Li-Wen got hooked on Barbershop Harmony after seeing The Blenders (Gold Coast, Australia) perform on the Australian TV show “Battle of the Choirs” in 2008.
He auditioned for the Blenders as soon as he moved to South-East Queensland in 2011, and sang Bass with them at the 2011 Pan-Pacific Convention in Brisbane. When work took him to Sydney, he joined Sydney Harmony, and sang Lead with them at the 2013 BHA Convention in Perth. He now sings Baritone with Capital Chorus (West London, UK), and Lead with Routemasters quartet.
Before being a barbershopper, Li-Wen performed in amateur productions of “Grease” and “The Boy From Oz”. He has also been involved in many other (non-musical) theatre productions as an actor, director, compere, stagehand, and sound/lighting operator.
What is barbershop music?
- It’s a cappella, which means there is no backing music or instruments.
- We memorise the music (noone is holding a book).
- We do “moves”, or in barbershop-speak, “visuals”.
- The singers are divided into four parts (Bass, Baritone, Lead, and Tenor) who each sing different notes to make up a four-note chord.
- Everyone sings the words (no beatboxing, and harmony parts don’t just sing “doo” or “aah”).
- We are all men. (This results in a unique sound; female and mixed-gender quartets/choruses also sing barbershop music, but they have their own unique sound).
- For music nerds: Barbershop music is characterised by close a cappella harmony with consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture, with the melody carried in the inner parts. The songs have understandable lyrics and easily singable melodies, whose tones clearly define a tonal center and imply major, minor, and dominant-seventh chords that resolve primarily around the circle of fifths, while making frequent use of other resolutions.
Chorus Experience
The Blenders, Gold Coast, Australia
Feb 2011 - Oct 2011
| Date | Competition | Part | Size | Score | Rank | Songs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 May 2011 | BHA SR Brisbane | Bass | 62 | 74.8% | 1 / 6 | Comes Love, Mona Lisa |
| 30 Sep 2011 | Pan Pac Brisbane | Bass | 67 | 76.9% | 2 / 26 | Comes Love, Mona Lisa |
Sydney Harmony, Sydney, Australia
Feb 2012 - Mar 2014
| Date | Competition | Part | Size | Score | Rank | Songs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Oct 2012 | BHA ER Sydney | Bass | 29 | 68.7% | 1 / 4 | That’s Life, All The Way |
| 4 May 2013 | BHA ER Sydney | Lead | 31 | 68.8% | 1 / 4 | That’s Life, All The Way |
| 12 Oct 2013 | BHA Perth | Lead | 26 | 70.4% | 6 / 16 | That’s Life, All The Way |
Capital Chorus, London, UK
Mar 2014 - Present
| Date | Competition | Part | Size | Score | Rank | Songs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 May 2014 | BABS Harrogate | Bass | 24 | 63.6% | 20 / 48 | It Had To Be You, When Somebody Loved Me |
| 23 May 2015 | BABS Llandudno | Bari | 21 | 64.2% | 18 / 36 | Sentimental Gentleman, Only Girl In The World |
| 28 May 2016 | BABS Harrogate | Bari | 26 | 64.6% | 15 / 35 | Jeepers/Eyes Medley, That’s All |
Quartet Experience
| Date | Competition | Quartet | Part | Score | Rank | Songs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 May 2011 | BHA ER Brisbane |
Affogato | Bass | 60.5% | 9 / 16 | Let Me Call You Sweetheart, Loveland |
| 16 Nov 2014 | BABS Prelims Birmingham |
Routemasters | Lead | 61.3% | 31 / 48 | When She Loved Me, Sentimental Gentleman |
| 10 Oct 2015 | BABS Prelims Manchester |
Routemasters | Lead | 60.0% | 23 / 29 | When She Loved Me, It Had To Be You |
| 1 Nov 2015 | BinH Mixed Bournemouth |
Blind Date | Lead | 61.5% | 9 / 15 | Smile It Had To Be You |
Education
- BHA Harmony College, Perth, October 2013
- BABS Harmony College, Nottingham, August 2014 (Harmony Brigade)
- Harmony University, Nashville, July 2015 (Honours Chorus)
- AMEB Music Theory, Grade 6
- AMEB Music Practice - Piano, Grade 4
Arranging
See my tags on www.barbershoptags.com
Other Musical Abilities
- Guitar
- Piano
- Flute
- Cowbell