UHC's barbershop quartet, UHC Sharp, have been hitting the right notes and recently graced the national stage at the Young Singers in Harmony Barbershop National Competition. Member Olivia Trevean runs us through their success.

Bass Harrison Dougherty, Baritone Thamar Smyrni, Lead Olivia Trevean, and Tenor Layla Martin-Smith, scored 60 points at the Barbershop Regional Competition in late May to qualify for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

After a quick trip to McDonalds, UHC# arrived at the Lower Hutt Town Hall, eagerly awaiting our chance to perform, and watch the other talented young quartets from around New Zealand. After what seemed like forever, it was time to head backstage to prepare for our performance. 

Our first song was an emotional ballad called “If You Love Me”. It told the story of love, and life and how we were yearning for our lovers to love us back.

Our second song was the classic barbershop song “Mr Sandman.” We had so much fun being extra cheesy and doing our hilarious choreography to this song. The crowd loved it! Our set could not have gone better, and we had so much fun, leaving everything out on the stage.  

Feeling proud of our hard work, we watched and supported the rest of the amazing quartets compete. There was so much creativity, unity and talent on the stage! 

Then it was time for awards - we managed to score 63.5 points, putting us in 4th place in our category, behind Bishop Viard College by 0.7 points. Although we didn’t quite get a podium finish, the memories we made and relationships we built are far more valuable and special than any award.

We have learnt so many lessons along the way, and gained so much performance and barbershop experience. 

UHC# would like to thank Emma Salzano, our singing teacher, for all her hard work, and helping us to prepare for nationals. We wouldn’t have done it without you! We would also like to thank Mr Taeao, for taking us to the event and supporting us throughout the year. We were proud to represent Upper Hutt College through these competitions, and are so grateful for the opportunity!