GROUP BACKGROUND

Background 

Our inspiration first originated from watching the classic 1960’s musical film The Sound of Music at the early age of 11. This movie inspired us to participate in our school talent show in 4th & 5th grade where we closed the evening - both years (2008 & 2009) - by singing our unison renditions of So Long, Farewell and The Hills Are Alive. 

Following those performances, we took a small two year hiatus until we worked with a vocal coach in Nashville (2014) to get a sense of stage presence and harmony. We first began putting songs together by choosing pieces we enjoyed from the radio station ‘40s on 4’, including songs like ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’ and 'Let’s Get Away From It All’, and added harmony by ear. Kelsey and Julia would sing the melody together, Ian typically created a harmony underneath the melody, and Anika would make a harmony above the melody. [musical format was showcased in our National Anthem (from 2014)] 

Within that same year, we made our official debut as Vintage Mix on June 30, 2014, at a small church in the local Milwaukee area. At that performance, we showcased our very limited amount of 1940’s songs we had put together by ear. 

Nevertheless, we eventually advanced to four-part harmony - on sheet music - in 8th grade (2015) at the age of 14 while competing in our local Solo Ensemble Competition (WSMA) with two Class A - high level - pieces: ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’ (Barbershop arrangement) and ‘Prayer of the Children’ (Classical composition). In the latter years of performing, we naturally fell into our vocal ranges of Julia singing the highest notes, Anika singing the middle notes, Kelsey singing middle to lower notes, and Ian singing the lowest notes in our arrangements/songs. 

In the summer of 2015, we debuted in the Barbershop Harmony Society by singing on the Saturday Night Spectacular show while sharing the stage with Saturday Evening Post (SEP). Both quartets entertained the 8,000 person audience with the songs ‘What’s The Matter With Kids Today’ - from Bye Bye Birdie - and ‘Inchworm’. Vintage Mix and Saturday Evening Post came back together in January of 2016 at the Barbershop Midwinter Convention in Reno, Nevada to reprise their act from the previous summer. 

Since our music and business debut, we have learned to count our blessings through the many experiences and opportunities over the years. We aspire to bless people with our music, through the music we love, and to “Bridge Generations Through Harmony”.

Leave a comment