2020 International Convention FAQs

All choruses that qualified for Los Angeles 2020, accepted the invitation to compete, and were actively slated to appear as of March 1, 2020, will automatically be invited to compete in Cleveland 2021.

A process and timetable for issuing and accepting 2021 invitations for these choruses is under development for later release.

Yes! In addition to the previously qualified 2020 competitors, the new process for qualification approved in November 2019 will apply, beginning with qualification events in Fall 2020.

• Choruses can enter any available BHS preliminary contest, regardless of location or District affiliation.
• All choruses earning the qualifying score of 81% qualifying score are invited to the International Contest.
• No distinction is made among classification of ensembles.
• Each BHS District is assured of representation by at least one chorus, provided the representative ensemble meets a minimum score of 74%. Choruses that qualified to compete in Los Angeles and are invited to compete in Cleveland will not count toward the district representation.

All quartets that already qualified for Los Angeles 2020 and were actively slated to appear as of March 1, 2020, will be automatically invited to compete in Cleveland 2021.

Yes. You can find more information on how to transfer your registration to Cleveland 2021 here.

Yes. You can find more information on how to obtain a full refund or transfer to Cleveland 2021 here.

Yes! You can find more information on how to make a donation here.

Your order number can be found on the actual ticket (click “Download Tickets” in Eventbrite) or the email confirmation when you originally purchased your tickets.

Donations will be processed after refund requests. You should expect to receive an emailed confirmation of your donation sometime in May.

Please speak with your tax advisor. Your donation may be tax deductible if you itemize your deductions.

All refund requests received by April 24 will be processed beginning on April 27. It may take a few weeks for the credit to appear on your credit card statement.

Eventbrite will notify the Barbershop Harmony Society if unable to process a refund and the Customer Service team will contact you to arrange another form of payment.

Unfortunately, we aren’t able to accommodate a request to refund to a different form of payment unless the original form of payment is no longer valid. The refunds are processed automatically by Eventbrite and BHS can only issue exceptions when the initial refund fails due to a no longer valid payment form.

Purchasers who do not indicate their registration preference by April 24, 2020 will see an automatic transfer of their registration to the 2021 International Convention in Cleveland, Ohio. You may still request a refund or make a donation after April 24 and before registrations go on sale, but refund requests made after April 24 will experience delayed processing.

Convention registrations are always transferrable, so you may sell or give that registration to another party. And, you may still request a refund or make a donation after April 24 and before registrations go on sale, but refund requests made after April 24 will experience delayed processing.

We are still working out the details of how we will process seating requests for the 2021 Convention. Rest assured that transferred registrations will have advance access -more information will be provided once the details are finalized.

We are still working out the details of how we will process housing access for the 2021 Convention. Rest assured that transferred registrations will have advance access - more information will be provided once the details are finalized.

World Harmony Showcase tickets will automatically be refunded to the original form of payment. There is no need to request a refund through the form.

All refunds will be processed beginning on April 27th. It may take a few weeks for the credit to appear on your credit card statement. If we are unable to process a refund to the original form of payment, the Customer Service team will contact you to arrange another form of payment.

Absolutely! You will need to fill out a separate form for each different option (transfer, donate, or refund) you choose. If you have multiple registration types (i.e. member, non-member, youth), please specify in the Notes & Additional Comments which type corresponds to each option. If you need further instructions, please reach out to customerservice@barbershop.org and they can assist you with filling out the form.

Example: I have 4 registrations (2 member, 1 non-member, 1 youth) and would like 2 to be refunded and 2 to be transferred.

• Complete one form for the 2 registrations to be refunded. Choose “refund” and add a note: This is for 1 member and 1 non member ticket.

• Complete a second form for the registrations to be transferred to Cleveland 2021. Choose “transfer” and add a note: This is for 1 member and 1 youth ticket.

No. Only one person needs to fill out the form as long as you make your request for all the registrations from the original order. If you want to choose different options for the registrations from one order, you will need to fill out the form for each different option you choose (transfer, donate, refund). If you have multiple registration types (i.e. member, non-member, youth), please specify in the Notes & Additional Comments which type corresponds to which option (see example above).

