'Puttin' On The Ritz'

The show will be presented in two halves, separated by a brief intermission. In the first half, The Allies, a 2007 International Quartet Contest finalist, will be featured. They combine youth and experience in an excitingly cool quartet. They have diverse musical backgrounds but have come together through the Alliance Chorus from central Ohio. The quartet formed in the winter of 2006, qualified to compete at the international contest in Indianapolis, Ind., in July of that year and finished 13th best in the world. In October 2006, The Allies became the Johnny Appleseed District champion. Most recently on the contest stage this quartet finished seventh at the international contest in Denver, Colo., in July 2007. You can be sure The Allies will be on the stage this July in Nashville, Tenn., where they will seek the gold in the 2008 International Contest.

The Hot Air Buffoons, a 2006 International Quartet semi-finalist, will be featured in the second half. This quartet first weighed in back in 1996. They set out on a quest to sing well and entertain their audiences in a fashion they had never seen before. They soon surprised themselves and others by not only making people laugh but by progressing in the competition realm as well. They took home gold medals and a large trophy in the 2001 internationally renowned Buckeye Invitational Comedy Quartet Competition in Columbus. They have continued in the competition realm and are now the 2005 Johnny Appleseed District champions. They have also competed internationally and are ranked as one of the top 20 quartets in the world. Despite their success in the competition venue, their true love is to entertain. The Buffoons have performed on a number of chapter shows and if you ask anyone they have performed for, they will confirm they are never serious (nor do they want to be).

The Fostoria Chapter show is entitled Puttin' On The Ritz and features the Lake Plains Chorus singing songs in both show halves. Interspersed with the chorus songs, chapter quartets Paragon, Esprit de Chords and 3+1 will also sing.

Adult tickets are $12 in advance or $14 at the door. Tickets for students (18 and under) are $6 in advance and $7 at the door. Tickets may be obtained by mailing a check (payable to Fostoria Chapter, BHS) and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Bob Manz, 225 E. Twp. Rd. 42, Tiffin OH 44883. Orders received after April 7 will be held at the ticket window for pick-up. For more information, call Maury Carlo at 419-435-7070 or e-mail at olrac@bright.net.

HOT AIR BUFFOONS

The Hot Air Buffoons first weighed in back in 1996. They set out on a quest to sing well and entertain their audiences in a fashion they had never seen before. They soon surprised themselves and others by not only making people laugh but by progressing in the competition realm as well. They excelled in a competition that was made for them and took home gold medals and a pretty large trophy in the 2001 internationally renowned Buckeye Invitational Comedy Quartet Competition in Columbus. They have continued in the competition realm and are now the 2005 Johnny Appleseed District champions. They have also competed internationally and are ranked as one of the top 20 quartets in the world.

Despite their success in the competition venue, their true love is to entertain. The Buffoons have performed on a number of chapter shows and if you ask anyone they have performed for, they will confirm they are never serious (nor do they want to be). If you have seen them before, they hope you have enjoyed their performance and have fully recovered from the injuries suffered from "sidesplitting" laughter. But if you haven't had the chance to hear the unique style of the Hot Air Buffoons, we encourage you to lock yourself in your storm cellar now, because before long, they'll be everywhere and you'll find yourself sucked into their stupid humor and crazy antics. They just ask one thing -- Don't Make Fun of the Fat Guy!

Randy "Beef" Baughman sings the bass part and was born in Dover, at the delicate size of four pounds, eight ounces. He has since put on weight and moved to Bowling Green where he resides with his wife, Janine and son, William. In real life, Baughman teaches music at Whitmer High School in Toledo. His first a cappella singing group was Melvin and the Nuclear Turnips while in high school. In college, Richard Mathey and the Bowling Green State University Men's Chorus introduced Baughman to barbershop music. He also performed two summers in a barbershop quartet at Cedar Point Amusement Park. Competition soon beckoned and Baughman's first quartet, the Varsity Lettermen, placed in the top 10 their first time out. His second quartet, the Varsity Lettermen (it was easier to get three new guys than a new name), placed third in their first competition. Realizing competition just wasn't working out, Baughman joined a group called Yesteryear in 1985 just to have fun. They won the district competition in 1993 and went on to win the international competition in 1997. Since Yesteryear retired in 2000, Baughman joined up with the Hot Air Buffoons just to have fun.

Harry Haflett sings the baritone part. Haflett resides in Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland. He works nights and has a degree in music education. Haflett is a second-generation barbershopper and has been a member of the society since 1983.

