Wayne started out singing in Elementary School and Church Choir in Shorewood, Wisconsin. He got his first break into barbershopping as a 7th grader when the upper classmen needed a “ringer” to sing tenor at the big end of the year talent show. It was 20 years later, in November of 1998, when he joined the Country Gentlemen chorus of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, that he once again found a deep passion for a great hobby.
Throughout his life, Wayne was fortunate to have had many positive influences to help develop his gift of singing. The pastor in Wayne’s childhood church often requested him to sing for the congregation. His performance of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” and other pop and gospel songs helped develop his natural ease with an audience. During his “breakthrough” 7th grade year, the school choir director nominated him for the honor of touring Europe for 10 days with 90 students from around Wisconsin. Then, continued to coach him in numerous singing contests and stage shows, until graduation.
Wayne feels that he
was destined to become a barbershopper. His cousin, Bill Weiser, is a veteran
barbershopper, author, teacher, and the director of the Reno Silver Dollar
Chorus in Reno Nevada. He has been encouraging Wayne to get involved with a
local chapter since the early Weiser Reunion days in North Dakota. This is
where, every 4 years, for over a hundred years, Weisers from all over the
country have been gathering on the 6,000 acre Weiser Farm. Singing has always
been a huge part of the festivities. Solos, duets, quartetsand
group singing would spring spontaneously from every table, at
every meal.
Barbershop Harmony is truly thick in the Weiser blood. Wayne is deeply
grateful to Bill for stimulating
his pursuit of this wonderful Harmony for, as he puts it, the rest of his days.
Wayne is currently the lead of GENEVA and is also a member of the lead section of the Lake Geneva Country Gentlemen Chorus. He commutes 60 miles a day to his job with Motorola in Schaumburg, Illinois, then back home to Elkhorn, WI where he and his son, Conrad, participate in local Boy Scout Troop 243 and Sugarcreek Lutheran Church.