Katrina Kmak, Park City Library’s youth services librarian and Park City Follies member, discovered a harmonious hobby three years ago.
That’s when she joined the Game Time Women’s Barbershop Quartet. The group, which features lead Klysta Schoof, tenor Kim Blackwell and bass Julie Cameron, is making soundwaves across Sing United International, formerly Sweet Adelines International, a vocal organization that started in 1945 with a mission to connect singers through song.
On May 15, Game Time performed and won Sing United’s Pacific Shores Region 12 competition that was held at the Golden Nugget Casino and Conference Center in Sparks, Nevada.
“I also found out that we’re the first quartet from the northern Nevada portion of that district to win,” Kmak said. “The universe really wanted us to sing together.”
The four performed two songs: “In Your Eyes,” an ’80s ballad, as recorded by Jeffrey Osborne, and arranged by Larry Wright, and “This Can’t Be Love” from the 1938 Broadway musical, “The Boys from Syracuse” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, arranged by David Wright.
Although the arrangers share a last name, they aren’t related.
Larry is known for leading the 139th Street Quartet and The Sundowners, while David is a long-time arranger for the four-time champion chorus Ambassadors of Harmony and a Barbershop Hall of Fame inductee.
“They both arrange a lot of Barbershop stuff,” Kmak said.
Kmak joined the Game Time Quartet nearly a year ago, when the current lineup began singing together.
“I had performed with Julie and Kim the year prior, which was in Colorado,” she said. “After the contest, which was in Colorado, I looked to see when the next contest was.”
Unfortunately the competition was scheduled during the Park City Follies, the annual musical spoof that features Kmak and a slew of other locally based performers.
“I was like, ‘This has been a delightful experience and thank you for introducing me to barbershop, but ‘Follies’ wins,’ she said.
Then a few weeks later, Cameron called Kmak and told her about another barbershop opportunity.
“She said that Klysta Schoof, who I had heard of before, settled down in Sparks, Nevada, just outside of Reno, after bopping around because her husband was in med school and all of that,” Kmak said. “Julie said Klysta was ready to sing again, and asked if I would like to sing with them.”
It so happens that Schoof has family in the Salt Lake Valley, so she came for a visit, according to Kmak.
“The other three had all sung together in a quartet called Bounce, 13 or 14 years ago,” Kmak said. “So, we decided to sing a little together to see how it would go, and after that weekend, we’ve just been doing this thing.”
Kmak fell in love with Barbershop Quartet Singing from the get go.
“I was singing in a choir at Park City Community Church, and the director at the time, Jennifer Taylor, who is a local music teacher at Ecker Hill Middle School, told me she was singing for a barbershop quartet and asked if I wanted to audition,” she said. “I auditioned, and it was totally different than anything I had ever done before, and I got the bug. I don’t know how I went so long without it.”
One of the big draws for Kmak is the high-level of musicianship and performing.
“I feel so much more vulnerable doing barbershop than I do when I’m performing in a show,” said Kmak, who has performed musical theater for decades. “I think it’s because I’m fairly new to the scene and I’m not fully comfortable singing in that environment.”
Part of Kmak’s concern stems from the idea that the four voices need to sing and blend together without the use of autotune or AI.
“There’s only one person per part, and changing one person shifts the whole dynamic of the group,” she said.
Singing in the quartet has upped Kmak’s game as a vocalist and performer.
“You have to be accurate — not only sing accurately but you have to be aware of the placement of your sound within the group,” she said. “A wobble or spit in your throat can impact how the chords ring, and who knew there were so many ways to sing the word ‘yore.’ You sing it, but also have to make sure the diphthong is sung at the right time.”
The singers rehearse together and virtually, according to Kmak.
“Those of us who live in Utah try to get together and rehearse in duets or trios once a week or every other week,” she said. “We’ll also call or video chat with Klysa. She’ll sing and we’ll sing with her or the other way around. And if we’re dueting or singing trio, the people who aren’t singing will give feedback.”
The quartet does try to get together at least once a month or every two months, Kmak said.
“We’ve met in Elko and got an Air B&B and sang all weekend long,” she said. “When we get together, we’ll Zoom in with different coaches, some of whom live in Salt Lake City. And if we all get together in Utah, we’ll split up the cost of Klysa’s plane ticket.”
The quartet’s coaches are John Sasine, Tori Postma, Judy Pozsgay, Grant Goulding and Darin Drown, according to Kmak.
In addition to trusting these coaches, the trust between Schoof, Blackwell, Cameron and Kmak plays a huge part in competing.
“All the work we do together and all of our different strengths come together to make everyone do better,” Kmak said. “As the newbie performing with these three women who have performed together for many years and have this rapport, I wanted to make sure I was doing them justice.”
The others also threw their trust to Kmak.
“They told me, ‘Once you win a medal, you automatically become a better singer,’” she said. “That’s because all the work that has been done has been validated, and there is no reason to not have the confidence. It means so much and it’s so awesome that they trust me as the new person to be part of their legacy.”
But singing isn’t the only way the four vocalists have bonded, Kmak said.
“There is so much to be said about hanging out together and watching terrible ’80s films and laughing until we cry,” she said. “Also after we perform we put on our matching pajamas and Game Time T-shirts, read the judges’ notes and watch our performances. That also makes the music better.”
Kmak enjoys being part of the Sweet Adeline/Sing United community.
“Everyone in general is so positive and welcoming, and everyone is so happy for everyone,” she said. “It’s freaking awesome because there are so many more false eyelashes and sequins to be worn in the world to not do it.”
For information about Game Time Women’s Barbershop Quartet, visit tinyurl.com/2bfbnmm9.
For information about Sing United International, visit singunited.org.