Barbershop Music Festival

In 2018, the German Barbershop choruses and quartets have met to compete for the national Barbershop Championships. Since 2012 the World Mixed Quartet Competition have been taking place during the same event, and since 2018 the World Mixed Chorus Competition as well - combining a nationale a cappella event with a world championship.

In any competition, each ensemble performs two pieces, which are judged by an international jury in the categories singing, music and performance. The ensemble with the highest total score wins.

In addition, the audience can vote for their favourite German quartet. This quartet then receives the audience favourite award. Another medal is handed out to the best female, male and mixed quartet.  

There is an additional award for the chorus with the highest increase in points compared to the last German Championships. They receive the sought after "Crescendo Award".

German and International Champions as of the Barbershop Musikfestival 2018:

National Champion Chorus - Harmunichs

National Champion Quartet - SomeSing

World Mixed Champion Chorus - Munich Show Chorus

World Mixed Champion Quartet - Potential Scandal

On 7th April 2018 for the first time the German National Chorus Competition ran parallel with this new World Mixed Chorus Competition. 10 German choruses took the chance to show their musicality on stage whilst mixed choruses from around the world got the chance to compete against each other for the very first time in Barbershop history.

Another historic event were the chorus contest results itself within the German National Competition: For the very first time a chorus reached the score of 86.3% & additionally for the very first time 3 choruses scored over 80%.  

 

1st Place: Harmunichs (86,3%)

2nd Place: Munich Show Chorus (81,1%)

3rd Place: Ladies First (81%)

Audience Favourite Award & Crescendo Award: Munich Show Chorus.

You find the videos on our  YouTube Kanal.

 

Further Contestants: 4’n More, Sugar n Spice, Erster Kölner Barbershop Chor, A Cappella Ladies, Herrenbesuch, Barbershop Blend. The Rhubarbs

 

 

There were 7 contestants at the first World Mixed Chorus Competition representing 5 countries. 

1st Place: Munich Show Chorus (81,1%) representing Germany

2nd Place: Southern A Cappella (78,8%) representing UK

3rd Place: EQMC (75,3%) representing UK

 

Further Contestants: Baldwin Blend (Canada), 4'n more (Germany), Shelley River Chorus (Ireland), Adelaide Allsorts Harmony Chorus (Australia)

 

 

Mike Warmer - T-Sing & New Harvest Singers

Mike Cooler - Heavy Medal & Rönninge Show Chorus

On the 6th April the German National Quartet Competition ran parallel to the World Mixed Quartet Competition for the very first time and it was a roaring success.

This new set-up ensured a high quality contest day that was especially interesting for audience and jury. 

 

In the German Competition 12 male, female and mixed quartets competed against each other. They all had to qualify upfront in a preliminary competition. Every group could present themselves with 2 competition songs and was judged by a double panel in the categories music, singing and performance. Additionally to the medals for the first 3 places the audience voted for their favourite quartet in the national competition and the best national male, female and mixed group also received a price.

1st Place: SomeSing (80,7%)

2nd Place: Klangküsse (79,8%)

3rd Platz: O-Ton (76,8%)

 

Best Female Quartet: La Boom! (75,4%)

Best Male Quartet: Kavaliersdelikt (74,4%)

Best mixed Quartet & Audience  Favourite Award: SomeSing

Further Contestants: Konfetti, Fancy That!, mix’n’match, #Hashtag, Karma, Klangsurfer, Quintessenz 

 

 

The World Mixed Quartet  Contest took place for the 4th time and was exciting as always. Every country with a Barbershop organisation is allowed to nominate one mixed group to represent their country in this contest. Groups that live in countries with no national mixed competitions can apply for a Wildcard. In the end there were 2 quartets representing the USA, 1 from Canada, 1 from the UK, 1 from Finland, 2 from Germany, 1 from the Netherlands and 3 from Sweden competing against each other. 

 

1s Place: Potential Scandal  (Sweden (86,1%))

2n Place: Vintage Mix (USA (81,8%))

3rd Place: Ripple Effect (Canada (81,5%))

 

Further Contestants: Next Generation (Netherlands), Pastor Hannes Kör, Mayor and the Mayonnaise (Sweden), Southern Stride (USA), O-Ton, SomeSing (Germany), Mixtape (Finland), Scramble (UK)

 

Mike Warmer: Connection and Double Date

Mike Cooler: LinQ! and The Newfangled Four

Every day of the festival offered a very special highlight with an extraordinary a cappella show.

Friday evening kicked off with the "Sternenshow", an event for night owls, which brought the international guests together on stage for the first time.

Saturday evening was the highlight of the festival with the Show of the Champions. In addition to the international guests, the newly crowned champions of the German Championships and the World Mixed Championships created an enchanting programme with Barbershop at the highest level.

On Sunday Morning, the Matinee rounded off the festival, in which the 3rd place medallists and our international guests got the chance to provide an emotional highlight, that reduced the pain of saying goodbye a tiny bit.

In 2018, the Rönninge Show Chorus (World Champion of Women's Barbershop Choruses 2014 and 2017), Double Date (Reigning Mixed Quartet World Champion) and The Newfangled Four (Men's Comedy Quartet, which is one of the top ten in the world) were among the performers.

World Mixed

Initially, Barbershop was only sung in male and later also in female ensembles. The German Barbershop Association BinG! was, however, a mixed federation from the very beginning and was the first Barbershop organization worldwide to have mixed quartets and choruses compete with the men's and women's ensembles.

As the motherland of the mixed Barbershop, Germany has been home to the World Mixed Contest, the world championship for mixed Barbershop ensembles, since 2012. The World Mixed for Choruses took place for the first time at the 2018 Music Festival.

 

 

The winners of the 2018 World Mixed Championships:

World Mixed Chorus Champion: Munich Show Chorus (Deutschland)

World Mixed Quartet Champion: Potential Scandal (Schweden)



 



 

Contest Rules and Results