Pair of Hamilton barbershop choruses team up for holiday spectacular show

A pair of award winning barbershop choruses in Hamilton are teaming up for a holiday spectacular at Mohawk College this December.

The average age of singers in the chorus is 60 and they are adamant that it is being a part of the group that keeps them young.

At 85-year-old John Wilkie is one of the older singers in the Harbourtown Sound Barbershop Chorus after his wife and son got him into the group 19 years ago.

“It’s wonderful to make the sounds barber shops allow you to create…feels good…my singing is the highpoint of my life,” says John.

Wilkie and the rest of the men in the Harbourtown Sound are now teaming up with the women of the A Cappella Showcase to put on a holiday spectacular on December 2.

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Fifty-four-year-old Susanne Hasulo saw an ad in the paper for a barbershop group nearly 20 years ago and thought she would give it a try.

“I didn’t know anything about it, came to rehearsal and I’ve been doing it ever since.” says Hasulo.

The two groups rehearse once a week at St. James United Church in Waterdown. While most of the singers are local, some come as far as Peterborough and Buffalo to be a part of the music.

“The camaraderie and friendships are with people who have sung in the chorus and who I get to be with and the fact that they’re intergenerational is pretty fantastic.” says chorus director Jordan Travis.

Full details on the upcoming holiday show can be found here.

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