Virginians Quartets

THE VIRGINIANS have a number of GREAT quartets in its ranks...

Select the Quartet Name below to see more about them
Active Quartets

Floyd'S
Four in the Morning
Hit Parade
JUS4FUN
Just In Time
Masquerade
Out of the Blue

Retired Quartets

City Slickers (ret.)
ENCORE! (ret.)
Hit Parade (ret.)



Floyd's
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With two chairs open and songs in their hearts, there's no waiting to enjoy Richmond's own four-part a cappella harmonies. Floyd's stars barbershop regulars Hardman Jones at baritone, Warren Strandberg at bass, Glenn Van Tuyle at tenor, and introduces Mark Snider (who sounds a bit like Andy of Mayberry!) as lead. Let Floyd's melodies transport you to a simpler time. And ya'll come back now, y'hear?

Four In The Morning
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Four In The Morning is a unique quartet in many ways. All four members have been active members of THE VIRGINIANS Chorus for many years, however, none of these singers has even been a member of a barbershop quartet prior to Four In The Morning. Since the quartet began, it has been tauted as "the most active quartet in the chapter". The quartet had it's first singing engagement at Chester Baptist Church, singing several gospel and religious songs, and since that time they have been invited to sing at more and more churches in Richmond and the surrounding areas. These guys enjoy singing together so much they don't even need a "Hat To Drop" to burst into song. since their first performance with the gospel flavor, the quartet has greatly expanded its repertoire and has been invited to perform for many and varied audiences at country clubs, dinners, hospitals, picnics, retirement communities, weddings, receptions, parties, and meetings. The members of Four In The Morning have common goals: to enjoy the friendship that comes from blending close harmony together, to entertain audiences with the barbershop style of harmony, and to be as good as they can be, as a quartet, while supporting THE VIRGINIANS Chorus and the hobby they love.

JUS4FUN
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Jus4Fun is one of the newest of THE VIRGINIANS Chapter quartets. Mike Wallen (lead) is the Musical Director of THE VIRGINIANS; Vic Owen (bass) is the bass section leader of THE VIRGINIANS; and Roger Tarpy (baritone) is THE VIRGINIANS assistant director. Between the three of them there is close to 90 years of combined barbershop experience. Jim Mitchell (tenor) has been barbershopping for close to five years. This quartet formed to keep their love of quartetting active, and to sing "just for fun". We know you'll enjoy their sound.

Just In Time
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Just In Time was formed in July 2002, and at the recent chorus novice contest tied for second place. The quartet plans to compete at the Mid Atlantic District Southern Division contest this May. The members of the quartet are tenor Craig Allen, lead Larry Jefferson, bass Jim Myers, and baritone Bill Ballinger. You may remember seeing their picture in the Richmond Times Dispatch Metro section on February 14, 2003, showing them serenading over 50 women at the Virginia Community College System headquarters in downtown Richmond as part of THE VIRGINIANS Singing Valentines program.

Masquerade
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Masquerade, together since April 2002, is comprised of three active members of the Richmond Chapter and a Frank Thorne at-large chapter member. Roy Foster (tenor), Paul Hutnyan (lead), and Rick Cox (baritone), are Virginians that form the bulk of Masquerade, with Bill Grosskopf (bass) providing the foundation. Masquerade entered the Southern Division quartet contest for the first time in May 2003, was subsequently invited to compete in the District Contest this past October, and was fortunate enough to be named the Division and District’s Novice Quartet Champion. The quartet continues to have a busy rehearsal and performance schedule while maintaining an impressive array of (mostly) true stories. Masquerade has a strong desire to perform and to improve as a barbershop quartet, and its members share a close friendship along with a true passion for barbershop harmony.

For more information about Masquerade, please email Bill Grosskopf or call him at 540-891-0437.


Out Of The Blue
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Formed less than a year ago, this foursome includes an interesting mix of singers. Two of the members have sung in barbershop quartets previously (one in two-time Division Champion Virginia Breeze and one in District competitor Detour), and the other two are having their first barbershop quartet experience. Two of the members received instruction in classical voice and one member never sang at all until his involvement with THE VIRGINIANS around four years ago. Another member has recently rejoined THE VIRGINIANS and also sings in an a cappella church quartet. We'll leave it up to you to match the identifies of the singers we just described! The members are Charles Gilleland (tenor), Sam Rodgers (lead), Dana Kitchen (bass) and Dave Barbour (baritone).


Retired Quartets


City Slickers (ret.)
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The CITY SLICKERS (ret.) have been entertaining audiences since 1992 with their smooth, rich barbershop harmonies, romantic melodies and fun songs. When you see their striped suits, if you're reminded of the era of "Guys and Dolls" it's not by accident. They planned it that way. Each SLICKER has earned his stripes, for each man has a place in the Virginians Quartet Hall of Fame by virtue of singing previously in other successful Richmond quartets: Two Plus Two Four, Stage Door, and Treasure Chest. The only Richmond native, Bob Caldwell, sings lead. Tenor Glenn Van Tuyle grew up in Pennsylvania, bartione Hardman Jones hails from Georgia, and Warren Strandberg, the bass, comes originally from Minnesota. In March 2002 the City Slickers were crowned the M-AD Senior Quartet Champions and went on to earn a 4th place BRONZE medal at the 2003 International Senior Quartet Championships in Albeqerque, NM. Shortly thereafter the Slickers retired from competition and from performing. They would like to thank their chapters, friends and supporters for the encouragement for these twelve years.

To order the City Slickers cd, "Old Sweet Songs" send a $12 check made payable to: Bob Caldwell, 5008 Sideburn Rd, Fairfax, VA 22032


ENCORE! (ret.)
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Tenor, Davis Theakston, never the shy one, was the out front hobo in THE VIRGINIANS' 1999 contest package. He is quite the Thespian, but has asked that we leave his religious preference out of the bio. Dick Lacy, baritone, is in fact Dick Tracy, but shhh! He is in the "comic cop protection program". Dick has for years been moving from VA to GA to FL and back, trying to stay ahead of the crime syndicate. Two years ago, lead, Bob Caldwell, took a job in McLean. Since then he has only been in Richmond on weekends to spend time with family and ENCORE! We wonder if he is not secretly a CIA agent disguised as Jackie Gleason. Our original bass, Tom Selleck lookalike, Larry Marko recently stepped down because of a job change. Standing in for him is Craig Odell, district champ quartet bass with Alexandria's Ragtime Band.

For more information about ENCORE!, please contact them at www.geocities.com/EncoreQ

Hit Parade (ret.)
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This quartet is one of the newest in the Mid-Atlantic District. As you can see, two of the members are, shall we say, more "finely aged" than the other two. In fact, Mike and Charlie each have been singing in Barbershop Quartets longer than Tyler and Eric have been alive. Also, Mike and Eric are father and son. Tyler and Charlie share a common bond in that they are both journeymen lead singers! But when it came to this quartet, Charlie moved over to give Bari a shot.
For contact info: TRackley@markelcorp.com or call Tyler @ 804-938-3736.