About Express Lane

Express Lane sings old and new songs in the traditional barbershop style. We formed as a new quartet in mid-2015, but our smoothly blended sound reflects a total of more than 50 years of experience singing barbershop harmony. Rob (Lead) and Doug (Baritone) previously sang together for 8 years in the Northeastern District medalist quartet Concord eXpress. Jim (Bass) has sung in several area quartets, including Sentimental Gentlemen, and Skip (Tenor) has been active for some time with the New Sound Assembly barbershop chorus. Together we have a sound and style that is Expressly our own.

Skip Riel sings Tenor. He discovered barbershop in 2007 while watching YouTube videos of the 2006 Barbershop Harmony Society International quartet competition. He was drawn to the barbershop harmony and joined the Natick Ma. New Sound Assembly Chorus soon after. Skip chose to sing tenor in the beginning because that was the part he heard the most and enjoyed singing above the melody. Skip’s interest in singing began almost thirty years ago with singing in church choirs and holiday cantatas. Skip works as an HVAC engineer for a Boston-based engineering consulting firm. In his spare time, Skip enjoys spending time with his family, especially his two grandsons.

Rob Freundlich is the quartet’s Lead. He was hooked by barbershop after hearing a chorus sing at Boston's Harborfest in 1995. Since then he has sung with the Wellesley, Medway, and Concord (MA) chapters. Rob serves as contact and Webmaster for Express Lane, and in real life is a software quality assurance engineer. He enjoys league bowling (tenpin of course, growing up in Queens, NY) which he's been particpating in since he was 10 years old!

Doug Burum sings Baritone. His interest in barbershop began in 1970, singing Lead in—you guessed it—a high school production of The Music Man. Over the years, Doug became active with school and community choruses and theater productions, but it was not until 2002 that he got back into barbershop with the Vocal Revolution chorus (at that time called the "Sounds of Concord"). By then, he had found his true calling, switching to Baritone. Express Lane is Doug's fourth district-registered quartet, having previously sung in "Concord eXpress" (baritone), "Super-8" (baritone) and "459" (lead). Doug has a PhD in physics, and works as a registered patent agent. When he's not busy singing, his other hobby is restoring classic radios and televisions from the 1930's and 1940's.

Jim Kenealy sings Bass. His first experience with barbershop came in 1972, singing bass in Lida Rose during a Boston College University Chorale concert. He then took a 35 year break before rediscovering barbershop when he joined the Sounds of Concord (now Vocal Revolution) chorus in November 2007. Jim has sung in a number of quartets (Sentimental Gentlemen, Mass Appeal, After 5 Four and as a fill-in for Eastern Standard Time), not to mention unnamed pick-up quartets. When not singing or attending barbershop chorus shows, he keeps busy athletically, enjoying hiking, basketball and roadrunning. He has run 4 marathons, including the prestigious Boston Marathon.

Contact Us

E-mail: info@expresslanequartet.org

Phone: Rob Freundlich, 617-232-4096