U4X
U4X is Harmony, Inc.'s 2008 International Quartet Champion.
Quartet Members
Winning Members:
- Tenor: Katie Taylor
- Lead: Lynn Randall
- Bari: Lauren Lindeman
- Bass: Jeanne O'Connor
Contest Placement
Internationals
- 2008 1st
Area
- 2008 Area 4 Quartet Champion
Recordings
Extended History
U4X was crowned as Harmony Queens in 2008 at the 49th Anniversary International Contest and Convention in Appleton, Wisconsin. They began competing in 2008, and won the quartet championship the same year. Lynn, Jeanne and Lauren are members of award-winning Village Vocal Chords from LaGrange, Illinois, and Katie Taylor is a member of the award-winning Northern Blend chorus from Watertown, New York.
Individual Histories
Katie Taylor (tenor) Music Educator, Chorus Medalist and Quartet Champion
Katie Taylor is a professional music educator in upstate NY, and is a two-time gold medalist with Harmony, Inc. Quartet Champions U4X (2008) and For Heaven's Sake (1996). She also co-directs Northern Blend Chorus, international medalists, becoming a co-director with her mother in April of 2003. The chorus is thrilled to be on the receiving end of the vast wealth of musical knowledge and talents that Katie has to offer. Her talents are surpassed, if only slightly, by the way she teaches her craft and her zestful personality.
Katie is a Kindergarten to grade 12 vocal music teacher and also directs the annual musicals at her school. In 2007 she was awarded Music Teacher of the Year by the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra after being nominated by her principal, peers and students, both past and present. Katie also received the Kay DeLong Award at Harmony, Inc. Area 3's Area Contest And Convention in 2008 for her service to her chapter, her area, and to Harmony, Inc. as a whole. Katie also acts as youth coordinator for Area 3 and loves to work with young ladies who may become members of our organization in the future.
In 2008, Katie competed in her new quartet, U4X, on the international stage and took her second gold, only this time as tenor instead of bass. She continues to sing with both For Heaven's Sake and U4X and is thrilled to once again be representing Harmony, Inc. as reigning queens.
Katie loves to coach quartets and choruses in both Harmony, Inc. and the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS). She also makes learning tracks (see URL: www.TaylorTrax.homestead.com) that she happily uses to help quartets and choruses learn their new music.
Lynn Randall (lead) Singing Category Director/Singing Judge, Chorus Medalist and Quartet Champion
Lynn started her barbershop career with the Sweet Adelines organization in 1974. She sang with the North River Chapter and sang lead in The Shipmates quartet. The quartet was very active and placed third at Regional Competitions. A member of Harmony, Inc. since 1980, Lynn has spent the last 30 years working with people to help them discover their voice, to not fear the unknown and to try everything.
Lynn is a voice and performance coach and sings lead with the Village Vocal Chords Chapter of Harmony, Inc. 17-time International Gold Medalists. Lynn also sings lead in U4X, the 2008 International gold-medalist quartet champions. Lynn also has sung lead with Voices, the 2002 International gold-medalist quartet champions, Talk of the Town, the 1988 International gold-medalist quartet champions and for 14 years she sang lead with The Villagers, the 1977 International Quartet champions. The Villagers retired in November of 1996 after singing together for 32 years. Lynn serves on the music team and is the lead section leader for the Village Vocal Chords.
Lynn directed the Harmonettes chorus of Harmony, Inc. from 1986 to 1992, placing in the medals five out of six years. She has also served as Harmony Inc.'s education chairman for ten years, developing their present certification program. As a certified singing judge and the current-singing category director, Lynn has coached choruses and quartets throughout the world.
When not at home playing with their dogs or singing, Lynn and fellow quartet member Lauren Lindeman run a business called "The Music Team" that concentrates its efforts on teaching the art of vocal music through performance.
Lauren Lindeman (baritone) Music judge, chorus medalist and quartet champion
Lauren started her barbershop career with a small chorus in her college town in 1970. After graduating from university in 1972, she moved back home and one year later founded the Village Vocal Chords of Harmony, Inc. in July of 1973.
It took only a few months for her to begin singing baritone in a quartet and by 1977, she won a quartet championship with The Villagers. Since then, she has won 17 gold medals with her chorus, the Village Vocal Chords, and 2 more quartet gold medals, with Voices in 2002 and U4X in 2008.
Lauren joined Harmony, Inc.'s judging program at its inception, serving on the committee that started the program in 1977. In 1984 she was certified in the sound category in the first group of Harmony, Inc. judges. In 1992 when the BHS changed its judging categories, she went from the sound category to the new music category, and served as the music category director for 10 years. Lauren remains in the music category and has served on panels for Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers (LABBS) and for BHS in recent years.
Lauren is an experienced chorus and quartet coach who has worked with many of Harmony, Inc.'s medalist choruses and quartets.
Jeanne O'Connor (bass) Past Chairman of Judges, Presentation Judge, chorus medalist and quartet champion
Jeanne O'Connor lives in Chicago, Illinois. She began singing barbershop as a teenager and has been a member of Harmony, Inc. for over 45 years. She has sung with two other championship quartets, Scale Blazers (1964), Esprit de Corps (1974), as well as being the replacement bass for the 1987 quartet champions, Kaleidoscope and 2002 quartet champions, Voices. Jeanne is an accomplished barbershop educator, has served on the Harmony, Inc. International Board of Directors (including serving as International President), is a certified Chairman of Judges and is a certified Presentation Judge. She is currently the director of the 17-time international chorus champion Village Vocal Chords.
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