In the great American Barbershop tradition of starting on time, the next show by the Durango Narrow Gauge Chorus will begin precisely at 7:01 p.m. Saturday, June 1. On the expansive stage of the Durango High School Auditorium, our hometown chorus will welcome Farmington’s Four Corners Harmony and special guest quartet Spruced Up. A few individual quartets may also sing, but largely you are in for an evening of familiar tunes such as “Georgia,” “Ebb Tide,” and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” A local quartet with a telling name, Three Hits and a Miss, will sing “Come Fly with Me” and “Old Cape Cod.”
The program has a theme, “Grampa’s Attic” and will feature a few young actors who will explore an attic on stage to discover objects that may just trigger the songs.
If you go
WHAT: “Grandpa’s Attic,” a concert of barbershop singing by the Durango Narrow Gauge Chorus, directed by Amy Barrett, with Farmington’s Four Corners Harmony, directed by Elizabeth Fleming, and guest quartet from Denver, Spruced UP.
WHEN: 7:01 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: Durango High School Auditorium, 2390 Main Ave.
TICKETS: Adults $20, children $5, at the door.
MORE INFORMATION: Email dro.narrowgauge.chorus@gmail.com.
“Three of my four children will explore their grandparent’s attic,” Amy Barrett said recently. Director of the Durango ensemble, Barrett created a story line so that all the songs will emerge organically. “Breeanna, Bryson, and Bridger will find a few treasures on stage, and those treasures will serve as the introduction to all of the songs on the program.”
In addition to Farmington’s chorus, Spruced Up, the young quartet from Denver, emerged from Sound of the Rockies and the 52Eighty Youth Chorus. The singers include tenor Kesney Faubion, lead Mitch Jacobson, baritone Joey Salmon, and bass Keith Waldheim.
“They pooled their talents,” Barrett said, “to compete in last year’s NextGen Varsity Quartet Competition in Louisville, KY. They loved it so much they decided to continue their barbershop journey singing for Denver area groups and for regional chapters such as Durango.”
Spruced Up will perform near the end of the concert then join the combined choruses for a rousing finish with “Keep the Whole World Singing.”
The program for the show is as follows:
- “It’s A Good Day”
- “The Longest Time”
- “Let’s Get Away from It All”
- “Georgia”
- “Tin Roof Blues”
- “Is There Anybody Home”
- “Ebb Tide”
- “Under The Boardwalk”
- “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
- “Three Hits and a Miss” (local quartet)
- “Come Fly with Me”
- “Old Cape Cod”
“You’ve Got a Friend In Me”
“Keep The Whole World Singing”
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
