Joe Hunter
Joe is a born and raised New Yorker and has been singing and performing for as long as he can remember – and probably for quite some time prior to that.
Joe is a founding member of the Big Apple Chorus and was the Musical Director from 2000-2013. He directed the Long Island Twin Shores Chorus from 1994-2007. In 2013 he retired and was named as Director Emeritus. He and his wife Diane recently moved to Northern Kentucky, and he is a proud member and Music VP of the Cincinnati Southern Gateway Chapter.
He has been barbershopping for the last 48 years and is a past BHS Presentation Category Specialist and 15-time PRS and PER Board of Review member and was the Project Manager and one of the architects for the development and implementation of the new Performance Category. Joe also serves as mentor for Harmony Inc’s Performance Category. He is also a certified CDWI (chorus director workshop intensive) trainer and sought-after coach. He has served multiple times as faculty at Harmony University and has also served at numerous regional schools, Top Guns and youth camps.
Joe has sung with many different quartets, most notably 4 Under Par (International finalists and all around wild and crazy guys), Reveille (7-time International Competitors), and Up All Night (8 Time International Competitors and MAD District Medalists). All these quartets are known as original, entertaining groups that have looked to push the creative envelope and develop a varied and proprietary repertoire.
In the real world, Joe was an SVP of Technology, where he managed teams of software developers. Ironically, in this role he also focused on performance!
Courses
Director Track​
Jeff Legters
Jeff Legters is a lifetime barbershopper, officially getting his start at the age of 13 in Pennsylvania when he joined the Penn-Ohio singers with his father and two brothers. Jeff moved to Cincinnati in 1994 and has been an active member of Southern Gateway ever since. His exceptional leadership skills have been a valued asset to the chorus in key roles on the music team as well as administratively. Prior to becoming our Director, Jeff had served the chorus as President as well as several other major leadership positions over the years. A veteran singer in his own right, Jeff has qualified to compete in the Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Quartet Competition representing our district and chorus on several occasions. Jeff possesses a quick smile and a positive attitude that just makes everyone in the chorus want to do their best. These personality traits combined with his natural leadership skills and singing ability make him and invaluable part of the Southern Gateway experience.
Jeff lives in West Chester, Ohio with his wife Lisa and their four children, Nick (15), Dan (13), Jennifer (10), and Christopher (7). Jeff often states that he is a proud member of the SGC family and is thrilled to have the opportunity to perform with this dedicated group.
Courses
Director Track​
Steve Wyszomierski
Steve received his 50th year BHS membership pin during the Cleveland convention in 2024. In reflection, the 50 years went by quickly, mostly because of his active involvement in Society leadership education for the past 40 of those years. The early times were spent in serving on the Johnny Appleseed District (JAD) Leadership Team in various capacities including several terms as Vice President of Chapter Support and Leadership Training as well as JAD President in 2015-2016. At the Society level, Steve has served on many leadership academy faculties around North America and Germany. He also served as Chair of the BHS Leadership Operations team and has been a part of Harmony University faculty for eight years. He has personally conducted more than 20 BHS THINK programs, helping chapters discover their identity to help them succeed. He currently serves on the BHS Volunteer Alignment and Training team.
Courses
President Track - for New and Returning Chapter Presidents
Connecting the Dots
First, the toolbox is opened that outlines all of the programs and initiatives available to help your chapter grow. Next, use these resources to construct a personalized chapter progress chart by selecting and arranging the programs in the best forward-thinking line to build success. Oh, if it were that easy! Finally, we understand the hiccups and frustrations that may stand in the way of this plan and hopefully end with strategies to eliminate them.
JP Miller
JP is a 26-year member of the Barbershop Harmony Society and a founding member of The Northwest Ohio Chapter Voices of Harmony. As the founding Executive VP of the NWO Chapter, JP has since served as chapter secretary for 17 of the last 20 years. This extensive experience as a Chapter secretary has allowed him to help others as a faculty member at 2 JAD COTS/Leadership Academies and 2 CAR COTS. JP has also served as Baritone Section Leader, is a past NWO Chapter BOTY, as well as NW Ohio Chapter Director's Choice award recipient. The most fulfilling part of being part of The Voices of Harmony, JAD, and the BHS is the chance to stand next to his two sons in the chorus.
Courses
Secretary Track - for New and Returning Chapter Secretaries​
Don McAdams
Don is a retired CPA with 11 years in public accounting, 12 years as controller for an advertising firm, and 15 years as Senior Tax Preparer for a firm in Springfield, OH. He has sung in two quartets, Heartbeat and E Ticket and is the Director and Treasurer of the Hospitality Chorus in Xenia, OH. He created spreadsheet versions of the BHS manual accounting system and will be JAD’s Treasurer for 2026.
