About Us:

Encore came together as a quartet pretty much by chance in June 2005. Jim and Troy, who had never met before, both happened to visit the Clermont chorus on the same evening. After chorus rehearsal, Greg and Shannon invited the two guests to try singing a song with them. It was soon clear that there was a good match in voices and personalities, so the four have kept on singing together ever since!

Despite having only been together a few months, Encore decided to enter the Sunshine District quartet competition in the Fall of 2005. Not only did they make the final round, but were delighted to come away with a 6-place ranking in the state of Florida!

In the past year, Encore has sung for civic groups, corporate events, and private parties. The foursome is excited about making more public appearances and sharing their music with audiences throughout Florida.

 
Picture of The Quartet

Biographies:
 
  Picture of Jim  

Jim Pate – Tenor

  
    Jim has been singing pretty much all of his life. He has performed in many chorales and very much enjoys classical music. His barbershop experience began in California where he was the baritone of the quartet Four Degrees West. While in Fort Walton Beach, FL, he was a member of the Emerald Coast Chorus and sang tenor in Gloryland, a gospel barbershop octet at his church. Jim served in the U.S. Air Force for 28 years and is currently the Emergency Operations Manager for the Orange County Health Department. He is married to his lovely wife Carole and they have two grown children Steven and Sandra.  
     
  Picture of Greg   Greg Patterson – Lead
 
   
Greg graduated from Central Missouri State University with a degree in vocal music and has carried that to the logical conclusion of being a project manager for a telecommunications company. Greg spends his time away from work singing in two quartets—Encore and Rare Blend—and directing the Vocal Express barbershop chorus in Clermont and the Harmony Sound Waves women’s barbershop chorus in New Smyrna Beach. One day Greg hopes to design theme park shows and attractions and came to Florida to follow that dream. 		 
     
  Picture of Shannon   Shannon Elswick – Baritone  
   


Shannon is the veteran of the quartet, having sung for almost a quarter century, mostly in the barbershop style. In addition to singing in a number of competitive quartets, he has been a contest judge, director, coach, and arranger, and currently serves as president of the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Sunshine District. Shannon works as a healthcare executive in Orlando. Shannon and his wife Becky have three sons, Aaron, Scott, and Drew. In addition to singing, Shannon serves as Encore’s manager.

  
     
  Picture of Troy   Troy Soos – Bass
 
   
Troy moved to Florida from Cambridge, Massachusetts. A former research physicist with the Laboratory for Nuclear Science at MIT and Los Alamos National Laboratory, he is also a published author with eleven novels in print. He is a relative newcomer to four-part harmony, having started only a few years ago with the quartet VoiceMale.		  
     
  All four of Encore’s singers are proud members of "Vocal Express",
the Clermont chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society.