HJ823: Barbershop Harmony Week; designating as first full week in April 2013, and each succeeding year.

HJ823ER
HJ823

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 823 Designating the first full week in April, in 2013 and in each succeeding year, as Barbershop Harmony Week in Virginia.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 8, 2013 Agreed to by the Senate, February 19, 2013

WHEREAS, the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc., commonly known as the Barbershop Harmony Society, will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2013; and

WHEREAS, the Barbershop Harmony Society works to preserve a truly American form of music—barbershop quartet singing; and

WHEREAS, the Barbershop Harmony Society began on April 11, 1938, with a meeting of 26 men; and

WHEREAS, today, the Barbershop Harmony Society has grown to a membership of over 25,000 men in over 800 chapters in all 50 states of the United States and 10 provinces in Canada, with an additional 4,000 members in affiliates in 10 other countries; and

WHEREAS, in Virginia, more than 800 men share the hobby of barbershop quartet singing in 20 chapters located in Alexandria, Arlington, Charlottesville, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier County, Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg, Kilmarnock, Loudoun County, Mt. Vernon, Norfolk, Prince William, Richmond, Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake, Suffolk, Winchester, and Yorktown; and

WHEREAS, Virginia chapters have produced four International Chorus champions, a Senior International Quartet champion, a Collegiate quartet champion, and two past International Society presidents; and

WHEREAS, The Virginians, one of the Richmond chapters of the Barbershop Harmony Society, has been in existence for more than 60 years; and

WHEREAS, the Barbershop Harmony Society also plays a vital role in the community by providing musical scholarships and supporting charitable foundations; and

WHEREAS, the Barbershop Harmony Society provides an opportunity for fellowship for its members and musical education and enjoyment for audiences; and

WHEREAS, the designation of a week by the General Assembly will provide an opportunity for residents of the Commonwealth to learn more about the distinct style of music known as Barbershop Harmony; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly designate the first full week in April, in 2013 and in each succeeding year, as Barbershop Harmony Week in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc., so that members of the organization may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates post the designation of this week on the General Assembly’s website.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 823

Offered February 1, 2013 Designating the first full week in April, in 2013 and in each succeeding year, as Barbershop Harmony Week in Virginia.

Patron-- Loupassi

Unanimous consent to introduce

Referred to Committee on Rules