SUN Fall Convention 2024
Special congratulations are in order for Joseph DeRosa, coming back from a Gold Medal performance at International singing tenor with Three and a Half Men, to win Sunshine District singing baritone with Tonal Fusion!
Second place went to Suite Life, with a score of 1922 (80.1%).
The quartet competition also selected Sunshine District’s representative to International Senior Quartet Competition to be held in January 2025 in San Antonio, TX. Right on Q won the honors again with a score of 1754 (73.1%).
Miami’s HD Chorus won the right to represent Sunshine District at the International Chorus contest in July 2025 in Denver, CO. Directed by Alex Rubin, HD Chorus scored 947 points (avg 78.9%).
The Big Orange Chorus under the direction of Daniel Pesante, took second place honors with a score of 900 (75.0%).
Third place went to Orlando Harmony, directed by Marshall Webb with a score of 837 (69.8%).
Congratulations to the Hall of Fame recipient for 2024 – Paul Agnew! Paul is seen here receiving the award from Roger Smeds.
Roger is also retiring from at least 9 years of service as District Vice President of Communications, and just about everything else IT for the District (Thanks, Roger!)
Congratulations to Maureen Barry, the Martin Rubin Award winner for 2024!
On Saturday night, we were saddened to lose Jeff Paul, who was performing with the Platoon, Skirt and Ties quartet, and the Florida Suncoast chorus.
An obituary page for Jeff can be found here. Our hearts go out to his friends, family, and fellow barbershoppers.
3 1/2 Men wins International Quartet Championship!
Sunshine District was well represented in the 2024 BHS International Convention held in Cleveland, OH. Congratualtions to all Sunshine District Competitors! Scoresheets for all contests are available HERE.
3 1/2 Men, our 2023 Sunshine District Quartet Champions, have taken the gold medal at the 2024 International convention in Cleveland, OH. They scored a total of 6794 points or an average of 94.4%
In the NextGen Varsity Quartet competition, Suite Life took second place honors with a score of 1432 points or an average of 79.6%. The quartet also won the 139th Street Legacy Prize Award which includes a check for $10,000.
In the Chorus competition, the Heralds of Harmony took home Silver medals, scoring 2251 points or an average of 93.8%
Also in the International Quartet Competition, Wildfire, placed 24th with a score of 1963 points or an average of 81.8%.
SUN Spring Convention
The Sunshine District Spring convention and contest was the best attended in several years with over 470 attendees! The district fielded 22 quartets and 11 choruses which made for an enjoyable semi-finals round on Friday evening and chorus competition on Saturday.
The cut for making the top 10 on Saturday evening was 68.8% with the Notables winning the Mic Tester slot with a 67.9%
When the dust settled, two quartets, Three and a Half Men and Wildfire qualified to represent Sunshine District at the International Quartet competition in Cleveland, OH on June 30 – July 7.
In the Chorus contest, The Big Orange Chorus, directed by Daniel Pesante won the Sunshine District Chorus Championship.
The Sunshine District Most-Improved Chorus Award [Spring] was won by the Hernando Harmonizers. They also took home the Sunshine District Chorus Grade Improvement Award [Spring] by moving from B- to B.
Another first for Sunshine District was the inclusion of Vocal Moxie, a Harmony Incorporated chorus directed by Brent Graham and two Harmony Incorporated quartets, Independent Ladies and SpanX who were all attempting to qualify for Harmony Incorporated International Competition in Louisville, KY in November 6 – 9, 2024. It is believed that all their attempts were successful.
Three and a Half Men took top honors in Friday night’s finals with a total score of 2245 or 93.4%.
Wildfire took the second slot on Friday with a total score of 1947 or an 81.1% average.
Citrus Blend won the Sunshine District Senior Quartet competition with a total score of 756 or a 63.0% average.
Suite Life won the Sunshine District Youth Quartet Championship with a total score of 916 or a 76.3% average.
The Big Orange Chorus under the direction of Daniel Pesante won the Sunshine District Chorus Championship with a score of 907 or a 75.6% average.
SUN Fall Convention is in the books!
What a great weekend we had in the Sunshine District! We had 19 quartets in the Quartet competition and the top ten competitors in the Finals all scored 71% or higher. A great accomplishment for the district! Also, eleven of the nineteen quartets were new in that they had not competed previously.
Taking top honors was Three and a Half Men with score of 2244 or an average of 93.5%, in second place was Tonal Fusion with a score of 1901 or an average of 79.2%. Of note was that Joseph DeRosa sang Tenor in Three and a Half Men and Baritone in Tonal Fusion! Placing third in the competition was Suite Life with a score of 929 or an average of 77.1%.
