Our Directors

Bob O'Connell, Jr., Director

Bob O’Connell assumed duties as the Musical Director of the Narragansett Bay Chorus in May 2010. A very talented lead singer sang with the Northeastern District Medalists, Yankee Tradition, in 2001 he won the Northeastern District Quartet Championship with Road Show and has competed on the International level several times. One of his quartets, Trade Secret, was a NED Senior Champ and International Medalist. Bob also directs Harmony Heritage Chorus, a Harmony Incorporated barbershop chorus for the past five years. Music has always been a major part of his life, as he started playing the organ at the ripe old age of 5! He has continued his love of singing with a wide range of styles and venues, including classical, opera, religious, and contemporary music. A graduate of the University of Lowell, MA with degrees in Music Education and Performance and has recorded a number of original compositions on his two CDs that are available and can be purchased at any of our shows. When not singing with his quartet, Bob can be found writing and arranging tunes for the quartet and NBC, and many other barbershop groups.

Assistant Directors

Louis Shriber, Assistant Director

Louis Shriber joined the Narragansett Bay Chorus in the Fall of 2021, coming to them by way of a scholarship program with the University of Rhode Island. A talented composer, singer, and arranger, Louis started singing barbershop in 2019 with his quartet TBD(Tenor Bass Dissonance). Louis is currently studying as a Music Composition and Jazz Studies undergraduate at URI, where he sings with the Concert Choir, Big Band, and Jazz Choir. He is also the Vice President of URI’s premier acapella group, the Rhody Rhapsodies, who have performed many of his arrangements in their concerts. When not singing, Louis is often writing choral and instrumental works for various groups in New England. He is a budding musician looking to diversify his musical career in any way possible.

Fred Kingsbury, Assistant Director

Fred started singing barbershop in 1970 as a senior in high school with the then Walpole Massachusetts chapter. His dad went with him the following week, and Fred sang tenor with his Dad in his first quartet called Three Dads and Lad. Fred entered college the next year as a music major and 2 years later became the director of the merged chapters of Walpole and Canton. Fred’s next quartet, in which he sang lead was Norfolk County Music Company, which attained 2nd place in the Northeast District in 1981. Fred joined NBC in 1980

and has sung tenor, lead, and baritone as the need arose. Fast forward a couple of decades and Fred is singing in a quartet with his son, David. Fred and his wife, Carol (tenor) formed Southeast Light, a mixed quartet singing baritone this time. They sang for about 15 wonderful years and still ring a chord when they get together. There was a five period where Fred enjoyed directing the Harmony Heritage chapter of Harmony Incorporated, taking them to their International Contest each year. Fred is a Northeastern District Senior Champion with X-Men and competed at mid-winter twice.

Fred and Carol’s current quartet is called Serotonin. Carol has moved down to baritone and Fred is now singing bass. Both Fred and Carol are members of the Voices United mixed chorus. He has also been involved with the Harmony Brigade for about 10 years (ask him about it).

The moral of this story is that if you start young enough and keep singing, you get to sing all four parts.

Past Chorus Directors