|
 Nancy
Bergman is the “Nancy B” of Nancy B Music. She began her
involvement with barbershop harmony in 1950 and has served as
arranger, composer, judge, coach, teacher, chorus director, quartet
singer, administrator...basically, Nancy does it all. She is one of
the pioneers of the women’s barbershop harmony singing organization,
Sweet Adelines
International and in November, 2002, they honored her with
their coveted “Lifetime Achievement Award”. She has also been
designated a Master Arranger—the highest level in the
organization’s arranging program.
A feature article* in the
January, 2003 issue of The Pitch Pipe, written by
Maggie Ryan, reveals a lot about Nancy:
“For Nancy, Sweet Adelines
has been a 24/7 passion as long as anyone can remember. When Sweet
Adelines needed a new executive secretary in 1956, she moved to
Tulsa...and took over the job as top employee. She served in that
capacity—running headquarters—from
1957 to 1968. Setting aside all that paperwork, she found time to
direct a couple of choruses, sing in great quartets, serve as an
international judge and faculty member, and compose and arrange
hundreds of songs. Her greatest hit? ‘Harmonize the World has had the
most play,’ she will tell you, with a laugh.
“Her song list is long and
impossible to recite. Suffice it to say she keeps it winnowed down
to seven typed pages, and when she adds a new song, she drops
another from the list. Does she have a favorite? ‘Whatever song
I’ve just finished,’ says Nancy.
“Clearly, Nancy is a
master of nuance and her arrangements are timeless. ‘Nancy Bergman
knows what a smile sounds like,’ says Scottsdale Chorus Master
Director Lori Lyford. It is the emotion Nancy pours into her music
that makes it special, according to fellow arranger Joni Bescos. ‘Feeling...that
is what sets her apart,’ Joni says. ‘When I look at her music, I
can see what she wants.’”
Nancy continues her coaching
and arranging activity, writing new material, mentoring
up-and-coming arrangers, conducting classes for those who are
arranger-wannabee’s, and offering advice to choruses and quartets
who seek assistance in selection of music (click
here for more information!). Her music is in great
demand wherever barbershop harmony is sung—a lasting legacy to a
fine musician who loves harmony and “the old songs” with a passion.
* excerpts
reprinted with permission
from The Pitch Pipe (Volume 55, Number 3, January
2003). |
