Award-winning quartets to perform at Chorus of DuPage’s fall show in Naperville
The award-winning Naperville-area barbershop a cappella quartet Stiletto Quartet will be among the featured performers Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Chorus of DuPage’s fall show, “Melodies and Memories,” at Grace United Methodist Church in Naperville.
The all-female group will be joined by former Barbershop Harmony Society international quartet champion Vocal Spectrum and Chicago-area quartets the Upside Downers and Stratosphere at the concert at 300 E. Gartner Road.
Stiletto, an all-female ensemble, features a mother-daughter team of tenor Lindsey Bondi and bass Linda Herza, as well as lead singer Kim Blair and baritone Missy Roberts. Formed in 2017, they compete annually and perform several times a year.
In May, they were crowned SingUnited (formerly Sweet Adelines International) Midwest Harmony 2026 Quartet Champions, qualifying them for the 78th annual SingUnited International Convention and Competition, which this year is being held Oct. 26-31 in Columbus, Ohio.
The 3 p.m. concert will have them performing several songs before joining with the other quartets and chorus for a grand finale.
“We do classic barbershop and once in a while we throw in some contemporaries,” Bondi said. “For this show, we are going to be doing ‘To Make You Feel My Love,’ ‘Seven Bridges Road’ by the Eagles and some other barbershop tunes — ‘Sweet Adeline’ and the like. (Barbershop) is its own genre. It’s taking a popular song and adding barbershop chords to it and structuring it a little bit differently. (And) it’s only a cappella. Never any instruments.”
The fall program is an opportunity to showcase local, regional and national talent, according to Bill Murschel, who sings bass with the Chorus of DuPage, a mixed barbershop chorus of about 30 voices.
“Our chorus will do eight or nine numbers and then the quartets will perform and then we’ll do an en masse showstopper to close the show,” he said. “Our component has several sections. One section we’re calling the ‘Romantic and Dreamer’ section.”
That will include “Yesterday” by The Beatles and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” by Frankie Valli. Another section will include classic barbershop tunes like “Hello Mary Lou.” A third section will include spiritual and patriotic numbers like “God Bless America” and an upbeat gospel medley, he said.
Murschel said he’s very excited to bring Vocal Spectrum to Naperville for the concert.
“They’re polished and professional,” he said. “They’re famous in the barbershop community and they’re relatively close to us, so it’s easier to get here. It is a rarity to hear a barbershop quartet of that quality in our own backyard.”
The four members of Vocal Spectrum met while attending Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. In 2004, they won the Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Collegiate Quartet Contest and two years later they took the top prize at the society’s International Quartet Contest. The quartet was inducted into the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Hall of Fame in 2023.
“They’re a signature name in barbershop circles,” he said. “It’s kind of a headline to have a group like that in Naperville. I’m really looking forward to hearing an incredible quartet. These guys are amazing and it’s not the kind of barbershop quartet that many of us get to hear. There’s a lot of us around but very few of us rise to the level of being an international champion.”
Tickets are $20 or $15 for age 18 or under; children under 5 are free. They can be purchased online at chorusofdupage.com/Fallshow, by phone or at the door if still available.
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.