Mark Lang sings the lead part and is the least experienced barbershopper of the group. He is also the youngest, the shortest, the most handsome, the one with the lowest golf handicap, the one with the least amount of mental illness and the one with the youngest kids. He has a beautiful wife, Pam of just over 14 years (that's 14 years of marriage, not 14 years of age) and two children, Alyssa (11) and Jonathan (nine). Lang lives in Cortland, where he works as a nurse anesthetist. He says this is where he gets his "sick" sense of humor. His hobbies include everything his wife tells him to do. Aside from his hobbies, he is an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but don't hold that against him because he can still admit it in public.

Denny Price sings the tenor part. Price is a registered massotherapist. (I guess you could say he gets paid to rub people the right way.) He lives with his wife, Margie, who also sings in a Sweet Adeline's quartet and The Sounds of Pittsburgh Chorus, which Price directs. He has three children, six grandchildren, two Chihuahuas (Peedy and Mikey) and a cat (Ted). Price is considered the outsider of the quartet because he resides in West Middlesex, Pa. He is the only grandfather in the quartet.

THE ALLIES

The Allies combine youth and experience in an excitingly cool quartet. They have diverse musical backgrounds, but have come together through the Alliance Chorus. All four are active members of the two-time international medalist chorus and are proud to perform as an Alliance Chapter quartet.

The quartet formed in the winter of 2006, qualified to compete at the International Contest in Indianapolis, Ind., in July of that year and finished 13th best in the world. In October 2006, The Allies became the Johnny Appleseed District champion. Most recently on the contest stage this quartet finished seventh at the international contest in Denver, Colo., in July 2007. You can be sure The Allies will be on the stage this July in Nashville, Tenn., where they will seek the gold in the 2008 International Contest.

Jacob "Puck" Ross (tenor) is the tenor section leader for The Alliance. He has competed with the chorus at several district and international competitions including Louisville, Ky., in 2004, winning the fifth place bronze medal. Ross recently earned a music education degree from Bowling Green State University, where he sang for four years in the BGSU Men's Chorus Varsity Quartet. Previously he sang with Throwback to win the 2005 JAD College Quartet Competition and finished ninth at the 2005 BHS International Collegiate Quartet Competition in Salt Lake City, Utah. Ross lives in Columbus and works for Target, while actively pursuing his teaching certificate and searching for his choral directing dream job.

David Calland (lead) is a founding member and the director of The Alliance. Under his direction, The Alliance has six district championships and has competed at the BHS International Competition eight times, earning two bronze medals. Calland studied music education at Bowling Green State University. He has quarteted with Which Wayz Up?, achieved international quarter-finalist ranking in 1995 with Ace in the Hole, and has two international silver medals competing with Uptown Sound. He was awarded the JAD "Golden Apple" Coach of the Year award in 1997 and 2005, and the JAD "Golden Apple" Director of the Year award in 2002. Calland is a regular faculty member at the BHS Harmony University, district Top Gun schools, and HEP schools. He also coaches men's and women's quartets and choruses. Calland is the current executive vice president of the JAD. He lives in Worthington with his wife Kim and children, Alexa and Jamison. He works as a computer systems consultant with Franklin Computer Services Group, Columbus.

Casey Parsons (baritone) has performed with The Alliance to earn five JAD district championships and six international competition appearances, winning two international bronze medals. He is currently the vice president of music and baritone section leader for the chorus. Parsons is proud to have been awarded the Alliance 2005 Barbershopper of the Year award and the 2004 Dale Jurgens Memorial Award. Along with Ross, he sang in Throwback to win the 2005 JAD College Quartet Competition and finished ninth place in the BHS International Collegiate Quartet Competition in Salt Lake City, Utah. Parsons is a graduate of Otterbein College where he majored in public relations and sang for four years in the concert choir and the Otterbein Vocal Ensemble. Parsons lives in Worthington and is a computer systems consultant at Franklin Computer Services Group, Columbus.

Jared Wolf (bass) is part of the mighty Alliance bass section and is frequently featured as a soloist and emcee. He earned a BHS International Collegiate third place bronze medal in 2003 with Last Call. While earning his bachelor of science in technology degree from Bowling Green State University, Wolf spent four years singing in the BGSU Men's Chorus. Wolf lives in Englewood with his wife Allison. They are proud to announce on Oct. 1, 2007, their baby boy, Colbin Frederick Wolf, was born. Wolf works as a senior graphic designer with Amos Press in Sidney.