Members

The Master's Men

Jim Allen (Baritone)
Jim began his singing in church choirs as a teenager and progressed through college choirs and quartets. He says "The Master's Men now gives me a chance to share my faith and my love of music." Jim and his wife, Jetta, are Mississippi natives but have lived in the Raleigh area since 1983. They have two grown sons and four grandsons. Jim retired in 2012 after 14 years as a school counselor and a 29-year career with IBM as a system administrator/programmer and software engineer.

Ken Bland, Jr. (Baritone)
Ken's dad introduced him to barbershop harmony at age 14 and Ken has been singing ever since. Ken's passion is community service and volunteering, including work with The Boys and Girls Homes of NC, Durham Bulls Explorer Post 50, WRAL Explorer Post 5, SPCA of Wake County, The North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC, and the Duke Cancer Institute. Ken retired in January 2020 after a 36-year career with SAS Institute as a marketing director of corporate events focused on large and small multi-level events and conferences. Ken lives in Garner, NC.

Nic Cols (Tenor, Lead)
Nic was born in Antwerp, Belgium, and came to the U.S. with his family at the age of 3. He grew up in a very religious household, but did not come to know the Lord until age 21. Since childhood, he has been involved in singing and theatrical productions. In 1974, Nic joined his first barbershop chorus and has been a member of various barbershop, gospel, and classical choruses and quartets in Columbia, MD; Phoenix, AZ; LaGrange, GA; Atlanta, GA; Roswell, GA; Cary, NC; and of course here in Raleigh. Participation in The Master's Men is a high honor in which Nic hopes to carry forward the message of God's hope and love to our audiences as well as to our fellow singers. Nic is married to Sandra, who is an accomplished pianist. They have two adult children and the world's most perfect granddaughter born in March of 2019.

Robert Cox (Director)
A Wilson, North Carolina native, Robert has always loved singing. He started in kindergarten and hasn't stopped since! Trained as a music educator, Robert began singing and directing barbershop singers while teaching in the Wilmington, NC public school system. A year later, he began directing the Cape Fear Chordsmen in Wilmington, and has been actively directing choruses ever since. Through his contacts in the barbershop world, he met Rudy Partin, founder of The Master's Men, and was inspired by his mastery of music. He worked with Rudy through chorus and quartet coaching and together they led the General Assembly barbershop chorus to the District Championship in 2001, with Robert as their director and Rudy coaching. Rudy invited Robert to coach The Master's Men for several years and, just days after the group's annual retreat in November of 2004, Rudy passed away unexpectedly. God's hand was surely at work when Robert accepted the group's offer to take over as our new director. The Master's Men combines his barbershop experiences with over 14 years of church choir directing into a wonderfully rewarding ministry. Robert lives in Sanford and is the owner and operator of Squeeky Kleen Window Washing.

Bill Erwin (Bass)
Bill started singing in his home church at the age of 7 and has been going strong ever since. After many years in church choir, he had the chance to sing barbershop for the first time as bass in the quartet of 'The Music Man' at his high school. From there he started singing a cappella with some local friends including doo-wop, barbershop, gospel, and even playing the guitar on some tunes. He could be seen playing trumpet or singing solos in churches or with various bands. He sings with fellow Master's Men tenor, Tom Williams, in their "5 Man Quartet", Close Harmony. Though the group has been through many name changes over the years, Bill has been singing with this group since 1986. He and his wife, Raina, have 6 children between them that keep them busy.

Greg Flowers (Baritone)
Greg enjoys all facets of choral music from barbershop to classical. For the last 20 years he has been a resident of Raleigh where he lives with his wife, Marchelle. When not singing with The Master's Men, you will likely find him on stage pursuing his other passion, that of acting.

Lee Horton (Lead)
Lee has been singing for most of his life, starting in middle school and continuing through high school and into college, singing baritone in the general chorus and with the Madrigal Singers at the University of Richmond. After college Lee served as Minister of Music at Calvary Baptist Church in Maryland, and later moved to Wake Forest to complete a Master of Divinity degree at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Lee also held Minister of Music positions at both Wake Forest Baptist Church and Heritage Baptist Church. Lee is also active with the Barbershop Harmony Society, singing lead with the RTP Chapter. Lee and his family live in Wake Forest.

