The Gentlemen Songsters come from a dozen communities in and around the Merrimack Valley and meet in Lowell to participate in four part, unaccompanied, close harmony singing.  They come from various professional backgrounds including engineer, corporate trainer, funeral director, teacher, custodian, school teacher, and Boy Scout professional.  All of the Songsters share the love of music, fellowship and performance as a common bond.

A growing chapter of The Barbershop Harmony Society, some of us are new to the style while others have been part of the tradition for 20 years and more. Our musical backgrounds are also varied in both type and depth including many accomplished musicians, and many singers that are novices. We meet weekly spending much of our time learning and practicing good vocal and performance techniques. During our meetings we practice as a chorus, maintaining a changing repertoire of 15 to 20 songs. There are also opportunities to break up into quartets, and participate in other casual singing activities. The chapter currently includes a performing chorus of 25-30 men who entertain a variety of audiences such as at folk festivals, nursing homes, hospitals, sports stadiums and civic events. Annually we perform at our own concert which we organize and sponsor.

Another aspect of our involvement in The Barbershop Harmony Society is performing annually in competition against other barbershop harmony choruses. In October of 2007 and 2008 we were proud to host the Northeastern District

competition at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Twenty two choruses and many quartets comprised of over 650 men from New England, eastern New York and eastern Canada sang and entertained enthusiastic audiences. As a competing chorus, we have been awarded Most Improved Chorus and Small Chorus Champions several times in the recent past. While retaining the Small Chorus Championship in April of 2009, we won the entire Patriot Division (Massachusetts/RI) contest and will advance, in October, to the Northeastern District competition in Connecticut with the highest qualifying score of all choruses in the District. It is an accomplishment of which we are extremely proud.

We continue to improve our sound, performance, and enjoyment by using learning media, attending barbershop educational programs, and following our outstanding director, Karen Rourke.

Above all, we always enjoy our mission to "keep the whole world singing," through fellowship and harmony always believing that music will help develop our human spirit. We are what we sing because we love to sing!