The Rapscallions
Encyclopedia
The Rapscallions, formed just four years earlier by four Bowling Green State University
(Ohio
) students, amazed the barbershop world when they won the 1984 international quartet championship in St. Louis, Missouri
.
The quartet, in fact, placed in the top ten internationally each of the three years they competed: ninth place in 1982, sixth in 1983, and first in 1984.
Tenor Dave Smotzer, lead David Wallace, baritone Tim Frye, and bass Jeff Oxley formed the quartet in 1980 while working summer jobs in Cedar Point
, Ohio
to earn money to return to the university.
All were members of the A Cappella Choir and the Men's Chorus at the school and had other musical training. Oxley had sung lead roles in campus productions of Man of La Mancha
and The Marriage of Figaro
and was studying for an operatic career. Frye was a music education major and Smotzer was a music theatre major. David Wallace was a composition major and the first undergraduate director of an accredited university ensemble, "The Collegiates".
Leaving school in 1982, most of the foursome had moved on to their careers by the time they won the gold. Both Smotzer and Wallace were in business. Smotzer was directing Cincinnati's "Southern Gateway Chorus", and Wallace was directing Sweet Adelines International
's "City of Flags Chorus" in Canton, Ohio
. Frye was a school teacher and a music director in Wayne County, Ohio
, while Oxley was continuing his musical training. He would go on to win two more gold medals with Acoustix
in 1990 and with Max Q
in 2007.
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
(Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
) students, amazed the barbershop world when they won the 1984 international quartet championship in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
The quartet, in fact, placed in the top ten internationally each of the three years they competed: ninth place in 1982, sixth in 1983, and first in 1984.
Tenor Dave Smotzer, lead David Wallace, baritone Tim Frye, and bass Jeff Oxley formed the quartet in 1980 while working summer jobs in Cedar Point
Cedar Point
Cedar Point is a 364 acre amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, United States on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Erie. Cedar Point is the only amusement park with four roller coasters that are taller than...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to earn money to return to the university.
All were members of the A Cappella Choir and the Men's Chorus at the school and had other musical training. Oxley had sung lead roles in campus productions of Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha
Man of La Mancha is a musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, lyrics by Joe Darion and music by Mitch Leigh. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay I, Don Quixote, which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervantes's seventeenth century masterpiece Don Quixote...
and The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
and was studying for an operatic career. Frye was a music education major and Smotzer was a music theatre major. David Wallace was a composition major and the first undergraduate director of an accredited university ensemble, "The Collegiates".
Leaving school in 1982, most of the foursome had moved on to their careers by the time they won the gold. Both Smotzer and Wallace were in business. Smotzer was directing Cincinnati's "Southern Gateway Chorus", and Wallace was directing Sweet Adelines International
Sweet Adelines International
Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performances. This independent, nonprofit music education association is one of the world's largest singing organizations for women...
's "City of Flags Chorus" in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Frye was a school teacher and a music director in Wayne County, Ohio
Wayne County, Ohio
Wayne County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States, and is named for General "Mad" Anthony Wayne. As of the 2010 census, the population was 114,520. Its county seat is Wooster....
, while Oxley was continuing his musical training. He would go on to win two more gold medals with Acoustix
Acoustix
Acoustix is a Texas-based quartet that won the 1990 International Quartet Championship of SPEBSQSA . They have all, at different times, been members of the Dallas-based Vocal Majority chorus....
in 1990 and with Max Q
Max Q (quartet)
Max Q is the barbershop quartet that won the gold medal Barbershop Harmony Society International Barbershop Quartet Contest at Denver's Pepsi Center July 7, 2007.The quartet's run for the title is featured in the 2009 feature documentary American Harmony....
in 2007.