The Chorus of the Chesapeake is a men's

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

chorus, based in

Dundalk, Maryland Dundalk ( or ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 67,796 at the 2020 census. In 1960 and 1970, Dundalk was the largest unincorporated community in Mar ...

. Chartered in 1957 as the

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

chapter of the

Barbershop Harmony Society The Barbershop Harmony Society, legally and historically named the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA), is the first of several organizations to promote and preserve barbersho ...

, the chorus is rich in both history and accomplishment.

Early history

In the late 1950s, some barbershop singers in the

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

area expressed an interest in starting a chorus that would dedicate itself to both musical excellence and community service. After choosing the working class Baltimore suburb of

as a location, the search for singers began. With Bob Johnson as their first director, the

chapter chartered in 1957, under the name Chorus of the Chesapeake. Within a year the ranks of the chorus had swelled to over 150 men, with Bob Johnson leading them in many singing events, activities, and community events. They competed in their first contest in the Mid-Atlantic District in 1960, qualifying to go to International contest the following summer in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In July 1961, 156 men of the chorus traveled to the contest, then the largest chorus by far to have competed on the International stage. (The

Ambassadors of Harmony The Ambassadors of Harmony (''AOH'') is a 120+ member men's barbershop chorus, based in St. Charles, Missouri. The chorus won International Championship gold medals in 2004, 2009, and 2012 – each time singing two arrangements by David Wright, ...

won in 2004 with 160 singers.) They ran away with the International championship on their first attempt, edging out the

Thoroughbreds The Thoroughbred is a horse breed developed for horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are considered ...

chorus from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

by a sizable margin. After their first victory in 1961, the chorus did not qualify for International the next few years, and membership began to slowly dwindle. In 1963, Bob Johnson accepted a position working for the

as a music specialist, and relocated to

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Wisconsin, fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. S ...

. This left the Dundalk chapter with the responsibility of finding the man who could replace Johnson as music director. For a while, Clarence Wrobleski, band director at Patterson Senior High School took the reins. Later, Fred King, a brash, young music teacher who had been directing the

Catonsville Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the city's western border. The town is known for its proximit ...

chapter came to the attention of the Dundalk board.

Freddie King

In 1966, Fred King assumed directorship of the chorus, which had been struggling with diminishing membership and musical success. Although he was very young and did not have the pedigree of a seasoned barbershop director, Johnson trusted that King was the right man to lead the chorus toward more success. Freddie, as he was called, injected a new energy into the chorus, and quickly became a student of directing technique and vocal craft. His quartet, The Oriole Four, had already won the Mid-Atlantic District championship in 1958, and competed several times at the International level, making the top 20 and the top 10. As the quartet continued to climb the ranks, so did the performance level of the chorus. They continued to be one of the Society's "Century" chapters with more than 100 members. The chorus once again qualified for International contest in the fall of 1970, only months after The Oriole Four had won the International Quartet Championship in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. They traveled to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in July 1971, with 139 singers, and walked away with their second International Championship. Freddie King had joined the elite of the barbershop world. In October 1971, the chorus sang the National Anthem at game one of baseball's

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

in Baltimore. In 1983, Fred's young student

Mike Rowe Michael Gregory Rowe (born March 18, 1962) is an American television host and narrator. He is known for his work on the Discovery Channel series '' Dirty Jobs'' and the series '' Somebody's Gotta Do It'' originally developed for CNN. He hosted ...

, later known for hosting the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

program ''

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'' from 2003 to 2012, joined the chorus for a brief time and competed at several district and division contests with the chorus.

Recent history

Freddie King retired as musical director in 1996, and the chorus was directed for several years by Jim Kraus, a former music student of King's in the

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city ...

school system. The chorus maintained around 50 members of the performing chorus, and hovered between 6th and 10th place in the Mid-Atlantic District chorus contests. Jim departed in 2003 and was replaced by Rick Taylor, who had directed many choruses in the past and had won several International Quartet bronze medals with the quartets BSQ and Riptide. The chorus grew in membership, with many formerly inactive singers returning. In October 2006, the chorus staged 109 singers for the Mid-Atlantic District contest and placed third, earning an 81.8% average. This score was high enough to earn a wild card invitation to the 2007 International Chorus contest, held at the

Pepsi Center Ball Arena (formerly known as the Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado, United States. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Int ...

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on July 6, 2007. The chorus went on to place 16th in the world at the contest, with 140 men on stage and an emotionally charged presentation of the song

Auld Lang Syne "Auld Lang Syne" () is a Scottish song. In the English-speaking world, it is traditionally sung to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight on Hogmanay/New Year's Eve. It is also often heard at funerals, graduations, and as a far ...

. In October 2007, the chorus competed in the Mid-Atlantic District contest with 130 men on stage and again qualified for international competition, the first time it had done so for two years in a row. The chorus competed at the 2008 Internationals in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and placed 15th. After competing in October 2008, the chorus qualified for the 2009 International contest in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, but declined the invitation to take a year off following the untimely death of Fred King on September 1, 2008. In October 2009, the chorus competed at the Mid-Atlantic District contest and qualified for a wild card invitation to the 2010 International Contest, held in

, where they finished 18th. The chorus competed at the 2013 International Contest, held in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

on July 5, 2013, placing 21st. In January 2016, director Rick Taylor announced his departure for a new job with the BHS's charitable organization, Harmony Foundation International. After a brief director search, it was announced on February 3, 2016, that Kevin King, the son of Freddie King, would be the new director of the chorus.

Awards and recognition

References

External links

Official Web Site
http://www.dundalk.org/
Chapter Entry for Mid-Atlantic District
of the