Photo by Trish Stone, Southwestern District - BHS
San Antonio, TX – Irv Englebrecht (left) accepts the 2018 Southwestern District Barbershopper of the Year award presented by 2017 BOTY recipient, John Loucks (right).

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, May 4, 2019—

Irv Englebrecht of Lufkin, TX was awarded 2018 Barbershopper of the Year by the Southwestern District of the Barbershop Harmony Society during the Saturday Night Show following the SWD 2019 Spring Convention at the University of Texas, San Antonio, Downtown Campus. 

Engelbrecht was presented the award by 2017 recipient, John Loucks. During the presentation, Loucks said that Englebrecht’s nomination was based on “…the full year of work in 2018 to create the SWD Senior Moments Chorus that impacted very positively the members of SWD, allowing those chorus members the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform onstage at the Nashville Grand Ole Opry.” That performance occurred as part of the Senior Chorus competition held in January this year during the BHS 2019 Mid-Winter Convention.

Loucks continued, saying that Englebrecht formed the Senior Moments Chorus at the urging of the SWD President, Richard Howell. “I knew Irv’s capacity for organization, getting things done, and his-enthusiastic support as a quartet singer and member of East Texas and Houston barbershop chapters,” said Howell. “He was the right man for the job!”

Englebrecht’s duties included finding a chorus director, recruiting chorus members from the five-state SWD (covering New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana), sending out sheet music and learning tracks to all members, arranging rehearsals, and handling all the details for the group to enter and compete in the convention. After seeing to all those details, on the day of the competition Englebrecht came down with serious allergy trouble and could not sing a note. He joined with the chorus onstage anyway and “sold the song” with his facial expressions and body gestures.

The Senior Moments Chorus put 44 men onstage and earned a score of “Excellent,” competing with five other choruses from across the country.

Englebrecht is the 43^rd recipient of the SWD Barbershopper of the Year, which is a tradition stretching back to 1957.