Eric Julian Alvarez is pleased to be celebrating his first public performance as a member of a local barbershop quartet. According to Eric Julian Alvarez, being part of such a niche part of the music scene means that it was difficult for his quartet to get off the ground, so their first public performance is a big deal to him and the other members of the group.

“I don’t know what possessed us to start a barbershop quartet, but I think it may have to do with the fact that it is a dying art with a very niche audience,” comments Eric Julian Alvarez. “That’s the main reason we are so excited to start performing together.”

Eric Julian Alvarez, who sings melody in the quartet, is also considering trying to start a local chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, or SPEBSQSA. For Eric Julian Alvarez, performance and rehearsal are only one aspect of being involved in music – the rest is about community.

“I’m interested in SPEBSQSA because I’m interested in community building with other musicians. I’m sure there are interested parties out there,” says Eric Julian Alvarez. “There are definitely at least four of us!”
According to Eric Julian Alvarez, the appeal of barbershop quartet singing is in the a cappella nature of the music. “A cappella,” according to Eric Julian Alvarez, is a form of vocal musical performance with no instrumental accompaniment. For Eric Julian Alvarez, whose musical roots include singing along with his own guitar, singing in a group with no accompanying instruments is an interesting and very enjoyable deviation from his own self-cultivated musical hobby.

Eric Julian Alvarez also enjoys the friendships he has cultivated with the other three members of the quartet. “We don’t have a name for our group yet,” says Eric Julian Alvarez. “But we are working on it. If we are going to keep performing – and we plan to – we need something catchy and fun that our audiences will enjoy!”

Eric Julian Alvarez and his fellow quartet members do intend to keep performing, and hope to take their music to new venues in the future.