Click photo to see a video of Rhinestone in action.
Four women will make history as the first female quartet ever to compete in the Southwestern District of the Barbershop Harmony Society’s 2019 Spring Convention being held at the UTSA Downtown campus in San Antonio, TX in May.
The ladies are the Rhinestones quartet from Lubbock, TX, with Stacey Schulz singing tenor, Dawn Gutschke on lead, Rosetta Springer at baritone, and Angee Ledbetter singing bass. They sing with the Pride of West Texas Show Chorus, also of Lubbock. Rhinestones will compete with 19 other quartets next month.
The annual SWD Spring Convention is normally made up of all male quartets and choruses, but by welcoming an all-ladies quartet, the SWD embraces the new vision of “Everyone In Harmony” proclaimed by the BHS in the summer of 2017.
“Everyone In Harmony is one of the most progressive and exciting ideas to come out in a while,” Ledbetter said. “Our quartet feels the BHS wants to welcome everyone by saying we don’t care who you are. Just come sing with us because singing makes the world a better place.”
Springer said, “We formed with the idea of being a competitive quartet.” In their three-year history, Rhinestones has already sung at three competitions in the all-ladies barbershop organization known as Sweet Adelines International (SAI) in addition to making about 15 public performances in just the last 12 months.
“It’s interesting and scary that we are the only women’s quartet singing onstage in the SWD competition,” says Schulz. “It’s a little intimidating in a way, but as Angee says, we feel welcomed by the BHS.”
The SWD opened the competition to more people as a direct result of the BHS “Everyone In Harmony” initiative. According to the BHS website, this new vision developed because the society “…believes that what we offer – the experience of singing together in harmony – is meaningful to all people and should therefore be accessible to people in all combinations.”
“We were ready to sign up as soon as the door was opened,” said Gutschke. “We like the idea of being part of the history and being the first (ladies quartet). And, maybe being the answer to a trivia question in the future!”
Richard Howell, SWD president, said “I would like to congratulate the Rhinestones quartet as the first all ladies’ quartet to appear in a Southwestern District Convention. This is an historic achievement, and everyone thanks you and wishes you the very best on your barbershop journey."
Come out and get a taste of Barbershop music! The 2019 SWD Spring Convention is located at the UTSA Downtown Campus in San Antonio, TX. The on-stage competition begins at 5:45 p.m., May 3, in the Buena Vista Theater. Click here for more information about the convention: http://swd.org/spring2019/.
For more information about the Rhinestones quartet, contact Stacey Schulz, staceyzuriel@aol.com. Rhinestones can also be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RhinestonesQuartet/
Click here www.swd.org for more information about the Southwestern District of the Barbershop Harmony Society.
Click here https://www.barbershop.org/ for more information about the Barbershop Harmony Society.