Yesteryear
Yesteryear
1997 International Champion
1997 International Championship
Winning Members
Mark Blake
Mark Blake has been a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society since 1986 when he joined the Maumee Valley Seaway Commanders with his college quartet, The Varsity Letterman. In his years as a barbershopper, Mark has been an active quartet singer, chorus director, coach, and administrative leader. He has served at all levels of administrative leadership in the BHS including a term as the Johnny Appleseed District President (Ohio, Western PA, West Virginia, and Eastern KY) and the Founding President of the Voices of Harmony in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Mark has performed across North America and Europe with International Quartet Champions, Yesteryear. In 1998 Mark joined Yesteryear in being inducted into the JAD Hall of Fame. Mark has directed three choruses in his barbershop career. From 1998 – 2000 he directed the resurgent Fun Center Chordsmen of Mansfield, Ohio. From 2000 – 2005 he directed the Maumee Valley Seaway Commanders (Toledo), taking them to the Top Five in the JAD chorus competition. Today, Mark is the director of the Stateline Chorus of the Black Swamp Chapter in Toledo, Ohio. During his time in the JAD, Mark has been recognized as the “JAD Director of the Year;” and the JAD “Barbershopper of the Year.” Mark is the Senior Pastor at Monroe Alliance Church in Monroe, Michigan, and a devoted husband and father. He and his wife Barbara, a music educator at Lake Local Schools in Millbury, Ohio, live in Toledo, Ohio. They have two children; Kathleen (29), a staff member at Harvest Lane Alliance Church in Toledo, Ohio and the owner of the Kathleen Blake Piano Studio; and Jacob (27), who works in the IT department at the world headquarters of La-Z-Boy, Inc. and is married to his wife Emily, who also works at La-Z-Boy.
Quartet Championships
| Name | Year | Part |
|---|---|---|
| Yesteryear | 1997 | Lead |
