Scholarship Information

If you think you'd like the idea of spending a weekend singing a dozen top-quality arrangements with about 100 other super-charged quartet men, then you need to check out North Carolina Harmony Brigade. It's a men's a cappella quartet festival, held in Pinehurst every January since 1993. At NCHB, over 100 men gather from around the state and country (even a few from overseas) to spend the weekend singing in impromptu quartets, singing in random-draw quartet contests, and performing as a chorus for the community. If you are a young man between 18 and 28, NCHB offers scholarships which covers just about all the cost of attendance, including sheet music, learning tracks, hotel, and most meals. If you love singing and would like an unforgettable singing experience, the NCHB may be for you.

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Getting Ready for Brigade

Once you go through the Application Process and are accepted into NCHB, Sheet music for 12 songs and learning CDs are mailed to you in the summer, giving you at least 4 months to learn these songs on your own. If this is your first brigade, an experienced "brigade buddy" will be assigned to help you get prepared. All songs must be memorized by January; sheet music is not used at the brigade. The weekend is not the time for learning the songs! Everyone comes prepared to sing from memory. Brigaders in various locations often have weekend practice sessions at their homes in the months leading up the NCHB. Your Brigade Buddy will help you connect with a nearby practice group, if available, to get you in the groove.

Brigade Weekend

This is the agenda for the typical NC Brigade rally weekend:

• Friday 2pm: NCHB begins at the hotel with registration and room assignment, then the singing begins! After a delicious dinner, we sing in quartets as long as we can stay awake.

• Saturday Morning: A hearty breakfast is followed by a short business meeting and then more quarteting.

• Saturday afternoon: Lunch is on your own (usually in the village), followed by practice as a chorus, and then more quarteting.

• Saturday Evening: Early dinner is followed by our show for the community, which includes the chorus, plus quartets and other groups.  Following the show, we hold the final round of the Quartet Contest round where the top 10 quartets compete for the first, second and third place awards. Then we sing and eat pizza until the early morning hours..

• Sunday Morning: After breakfast, you're on your way home; tired, probably hoarse, but with an incredible musical experience to remember.

Scholarship Details

 

• The Chuck Greene Scholarship covers registration fees, hotel room, nearly all meals, Brigade Concert shirt, sheet music, and learning CD. Saturday lunch in town and travel expenses to Pinehurst are not covered. Scholarship winners from previous years are encouraged to apply for the Scholarship as well. Second year scholarship winners are charged only $35.. And third timers are also encouraged: they are eligible for a 50% discount on the weekend's expenses.

• Applications need to have been submitted by Sept 20. If this timeframe does not work for you, then perhaps you could consider another Harmony Brigade, as there are several Harmony Brigades that operate at different times of the year. 

• Your other singing experience is important to the Scholarship committee, so provide references from church or school choirs. Formal musical training is not required. You are not required to be members of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

•  Scholarship applicants must be 18-28 years old as of January 14, 2024.

•  If your application is accepted, you will receive additional event information, sheet music, and a learning CD for the 12 songs.

• A Brigade Buddy will be assigned to you to help you in staying on track and getting connected to the Brigade community and nearby run-throughs.

Application Process

 Want to Join Us? If this singing-filled weekend appeals to you or you just would like more information, send an email with your name and phone number to NCHB.Ops@gmail.com.

The NCHB Scholarship program is dedicated to the memory of Chuck Greene. Chuck was a founding member of the North Carolina Harmony Brigade in 1993. He epitomized the Brigade spirit, and was for so many "the man I came to sing with". We honor his memory with this Scholarship program.