The Max Q Journey

You’ve heard that it’s the journey and not the destination. That’s true with our new champs as they certainly took the long way around to win their new gold medals. As with Homer’s Odysseus, they also discovered new insights along the way.

After placing second three years in a row, Max Q ( Greg Clancy, Tony De Rosa, Gary Lewis and Jeff Oxley) finally reached the end of the journey and were crowned 2007 International Quartet Champs during the recent Denver Convention of the BHS.

This was certainly very satisfying to the guys given the past four years of hard work, extra effort and disappointments. In the end Max Q made their mark. The boys won the championship with the second highest score and by the second highest margin of victory ever.

How All This Got Started

Max Q first sang together in 2002 during the Portland Int’l convention.  Tony, Jeff, and Greg had toyed with the idea of singing together, and Tony suggested Gary as a potential bari.  The four casually sang around and liked what they heard. 

The first official meeting occurred in Dallas in September of that year. The sound was special and exciting. After matching socks, they needed a name and offered a prize to anyone on the Harmonet who could find the best one. After four full pages of suggestions the winner was Jeff Baker (Nightlife).

Early on they decided to be a SWD quartet and represent the District of Champions winning the district title in 2005 (Jeff’s first)

Max Q’s first appearance was as a cameo on a VM show.  They were hindered by distances (two in Dallas, one in Florida and one in Ohio) but they managed to learn their music via weekends together and learning CDs, and rehearsed as often as possible. 

Their first full shows were for the Tampa Heralds of Harmony in June of 2003, the Harmony Foundation Show in Montreal, Canada, and the Buckeye Invitational in August of 2003. What a way to start!

• Medallion Issue featuring Max Q
• Max Q's Official Website