KU quartet to sing in TV spot during NCAA tournament game

LAWRENCE -- The voices of four University of Kansas seniors will be featured in a television spot during KU's first round game in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

KU music students Dustin Peterson, Shaun Whisler, Josh Abel and Michael Brown, who form the barbershop quartet Random Harmony, will sing a portion of KU's alma mater as part of the spot, which will air Thursday, March 20, on WIBW-TV, the CBS affiliate in Topeka, and KWCH-TV, the CBS affiliate in Wichita.

The 30-second spot, produced by the KU Office of University Relations, features scenes of the KU campus and student life, with the quartet singing the second verse of "Crimson and the Blue" in the background.

KU's game with Utah State is scheduled to begin at 8:40 pm. The spot will run during the first half of the game on WIBW.

Random Harmony was founded in November 2000 by Whisler and Brown. The four current members have been performing together since May 2001.

The group has performed at several university events, including the annual Vespers program and the 2002 commencement banquet. Random Harmony also performed at the English premiere of Kurt Weill's "Die Sieben TodsŸnden" in November 2001 in Corpus Christi, Texas.

In April 2002, the group took fifth place at the Central States District convention of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America. They are preparing for the 2003 convention, to be held April 4 through 6 in Lincoln, Neb.

Members of the group are:

BUTLER COUNTY
From Douglass
Dustin Peterson, senior in theatre and voice, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dwight Peterson; Douglass High School graduate.

DOUGLAS COUNTY
From Eudora
Josh Abel, senior in music education, son of Hyacinth Abel; Eudora High School graduate.

JOHNSON COUNTY
From Olathe
Shaun Whisler, senior in theatre and voice, son of Cheryl Cross; Olathe East High School graduate.

JEFFERSON COUNTY
From Perry
Michael Brown, senior in voice, son of Kyle and Bernadine Brown; Perry-Lecompton High School graduate.