[From the Ontario District's newsletter, The Trillium, issue 59-03, July - September, 2005 , Waldo Redekop, editor.]

Dave Litwiller
— Barbershopper Extrordinaire

By Clayton Cober, Editor, Mount Forest Quotes and Notes

It was 1960. The good old days when our director Dave Litwiller made the decision to join the barbershop society. Little did he know at that point that he would soon begin a career that would involve more than singing in a chorus, and more than singing in a quartet.

The lad was not only destined to excel in those areas but also to be come a chorus director — position he has held for 40 years. For the past 12 years, Dave has been our chorus director. A man whom we have come to heavily rely upon and perhaps a man we have taken for granted.

But after 45 years of dedicated service, thoughts of retirement have begun to surface — not from the chorus, but from directing the chorus. So, for the next few months, we will have to maximize our efforts for Dave and make our show in October another success

What an illustrious career it has been.

• 1960—Became a Barbershopper.
• 1964—Became district secretary.
• 1966—Began a career as chorus director.
• 1977—Sang with Royal Ascent quartet which placed in the top 20 quartets at international competition level and earned a place on the international record for the year. The members of the quartet became members of APOC as a result.
• 1978—Sang with the Kitchener-Waterloo Chorus at the international contest.
• 1978—Directed the Guelph Overtones (Harmony Inc.) to an international championship.
• 1977,78,79—Competed at the internationals. The quartet’s best finish was in 1977 when they finished among the top 20 quartets.
• 1982-83—Competed at international with Reunion.
• 1983—Awarded Barbershopper of Renown.
• 1991,92,93—Competed at international  with Deja Vu. In 1993 they finished second.
• 1995—Awarded Mount Forest Chapter’s Barbershopper of the Year.
• 1996—Received the Jeff Pritchard Award.

Over the years, as Dave sang in a variety of choruses and quartets, he did not limit his experience to singing one part. In fact he sang all parts and this gave him his enviable barbershop singing expertise

It was his quartet, Mello Men, who were one of the first quartets to introduce comedy to competitive singing. The judges were not amused and gave them a score of “O” for stage presence, but still they did not finish last.

Finding a replacement for Dave will be extremely difficult. If it requires a person of his musical stature to fill the bill, we will have a difficult search indeed. Fortunately Dave has agreed to be a member of the search committee and that will be a great help in assisting us in finding his replacement.

Dave you certainly have earned your well deserved retirement from directing, but we sure hate to give up. Hopefully we will still be able to draw upon your years of expertise in other areas in the future

[ED: Since receiving this, I have been advised that the Mount Forest Harmonaires are having a retirement party for Dave on November 12, 2005 at the Mount Forest Community Centre. Tickets are $20 each which includes a small gift. Further information  can be obtained by calling Doug Harris at 519-291-6035 or by e-mail at <cdharris @ sympatico.ca>.]      k