QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
AUTUMN 2007
HARMONY RAG birmingham, baby and bournemouth Birmingham
and I was able to fully appreciate the quality of the singing back in the hotel bar as the night wore on, eventually at 3am hotel security decided that they had heard enough and moved us on. So that was the convention over - I returned home relieved that I had got through the weekend I had managed to squeeze my bump into my costume, squash my ever swelling feet into my chorus shoes, and survived our front row ‘red arrows’ cross over move without colliding on stage. So back to our rehearsal, the next event in Spinnaker’s calendar was Bournemouth Music Festival so we were practising hard when I felt the urge to visit the ladies - with the sound of ‘Can you feel the love tonight’ in the background let’s say I had a sensation - and no the resulted in a coach company agreeing to singing wasn’t that good! So I sat in the take us at short notice. The rest is history – after a particularly trying day we were overjoyed to receive the top marks in the mid-size chorus section and ended the evening on a tremendous high, clutching our gold medals. The saying goes that ‘out of every adversity there is a seed of equal or greater opportunity’ – how true this is. Because of the coach’s non-arrival we were featured in the local newspaper – twice! - and subsequently interviewed on ‘The Quay’ (they even played our ballad ladies contemplating what to do - fairly on air) – each gave us a marvellous sure that this was a false alarm as I opportunity to publicise Spinnaker Chorus was only 36 weeks pregnant I headed in particular and Sweet Adelines in back out to the risers having decided to general - lots more people now know make a discreet getaway in the break. who we are and what we are about, a The minutes ticked on and on and the tremendous positive from a perceived song wasn’t getting any shorter, the negative. prospect of my waters going in front of 50 encouraging women and Mike was Baby too much, so trying to be as casual as 30th May 2007 may have started possible I grabbed my bag and with a out as just a normal Wednesday night quick shout of ‘sorry I’ve got to go’, was rehearsal at Spinnaker, little did I know I out of the door. I was so glad I did, as would be pushing more than the ends of by the time I got home my jeans were the phrases by the end of the night! soaked to the knee! The contractions Being heavily pregnant meant the started and when they got too much we convention was a sober affair, however made our way to the hospital, one hour that didn’t stop me enjoying the party later and several bass like groans our You may remember the fiasco that took place on Convention day for Spinnaker when our coach failed to turn up to take us from Portsmouth to Birmingham - the day was saved by the local evening newspaper and ‘The Quay’, a local radio station. They broadcast an SOS which
second son was born weighing a healthy 7lb. We contemplated Roger, Norman and Marvyn but finally settled on naming him Ned Thomas Rees. I would like to thank all my friends at Spinnaker for their best wishes, cards and presents Jo Rees Well, we all try not too make too much fuss giving birth, but come on Jo, you’re making it hard for the rest of us - the next thing you know men will start talking about ‘shucking peas!
Bournemouth
As a chorus we’re very happily going from strength to strength. After our fabulous result at Convention we competed at the Bournemouth Music Festival and were awarded the Egbert Mudge Memorial Cup for ‘Songs from the Shows’ eclipsing a little known ladies barbershop chorus called Surrey Harmony. It has to be said however that Surrey took their revenge in the barbershop section by scooping a very well deserved second place to The Royal Harmonics, and Spinnaker were delighted
that Sweet Adelines had been done so well in both categories – ‘Sisters in Harmony!!’ Sandy Bury, Spinnaker Chorus
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AUTUMN 2007
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
THE WRONG TROUSERS OR HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW! How many choruses can say they’ve had their director on his hands and knees in front of them clutching a rose, with a look on his face, which can only be described as a cross between desperation and panic? Well, Lace City Singers can! Welcome to Convention ’07, at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham, which probably hasn’t seen anything quite like it before. After all the hard work in the build-up to Convention, the excitement of the chorus competition and singing for evaluation to keep us on the right track for Calgary, we were looking forward to the evening ‘Show of Champions’ where we could let our hair down and relax (relatively speaking, of course). Our dress rehearsal in front of friends and family was the first (and only) time we had performed the full package in costume, so no pressure there then! We were wearing our ‘formal’ black and white ‘orchestra’ outfits, with our MD Glenn Chaney looking extremely smart and ‘conductor-ish’ in his dress suit. Unfortunately this image wasn’t to last long as halfway through our set, the observant – well everyone really – became aware that his trousers had begun to slip south and he was conducting with one hand while trying to surreptitiously hitch them up with the other. Was this part of the choreo? That would be telling! As our ‘link ladies’ ably led the audience into our last song, ‘Hooked on Classics’, Glenn, who had disappeared stage left reappeared proudly waving a conductor’s baton, apparently having had a miracle burst of hair growth and bearing a strong resemblance to Andre Previn (or Preview for those with a long memory) - it was very difficult to concentrate and keep a straight face. A couple of taps with his baton on the music stand and we were ‘Hooked’, with frantic violin playing, an assortment of pink tu-tu’d ballet dancers tripping across the stage to Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody In Blue’ and a tough-guy image for Beethoven’s 5th – the ‘UGH!’ would have roused anyone who was nodding off (it had been a long day). Through it all, Glenn was trying to stop his trousers slipping and if the laughter from the audience for our performance so far was anything to go by, it didn’t by any means detract from the action.
