Stephen Lee joined the City of Sails Chorus only eight months ago, but his connection to barbershop music stretches back almost half his life.

The Epsom-based 30-year-old first encountered the genre as a student at Kristin School in Albany, because his choir teacher, Brian Lee, was a keen barbershopper and, indeed, a former member of COSBC. The following year, he continued to hone his singing skills on a more traditional choral repertoire, under the new direction of David Squire, one of the country’s most distinguished choral directors.

But Taiwanese-born Lee, who came to this country as a two-year-old, has a musical pedigree that goes well beyond vocal work. He sees himself as very lucky to have had parents who encouraged his musical aspirations: he learnt piano and violin to Grade 8 and plays guitar and drums for a worship band at his church.

The demands of university study sidelined his singing for a while but when he moved from the North Shore to central Auckland, where he works in data analytics, a flatmate raised the idea of joining a barbershop chorus and Google search led him to us.

Lee’s intense musicality – his signature style is to sing as if his life is depending on it – is a pleasure to behold and makes him a real asset to our baritone section. And he says he’s loving it, really enjoying the sense of community with like-minded barbershoppers.

“Monday evenings come around and it really lifts my mood for the rest of the week.” He says. “Especially as in office work, I am buried deep in the data world during the week and singing gives me a break and makes me happy.”

He particularly likes a cappella singing. “Because there are no instruments, it is such a natural, and raw sound. For me, it represents brotherhood or some sort of strong unity together.”

He admits the repertoire can be demanding, though his background means he knows how to read music: “That is good because in barbershop the baritones can get some difficult or challenging notes.”

The traditional barbershop numbers in our repertoire bring him a lot of pleasure. “I love the old-school style, what American barbershop should sound like,” he says. But he adds that the Christmas sing-outs, where the chorus serenades the shoppers with carols, are a special joy.

“It’s wonderful to see people walking back and forth and enjoying our music,” he says. “If we bring a smile to their faces, then it brings a smile to my face.”