Member Spotlight
| Type of post: | Barbershop news item |
| Sub-type: | No sub-type |
| Posted By: | Phil Gill |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Tue, 9 Jul 2024 |
This is the first in a series of member profiles which we hope to publish each week.
In Hallmark, we are fortunate to have so much accumulated experience within our membership. Nobody demonstrates this better than Jeremy Curtis who, despite his youthful looks, has a barbershop CV that dates back 50 years.
Music has been an important part of Jeremy’s life since his early life in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, when he played violin and guitar, led a carol-singing group raising over £1,000 (a huge amount at the time) over several years, and sang and played with Gainsborough Amateur Operatic Society; roles included the Major General in Pirates of Penzance and The Judge in Trial by Jury, where Jeremy first met his future wife.
In 1974, the same year that BABS was formed, Jeremy had his first encounter with barbershop with the St Croix Valley Chapter (now the Croix Chordsmen) in River Falls, Wisconsin, USA. He was totally hooked! After moving to London in 1979 he became Assistant Director of the original London Men’s Barbershop Chorus, and in 1980 he was appointed as Chorus Director for London Pride, the original London Ladies’ barbershop chorus. Whilst in London, he also joined the Judges’ Guild as associate judge, initially for ‘Harmony and Accuracy’, where he first met John Grant. Incidentally, had you visited the Savoy at this time, you might well have met Jeremy working his way up to the role of head receptionist!
1982 saw Jeremy returning to Gainsborough and first becoming part of the Hallmark of Harmony family as an associated member. A year later Jeremy opened the Hickman Hill Hotel, which was also his family home. The opening event featured high-class entertainment in the shape of Junction 33.
Then came a twenty-year break in Jeremy’s barbershop career, from 1987 to 2007. However, his involvement in music continued strong as he joined and became MD of Boston (Lincs rather than Massachusetts) Operatic Society, with a string of productions including The King and I, Brigadoon, and Viva Mexico! He also joined Boston Orchestra as 1st violin in 1989.
A few years later, in 1998, he moved down the road to Peterborough where he took on the role of Chorus Director for Hereward Harmony. During this time, Jeremy remembers occasional coaching visits by a young man from Sheffield called Andy Allen. A further move in 2012, this time to Lincoln, saw Jeremy joining and later becoming Chorus Director of Harmony Lincs (do you see a pattern here?)
Then, some 36 years after his first association with Hallmark of Harmony, we were delighted to welcome Jeremy back as a member of Horizon in 2018, since when he has been a friendly face and valued member of the bass section. He is one of Hallmark’s heroes with an exceptional level of commitment to the chorus, shown by the fact that he has missed only one Horizon rehearsal since lockdown, in spite of having to make a 275 mile round trip from Anglesey where he now lives.
PG. 7/24
