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Wow! . . . What a contest . . . What a Show . . . What a great job of coaching . . . That was Bush League 2011 . . .

We ended up with Eight quartets Competing and one singing for score only . . .

The third place quartet was from the Lansing Chapter. .

"Singular"

Brian Pianosi, Tenor
Mike Craig, Lead
Steve Whittaker, Baritone
Larry Wise, Bass

Second place was taken by

"Four Kicks"

from the Grand Rapids and Mt. Pleasant Chapters

Jim Johnson, Tenor

Bill Edmunds, Lead

Bob Buffham, Bari

Robert Ryan, Bass

And the winners were

"The Blendy Boys"

from the Mt. Pleasant, Lansing & Battle Creek Chapters

Kevin Smerdon, Tenor

Rob Halsey, Lead

Steve Warnaar, Baritone

T.R. Gerard, Bass

"Chordiology"

Friday evening Chordiology lead the quartets through a session of "think singing" rather than "do singing". Then they let the quartets "Pick their Brains" for a couple of hours in what turned out to be a very informative evening for the members of all the quartets.

Saturday morning they were on hand to Mike Test for the contest then they took notes on all of the quartets for use in coaching them in the afternoon. Their day continued as they were the headliners of the Gaylord Chapters "Show of Champions". Then on to the afterglow.

The Gaylord Chapter Thanks Chordiology for truly making the 2011 Bush League fly!

"The Growlers"

From the Mt. Pleasant Chapter

Last years winners "The Growlers" were on hand to sing away the "Brass Gaboon". For those who don't know them, they are "Ebb and Flow" Minus their usual Bass plus T.R. Gerard.

"Ebb and Flow" went on to be our current College Quartet Champions and they represented us well at this years International competition in Kansas City.

"Ebb and Flow" consists of Nathan Masterson, Tenor; Garrett Gillingham, Lead; Ben Krinke, Baritone and David Beshard, Bass.

"Four Shore"

A very special group from the Muskegon Chapter.

Jerry Lawton, Tenor

Josiah Baird, Lead

Sam Stewart, Bass

Cody Munford, Baritone

All four of these young men are students at Mona Shores High School, needless to say we found a spot for them on our show Saturday evening.

Other Competing Quartets were: (In order of contest appearance)

"Shades of Grey"

From the Grand Rapids Chapter

Ron Thomet, Tenor

Bud Kraft, Lead

Gary Branch, Bari

John Baker, Bass

I would like to thank John Baker for taking the photos of all of the competing quartets on this page.

"Olde Thyme Harmony Quartet"

From the Lansing Chapter

Jacob Welty, Tenor

Don Horton, Lead

Tim Oliver, Baritone

Jim McKay, Bass

"Shades of Grey"

From the Kalamazoo Chapter

Jerry Ditto, Tenor

Brian Hall, Lead

Jim Paul, Baritone

Lud Ouzoonian, Bass

"MountainTown Connection"

From the Mt. Pleasant & Gaylord Chapters

Tenor, Steve Marks . . . Lead/Baritone, Jim Whitten . . . Baritone/Lead, Bruce Hunting . . . Bass, Randy McLaren

And a special thanks to Bruce Hunting for arranging a special golf outing for Chordiology on Friday afternoon.

"Moxxy"

from the Motor City Metro Chapter

Jeff Woodruff, Bari

Mike Foner, Bass

Glen Hipple, Lead

Dave Ebersole, Tenor

These guys, are tired of trying to beat "Fermata Nowhere's" record for second place finishes in District competitions . . . So thay thought they'd get a head start by singing for score and coaching only.

The Judges

The judges Ken Fisher, singing . . . Jan-Ake Weston, Music . . . Kevin Dunkel, Presentation not only did a very good job of judging the quartets, they also spent the afternoon coaching all of the contestants, along with the members of Chordiology. I'd like to say thanks to Ron Eubank, Contest Administrator for putting together this outstanding panel and keeping the contest and coaching running smoothly.