Read about our Special 6-week Guest Program Here!

We encourage and welcome visitors to our Monday evening rehearsals, both singers and non-singers. You’ll find an abundance of good music and fellowship, whether you simply choose to enjoy the rehearsal with the audience, or jump on the risers and sing along with the chorus. While we encourage all WEB visitors to examine this information, it is meant specifically for those men who are singers and who wish to join our organization and our "Commitment to Musical Excellence".Of course, we’re really hoping you’re a singer who wants to sing with us!

Please contact our Vice President of Membership with any questions. Below, we provide a little bit of information about us.

Some facts about the Mainliners chorus

The Mainliners is actually the name of the performing chorus of the Bryn Mawr, PA, chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society. The chapter was incorporated in Bryn Mawr in 1963 as a non-profit, educational, charitable, and fraternal organization. Originally founded to provide a musical outlet for men who desired only the finest music education and performance standards, our members have always been dedicated to achieving excellence in choral sound production and showmanship. The Chapter also supports local and national charitable organizations through contributions of the funds, time, and talent of the chapter and its individual members.

Over the years, through dedication and hard work, the Mainliners have had the good fortune to win many Divisional Chorus championships and two Mid-Atlantic District championships. Some of the singers you see on the risers at rehearsals have been with us since 1963. Others have joined in the past few months. All of them are here for the fun, camaraderie, and good singing that come along with being a part of our chapter!

Here's some more information on who and how you'd be coming to visit and hopefully choose to join:

1. What will I do during my first few Chapter visits?

Guest singers, provided with a guest music book containing our current repertoire of songs, are invited to participate with the chorus during the rehearsal. Our greeter will help you sign in and introduce you to a "barbershop buddy" for the evening. They'll help guide you through an evening of fun and camaraderie! During one of your first few visits, we'll have you meet with our Director or one of our Associate Directors for a "Vocal Placement". This will help us get to know you and your singing abilities, and it will allow us to direct you to the proper voice part.

At the end of the rehearsal we'll probably encourage you to join with us in singing a song or "tag" (song ending) or by trying your hand at quartet singing.

After you've visited us a few times, if you're interested in joining the chapter, we'll move on to the next steps, outlined below.

2. What you guys do looks too hard for me. Can I handle it?

We bet you can! Though you see us sing and dance, it's not as hard as it might look at first. We're just a bunch of average to good singers, who work at our craft. You'll also notice we perform without music in our hands. That's not as hard as it might look, either! We provide learning materials for everyone, such as high quality, voice-predominant recordings of each song in our repertoire. And every chorus rehearsal is like a voice lesson, with our Directors providing continuous instruction and feedback. It's a very supportive environment that is set up for you to succeed.

3. I'm interested in joining the Chapter. What is the procedure?

We would like you to attend at least three meetings, preferably for three weeks in a row, before requesting a membership application. If after three weeks you like what we do and would like to become a part of it, you can talk to our Vice President of Membership to begin the process of joining the chapter.

Once you state your desire to join, we'll provide you the learning materials (audio learning track plus sheet music) to learn one of our repertoire songs. This is followed a week or so later with a quartet "audition" in which you sing the song with a quartet made up of the music section leaders. Note that it's not a requirement that you be able to sing in a quartet on your own, though it's great if you can! If needed, we will have someone else from your voice part sing softly along with you, to help keep you on track. You're also welcome to use sheet music. Our goal is to make any singer a successful new member of the chapter!

Upon successful completion of the "audition", you'll fill out a membership application, which will be presented to the chapter board of directors. Then you just pay your dues and join us on the risers!

4. What is this "International" organization mentioned in the introduction?

The Bryn Mawr Chapter is one of over 800 other chapters in the US and Canada of the Barbershop Harmony Society, with a combined membership of about 29,000 men. We're the largest all-male singing society in the world. The Society's mission is to "Enrich Lives Through Singing."

Each chapter has a chorus that performs at regular intervals for the general public in their community, and some compete in contests between chapters. There are also affiliate "clubs" in Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Russia, and several other countries. For administrative flexibility the Society is divided into Districts which are further divided into Divisions. The District sponsors several conventions each year to hold the various chorus and quartet competitions and conducts educational seminars to develop our musical and administrative skills.

Our chapter is a member of the Atlantic Division of the Mid-Atlantic District. Each year the best chorus and quartets from each of the 16 districts is chosen to compete in an International Chorus and Quartet Contest held in conjunction with the Society's annual convention in a large US or Canadian city.

5. I thought this was a Barbershop Quartet organization. What about quartets?

There are over 2,000 barbershop quartets registered with our International Office who enjoy competing against other foursomes and singing on public shows. Quartet competition usually takes place at the same time and place as chorus competition. Serious quartet singing requires quite a bit of extra time in addition to chorus rehearsals and shows. There are about 1,000 more quartets who just get together for fun. Both groups are represented in our chapter.

Locally, our quartets entertain at church, civic and educational gatherings or wherever old fashioned harmony is enjoyed. You may see us singing at a PTA meeting, a Church or Civic Dinner, or even at one of our local ballparks, promoting barbershop harmony.

6. How about women, can they join too?

The Chapter charter limits membership to "male singers of good character," but our wives and lady friends offer support through an auxiliary organization—The Stokers. They participate in our convention hospitality rooms, assist with the chapter shows and performances, and attend many of our social activities. For those ladies who wish to sing barbershop, we encourage you to find a chapter of Sweet Adelines International or Harmony Incorporated.

Now, why are you still sitting at the computer?

Come join our fellowship and song!
Check here for info on this week's meeting and location.
Send an e-mail to our Membership VP with any questions or to let us know you're coming.

See you there!