Randy Will, sales account manager at Wauwatosa-based Briggs & Stratton Corp., has been singing his whole life. He grew up singing in his church choir and sang in the college chorus but took a bit of a hiatus while his kids were growing up.
Then in 1999, Will joined Midwest Vocal Express, an a cappella men’s choir and the Greendale-based chapter of the national Barbershop Harmony Society.
The group practices once a week and has approximately 50 active singers, most of which have professional careers outside of singing.
“Our whole idea as a group is to educate and train both members and the community on this type of music,” Will said. “We want everyone to have fun and really become better singers.”
Members of Midwest Vocal Express audition to determine their placement in the group as far as melody, tenor, base or baritone, Will said. Will sings bass in the large chorus, but has teamed up with other chorus members to form a traditional four person barber shop quartet, in which he sings tenor.
The group participates in 10 to 12 events per year including two local concerts, one in the spring and one in December around the holidays. They also perform the National Anthem at Brewers, Bucks and Milwaukee Wave games in addition to regularly competing in regional and international singing competitions.
“When I first joined, I was excited about the fact that the group was set up to be a contest choir,” Will said. “They take on challenging pieces of music and have their performances evaluated by experts in the industry.
Midwest Vocal Express has been named one of the top 15 choruses in the world and has competed internationally 13 out of the last 14 years and has also earned three bronze medals for being ranked as one of the top five choruses, Will said.
The group regularly dresses up for performances and has dressed up like aquarium fish, toy green soldiers and penguins in past performances.
“We try to keep things fun. We’re famous for doing stuff out of the ordinary during our performances,” Will said. “We aim to entertain and I think our audiences appreciate that.”
Alysha Schertz