Courses
Treasurer Track - for New and Returning Chapter Treasurers​
Paul Ellinger
Paul Ellinger is one of the most requested coaches in a cappella singing today. He is a perennial Harmony University Faculty member and is the creator of the Wavebox Singing holistic approach to singing. Paul is also the creator of the popular Supercharging Your Chapter outreach which helps groups to grow, be relevant in their communities, and helps groups sing at higher levels more quickly and more consistently. Paul has created the Performance Sphere which distills “performance” into one elegantly simple concept
allowing groups to discover why they are stalling in their progress. Recently, he has also developed The Roadmap, an approach to greater improvements over time wherein all of the concepts build off from one another for ongoing improvements. Paul’s strategies have helped groups grow 100% in just six weeks.
Of those who have worked with Paul, over 15 choruses have won Most Improved, some twice in a row. Quartets utilizing his methods have seen some of the largest one-year score increases and placement in Barbershop Harmony Society history with many qualifying for International for the first time ever. In his work with them, he focused solely on increasing their core competency, so that they now sing every song at a higher level.
As a performer, he won a Pioneer District Championship singing lead with Chordiology. He also sang with the 5-man contemporary a cappella group, elmoTHUMM, who were Harmony Sweepstakes National Finalists, performed through two rounds of America’s Got Talent, sang for the President of the United States by request, had over 300 stage performances all around the country, and were given contracts to be on NBC’s The Singoff. Paul is a certified Performance Judge for the BHS, has presented numerous Master Classes at International Competitions, coached in many of the Areas and Regions of both Harmony Inc. and Sweet Adelines International, and coached in all 17 Districts in the BHS and around the world. Among other roles, he is a past member of the BHS Membership Task Force, Executive Vice President, and President of the Pioneer District, and is the only person to be elected into the Pioneer District Hall of Fame twice.
Courses
A Different Way to Grow with a 100% Success Rate
This will not be the same approaches that you’ve heard before, packaged in a different way, and it’s WAY easier than you think. Here are some questions that may help in determining if this class is for you. — 1) Are you willing to PRACTICE in public? 2) Knowing that 90% of people who think they can’t sing, actually can, would your chapter be willing to start an “I Can’t Sing Chorus”? (Don’t worry, we’ll show you how to help others). 3) Would the majority of your chapter be willing to attend ongoing 1-hour training and success sessions 1-2 times a month? 4) Would your chapter be willing to help other chapters once you do grow?
The Cycle of Ongoing Singing Improvement
If you are getting coaching and more coaching, but don’t seem to be improving, this may be the class for you. Whether your group (quartets or choruses alike) is competition-based or not, this is a groundbreaking approach to ongoing improvement, which will introduce you to 10 holistic modules that are designed to work together to address musicality, singing, and overall performance on an ongoing basis. Break through that glass ceiling and start leveling up now!
Wavebox Singing
Just one module in the Cycle of Ongoing Improvement, Wavebox Singing is an elegantly simple approach to quick and long-term improvement. Learn this one of ten concept that will help you and your group sing, and perform with more musicality and at higher levels more than ever before with more ease on EVERY song you sing! You may have heard about it, now join the WAVE!
Brian O'Dell
Brian participates in the barbershop world in a variety of ways. He is an international champion at both the quartet level (Forefront - 2016) and chorus level (Vocal Majority – 2018; Music City Chorus – 2022). He has coached quartets to district champions as well as international champions and was named the JAD Coach of the Year in 2012. Brian has taught at Harmony University and Harmony Colleges both here and in Europe. He also has been a certified Performance Category Judge since 2016 helping groups bring “justice” to their singing through visual complement.
Courses
Bring Your Songs to Life with Performance Techniques
Focus is on taking the message of the song, making it your own, and delivering it with emotion and storytelling – using both the lyrics and what the arranger has provided for you.
So, You’ve Learned the Song, Now What?
Between learning the song and walking onstage to perform it, something magical happens; focus on rehearsal techniques and craft to bring the score and lyrics to life for your audiences.
Recognizing and Overcoming Performance Nerves (Stage Fright)
The session will focus on recognizing what is happening in the moment that makes you anxious or nervous, regardless of audience or venue, and how to make these “butterflies” work for you.
Harry Haflett
In his 40+ years in Barbershop, Harry has been in many quartets, and has directed four different choruses. Harry is a graduate of Cleveland State University’s School of Music where he majored in Vocal Performance. He was a Singing Judge for 12 years and has vast creative experience with writing show scripts, parodies, and satires. Harry was Baritone of the Hot Air Buffoons, entertaining audiences all over the globe and ranking as high as 14th in International Competition.
Courses
Adding Comedy to Performances
This course is an overview of various ways to add comedy to your performance. It will cover the basics of comedy performance, joke writing/telling, and creating parodies.
