(taken from the QCA Archives)
This issue’s Barbershop Icon is the legendary George Peters – a consummate quartet man at both the district and international levels, as well as an accomplished arranger, certified judge, chorus director, coach, district leader, and instructor.
George’s connection with barbershopping came while in high school. He was singing with a quartet who sought the help of Fred Eastman to accompany them in performing songs from Meredith Willson’s Music Man. Fred, seeing their potential, invited them to the next meeting of the Southwest Suburban Chapter. Within thirty days, George was singing in his first quartet competition.
During his years with the Southwest Suburban Chapter, he sang with the Rhythm Rogues and the Treble Tones. He also held every office from President on down except for treasurer.
When George moved out of Chicago, the late Tom Lancaster coaxed him into directing the Chorus of DuPage, the district’s last-place chorus. In one year, George brought them to third place, while their membership soared to more than one hundred men.
He auditioned with the Varieties (1963 District Champs), but they folded and formed a new quartet, Chords Unlimited. The “Chords” represented the district at International their very first time out. Then they came home and won the 1969 Illinois District Championship.
Chords Unlimited sang almost 500 shows during their twelve years together, becoming one of the most sought after entertaining quartets of their era. They made several TV and radio appearances, and sang overseas five times. Their appearances at International never netted any medals, but then they never “lost” a show! At one point, George directed the DuPage, Town & Country, and Elgin Chapters while still managing a forty-show-a-year quartet schedule.
In 1987 he helped form a new quartet, Chordiac Arrest – just for fun, mind you. But they surprised even themselves when they went to International, placed 9th, and were overwhelmed by several standing ovations and hundreds of show bids. They won the District Championship that fall and for the next eight years, entertained audiences with their hilarious parodies. Many of the arrangements used by both the Chords Unlimited and Chordiac Arrest were done by George.
A charter member of Northbrook’s New Tradition, George served as section leader, music team member, and associate director. George also briefly served as director of Bloomington’s Sound of Illinois Chorus.
George joined the Society’s contest and judging team in 1975 and became one of the first judges in the Society’s new “Music” category. George became a regular faculty member at the annual Illinois District Academy of Harmony (IDAH – now Harmony College Midwest) throughout the 1990s. He was named the district’s Award for Barbershop Excellence (ABE) winner in 1985 and received the QCA’s Music Man Award in 1993.
George passed away in 1999 but the legacy he leaves behind in quartetting, chorus singing, directing, arranging, coaching, and teaching is unmatched and will be remembered for many years to come.
