Biographies of The Rivertown Sound Quartet:


Aaron Hardin, lead

Dan Monahan, baritone

Paul Ogle, bass

Bill Dean, tenor

There is nothing as fun as singing four part harmony! Back in 1985 various members of The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus  got together to sing as a quartet. We decided to form The Rivertown Sound Quartet - inspired by the music of our hometown, St. Louis, Missouri.   We feel The Rivertown Sound  has developed into a unique singing ensemble. All had performed as solo entertainers before coming together as a quartet, and this set the stage for a different type of musical group.

Dan Monahan, baritone (lead), first learned of barbershop when he played the lead role of Harold Hill in the "Music Man" when he was in high school. He continued to sing on and off in quartets while performing in local productions of "Camelot", "Kiss Me Kate", "West Side Story", "Fiddler On The Roof", and "South Pacific." His powerful classical voice also has allowed him to perform solos in numerous classical concerts. His favorites were Handel's "Messiah" and "Carmina Burana". But Barbershop remains his first love. He currently serves as Music Vice President and assistant Choral Director for The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus

Paul Ogle, Bass, has sung barbershop longer than any of us because he joined the barbershop society just after he graduated from high school in Festus, Missouri. He soon formed The Tri-Towners Quartet which he has continued faithfully to coach in addition to singing in The Rivertown Sound. His bass voice is unique in its ability to shake the walls with "16 Tons" or be as mellow as possible in his rendition of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart". His fine musicianship has landed him the assistant Choral Director's job for The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus. Under his leadership, the chorus has grown from a dozen active members to forty-three men on the risers for a big show.


Bill Dean, tenor (baritone), had filled in as the "fifth" member of the quartet during 2001. He can fill in for anybody except the Bass. In 2002, he became the permanent singer as Tom Scharfenberger retired because of illness in the family.

Bill gained his musicianship by playing the trombone in the school band and started his performing career as a child playing the title role of "Oliver." Through school and college he continued to perform in musicals including Linus in "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown"; Hugo Peabody in Bye, Bye, Birdie; Sonny in Grease; and Jackson in "Pump Boys and Dinettes." His six foot six inch height gives him a commanding presence on stage, but his kind personality makes us all delighted to stand in his shadow.

Bill had learned a large number of Rivertown Songs by just listening to our CD's and singing with us after Tuesday chorus rehearsals. Bill sang baritone with us in the 1999, 2001, and 2002 district contests. He lead us to a "Top Ten" finish in the 2002 Pre-Lim contest in Columbia, Missouri. His remarkable musicianship has challenged us to constantly upgrade our arrangements and try new songs. Bill has served as an officer in The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus and has organized the annual Valentines Day Benefit which had chapter quartets performing "Singing Valentines" at over 50 locations. He is the Choral Director of the "St. Louis #1 Gospel Singers" who perform on Sunday mornings at various St. Louis area churches.

Other Members of the Rivertown Sound Over The Years:

Since 1985, we have been honored to have many fine singers as full, or part time, members of the quartet. Tom Scharfenberger was the man who kept the quartet going. Besides having the hardest part to sing (baritone - just ask him!), he ran the business aspects of the group - keeping track of the numerous places to sing, what to sing, who to contact. But these jobs were secondary to his rich baritone voice which has filled Zion Methodist Church in scores of concerts over the years. If there was a piano available at a location, Tom entertained the audiences with Big Band hits if the quartet needed a bit a a rest. Doug Landholt, tenor, made his mark on the St. Louis stage through his thrilling performances of King Arthur in "Camelot" and Horace Vandergelder in "Hello,Dolly!" and most recently as The King in "The King and I". He met Dan during a performance of "South Pacific" and after singing a couple of four part chords, decided that barbershop would be his new pursuit. His hundreds of outstanding performances as tenor for some seven years was a real highlight in the quartet's history. Ron Grooters, bass, has sung with us for many years. He brought us many of the barbershop classic songs that are part of our standard repertoire. Almost all of the arrangements of the classic songs on our second CD came from Ron. Ron helped us create our basic act which he performed with us with great style hundreds of times. As an active member of the world famous Ambassadors of Harmony Chorus, Ron proudly holds several international chorus competition bronze medals. Tom Kavanaugh, tenor, was the original tenor in the quartet who helped teach the group that humor was as important as the music in a good act. His family music group known as Irish Imports performs the best of Ireland's music and has plenty of harmony and humor too. Steve Harris, tenor, sang with us for five years. Steve's wonderful high voice gave us several of our best tenor solo songs ("Danny Boy", "Only You"). Barry Moore, bass, sang with us when he first joined the Barbershop Society. This talented young man learned the barbershop style so fast that he moved to the Ambassadors of Harmony Chorus and was a member of several district champion quartets including the international competing 12 th Street Rag. Ken McInnis, tenor / lead, has filled in on many occasions adding his glorious tenor and lead voice whenever we need it. He sang tenor with us in the 2000 district contest in DesMoines. He is also the lead in the ever popular The Tri-Towners. Filling in for Paul has been Charlie Shelton, bass, and Vern Abel, bass. Charlie and Vern are both active members of The St. Louis #1 Chapter Chorus. Both are extraordinary musicians who have been able to learn several dozen songs in just a few months. Often they did this just by listening to the other members of the quartet practice after chorus meetings. All of the most active members of the quartet also strongly support the chorus. It is through the chorus that we can learn new songs and find time to practice new material with our fellow barbershoppers.