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Today 11/18/2008 the 323th day of 2008
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SouthWestern District Convention in Little Rock, AR  Details...


HOT- Little ROck 2008  The HEART OF TEXAS Chorus continued their high level singing performance by placing second to the Vocal Majority at Southwestern District competition in Little Rock with a score difference of only 178 points. Not bad for HOT's 42 men vs VM's 127 men on stage!

HEART OF TEXAS CHORUS TO PERFORM AT ROUND TOP CHORAL FESTIVAL Round Top, Texas The Heart of Texas Chorus will make its initial appearance with the Festival-Institute at Round Top at the Institute’s Choir Festival on Saturday, November 15, 4:00 p.m., in Round Top, Texas.  The chorus was delighted to be invited by the renowned Festival Institute to perform at this prestigious event. In its 37 year history the International Festival- Institute has developed superb year round education and performance programs and this year’s inaugural Choir Festival should prove to be an outstanding addition to that legacy.  While a premiere chorus of the Barbershop Harmony Society, the Heart of Texas Chorus performs music in a number of different genres, and their program will include a variety of songs  from western to inspirational. 

In competition last July featuring the best barbershop choruses in the world, the Heart of Texas Chorus earned ninth place in the Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Chorus Competition in Nashville. The highly coveted “top ten” finish is the highest placement the chorus, comprised of members from San Antonio to Austin and throughout the Central Texas Corridor, has achieved in seven trips to the annual “World Series of Barbershop Singing.” Last month in regional competition among groups from throughout the Southwestern U.S., the chorus qualified to compete for the eighth time in international competition in Anaheim, Calif.  next July.

The Great American Cowboy Rides Again! - Gonzales became known as "The Lexington of Texas", where the first shot was fired, and where the first Texas Army of Volunteers gathered. A few months after the first shot, men and boys from the region would gather in Gonzales, sending the only reinforcements ever received at the Alamo.

Each October, on the first full weekend of October, the citizens of Gonzales gather to celebrate their Texas heritage in a three-day festival called "Come & Take It." where  the Heart of Texas Chorus turned back the hands of time to the days of real cowboys and the songs of the old west. The Great American Cowboy performed as a humorous melodrama, has already delighted audiences throughout Central Texas. The music in this high energy show brings back memories of “The Sons of the Pioneers” and other old west balladeers and all the while producing spontaneous laughter at the antics of our 'Cowboys', some truly poignant scenes and Oh! Yeah! A few surprises too.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Around noon on Friday, July 4th, the Heart Of Texas Chorus took their places on the chorus risers at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tennessee and when the stage curtain opened the audience of more than 8,000 witnessed a Texas prarie scene where a band of dirty and bone weary cowboys crooned the plaintive plea of a dieing, fellow trail-hand - "Don't Bury Me Here - On The Lone Prarie." But, through dynamic vocalization the audience came to realize that - "under western skies on the lone prarie" is truly where all cowboys are destined to rest. Following this majestic ballad, HOT rewarded the audience with a dynamic and fun filled rendition of "Don't Fence Me In" which included, along with a string of hysterically comic sequences, an appearance by the characters from PONDEROSA!   

This marvelous performance was the culmination of months of dedicated hard work and frequent rehearsal through which, to the credit of all Texans and the Barbershop Harmony Society, the Heart Of Texas Chorus improved their standing in worldwide competition to 9th in the world!

The entire chorus is grateful to our director Ron Black and the Music Leadership team for a wonderful season of growth in vocal performance and presentation which leaves us all wondering what the next year will hold?



HARMONIZE AWAY THE WINTER CHILL Our Esteemed Director Ron Black and his wife Jo once again provide the opportunity to delve ever deeper in to the techniques for perfect barbershop harmony while having the time of your life.  Check out the details by clicking here...
Heart Of Texas (HOT) Chorus is one of the premier choruses of the Barbershop Harmony Society and there must be a very good reason why our members travel from the north of Austin and south of San Antonio and most communities in between to attend weekly rehearsals. There is - and it's soul satisfying satisfaction of  very high quality singing and perfect harmony. Our core singing technique has its roots in the barbershop style although our repertoire includes a wide variety of musical genre including, inspirational, gospel, modern and of course - barbershop. Tell me more ...