Parody Writing 101
Learn the basics of Parody Writing from conception to execution from one of the best (or, from Harry – if we can’t find one those other guys)
Building Better Shows and Sing-Outs
In this course, we’ll cover what makes a great show and how to build it from the ground up. We’ll cover scripts, repertoire, and how to put it all together.
Jay Dougherty
​Dr. Jay Dougherty serves as the Director of Choral Activities at Drury University in Nixa, Missouri, where he directs the Chorale, Singers, and the contemporary a cappella ensemble Pulse. In addition to his ensemble leadership, he teaches advanced conducting, music history, and related subject areas.
Jay holds a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) and Master of Music (MM) in Choral Conducting from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a Bachelor of Music (BM) in Choral Music Education from Brigham Young University in Provo.
Beyond academia, Jay has become a highly sought-after conductor, clinician, and adjudicator in the choral and barbershop music communities. He has directed several award-winning ensembles, including the City of Flags Chorus in Canton, Ohio, and the Alliance Chorus in Columbus, Ohio.
As a performer, Jay has earned multiple 4th place international medals singing baritone and bass with the Sound of the Rockies Chorus and secured a district quartet championship with his quartet, Surround Sound. He is an internationally certified Musicality Judge for the Barbershop Harmony Society, traveling extensively to judge contests and festivals around the world.
A prolific composer and arranger, Jay has over 100 arrangements and compositions in print. Some examples include his Phoenix Cantata (MusicSpoke), Love Casts Out Fear (Melkim Publishing), and Hey Jude (Barbershop Harmony Society). His professional versatility is reflected in his frequent invitations to serve as a clinician, arranger, judge, coach, presenter, conductor, and adjudicator for festivals, ensembles, honor choirs, conventions, and competitions worldwide.A proud father of five wonderful daughters, Jay resides in Nixa, Missouri with his bride of more than 20 years, Megan.
Courses
Become the Most Improved Quartet
A Harmony University favorite, this session will teach you how to maximize improvement over short periods of time. You may never win a gold medal, but you can become the most improved quartet! While this session will be geared primarily toward quartetting, there are sure to be gems applicable to choruses as well.
Audio Illusions and Paradoxes
You've heard of optical illusions, but what about audio illusions? This relaxing and fun session will trick your mind with audio examples that seem impossible in a demonstration of how our brain makes sense out of chaos when it comes to sound. The attendees will be enlightened to different aspects of sound that they weren't previously aware of.
Develop an Ear for Overtones
This session will isolate the overtones of the human voice to demonstrate how the overtone series is affected by different vocal choices. Attendees will learn to hear overtones more effectively.
Never Do Warm-Ups
What do we do with our “warm-up” time? Do our singers actually need to warm up? How should the time be used? What are the exact goals of the warm-ups you’re choosing to use? Learn how to better utilize “warm-up” time by actively engaging with singers to achieve more unity and vocal health.
Dave Rubin
Dave is the current JAD DRCJ and Past President and has been a quartet singer, a chorus singer, Director, Coach, Music Judge, Arranger, Chapter Officer, Class Instructor, and District Officer. Now, though, he is best known as Sammy and BettyLou’s (Bitty’s) dad. And he is good with that. Dave – a member of the JAD Hall of Fame - is proud to have spent his entire Barbershop career
in JAD and loves finding ways to give back to our great District. A lifetime musician, Dave sings with the Independence Chapter and lives near Cleveland with the aforementioned two toddlers as well as a dog, a cat, and his most understanding wife Judy - who somehow keeps the chaos at bay.
Courses
Pickup Singing
Come for some informal pick-up singing. If you need a break from your otherwise awesome classes, drop in. We might sing some tags, some polecats, or just songs everyone knows. Maybe even try a new song or two. No pressure, just fun. We’re all here for the singing, so let’s sing!
Learning to Teach a Tag
Tags are one of the most unique and yet recognizable characteristics of barbershop music. They make singing with three other people extremely easy with just a few instructions and demonstrations. Yet, teaching a tag has its own "best practices" for efficient use of time and effective communication of new music. This session will deal with the how-to's and how-not-to's for teaching a tag.
Doug Smeltz
Doug is a 51-year BHS member and is a BHS Certified Director. He is also a Performance Judge and currently a BHS Ambassador to the CEO. He is the director of JAD’s Vocal Seniority that won the first BHS Senior Chorus Festival 2017. Doug has sung in two JAD championship quartets, the Bowery Boys and Route 33, and is the Director Emeritus of the Singing Buckeyes Chorus. He has served as JAD President (2017-2018) and currently serves in the role of Director of Music and Performance. Doug was honored with his selection to the JAD Hall of Fame in 2019.
Courses
Very Beginning Music Theory
In this class, we’ll work to develop the tonal center of a song, and the recognition of notes in both clefs.