The quartet competition also selected Sunshine District’s representative to International Senior Quartet Competition to be held in January 2024 in New York City. Right on Q won the honors with a score of 863 or an average of 72.0%.
Complete score sheets for all sessions are HERE.
In the Chorus competition for the right to represent Sunshine District at the International Chorus contest in July 2024 in Cleveland, OH, Heralds of Harmony under the direction of Tony DeRosa and Clay Hine, took the honors with a score of 1084 or an average of 90.3%. The Big Orange Chorus under the direction of Daniel Pesante, took second place honors with a score of 898 or an average of 74.8%. Third place was secured by the Miamians directed by Alex Rubin and Eddie Mejia with a score of 892 or an average of 74.2%.
SUN Fall Convention – 2023
2023 Fall Convention coming!
Join us for the 2023 Sunshine District Fall Convention October 13-15, 2023! Hotel reservations and registrations for the convention are now open! Please see the relevant sections on the home page or on the District calendar for more information!
Join us in celebrating the anniversaries of some of our past District Champion Quartets!
Interested in hearing about how a quartet gets to the top levels? Join Wildfire for an hour chat!
Think you can select the winners better than the judging panel can? Listen to one of them explain what it is they actually do at our “So you want to be a Judge?” session!
Sunshine District Mass Sing will return!
SUN Spring Convention
2023 Spring Convention was a success!
Three and a Half Men win the right to represent Sunshine District in the International Quartet Competition in Louisville, KY, July 2-9, 2023.
The quartet took the honors in the International Quartet Preliminary contest in Sunshine District with a score of 2075 or an average of 86.5%.
Right on Q won the Sunshine District Senior Quartet competition with a total score of 869 or 72.4%
Orange Blossom Chorus won the Sunshine District Chorus Championship as well as the Sunshine District Most Improved Chorus Award.
The Chorus took top honors with a score of 853 or a 71.1% average.
Chuck Steiner III named Sunshine District BOTY for 2019
Paul Agnew named Sunshine District BOTY for 2022!
Sunshine District held it’s first ever Mass Sing!
The World According to AARP places 14th at Mid-Winter Senior Quartet competition!
Congratulations to “The World According to AARP” for placing 14th in the Barbershop Harmony Society Seniors Quartet Championship at Mid-winter Convention in Daytona Beach!
The quartet members are Dave Jacobs Gainesville chapter president, Roger Smeds – SUN District VP Communications, Paul Agnew – SUN District VP Contest & Judging, and Steve Culpepper – SUN District VP Music & Performance. The quartet scored 1269 points or an average of 70.5%.
Well done!
#mw2023
#barbershopharmony
#barbershopquartet
#everyoneinharmony
#lifelongsinging
Photo credit: William McCombie (live shot)
Photo credit: Sydney Agnew (lobby shot)
A Whole New World!
Here is a perspective on LDJ from the district’s new social media manager, Melissa Klotzbach.
A Whole New World
By Melissa Klotzbach
New District Digital Marketing Consultant under Roger Smeds
My husband, Jack Klotzbach, is a barbershop singer. We recently married in June 2022. I have been to a few of his singouts – Christmas at the Mall in Destin Commons was my first. Oh boy was I hooked! He has been telling me “wait ‘til we go to LDJ!” We had intended on going last year but due to COVID-19 it was cancelled. We even bought matching outfits for the event. I had been anxiously waiting for the time to come. Then it was time…
Once we entered the corridor to the resort we could hear them. My husband’s face lit up with pride, “They’re here.” There were singers in the halls rehearsing their “tags,” — a new term for me. I could listen to this beautiful exchange for hours.
The novice contest was Disneyland for my ears. Each quartet had a unique style. Some were funny, some were melancholy, and some were almost operatic. What a treat!
Then they sang at the pool and in corners of the hotel. It was a barbershop lover’s dream.
The final night of performances was full of surprises. I quickly found my favorites. This is a whole new world for me. I have found a new love, it’s called barbershop.
BHS Barbershop Reunion 2022 is in the record books!
Sunshine district was well represented in the Quartet competition where “Throwback” brought home 3rd place bronze medals with a score of 8283 or a 92.0% average.
Scoresheets for the Finalist quartets are here.In the Chorus competition, the Tampa “Heralds of Harmony” finished just out of the medals in 7th place with a score of 2676 or an 89.2% average.
Also representing Sunshine District was the Sunrise chapter “THX” who came in 35th place with a score of 2253 or a 75.1% average.
Scoresheets for the chorus competition are here.