BHA Western Region

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈𝐑 𝐃𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓!

The 2026 Western Region Schools Massed Choir will be directed by 𝗔𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗚𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗹!

Adrian has been a member of Barbershop Harmony Australia since 1997. He is a four-time BHA national quartet gold medallist as has represented Australia in six Barbershop Harmony Society International contests with both quartet and choruses. He also served as a certified AGBJ Presentation Judge for ten years from the guild's founding in 2004. Adrian is based in Perth and has been Musical Director of Indian Blue Chorus since June 2023.

✨𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓!✨

We're excited to welcome back our Administrative Judge, Paul Adams!

Just THREE WEEKS left until Western Region 2026! Get your Showcase tickets here ➡️ https://events.humanitix.com/bhawr26

Paul Adams joined BHA in late 2012 after being spotted at a karaoke bar and invited to a rehearsal. He quickly became active at a club level and was seconded to the BHA National Council in 2015 where he has served ever since. He is the President of Deep South Chorus and is a senior’s silver medallist in both men’s and mixed quartets. He certified as an Administrative Judge with the Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges in 2023.

Paul’s passion is supporting people’s growth and the promoting the difference that singing can make to human lived experience. Paul lives in southern Tasmania.

💈WHAT IS THE ADMINISTRATIVE CATEGORY?💈
The Administrative Judge is responsible for the orderly management and operation of barbershop contests that take place under the Contest Rules. They are responsible for ensuring the best possible environment for contestants to perform, for judges to adjudicate the performances, and for audiences to enjoy the performances.

✨𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓!✨

This year's Performance Judge is none other than Gold Coast's own Geordie Cullen!

Geordie is a Gold Coast-based vocalist with over 10 years’ experience in the barbershop craft. He brings a strong blend of performance, conducting, and coaching expertise to help ensembles make magic. Geordie built his theatrical foundation from studies in dramaturgy and voice acting. He is deeply motivated by a desire to give back to the barbershop community that shaped his own journey—a journey which led him to conduct at the 2025 European Choir Games in Denmark.

💈WHAT IS THE PERFORMANCE CATEGORY?💈
The Performance judge evaluates the degree to which a performance creates an entertaining and engaging experience for their audience. Believability, creativity and authenticity are watchwords for judges of this category.

We have one more judge to round out our panel. Stay tuned!

PSSST!

Time is running out to register for Western Region 2026! Get on top of it before it's too late 👀

Head to https://contests.barbershop.org.au to register!

Just one month to go until Regionals. SHOWCASE TICKETS OUT NOW! ⬇️

https://events.humanitix.com/bhawr26

✨𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓!✨

We're delighted to welcome Dan Bennett to Western Region 2026 as our Singing Judge!

Dan Bennett has been barbershopping since 2011. He has sung with many quartets over the years, currently singing with Elegant Solution and Tragic Backstory. He is now the Musical Director of three Canberra choirs: The Canberra Chordsmen, Strange Weather Choir and Mixtape Chorus. When not running choir rehearsals, Dan teaches music privately, specialising in music theory, voice, guitar and piano. He also offers coaching for other conductors as well as coaching ensembles.

Dan is an active arranger and composer of music, with experience in a broad range of styles including contestable barbershop arrangements, SATB choral a ca****la and more. He is the host of the podcast Interviews with Choir Leaders, and is active in promoting community music-making.

💈WHAT IS THE SINGING CATEGORY?💈
Singing judges assess the technical aspects of a performer’s sound, listening holistically for ringing, in-tune voices that use a free, beautiful and rich vocal quality, which is wonderfully unified and vocally expressive.
Stay tuned for the rest of our amazing judging panel!

✨𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓!✨

Introducing this year's Musicality Judge, David Brooks!

David Brooks has been a familiar face at BHA events since 1994. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, David is active as a director, coach and arranger. He has directed Wellington City Chorus (Sweet Adelines) since its inception, taking them to national titles and a win overseas at the Sweet Adelines Harmony Classic. Active in youth barbershop since 1999, David currently runs programs in 4 secondary schools. His youth groups have won national and international contests and many of today’s prominent New Zealand barbershop singers came into the style via David’s work in schools.

💈WHAT IS THE MUSICALITY CATEGORY?💈
Musicality is defined as the song and arrangement, as performed. The Musicality Category judges the suitability of the material to the barbershop style and the performer’s musicianship in bringing the song and arrangement to life.
Stay tuned for the rest of our amazing judging panel!

📣 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗗! 📣 ➡ https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/ry8dTK6EGB

We are in need of volunteers to help run the Western Region Festival. Commitment required is limited, extending only from March until the end of the Festival in late June. Jobs to be filled include (but are not limited to):
💈 BHA membership liaison
💈 Invitational groups liaison
💈 Schools liaison
💈 Marketing and publicity
💈 Logistics
💈 Resourcing (research only, NOT purchasing)
💈 Scheduling
💈 Volunteer coordinator
💈 Front of House
💈 Judge catering

If any of these are jobs with which you can help (you can do multiple!) please click the link above to sign up. As our Festival grows, we need as many able hands as we can get! Please message us for more info.