Claudio Lodi and Russell Bailey are looking to start a barbershop group in Wollongong. Photo: Supplied.
Woonona vocalist Claudio Lodi is hoping his plans to revive the a cappella barbershop tradition in Wollongong strikes a chord with other singers, as he strives to form a men’s chorus to perform in the community and compete on the national stage.
After the original Wollongong barbershop chorus dissolved during the pandemic, Claudio spent the past year driving to Penrith to satisfy his passion for harmonising, but is now seeking singers to rebuild a group in his hometown.
With support from musical director Russell Bailey and Barbershop Harmony Australia, he will launch the group on 24 October, bringing back the rich, four-part harmonies that have captivated him since childhood.
“Wollongong had a barbershop chorus, and I was a member of that back in 2017,” he said of the group which started in the early 90s.
“They’ve had it for a long time but, because of COVID and other issues, around 2020 it stopped.
“Last year I was missing it so much, I decided to drive to Penrith and join their group.”
Claudio said now, 12 months on and with his musical director ready to go, it felt like the right time to form a new men’s chorus.
He said his love for the barbershop style started early in life, while visiting Old Sydney Town, where convicts staged fights for visitors to the Sydney attraction.
“There was a paddle steamer in the middle that was going around,” he said.
“I must have been about 12 and I heard barbershop for the first time, and I loved the sound, and I loved the way they were singing.
“It was only four guys dressed in their normal red and white stripes, which they don’t do much of these days.
“So that’s where it stemmed from and I never thought about it again until 2017 when I was looking for a group to sing in, because I’ve always liked to sing.”
For Claudio, it was the rich sound barbershop produced that attracted him to that style of vocal performance.
“I love men singing and then harmonising together to make all the chords ring,” he said.
“I don’t really like singing older songs, but when you hear some of the older songs and they just ring, it’s got this nice tone and nice sound with a harmony that just makes you feel good. It makes the hair on your arm stand up.
“It’s got that fifth sound that hovers around the top.”
Claudio said the new group would start by singing ‘barberpole cats’, or ‘pole cats’, which were a group of songs usually compiled in a book and used as a tutorial for new ‘barbershoppers’.
He said eventually he would like the group to transition into performing as quartets or choruses at community events and entering competitions.
“There’s a national competition that’s just finished up on the Gold Coast and the next one is in Canberra next year in September,” he said.
“I don’t know if we’ll be ready for that, but after that, who knows?
“The goal is to be able to sing for the community in certain places – it might be shopping centres; it might be nursing homes.
“It’s also to compete as quartets, or even as choruses, against others in NSW and Australia-wide.”
So far, Claudio has received strong interest to form the group and is now looking for a Wollongong venue to stage it in.
Those interested in joining the men’s chorus can meet on 24 October from 7 – 9:15 pm at Corrimal Community Centre’s Corrimal Library or call Claudio on 0407 012 721.
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