So we had a contest…

…to determine the best barbershop quartets and choruses. We have one every year, this year it was in Toronto. It’s one of my favorite events of the year for sure. Tuning, just intonation in particular, is central to my aesthetic as a composer and performer.  The sound of chords locked in tune is an exhilarating experience, and unfortunately contemporary musical training in the academy doesn’t emphasize tuning at the degree I prefer. Classical training (for lack of a better term) seems to exist in a world of  “in tune enough” rather than aspiring to be perfectly in tune. So the International Convention and Competition is the best place to hear the most in-tune and ringing chords in the world.
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