City teen to direct international choir

Published: Monday, February 16, 2009
By PAMME BOUTSELIS Correspondent

If the term "third-generation barbershopper" conjures images of haircuts and red, white and blue-striped poles, then chances are you are not familiar with the world of barbershop quartets.

But for Christina Tramack, 15, a sophomore at Nashua High School South, barbershop music is in her blood. Tramack is a third-generation barbershop performer on her mother's side and a fifth-generation barbershop performer on her dad's.

"I've grown up in barbershop," Tramack said of the harmonic, a cappella singing style that was revived in the 1940s. "I've made too many friends to count in this hobby alone."

Her singing also extends to Generations Chorus, an international, intergenerational a cappella chorus that consists of young women and girls from New England and southern Canadian provinces and their family members. The Generations Chorus includes mother and daughter teams, sister acts, three-generation families, plus any combination of female relatives, regardless of the choruses to which the women belong. In Tramack's case, her mom Renee is a member, as well as her younger sister Samantha, both of Nashua, and her grandmother, Pat Longchamp, of Essex, Vt.

However, what is a bit unusual in this case is that they are now performing under the leadership of Tramack, who was recently named the director of Generations Chorus.

When Tramack received the official word that she was named director, she was thrilled.

"Every type of emotion is going through me and has been since I heard I was the director of the Generations Chorus," she said. "I'm anxious to get started, yet scared to do all the business that needs to be done when in this position."

Each spring, the Generations Chorus brings family members of different generations together to sing at the area convention of Harmony Inc., an international, nonprofit and educational organization for women barbershop singers that was founded in 1959. This year's convention will be held April 23-26 at the Omni New Haven Hotel in New Haven, Conn.

Tramack is looking forward to the experience.

"Singing with your mother, sister and grandmother is great fun," Tramack said. "It's a way to bring families closer together. But directing my own family onstage, especially during Harmony's 50th anniversary year, is going to be awesome!"

While she may be young in years, she is well beyond her years musically, according to Chris Kuntz, public relations director for Harmony Inc.

"I don't know anyone that young to be a director," Kuntz said. "Christina has a wonderful music background."

As a teenager, Tramack is already a veteran on the music scene. She joined New England Voices in Harmony, the award-winning Nashua-based chapter of Harmony Inc., when she was 10 years old. Kuntz said that she sings baritone with the chorus, is on the group's choreography and quartet promotion teams, is a regular soloist in chorus performances, and also sings with Cloud 9, a new chapter quartet.

Tramack has earned three consecutive international medals performing with New England Voices in Harmony, which is co-directed by her mom, Renee, and Debbie Borsari of Peterborough. She was awarded a scholarship in 2006 to attend Harmony Intensive Training School in Toronto, Ontario. Additionally, she sings with her high school chorus and enjoys playing volleyball and basketball.

As for her future, Tramack definitely has her sights set on music.

"When you grow up in such a fantastic hobby and learn so much from the people around you, it truly becomes your life," she said.