lot of fun in our rehearsals and love to perform. We put on one big Show every year, usually in the Christmas season, while also singing at smaller events and venues throughout the year.
The Voice Parts: (to be added soon. Under construction)
