Category Archives: On Stage

Kim Newcomb, Jenni Sheets, Cy Wood & Kohl Kitzmiller.

CINCINNATI, OH – HALF AND HALF, a Midwest-based a cappella quartet, has released their first single and music video this past week. With their mission being one of the importance of inclusivity, love of music and people, and sharing their gifts with everyone – it was a no brainer to choose a song by Dolly Parton, who has represented all of these pillars (epically) for decades.

Half and Half’s recording of Dolly’s “9 to 5” is accompanied by a colorful music video that was filmed in Hamilton, OH by Ethan Bryant Productions with the story created by Cy Wood. You may recognize some of their favorite spots that are around town; True West Coffee, Butler County School of the Arts, and historic Hamilton. The video represents the dedication and hard work it has taken for Half and Half to get where they are in such a short amount of time. Only being together for a little over a year, they have built a robust repertoire by rehearsing hard and often, they have performed in venues that range from coffee shops with a handful of folks all the way to Barbershop Harmony Society’s International stage in Salt Lake City, Utah to thousands of listeners both in-person and live streamed. Recording their first single and filming a new music video has just been the icing on the cake.

You may be wondering, why the name “Half and Half”. Well that is an easy one to answer. Half of the quartet lives in Cincinnati; Jenni Sheets a mezzo-belter who sings lead and Cy Wood who grounds the group singing bass. The other half lives in Indianapolis; Kohl Kitzmiller singing the versatile part of baritone and Kim Newcomb, who sings the difficult high notes with such ease as tenor. Half of the group is men and the other half is female. Half have performance and art backgrounds; Cy who was an actor and producer on Broadway and continues to coach and choreograph for quartets and choruses and Jenni who majored in vocal performance and owns her own small design business, BullFish Graphics. Half are very music theory focused; Kohl who is an arranger/sound engineer with KK Sounds and Kim who is a vocal coach, chorus director and records learning tracks with NewVoice Studio. Both halves of these vocalists’ backgrounds create a well-rounded, whole-brained group and they believe this is the secret to their success.

What’s next for Half and Half? They have been invited to compete at the World Harmony Council in Germany next spring to help represent the USA as well as their Midwest district. Competing is not new to Kohl who won International with his men’s quartet, Instant Classic, back in 2015 for Barbershop Harmony Society.  Also, Kim’s women’s quartet, The Ladies, ranked number 5 in the world, recently, at Sweet Adelines International and won the Rising Star Award in 2016. Cy’s chorus, Southern Gateway Chorus, has competed at International level several years with Barbershop Harmony Society. Competing at this level is very new to Jenni and she can’t believe she has been along for this (warped speed) ride. Half and Half has also been invited to teach as the faculty quartet in Holland at Holland Harmony College, they will lead several classes as well as perform throughout the week for the students.

It’s been a whirlwind year for Half and Half and they hope to continue to make an impact in the music world around. To stay abreast of all of their performances and news; please follow them on Facebook as well as on their website.

Website: www.halfandhalfquartet.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/halfandhalfqt