Jim Knight (Bass)
A native of Raleigh, Jim spent his professional career in agricultural communications, and is wrapping up a 32+ year stint heading the media marketing efforts of the NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Jim is an avid outdoor sportsman and traveler, and will be working with Our State Magazine and other clients in the future.

Ken Litowsky (Bass)
The First Testament is the beginning - Creation, the Exodus, the Commandments and the prophecies of a Savior from the House of David. The Second Testament is the continuation of the First - the fulfillment of the prophecies, the coming of the Messiah and the end of days. Born of the First, eternal life of the Second. Praise God!

Larry Lytle (Bass)
Larry can’t remember a time when he wasn’t singing with a group somewhere - from church choirs and school choruses, an Up With People soloist, Navy Blue Jacket Choir, barbershop with The Tualatin Valley Harmony Masters, and Gospel quartets, to The Master’s Men. He has also applied his vocal talent as a TV news anchor and radio talk show host and continues to do voiceover and narration from his home studio for clients including NC State Athletics, the Carolina Hurricanes, and the U.S. Marine Corps. With a deep, resonant voice he is often called upon to be the Voice of God (VOG) for churches; he served as Narrator for the premiere performance of The Body of Christ at Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh with a 250-member chorus.

Larry Reinhart (Lead, Contact point and Event scheduler) Click HERE to schedule an event
Larry has sung in church choirs since high school. He married his high school sweetheart, Becky, in Cincinnati, and has lived in North Carolina for 25+ years. Larry has sung in several award-winning quartets and choruses and has directed the Cape Fear Chordsmen (Wilmington, NC men’s barbershop chorus) and The Sea Notes Choral Society in Southport, NC area. Larry and his wife moved up from the NC coast to Raleigh in 2020, and he is honored to be invited to share the good news of God’s love in the music ministry of The Master’s Men.

Joe Simpson (Bass)
Joe has been singing with The Master's Men since 2017; he says that he is thankful for the ability to share the Gospel in song, and blessed to be in the company of this great group of guys. Joe began singing with his family as a child and continued through high school musicals, church choirs and ensembles, a few years of severe Karaoke addiction, and finally the hardcore drug - Barbershop Harmony - on which he's been hooked since 2007. Recently retired from a career in IT, this UNC grad can frequently be found singing with Heart of Carolina A Cappella in Durham, hiking in the woods, peering through a camera lens, or reading.

Bob Stewart (Bass)
Bob, originally from Huntsville, Alabama, is an alumnus of Auburn University and has worked as an Industrial Engineer with several telephone companies, NASA, and the NCDOT. He has played in band and sung in church choirs most of his life. He moved to North Carolina in 1980 and sang barbershop with the General Assembly Chorus for 17 years. Bob and his wife Barbara live in southeast Durham with their two cats, and they have spent 16 years landscaping their property. Barbara is a very accomplished artist, author, hostess, gardener, and cook. Bob is now working on his genealogy and represents the Stewart Clan in North Carolina and Virginia Scottish games and festivals. He is eager to reach others with our songs and spread the words God wrote on the hearts of the talented singers involved in The Master’s Men.

Larry Triplett (Baritone)
Larry's love of choral singing began with the UCLA Men's Glee Club back in the 60's. A former high school band director, Larry now makes his living as an owner and chief designer of a printing and promotional products business. "Music may not be my career any longer, but it still feeds my soul."

Jon Williams (baritone)
Jon, son of late founding member Tom Williams, started singing in church and school choirs. He is a former member of the NC All-State Baptist Youth Choir and has sung in many churches across the state in both large and small group choirs. Jon graduated from NCSU in Civil Engineering.

Tom Wilson (Tenor)
Tom began singing publicly at the age of twelve with local theatre companies and in school productions in his childhood home of Pittsburgh, PA. After attending West Virginia University, where he graduated with a BFA in Musical Theatre, Tom lived in New York City for nine years where he was privileged to sing with various choral and barbershop groups on the stages of Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center. Tom currently resides in Angier, NC where he works as an insurance agent, sings in his church choir and performs in local cabaret shows.

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