If you need further instructions, please reach out to customerservice@barbershop.org and they can assist you with filling out the form.

Yes. We are still working out the details of how we will process seating requests and additions for the 2021 Convention - more information will be provided once the details are finalized.

No, you will not need to pay any kind of up-charge to transfer your registration. We will honor the original price for Cleveland 2021 only.

Hotel reservations made through the BHS block of rooms with our housing partner, Orchid, will be cancelled automatically for you. There will be no charges or penalties for these cancelled hotel rooms.

IMPORTANT: If you booked a hotel reservation outside of the BHS block of rooms, it is your responsibility to cancel and confirm the refund status on any deposits paid. BHS has no role or liability in obtaining refunds for any rooms booked outside its official partnerships.

No, BHS will not provide reimbursement for airfare or hotels that were booked outside of the official block of rooms. Many airlines and hotels are offering flexible refund options at this time due to the COVID-19 situation. Please contact your airline and hotel directly to review options.

Each of the evaluation teams completed their work on all submissions as of March 15 and finalists have been identified in each category. Over the next several weeks, we will release more details about those finalists as well as our revised plan to celebrate the winners.

A significant part of this experience is the chance to cross the International stage and perform for a live audience in an exciting and enthusiastic environment, which a video contest cannot replace.

We also intend to ensure the integrity of the contest by maintaining a level playing field for our judges to complete the most accurate assessment of a performance. While video is an efficient tool for the qualification process, it is not as effective in adjudicating finer details of a live performance.

With the new convention schedule for Cleveland, the Varsity Quartet Contest is scheduled for Saturday morning. There is not enough time or capacity to add additional slots to the contest on Saturday.

Yes, we are continuing to move forward with our Everyone In Harmony Strategic Vision by including women's and mixed quartets at the Varsity level starting in 2021, as previously announced and planned. We will maintain our existing qualification process of inviting the 20 highest scoring quartets to compete, across all classifications.

Yes, you can! No changes have been made to this offering.

In an effort to continue supporting our Varsity quartets who qualified for Los Angeles, the AIC offers coaching at any time during the year via video chat. In addition, the AIC has committed to providing mentorship, assistance with music selection, guidance on putting together a show, sharing effective rehearsal techniques, and more. If your quartet is interested in receiving any such support from the AIC, please complete the AIC Coaching Form or contact outreach@barbershop.org for more information.

The Varsity chorus that applied for 2020 will be invited to participate in the 2021 Varsity Chorus Invitational in Cleveland with the extended age to 26 to include chorus members who may have aged out after Los Angeles. If they accept, they will fill one of the 5 slots available at that event.

Scholarship awards for Varsity quartet members participating in the 2020 Los Angeles event will no longer be awarded due to the cancellation of the International Convention. Members of Varsity quartets that elect to qualify for the 2021 event will be eligible to re-apply.

Registrations purchased using the “free” discount code will automatically be cancelled. These registrations are not eligible for automatic rollover for the 2021 event in Cleveland. If you purchased a registration before receiving the discount code, please contact outreach@barbershop.org.

Some of these are currently available on HU Online. Some of our offerings, such as new classes or on-site activities like The Music Man studio set tour, sadly cannot be offered.

Online coaching has been available for quartets and choruses for several years. Once it is safe to gather in groups, quartets and choruses are encouraged to sign up!

Those same great teachers you know and trust are available for online private lessons.

The physical gathering in LA is cancelled, but we are working with Deke to finish and premiere two brand new barbershop SATB charts.

The current plan is to have both virtual rehearsals AND a virtual performance. The copyright world has also been slowed down by COVID-19, and we are still waiting on clearance for the selected material.

Information will be shared in May about music, rehearsals, and the “how” of the virtual performance.

That decision is still pending. Because Harmony University meets 4 weeks AFTER the International convention, from July 26 - August 2, we are waiting a few weeks to see what happens with COVID-19. With the pace of information changing so quickly about the virus and quarantine, Harmony University planners believe waiting until April is the best decision for three reasons:

1) full refunds are available to any registered students who request one

2) preparation for this event does not require people to gather in the preceding months (unlike International Contests)

3) Belmont is confident they can still house us in late July

Registration for HU 2020 is still open for individuals to join us.