Join Us - Cape Fear Chordsmen

Welcome

We’re glad you have chosen to spend some of your free time singing with us, and hope you will enjoy ringing chords and singing Barbershop harmony as much as we do. We think it’s an experience that is unlike any other singing forum you have participated in. Four part a capella harmony is a beautiful blend of voices we call Barbershop Harmony. Our members come from all walks of life and sing for all kinds of reasons and we are happy to have that diversity to help mold the lifetime friendships that Barbershopping creates. One member related, “our rehearsals go so quickly that I really don’t want to go home!”

Who Are We?

We are the Wilmington Chapter of Barbershop Harmony. We were founded in 1988 and have a rich history of singing in and around Wilmington NC from everything to private gatherings to church settings, community events, and our own annual shows, both traditionally held in springtime and around December.

We have two singing choices for anyone wishing to sing with us. We have our traditional all men’s chorus called the Cape Fear Chordsmen. As of Dec. 2023 we have a mixed chorus of male and female voices called A Capella Spirit. Both choruses sing unaccompanied voices only music, with many arrangements in what is known as “the Barbershop style,” which means for you music theory junkies singing a predominant melody line, known as the lead, with 3 other parts providing close harmony, known as the bass, baritone and tenor. A strong feature of barbershop harmony is the seventh chord which when sung correctly allows for what is called an expanded sound, or as we like to say, ringing the chord!
The Cape Fear Chordsmen meet 7:00 every Tuesday night at Temple Baptist Church, on North 18th and Market St. Our contact number is 910-541-1256. Our email is info@capefearchordsmen.com, and our website is www.CapeFearChordsmen.com

“The Cape Fear Chordsmen is a fraternity dedicated to quality singing in the barbershop style. We cherish our fellowship. We sing for the joy of singing and we sing to delight our audiences. We contribute to our community by sharing our talents and resources.”

A capella Spirit

Acapella Spirit was founded in December, 2022. We are
an ALL-voices chorus of women and men, open to adults 18 years and older. Our
mission is to bring people together to celebrate the strength, beauty and fun of
unaccompanied voices raised in song. While we are ‘born’ of Barbershop music, our
musical choices will not be limited to only Barbershop-style arrangements. As our
repertoire and experience grow, we look forward to sharing the fun with our community!
We meet at 7PM each Thursday, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of
Wilmington, NC – 4313 Lake Avenue, across from Roland-Grise Middle School. Our
Chorus Manager is Thea Hagepanos.
Contact us by email at acapellaspirit040@gmail.com. We can also be reached
by leaving a phone message with Thea at 910-620-5067.

Please join us for a unique and enjoyable musical journey. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Our members in both choruses are diverse in their musical background. Musical training is NOT required but is truly welcomed. Musical talent is an asset to those who have acquired it, however, a love of music and the ability to carry a tune is all one really needs to become a member of our chapter. Through membership, you will learn our craft by singing weekly at rehearsals and by your own personal efforts at home.

What Do We Do?

Activities

Our weekly rehearsals are every Tuesday at 7:00 to 9:00
Singing Valentines – every year, we organize several quartets from our chorus to deliver singing valentines to loved ones. Quartets try out and qualify to represent the chorus for this function.
Annual show – we typically produce an annual show each year, as well as sing at community events around the great Wilmington area. We also have sung extensively at area retirement communities, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, independent living communities, as well as for residents of memory care units.
Christmas Show – we usually invite community members to sing traditional Christmas carols with our chorus. All proceeds for this event are donated to local charities, most recently in the past few year the Salvation Army.
Competitions – we typically participate or even compete in the Carolinas District Convention each spring.
Throughout each year we sing at a surprising number of community events and happenings. This varies from year to year as new opportunities are ever present!

Dues, Fees and Expenses

Once you’ve made your decision to become a member of our Chapter, the next step is meet our director and so as to find the best voice section in which you will find success. Then complete a membership application to the Barbershop Harmony Society which can be obtained from our Membership VP or the Chapter Secretary. Payment can be in the form of a check made out to BHS (Barbershop Harmony Society) or by monthly electronic debit. The chapter secretary can provide other payment options.

Below is a table showing the dues for Regular membership at $194/year. For students age 25 or younger, the dues are FREE the first year but for the $10 enrollment.

Currently, there are no fees assessed to our members other than dues. Uniforms and music are provided to all members at no cost, however, the member is responsible to turn in all clothing and music upon departure from the chapter. Costs will be assessed on any missing items.

	Regular	Youth 1st Year
Chapter Dues	$25	Free
District Dues	$25	Free
Society Dues	$144	Free
Enrollment Fee	if by check +$10	$10
Total	$194	$10

The Bigger Picture

Once you’ve made the leap and joined the Wilmington Chapter of Barbershop Harmony, you will not only be a member of the Wilmington Chapter but of the “District” of which there are 17 nationwide. Below is a map of the USA with the districts outlined in various colors with an abbreviation or acronym for each district. Ours is NSC, which is abbreviated for “Carolinas”. For example the district due north of the Carolinas is MAD or “Mid Atlantic District”.

Below is the logo for our district of the Carolinas. Here is a link to the Carolinas website: https://www.carolinasdistrict.org/
The district provides many activities for the all the chapter in the Carolinas, from support for chapters in the form of chorus and quartet coaching, district conventions, competitions, workshops of all kinds, and training for chapter officers, youth singing camps, among other gatherings held throughout the year in the Carolinas.

Now that you know about the district level, tying all the districts together is the national organization of the Barbershop Harmony Society, sometimes called the “Society” or just BHS for short. This national organization can be found here online: https://www.barbershop.org/

The national organization provides support to districts and chapters, with workshops and annual schools to learn new ways and means to grow in your singing craft. They provide a monthly magazine, and lots of resources from educational to music and they also hold an annual international convention every year, where the best quartets and choruses in the Barbershop world come to compete. This is a very brief introduction to all things Barbershop, hope you now have a better understanding, feel free to ask any of our members questions on your mind.