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In September each year the forest near Pollock Pines, California, erupts in four part harmony from Friday evening until Sunday noon. There may be a few moments of silence from 3am to 6am, but there are no guarantees.

This is the annual gathering of young men that love to sing. They come to learn more about this marvelous art form that will be a joy to them the rest of their lives.

The camp focuses on the barbershop style of harmony. This is four-part a cappella harmony, with an emphasis on tuning, which produces those "ringing chords". It is also the perfect singing style to learn before branching into other vocal music forms.

There are many instructors for the camp with lots of small group time. Class topics include breathing technique, singing posture, vowel formation, tuning, and teamwork where students receive individual attention to their specific needs. Between classes the halls and forest are filled with the sound of quartets practicing.

Many of the students arrive as quartets and work together the whole weekend. The men of BOGG (Bunch Of Goofy Guys) attended camp in 2006. The photo shows them competing in the High School Quartet Contest at Sparks, NV, in March 2007 where they took second place.

The students also participate in a chorus and learn a number of songs over the weekend. 2006 International Bronze Medallists, Metropolis, are shown here entertaining the students.

A normal part of every camp are performances and coaching by top quartets. Over the years quartets like Metropolis, Q, Playback, Men In Black, and Men So Forte have been our coaching quartets. For the 2008 camp Far Western District 2006 Quartet Champ Late Show will be coaching and performing.

Camp isn't all work. There is plenty of time for sports, games, hikes, and eating. An after dinner game is in progress in this photo. Besides breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there is an ice cream event each night around 9pm with lots of syrup and goodies as toppings.

A highlight of each camp is the opportunity to Sing With The Champs. In this photo of Q singing with a student, they are likely singing a tag. A tag is the ending of a song and is frequently the prettiest part of the whole song. And it's short, which makes it easy to teach, and allows many students to sing with these top singers.

Each camp also has several top chorus directors who work with the students. The guy in the "funny hat" is Gary Bolles who has a quirky sense of humor the kids love and he directed the 2000-2001 District Champion Pot O'Gold Chorus from the San Francisco Bay Area. Gary will again be joining us as well as Connie Keil and Mark Freedkin.