History Of The AISQC Website,
by Leo Larivee
Frank Lanza, the tenor of the Four Statesmen Barbershop Quartet (1967 SPEBSQSA International Barbershop Quartet Champion) and the tenor of The George Baggish Memorial Quartet (1989 AISQC Senior’s Quartet Champion), was my dear friend and Mentor.
We met in 1967 shortly after the Four Statesmen won the gold medal in Los Angeles. He was the current SPEBSQSA Gold Medalist tenor, and I was a 17-year old in my first year of music school.
Since the Four Statesmen were from my home Northeastern District (NED), I was able to hear them perform on countless occasions. Back then, there were many more active chapters, and they all had Annual Shows. Because the Four Statesmen were a “local,” quartet, AND the International Champions, they were in high demand.
In 1968, I became the Chorus Director of the Framingham, MA Chapter, and attended my first SPEBSQSA International Convention in Cincinnati. The Four Statesmen sang on the Association of International Quartet Champions Show (AIC) and turned the trophy over to the new quartet champs, The Western Continentals from Phoenix, AZ. 1968
Frank took me under his wing. For instance, he invited me to Four Statesmen rehearsals to help them learn new music. I would play the four parts on the piano. Another time, the quartet learned and recorded two original radio Jingles in just one rehearsal. Since they were both my arrangements, I felt pretty good. The jingles ran for years on the local radio station.
Frank led a contingent of Barbershoppers to the UK in the late 1960s to help in the formation of the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS). Nearly 20 years later (1989), the Wellesley, MA Chapter “Sound Assembly Chorus,” which I directed traveled to Ireland to help the Irish Association of Barbershop Singers (IABS) at their first convention held in Birr, County, Offaly, Ireland.
In 1990, Frank invited me to lunch at Sabina Doyle’s Irish Pub in Medway, MA. He asked for my help building a website for the AISQC, and the rest, as they say, is history. It is hard to believe that it was 20 years ago.
His ultimate invite was to the AIC (Association of International Champions) dinner. All my Barbershop heroes were in one place! We sat next to Tom Palamone, the tenor of the 1948 Champion Pittsburghers. 1948 is the year I was born! What an honor! It was Barbershop Nirvana!
Sadly, we lost Frank in 2004, but his memory lives on with the AISQC website. He was a great tenor, Mentor, and role model, who exemplified what a gold medal winner should be. Frank Lanza was a gentleman who always made me feel like I mattered.
Computer technology has advanced beyond my “pay grade,” and it is time to turn the reigns over to the next generation.
Thank you, to Ken Buckner (Baritone of The Barons, 2003 Senior Champions, and the Citations, and Past President of AISQC) for providing continuing information needed to keep the website up to date. Thank you, Bob Sutton (Alexandria, VA Chapter), for your List of Trivia. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the AISQC website, including those who provided music and learning tracks.
Long live the AISQC website and long live the memory of my friend, Frank Lanza!
We met in 1967 shortly after the Four Statesmen won the gold medal in Los Angeles. He was the current SPEBSQSA Gold Medalist tenor, and I was a 17-year old in my first year of music school.
Since the Four Statesmen were from my home Northeastern District (NED), I was able to hear them perform on countless occasions. Back then, there were many more active chapters, and they all had Annual Shows. Because the Four Statesmen were a “local,” quartet, AND the International Champions, they were in high demand.
In 1968, I became the Chorus Director of the Framingham, MA Chapter, and attended my first SPEBSQSA International Convention in Cincinnati. The Four Statesmen sang on the Association of International Quartet Champions Show (AIC) and turned the trophy over to the new quartet champs, The Western Continentals from Phoenix, AZ. 1968
Frank took me under his wing. For instance, he invited me to Four Statesmen rehearsals to help them learn new music. I would play the four parts on the piano. Another time, the quartet learned and recorded two original radio Jingles in just one rehearsal. Since they were both my arrangements, I felt pretty good. The jingles ran for years on the local radio station.
Frank led a contingent of Barbershoppers to the UK in the late 1960s to help in the formation of the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS). Nearly 20 years later (1989), the Wellesley, MA Chapter “Sound Assembly Chorus,” which I directed traveled to Ireland to help the Irish Association of Barbershop Singers (IABS) at their first convention held in Birr, County, Offaly, Ireland.
In 1990, Frank invited me to lunch at Sabina Doyle’s Irish Pub in Medway, MA. He asked for my help building a website for the AISQC, and the rest, as they say, is history. It is hard to believe that it was 20 years ago.
His ultimate invite was to the AIC (Association of International Champions) dinner. All my Barbershop heroes were in one place! We sat next to Tom Palamone, the tenor of the 1948 Champion Pittsburghers. 1948 is the year I was born! What an honor! It was Barbershop Nirvana!
Sadly, we lost Frank in 2004, but his memory lives on with the AISQC website. He was a great tenor, Mentor, and role model, who exemplified what a gold medal winner should be. Frank Lanza was a gentleman who always made me feel like I mattered.
Computer technology has advanced beyond my “pay grade,” and it is time to turn the reigns over to the next generation.
Thank you, to Ken Buckner (Baritone of The Barons, 2003 Senior Champions, and the Citations, and Past President of AISQC) for providing continuing information needed to keep the website up to date. Thank you, Bob Sutton (Alexandria, VA Chapter), for your List of Trivia. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the AISQC website, including those who provided music and learning tracks.
Long live the AISQC website and long live the memory of my friend, Frank Lanza!