CLEVELAND — At Cleveland Heights High School, a group of about 30 young women are proving that anything boys can do, girls can do too.
“Honestly, if we had to be real, it’s not a real competition because we’re obviously better,” said D’Aryl Snead, a senior at Cleveland Heights High School.
D’Aryl Snead, a senior at Cleveland Heights High School. (Spectrum News 1/ Taylor Bruck)
Snead has been singing her whole life but joined barbershop last year where she sings the bass part. The group started in 2008 with just a few members, and now they have more members than the boys.
“It gives us more like opportunities to be included with things that we actually enjoy,” Snead said. “So for us to be given the opportunity of having our own, like, group of singing is, it’s a good thing to have.”
Barbershop music is a style of singing that’s been around for more than 100 years. It’s rooted in African-American traditions of the late 1800s in the south. The musical style “barbershop” comprises four-part chords that at least four people sing in harmony together. Jesse Lang, the vocal music director at Cleveland Heights High School, said historically men sang barbershop music, but in recent years it’s become more inclusive. He said the musical style got its name because of men singing in barbershops.
Since 2018, women have been able to join the Barbershop Harmony Society as members.
Jesse Lang, vocal music director at Cleveland Heights High School. (Spectrum News 1/ Taylor Bruck)
“When I got this job, there was a group of girls that said, you know, we work just as hard as the boys and we deserve to do all of the things that the boys get to do,” Lang said. “And since you’re the new guy, we’d like you to champion that. And I said, all right. Works for me.”
The group performs in the community and travels to competitions. Lang said they consistently score in the excellent category when being judged.
“The girls consistently score higher than the boys when they’re being adjudicated,” Lang said. “The boys work hard, too. But the fact that the girls are into their own already, I don’t want to say coming into their own, they’re into their own already. They are good. And they work hard.”
The group has become a community Snead didn’t know she needed.
“It’s given me a beautiful family that I have here at the high school and it just allows me to be myself and to really be happy and be like, out of my shell,” Snead said.
It’s also given Libby Warren, a senior, a new appreciation for music.
“This is not something you see at every school,” Warren said. “So every day, I feel very privileged to be a part of this. It’s brought me confidence and just general happiness and a love for singing.”
Lang said barbershop music isn’t easy to sing, but it’s fun to teach and when it all comes together, it produces a camaraderie that’s hard to beat.
“I like it because of what it brings out in the kids. It’s weird, you wouldn’t expect it,” Lang said. “You wouldn’t expect kids to kind of gravitate to this, but they do. And it’s great. And anything I can teach a young man or young woman how to use their voice and express themselves and work as a team toward unified goals and, and perform and like, shine in front of their community, family and friends. Like it’s a, yeah, it’s great.”
For more information about Cleveland Heights High School Women’s Barbershop, click here.
