Hello All,

A true, dyed-in-the-wool cheesehead, John Close was first introduced to barbershop singing in
1972 at a Land-O-Lakes District show that featured The Schmitt Brothers (international
champions ’51) and, soon-to-be-district-champions, Talk of the Town. Within days John found
himself, along with three good musicians, in The Firehouse Five Minus One. Because he was
the least talented singer, John sang lead. The quartet competed at the state level twice and
was a focal point for St. Croix Central, a small high school in Western Wisconsin.

After high school, John attended St. John’s University in Minnesota, and sang in the Men’s
Chorus for four years. After eking out a degree, he moved to North Dakota and taught Math &
Science at a small high school in the remote Southwest corner of the state. He also found time
to co-found and co-direct a high school men’s barbershop chorus, as well as founding and
directing a church choir.

John left North Dakota in 1980 and moved to New York, then Tanzania, then Minnesota, finally
settling in Utah where he spent 25 years at Salt Lake Community College, retiring in 2017.
Vocal problems haunted him during the first part of this millennium and he spent 10 years
‘resting’ his voice. Finally, in 2015 he was recruited into the Beehive Statesmen. There he
discovered his ‘new’ bass voice and rediscovered his love of Barbershop.

During the last 9 years John has served the Statesmen in various positions, including President.
He has sung with a number of quartets and competed at the district level several times. He
currently sings with the Statesmen, two Barbershop quartets and two church groups.