Schedule of Summer 2019 Sing-outs and Upcoming Events

The RRVBC is looking forward to a wonderful summer of sharing gospel music at area churches during their Sunday morning service. Here is the schedule of locations to hear great barbershop style gospel songs. 

Upcoming Sing-outs:

June 9- First Church of the Nazarene Sterling, IL (not yet confirmed)

June 23- First United Methodist Church Tampico, IL

June 30- Rock Falls United Methodist Church Rock Falls, IL

July 14- Immanuel Lutheran Church Amboy, IL

July 28- New Life Lutheran Church Sterling, IL

August 11- First Presbyterian Church Sterling, IL

August 25- Prairie Dell Presbyterian Church Shannon, IL

For more information please feel free to contact Jim Brotheridge at 815-441-7881 

or Kevin Deets at 815-973-3956.

Upcoming Future Events:

June 30-July 7 2019 International Convention, Salt Lake City, UT

July 21-28 2019 Harmony University, Nashville, TN

January 7-12 2020 Midwinter Convention, Jacksonville, FL

Spring is on the way and it's almost time for the Rock River Valley Barbershop Chorus Spring Show! Check your calendar and Save The Date ~ April 13, 2019 3:00 pm
Here are the details:

 Hope to see you at the show! It will be OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!

It's time to order your Feb 2019 Singing Valentine

Valentines day is right around the corner. It's time for you to schedule a singing Valentine for your sweetheart! Here are the details:

2019 Officer Installation Banquet

The 2019 Officer Installation Banquet was held on Sunday January 13, 2019 at Pinecricker Café in Polo, IL. The evening began with a delicious buffet meal followed by the installation of the officers and directors for the chapter.

Pictured from right to left are:

Kevin Deets – President

Mark Maginnis – Program director

Kevin O’Keefe – Past-President and 2019 Chorus director

Tom Balser – Secretary

Monty Cotter – Membership and Public relations & marketing director

Jason Brown – Music director

Tim Pashon – Previous Chorus director

The following members were not able to attend:

Phil Frey – Treasurer

Jim Brotheridge – Youth in Harmony director

Glenn Dancey – Director at Large

The 2018 Barbershopper of the year award was presented in the photo below to Gary Koeller (left) by Monty Cotter (right) for his outstanding contributions to the preservation and encouragement of barbershop harmony. 

The finale of the evening was wonderful barbershop music sung by two quartets from our chapter:

Spontaneous Combustion: pictured left to right are Tim Pashon, Kevin Deets, Kevin O’Keefe, Jason Brown. 

Lost in the Woods: pictured left to right are Jonathan Koch, Gary Koeller, John Davis, Scotty Lathrop

Summertime Fun!

We are smack dab in the middle of our busy season! Our annual show in April kicked off the time of year when we do most of our public performances from church Sermon-In-Song sing-outs do community performances around town. Here is just a small sample of what we've been up to so far:

Rock River Valley Barbershop Chorus performing in
front of Grandon Civic Center in downtown Sterling, IL.

On June 27th we had the pleasure to sing as the pre-concert music for the Sterling Municipal Band at Grandon Civic Center in downtown Sterling, IL. This year the band is celebrating their 90th anniversary and as a part of that celebration they are bringing in musical groups from the surrounding communities to perform their music and share their talents. We are proud to be one of those chosen groups and pleased that we were able to help the band celebrate 90 years of musical tradition!

Rock River Valley Barbershop Chorus under the direction of Music Director Tim Pashon.

We are helping to celebrate a lot of anniversaries this year! In addition to performing for the Sterling Municipal Band, we were pleased to help the First Congregational-UCC of Lee Center commemorate their 175th Anniversary. What an amazing achievement!

Above: RRVBC performing for the First Congregational-
UCC of Lee Center 175th Anniversary celebration.

This church has such a rich history and it was wonderful to be able to walk around and see the exhibits showing the amazing people and events from the last 175 years.

Left: Lost in the Woods, our newest quartet, singing Darkness on the Delta.

Greenridge Musical Kaper singing
Can You Feel the Love Tonight

Spontaneous Combustion performing
Muskrat Ramble

Occasionally we are able to get some quartets from within our chorus involved in our appearances. This time we had the joy of hearing three quartets add their own talents to the depth of our performance!

We had never performed there before so we were incredibly surprised and excited to see all the friends of our chorus that are a part of this church! The audience was wonderful and we can't wait to come back and sing for them again!

Throughout the summer we will continue to be active through our Sermon-In-Song performances at various churches throughout the area. These sing-outs include a plethora gospel songs as well as a message presented by chorus member Jim Brotheridge that will make you laugh and cry and feel warmth in your soul.

Jim Brotheridge during one of his very
memorable Sermon-In-Song messages.

RRVBC under the direction of
Associate Director Kevin O'Keefe

We have had so much fun singing for the groups we have already visited and we can't wait to share our message with the people we have yet to meet!



We have had such a busy summer so far and we look forward to the performances yet to come! Please check out our calendar for future performances. If you are a man who enjoys singing, come on out to one of our rehearsals in Rock Falls, IL. Check out our Come Join Us page for more details. You can fill out the form or just show up. Whether you come and join us for a rehearsal or see us at a performance, we can't wait to meet you!

Come join us for our 67th Annual Show!!!

The Rock River Valley Barbershop Chorus’ 67 th Annual Show “Songs Around
the Camp Fire” will be held Saturday, April 28, 2018 at the Centennial Auditorium at Sterling
High School, Sterling, Illinois. The show begins at 3:00 p.m. Join the Chorus for an entertaining
afternoon of songs, laughs “barbershop-style”.

Our special guest The Committee is composed of four powerhouse voices. The Committee is a
barbershop quartet that loves to perform for audiences, large and small. Formed in 2011, The
Committee after multiple Top-Five finishes in competition on the Illinois District contest stage
became the 2016 Illinois District Champions. The quartet has also represented the district at the
Barbershop Harmony Society’s 2014 and 2017 International Contests both in Las Vegas.
While the sound of the quartet keeps all four members excited to sing, it is the camaraderie,
fraternity and laughter that makes rehearsals fly by-sometimes with more laughter than song. The
memorable sound of The Committee comes from the unique talent and experience that each
member brings to the quartet.

 Please enjoy the big sound and the variety of musical genres that the group sings.
Tickets for the show are on sale now. Adults - $15; Seniors 62 and over - $12; Students - Free
(with School ID). Tickets may be purchased at Community State Bank locations in Sterling,
Morrison and Rock Falls; Select Employees Credit Union; First State Bank in Polo; from any
Barbershop Chorus Member; or by calling 847-922- 7267 or 815-990- 1931. Tickets will also be
available at the door.

For additional information about the Rock River Valley Barbershop Chorus, follow us on
Facebook at www.facebook.com/RRVBarbershoppers.

Getting ready for the show!

Our annual show is coming up next weekend (April 28th) and we are having so much fun getting ready for it! We're putting some finishing touches on our songs, our quartets are are giving us previews of what they are singing, and we're working on some very funny skits. Even our directors are getting in on the fun!