History of the Harbormasters

In January 1999, Peter Stevenson, our founder and the heart and soul of our Chorus for many years, advertised for singers for a barbershop chorus. Four hardy men showed up for the first meeting in July, and by March 1999, we had 12 members and were qualified to be a chapter of the national society.

In September of 1999 the Harbormasters were granted a charter from the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), now known as the Barbershop Harmony Society.

In our young life, we have had our ups and downs. We presented shows in 2001 and 2003. A tragic blow for us was the sudden death of our beloved Director and President, Peter Stevenson in March 2005. Mike Masters, one of our members, held us together as Interim Director and our membership remained loyal. We were fortunate in finally finding a new music leader, Cliff Kosier, the Music Pastor of the Grace Community Church in Hilton Head. Although new to Barbershopping, Cliff is an experienced music professional and he has embraced our music style in a big way. With this new shot of enthusiasm and skilled leadership, we proudly presented shows in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011 and will do so in April 2012 where we demonstrated that barbershop arrangements can be sung in almost every music genre.

In May 2008, the Harbormasters gave a free evening performance in the Baptist Church of Beaufort. Other public performances over the years have included serenading in art galleries and restaurants during the Beaufort Art Walks, sing-outs at the nursing and rest homes, performances at a wedding rehearsal dinner at the Marine Air Station and at Night on the Town, among others. Our biggest thrill, however, was driving throughout the Beaufort area on February 14 delivering our Singing Valentines.

The Harbormasters will continue to share our music throughout the town as we prepare for future shows and informal performances. We welcome men of good will who enjoy singing to visit us at any of our meetings