A Short History of the Patapsco Valley Chapter
How We Got Here
The Patapsco Valley Chapter's (PVC) Heart of Maryland Chorus is a very active and entertaining group of dedicated barbershop-style singers, of all ages and musical experience levels. It holds multiple performances throughout the year and during the Christmas holiday season, the chorus invites women to sing along with the chorus to further the spirit of community singing. We love to learn many styles of music and to improve our singing talents, individually and as an ensemble.
The Patapsco Valley Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) is currently 66 years old since its original charter as the “Catonsville” chapter was formed in February 1959. BHS is an international organization with 14,000 active members singing in choruses in 12 countries (affiliates) and barbershop singers in 30 additional countries. The original name of BHS was the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Singing in America, Inc. (SPEBSQSA). BHS has 17 Districts in North America and the PVC is situated in the Mid-Atlantic District (MAD). The PVC is also known by the unofficial nickname “The Heart of Maryland” Chorus. It is situated in Catonsville, Maryland, and draws its members from an area of approximately a 40-mile radius. The chapter currently has approximately 40 registered members as of early 2025.
The early history of the chorus included 35 charter members and the first director was the legendary Mr. Fred King (1970 International Gold Medal Quartet Champion, Oriole 4). The PVC grew to approximately 100 members by 1962 and became the MAD District Champions in 1962, followed by an appearance at the International level in 1963 (Toronto, Canada) where they scored 7th place. Following the departure of Mr. King to the much larger Chorus of the Chesapeake, the chorus operated under the direction of Mr. Tom Welzenbach.
The present Patapsco Valley Chapter was formed in 1982 from the merging of the Catonsville Chorus and a chorus founded In 1972 called the New City Singers, chartered in the newly forming city of Columbia, MD with 35 singers. The combined choruses created a group of about 70 singers under the Direction of Tom Welzenbach and was rebranded as The Heart of Maryland Chorus..
During the 1990s, the chorus was under the Direction of Mr. Kevin King (Fred King’s son) and went on to compete annually at District levels, winning 3rd place in 1995 and garnering an invitation to attend and compete in the nationally-recognized “Buckeye Invitational” in Columbus, OH in 1996. Kevin King became the Lead singer of the acclaimed bronze-medal quartet, BSQ.
With the departure of Mr. Kevin King and the assumption of Directorship by Mr. Glenn Phillips in the early 2010’s the PVC continued to compete at division and district levels and maintained a very active schedule of musical events in the Greater Baltimore and Central Maryland area.
The chorus managed to remain active, even without the opportunity to sing in person together or to perform in public, throughout the 2020-2021 COVID-associated response. This was a testament to the true feelings of camaraderie and love of the hobby from the members. But, this was a difficult period for all of the BHS and other civic and art societies nationally.
In 2022, Mr. Glenn Phillips retired and was replaced by a former chorus member, Mr. Kris Zinkievich as the current Director. Kris has over 30 years of experience as a Music Educator in the Montgomery County School system and brings an energetic and craft-based approach to our rehearsals. We are growing again and would love to have you join us in producing joyful acapella music in the barbershop style.
Key Points:
- Directors – Fred King (1959-1964) Tom Welzenbach (1964-1989), Kevin King (1989(?)-2012), Glenn Phillips (2012-2022), Kris Zinkievich (2022-present)
- Notable Types of Performances – Fort McHenry (Flag Day), Camden Yards for Oriole games, Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater, Lurman Outdoor Theater, Columbia ArtFest, Tuba Christmas at Baltimore Inner Harbor, Ellicott City Midnight Madness, Valentine’s Day (quartets).
Annual Scheduled Events:
March – April Lasagna w/Barbershop: We put on a cabaret, serving a full-course meal, beverages, and entertainment for up to 250 people.
March – O’Korch’s Irish Night: a night of singing and competing in assigned quartets with Irish songs, comedy, and quasi-awards.
Spring – Division Contest
Late Summer – Intra-chapter quartet contest. Chapter members form (sometimes) temporary quartets for good-natured competition against each other and for the opportunity to be featured on the Annual Show.
Fall – District Contest
Fall – We stage an annual show with a different comedic theme and original script featuring our musical repertoire, invited quartets, and other guests. Themes of the past have included: The Princess Bride, The Little Shop of Barbershop Horrors, Star Trek, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Barbershop Adventure, Pirates, Westerns, Detective Mysteries, and so forth. Almost no theme is outside our capacity for spoofing.
November - December – It’s all about Holiday music that is performed at a variety of locations around the area.
Notable Quartets
Notable Quartets from PVC over the years have included:
BSQ (International Competitor)
Temporarily Yours
MAD Men (District Competitor)
3 Wise Men (Division Competitor)
Ear Candy (District Competitor)
Decades (District Competitor)
Voices in My Head (District Competitor)
Radio Days
Notable Persons in PVC History:
Fred King, International Gold Medalist (1970) with The Oriole Four
Kevin King, International Bronze Medalist (1998, 2000) with BSQ, District quartet champion (Pros & Cons, Untouchables)
Al Mazzoni, International Bronze Medalist with BSQ, District quartet champion (Ringers, BSQ)
John Brohawn, District quartet champion (Untouchables)
Brett Pryor, District quartet champion (Untouchables)
Mike Sotiriou, District quartet champion (Untouchables)
Mike Kelly, District Quartet Champion (Casino, Wheelhouse, Last Men Standing)
Ryan Griffin, District Quartet Champion (New Release, Da Capo)
Ben Hawker, International Collegiate Gold Medalist (Pratt Street Power), District Quartet Champion (Pratt Street Power)
Mike Miller, District President (1992-1993)
Richard (Dick) Powell, BHS Society President (2019-2020), MAD Honor Society
John Santora, BHS Society President (2023-2024), MAD Honor Society
Glenn Phillips, Dean of Harmony College East, MAD Honor Society
George Korch, President of the Atlantic Harmony Brigade
Tom Nisbet, MAD District Events Treasurer
Kris Zinkievich, Southern Division VP (2025)
