Every Monday night, 30 to 40 men from Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties get together to sing – a capella – as they practice for local holiday shows, barbershop quartet tournaments and other annual events.
They are members of the Pine Barons Chorus, which celebrates its 75th diamond anniversary this year, according to the group’s marketing vice president, Eric Herr. He was among chorus singers who warmed up on July 8 at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Cherry Hill.
“I like the fellowship and camaraderie of the men and we all share the love for singing and music,” noted Assistant Director Jim Rohn of Eastampton. “I started singing in 1980 with my dad, uncle and brother.”
Rohn – who was filling in for Director Rich Gray – said the chorus consists of 15 lead singers, 15 bass singers, five tenors and eight to 10 baritones, each of whom collectively sings one part of the traditional four-part barbershop harmony. When they perform, chorus members are interspersed on stage to create a more powerful sound.
“Some choruses have as many as 150 members,” said Bud Miller, a lead singer from Barrington, who joined the chorus in 1992 and served as director for 10 years. “The more men creates the possibility of a bigger sound.”
Miller said singing all around – after a performance or a good rehearsal – “feels great.” He began performing as a Rutherford High School student, appreciating it as he served in the Army during Vietnam.
“I was in the glee club and barbershop quartet at West Point,” recalled Miller, who helped create the Armed Services Barbershop Chorus with a group of general officers in Saigon who wanted a pleasant diversion for the soldiers.
“I have made a lot of good friends, and we lost some good people,” noted 88-year-old Chuck Edgerton, who gathered for the warm-up with other chorus members on a makeshift basement stage at St. Andrew’s. Two holiday shows this year were sold out and held in the church sanctuary.
“I joined the chorus 42 years ago,” added Edgerton, a resident of Cherry Hill who said the feeling after an excellent performance is “overwhelming.”
“I really enjoy singing.”
Jim Evans of Haddonfield – who claims he is 95-and-a-half years young – has been a lead singer with the chorus for 45 years.
“I was 50 when I joined,” he remembered. “I had heard them do a show, and I was really impressed. I liked the sound and the music.”
The oldest member of the group is 97-year-old George Neff, who happily sang the first practice number along with chorus members. The youngest performer in a group that spans generations is 17-year-old Garrett Hardt, a bass singer who became interested after watching barbershop videos on YouTube.
“I joined in September 2023 and I really enjoyed performing in the holiday shows,” observed Hardt, who sang with the Pennington High School a capella chorus. “I never experienced anything like that before.”
The origins of the Pine Barons Chorus in Cherry Hill go back to Oct. 5, 1949, at the Walt Whitman Hotel in Camden, where several members of what was then the Camden chapter of Barbershop Harmony Society sought to start a chapter in Gloucester County.
In the early 1950s, the Woodbury chapter was officially proclaimed part of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. The rapidly growing group moved and became the Audubon chorus in 1955, and in 1964, combined with the Medford Lakes chapter to establish the Cherry Hill group.
That chapter took on a new name and look in the ’70s. The Pine Barons name was chosen as a so-called “regal twist” to the nearby 2,000-acre tract of land known as the New Jersey Pine Barrens, situated between the Garden State Parkway to the east and the New Jersey Turnpike to the west.
A distinctive green uniform replaced the group’s nondescript one. The new and improved look caught the attention of many in barbershop circles, who often dubbed the Cherry Hill chapter “the big green singing machine,” a nickname that stuck for years.
A key highlight was a trip to Russia by some members of the Cherry Hill and Penn State choruses, who combined to win an unexpected third-place medal against stiff competition from several Soviet groups.
The township chapter of the Pine Barons Chorus continues its proud tradition in 2024, playing to audiences of all ages in the South Jersey and Philadelphia region.
“The chorus is always looking for good male singers,” Herr emphasized, “and those interested are welcome to come out to our rehearsal …”
Rehearsals of the Pine Barons Chorus are Mondays at 7 p.m. in the basement of St. Andrew’s, on Route 70 east next to Ponio’s Diner in Cherry Hill.”
