![\"Windermere](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC_6222_t850.JPG\" "\\"Windermere")
<\/p>\nNot more than three weeks after four Windermere High School seniors formed a singing group in February were they singing in front of a camera to audition for Foundation for Orange County Public Schools\u2019 Top Talent LIVE.<\/p>\n
But instead of singing as pop icons, rock stars or a boy band, Chandler Hall, George Kudmani, Connor Kelly and Andrew Rockefeller were auditioning as A Good Old Barbershop Quartet.<\/p>\n
Dressed in khakis and white dress shirts, they harmonized and syncronized some of their music with choreographed moves.<\/p>\n
A Good Old Barbershop Quartet was selected to compete in Top Talent LIVE at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n
But the foundation staff wanted to help the seniors take their act to the next level.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey said we sounded great, but now we needed to look the part,\u201d Hall said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The foundation purchased classic straw boater hats almost every barbershop quartet wears for the Windermere High quartet.<\/p>\n
The boys completed the classic barbershop quartet look with red, white and black plaid vests and matching bow ties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, Hall, Kudmani, Kelly and Rockefeller are ready to take the stage in hopes of winning first place at Top Talent LIVE, earning a $1,000 gift card and $500 for Windermere High.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Windermere High School seniors Chandler Hall, George Kudmani, Connor Kelly and Andrew Rockefeller were inspired to form A Good Old Barbershop Quartet after 15-year vocal lead of The Dapper Dans at Walt Disney World, Myron Whittlesey, visited the school to talk to the choir.<\/p>\n
Photo by Liz RamosPerfect harmony<\/p>\n
A Good Old Barbershop Quartet formed after Myron Whittlesey, a 15-year performer and vocal captain of Disney\u2019s The Dapper Dans, spoke to Windermere High choir students.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His visit triggered memories in the seniors.<\/p>\n
Rockefeller remembered being 5 years old sitting on Main Street, U.S.A., at Magic Kingdom enjoying cotton candy when The Dapper Dans were passing by in their horse-drawn trolley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour ears were blessed with their beautiful chords, crazy high notes and complex harmonies,\u201d Rockefeller said.<\/p>\n
The nostalgia and unique energy of the barbershop quartet inspired the boys.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess you could say barbershop was written into our DNA from that point,\u201d Kudmani said.<\/p>\n
Not long after Whittlesey visited the school, Kelly approached Hall about forming their own quartet with longtime friend Kudmani and new-to-chorus Rockefeller.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kelly, Kudmani and Hall have known each other since their days as sixth-graders at Bridgewater Middle School. Despite Hall knowing Rockefeller since performing in band together at Bridgewater Middle, he didn\u2019t join the gang until he decided to shift gears to choir his senior year at Windermere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It all was kismet.<\/p>\n
They knew instantly their chemistry, friendship, passion for anything and everything musical, and desire to laugh all the time would compose the perfect quartet to bring the a capella style of music created in the late 1800s to the Orange County Public Schools talent show in the 21st century.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hall said they all also had the music knowledge, ability to maintain pitches and high-paced comedic energy that would be key to being a successful barbershop quartet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They chose to perform for Top Talent LIVE the only barbershop quartet song they know: \u201cI Love a Barbershop Song.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Windermere](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC_6270_t850.JPG\" "\\"Windermere")
<\/p>\n
Windermere High School seniors Chandler Hall, George Kudmani, Connor Kelly and Andrew Rockefeller have worked tirelessly to ensure they are in sync with every note, pitch, movement and outfit choice.<\/p>\n
Photo by Liz RamosKeeping barbershop alive<\/p>\n
There is plenty that goes into a successful barbershop quartet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kudmani likens performing as a barbershop quartet to playing a game of chess \u2014 but even harder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn chess, you\u2019re thinking two moves ahead, but in barbershop, you\u2019re thinking five moves ahead,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As they\u2019re performing, it\u2019s about timing, pitches, harmonies and chords. And that\u2019s just to sing.<\/p>\n
Add in the timing and accuracy of their movements so they\u2019re in sync, whether it\u2019s as simple as putting their hats above their heads or on their hearts or moving their hands to their ears to show the listening motion to match a lyric.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the cherry on top: the matching outfits from head-to-toe with the straw boater hats, bow ties, vests, white dress shirts, khaki pants and belts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite the hard work and dedication to making the performance perfect, the gentlemen find beauty in knowing it is not always going to be the same.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate the fact we have creative freedom,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cOur song could be sung a million different ways. It\u2019s different every time we perform it.\u201d<\/p>\n
One change in pitch, movement or note could change the way the group is seen and heard. It adds a note of whimsy to the performance.<\/p>\n
Kudmani said it\u2019s their bond and incredible chemistry that makes their group outstanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not only does the performance bring joy to Hall, Kelly, Kudmani and Rockefeller, but also it teleports the audience back in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Barbershop quartets gained popularity from 1900 to 1919 until dying down for 20 or so years before picking back up in popularity once again. The four-part harmonies brought joy to people during World War I and after the end of the Great Depression. Like music of any kind often is for people, barbershop was an escape from reality, even if only for a few minutes.<\/p>\n
Kudmani said the energy and lightheartedness of barbershop is infectious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The quartet saw it firsthand performing Thursday, April 9, at Open Mic Night at Pilars Loft.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The group wanted to test the waters of a live audience and decided to put on their straw boater hats and hit the stage at Pilars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kelly said on the busiest night he has ever seen the piano bar, he could hear a pin drop as A Good Old Barbershop Quartet sang. Usually, he said, there are side conversations happening during any given performance, so he was surprised to see everyone\u2019s attention was fully on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The group was even more surprised when they received a standing ovation.<\/p>\n
Kelly said people approached him after the performance to say the high school boys were keeping the tradition of barbershop alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight after the performance, I had the biggest smile glued on my face,\u201d Rockefeller said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just super fun for us to perform but for (the audience) as well. \u201d<\/p>\n
As Top Talent LIVE approaches, the quartet can\u2019t wait to introduce barbershop to people who might never have heard or seen it performed before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the quartet might not stop there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although the boys are headed in different directions upon graduation, they are hopeful A Good Old Barbershop Quartet will take the stage at Pilars Loft again, and when the holidays roll around, they have an a cappella Christmas song at the ready.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outside their barbershop quartet, what makes the group come alive is the fact the boys are friends and \u201cregular guys who laugh at everything,\u201d Rockefeller said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all have our own lives, but we\u2019re tied together with music,\u201d Hall said. \u201cMusic brings us together.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not more than three weeks after four Windermere High School seniors formed a singing group in February were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232076,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":{"0":"post-232075","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-orlando","9":"tag-orlando-headlines","10":"tag-orlando-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}