Next level Music Theory (baritones and tenors required! Others welcome!)
In this class, we’ll develop the ability to recognize chords and what it means. We’ll also learn how to mark our music with highlighter for baritones mostly but tenors as well.
Developing a Performance Plan for Quartets and Choruses.
In this class, we’ll help you understand how to unify the quartet or chorus through the use of action verbs! This in turn will help you stage the group.
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Steve Patrick
Steve Patrick is a 29-year member of BHS. He has served the JAD Board in a variety of positions, from VP of Chorus Director Development to most recently as Board Member at Large. He is a Society Certified Director and a certified trainer for the Outstanding in Front program for those exploring the idea of directing a chorus. He has served as the director of the Huntington Tri-State Chapter ThunderTones Chorus (now called Voices of the Valley) for nearly 25 years. Steve was awarded the JAD Director of the Year this past spring. Professionally, he is an entrepreneur; owning two different companies that serve clients all over then US and Canada.
Courses
The Importance of Culture for Growth
How would you describe the culture of your chorus? More importantly, how would visitors to a rehearsal describe it? Retention of members and recruiting new members is difficult if what one experiences is not warm and inviting, focused on enjoying being with friends, and simply having fun. Attracting new members in today’s market requires conditions that are very different from past decades.
Making Rehearsals and Performances More Fun
Some would say that singing and singing well is fun. Well, there is “fun – satisfying and pleasurable” and “fun – sociable and uplifting.” Championship-focused choruses might need to concentrate on that first one, but many choruses simply want to have a good time singing together and enjoying one another’s company for a few hours. How can we make rehearsals and resulting performances more fun? Come find out.
“Fly-By” Rehearsals
When was the last time you felt or heard someone say, “Wow! That 2½ hours went by fast!”? If your rehearsals tend to drag by and prompt you to examine your watch every 15 minutes, maybe you need to change something. This session is designed to share strategies for making rehearsals fun, productive, and “fly by.”
CC Snyder
A lifelong musician, born and raised in Troy, Ohio, CC Snyder attended Bowling Green State University, majoring in Choral Music Education.
CC is a founding member of the Voices of Harmony and the NorthWest Ohio Chapter it represents. He has served in a leadership role since the chapter's inception, serving as Vice-President of Music & Performance four times and once as President. At the end of 2009, CC was hired as director and has since led the Voices of Harmony to multiple medals in the Johnny Appleseed District and an appearance at the BHS International Chorus Contest in Charlotte, NC. He was awarded the JAD Director of the Year for 2019. He has competed in multiple quartets, including Parental Guidance Suggested, 3+1, 4 Star, Prototype, and Blue Rhino, earning multiple medals at the district level. He currently sings with his wife and two sons in Snyder University. ​
His involvement in barbershop has extended beyond the chapter level. He has been active in leadership on the Johnny Appleseed District Board of Directors, serving as a Board Member at Large, Director of Marketing, Director of Technology & Communications, Executive Vice President, and District President from 2023-2025. He has managed the JAD website for the last 9 years, currently serves as District Immediate Past President, and was awarded the Johnny Appleseed District Barbershopper of the Year for 2023.
CC and his wife Chrissy live in Lebanon, Ohio, with their four children: Ashton, Chase, Cate, and Cara.
Courses
Breathing, Not Just for Survival - The session will detail a breathing program designed to help improve lung capacity and mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and get your body and mind comfortable with being uncomfortable when you're low on oxygen, a common occurrence for singers. The entire regimen takes​ about 15-20 minutes, and we will go through the entire exercise, including exercises designed for the walk backstage from the warm-up room and for right before the curtain opens.
Vocal Vault: Unlock Memory Mastery
Emphasizing mindset, vivid visualization, and active practice, learn how to encode lyrics, melodies, and harmonies into your memory vault. Your memory is a muscle and here is how to train it like a maestro.
AI For Harmony
Discover how AI can transform your chapter. Learn practical tools for streamlining admin tasks like scheduling and fundraising, plus personalized learning aids for rehearsals and vocal training. Integrate your own chapter's DNA into the AI so you don't have to keep explaining yourself to the machine. We will be using Google Gemini for the course, though the concepts and techniques are usable across AI platforms.
Radical Transparency in Leadership
Karl Chapple
Being a "barbershopper" is more like a lifestyle than just a hobby, at least for me. I have gained so much from being a member of BHS that it is only right to give back. Over the years, I have served in many local chapter offices and direct several chapter choruses. I have also served at a district level as board member, VP of Chorus Director Development, Director of Administrative Leadership, and on the Events Committee helping with planning and managing events involving thousands of competitors and audience members. At a national level I served as a leadership facilitator training chapter officers in leadership skills.
Karl currently serves as the JAD President. More notably, he currently serves as Nancy's husband.
Courses
Leader or Manager