John Huthmacher/Tribune Clinician Peter Benson (left) and Shaun Whisler lead a group of high school singers during the Youth in Harmony barbershop clinic Monday at Hastings College.

Shay Burk
sburk@hastingstribune.com
Nearly 100 high school boys from all over — including Kansas — gathered at Hastings College Monday to perfect their harmonic tones at the 4th annual Youth in Harmony Festival.
Award-winning barbershop singer and clinician Peter Benson of Minnesota led students through each of four parts of two songs, “Hush,” and “In My Room,” assisted by Back in Business, a quartet based in Lawrence, Kan. The students, many of whom have attended previous YIH events, later showed off their vocal prowess at an evening concert in French Memorial Chapel.
“I hope they will get out of it what I got out of it when I first started when I was about 14 years old,” Benson said. “And that is just a love of singing four-part harmony. It’s something they can do for the rest of their lives.
“Nothing wrong with football, but there’s a point where that ends. You can do this well into your 70s and 80s.”