History of the Harmony Brigade
In January of 1993, the North Carolina Harmony Brigade held its first rally in Pinehurst, North Carolina. It was the vision of Charles Rose, a member of the CHB. Charles’ idea for the NCHB was a weekend rally based on the CHB concept that would attract good quartet men from North Carolina interested in learning more difficult and interesting arrangements and provide two days of unlimited quartetting opportunities.
For the first few years, NCHB membership was limited to North Carolina chapter members. In 1996, the first of a few “outsiders” (brothers Alan & Neal Siegal, from New York) managed to garner invitations to the NCHB. Eventually other outsiders included Duane Henry and Terry Silke from Indiana. The secret was now out of the bag! These men quickly realized the value of such a quartet program and envisioned developing a Brigade in their home states. After a few years of “apprenticing” under the NCHB leadership the dream of the Indiana Harmony Brigade became a reality in October of 2003 in Indianapolis, Indiana, followed by the Atlantic Harmony Brigade in August of 2006 in Wilmington, Delaware.
With the advent of two additional Brigades, word suddenly began to spread. Men from most states, Canada, Germany, and Sweden have attended one or more of these three Brigades. This participation, along with the exposure received at the 2006 International Convention, where a chorus made up of the three Brigades performed as mic-testers for the chorus competition and performed on World Harmony Jamboree, plus articles in the Harmonizer, has led to a groundswell of interest in starting other eXtreme Harmony Brigades.
Each year, Eight Core Songs are selected by the AXQHB Music Committee (comprised of representatives from each Brigade). These common songs form the basis of the repertoire sung at each Rally throughout the year. Many Brigaders attend multiple Rallys thus leveraging the songs they've learned and take the opportunity to travel the country and perform eXtreme Quartetting with hundreds of great quartetters.
There are eleven active Harmony Brigades:
North Carolina Harmony Brigade
January 13-15, 2023, Pinehurst, NC
UK Harmony Brigade
February 10-12, 2023, Nottingham, England
Lone Star Harmony Brigade
March 10-12, 2023, Richardson, TX
Mixed Harmony Brigade of New England
March 17-19, 2023, Location TBD
Northern Pines Harmony Brigade
May 2-4, 2023, Plymouth, MN
Great Lakes Harmony Brigade
June 9-11, 2023, Okemos, MI
European Harmony Brigade
Germany
Exact location and dates TBD
Harmony University Brigade
July 24-31,2022, Loyola University, New Orleans, LA
Atlantic Harmony Brigade
August 11-13, 2023, Wilmington, DE
High Sierra Harmony Brigade
August 2022 POSTPONED
August 18-20, 2023, Reno, NV
New England Harmony Brigade
September 16-18, 2022, Marlborough, Mass.
Indiana Harmony Brigade
November 11-13, 2022, Indianapolis, IN