- Metropolis (barbershop quartet)
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Metropolis relaxing after a show...
Metropolis is a barbershop quartet known around the world for their entertaining performances, visual style and choreography, pushing the envelope of the barbershop art form - an approach that has garnered the group five consecutive medals with the Barbershop Harmony Society at their annual International Convention. This quartet is dedicated to having fun and has become renowned as performing the most consistently entertaining barbershop quartet show of any active quartet. Metropolis has performed over 450 stage shows in the United States and 8 other countries (Finland, Russia, England, Canada, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Japan and Ireland) and has traveled to more than 160 cities in 38 different states in the USA.
Metropolis came to the attention of national television audiences within the last few years, beginning with their appearance on "What's Your Hobby", followed by the pilot episode of the "Fourth Floor Show" on E! Entertainment Television with Vance DeGeneres and the filming of a national Dr Pepper commercial. They have also appeared on Diagnosis: Murder in which Dick Van Dyke sang a song with the quartet in the episode entitled "Santa Claude". Metropolis has made several radio appearances and also performed in an independent film entitled "Pacino is Missing".
Each member of the quartet has served as section leader for their respective part as part of International Barbershop Chorus Champion Masters of Harmony and were part of the history-making performances in Salt Lake City in 1996 and Anaheim in 1999 which garnered the Masters their third and fourth consecutive International Chorus Championships. The quartet was also named the Masters of Harmony 1996 Quartet of the Year.
In addition to becoming 1996-97 Far Western District Champions, on May 9, 1998, Metropolis earned the Harmony Sweepstakes' Grand National A Cappella Championship - the first barbershop quartet to do so in the history of the event - and in 1999, the Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (or CARAs) nominated Metropolis' CD "Aural Hygiene" for "Best Barbershop Recording" and "Best Barbershop Song".
In 2002 in Portland, Oregon, Metropolis was awarded a Bronze Medal in the Barbershop Harmony Society's International Competition and repeated this achievement in Montreal, Quebec in 2003, Louisville, Kentucky in 2004, Salt Lake City in 2005 and again in Indianapolis, Indiana in 2006.
The quartet has performed an average of 23 shows per year for over 12 years and continues to perform around the United States as well as traveling to Europe, Asia, Russia and the Pacific Rim to teach and perform.
The quartet also prides themselves on having the most interactive and fun website in all "barbershop-dom".
Contents
Members
- James Sabina — Tenor (Medalist) 1996–Present
- Bob Hartley — Lead (Medalist) 1994–Present
- Kelly Shepard — Baritone (Medalist) 2004–Present
- Brian Philbin — Bass (Medalist) 1994–Present
Previous members also include:
A list of Metropolis' accomplishments follows.
Awards
- 2002-2006 International Bronze Medalist Quartet (Barbershop Harmony Society)
- 1996-97 Far Western District Champions (Barbershop Harmony Society)
- 1998 Grand National A Cappella Champions (Harmony Sweepstakes / CASA)
- 1996 "The Masters of Harmony" Quartet of the Year
- 1998 CARA (Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards) Nominee
("Aural Hygiene" for "Best Barbershop Recording" and "Best Barbershop Song")
Television appearances
- "What's Your Hobby" - DIY Network (Do It Yourself), Originally Aired on HGTV (Home & Garden Television)
- "Fourth Floor Show" - E! Entertainment Television - Pilot Episode, Hosted by Vance DeGeneris
- National "Dr Pepper" Commercial (Singing "Dr Pepper, You're a Part of Me")
- "Diagnosis Murder" - "Santa Claude" (Singing "Stay Awake", as well as "Winter Wonderland", with Dick Van Dyke on Bass)
Film
- "Pacino is Missing" - Feature Film - Metropolis as "The Slim Guys"
Radio
- Meineke Muffler - “Meineke, Meineke, Meineke Quartet” Promo
- WDVR - FM – Applause Show Promo – Princeton, NJ
- KQFB - FM - Call Letters Jingle - Santa Barbara, CA
- KQFB - FM - Kurt and Jane Morning Show Jingle - Santa Barbara, CA
Work with Masters of Harmony
- Kelly Shepard - Lead Section Leader 2000, Bass Section Leader 2001-2002
- Brian Philbin - Bass Section Leader 1996-1999
- Bob Hartley - Lead Section Leader 1996-1999
- James Sabina - Tenor Section Leader 1996-1998
- Mike McGee - Baritone Section Leader 1996-1998
- Ken Potter - Lead Section Leader 2001-2009, Assistant Director 2004-2009
Categories:- American vocal groups
- Barbershop quartets
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