There were a few moments of relative tranquillity with ‘Ode to Joy’ but that came to an abrupt halt as we ‘galloped’ into ‘The Lone Ranger’ . . . sorry – ‘The William Tell Overture’. Glenn had again disappeared, this time to return wearing his Lone Ranger stetson and mask astride Silver, his (hobby) horse, to join the ladies of the front row galloping across the stage. At this point, what had been happening all through the performance SHOULD have happened – but didn’t! As we changed tempo to ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Glenn had another image and hair change, this time on stage. But as the front row and the chorus parted to reveal Laura Ritchie’s ‘beautiful’ Juliet on her balcony, where was Romeo? Alas he was on his hands and knees, crawling up the stage clutching a rose and desperate to woo his love but dragging behind him Helen Willis and Jo Messom who were hanging onto his legs for dear life, frantically trying to rip his trousers off to reveal – ‘Romeo – Man in Tights!’ Unfortunately there’s no ‘pause’ button on a live show, so we had to carry on desperately trying not give in to the overwhelming desire to laugh – not a problem for the audience who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the spectacle! Oh to have had a camera! Things calmed down a bit with a regal ‘Trumpet Voluntary’, the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ and Grieg’s ‘Piano Concerto’ but ‘Carmen’ gave us all a ‘bit of attitude’ helped by Jayne Armstrong in her bright yellow Aly G outfit. And finally it was into the ‘1812 Overture’ with Glenn, that man of many hairstyles, striding onto the stage the absolute spitting image of Max Wall – the hairstyle, the tights, the boots and the walk! What a finale. And what a fantastic response from the audience after the final ‘Tah dah!’ – a standing ovation. The noise was incredible as we all took a final ‘classical’ bow. Wow! So thanks to our choreographer Michelle Walker who somehow managed to get us into her groove, to the rest of the chorus for wholeheartedly getting involved and to Glenn for agreeing to change his trousers (and his hair) in front of a couple of thousand women . . .. definitely a performance I won’t forget. Jan Moore Lace City Singers/Lincoln Sounds
SHOWTIME
We would like to announce that Somerset Hills Chorus are presenting SHOWTIME at Wellington School, Wellington - on Saturday December 15th - with talented guest artistes. Final format to be decided soon and will displayed on our website: somersethillschorus.moonfruit.com Also - We had a lovely evening at Kentisbeare in Devon on Saturday 21st July where we sang to raise money for Childrens Hospice South West. Really appreciative audience - and the bonus of a group of male singers on the bill!!! Sheila Kohn, Asst. P.R.O Somerset Hills Chorus 2
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
AUTUMN 2007
A PERSONAL STORY… On an amazing high from regional contest my only focus for the next 5 months would be getting myself ready and prepared for the International contest in Calgary. The Lace City Singers had an incredible journey ahead of them with an amazing line up of coaching, new songs and Topaz fund raising events to enjoy. I had helped Topaz as much as I could on their journey of fund raising and publicity (for the Rising Star Contest at IES ).. mainly by getting all my barbershop friends at the National Barbershop Youth Chorus to buy tickets to their shows and dinners! Topaz were ready and raring to go. Songs were learnt, fundraising completed and dieting was well and truly under way to fit back into those gorgeous striped dresses once again!... after all that is one of the most important things! Then as Topaz were ready for the most exciting contest they could ever enter, disaster struck. I received a phone call late one Thursday evening about 3 weeks before Topaz were due to be on that international stage in Texas... They had no Baritone! They asked if I would be able to step in
and sing with them... And I jumped at the chance... I was going to IES to take part in a coaching programme anyway so why not! Of course I never anticipated how hard it would be to switch from Tenor to Baritone in 2 songs I already knew
very well. As the new Topaz began to take shape we had rehearsals for 4 nights after college and work for a week. Then time was up! Emily and I were due to fly out to Denver for the Barbershop Harmony Society International Convention. But with the help we had from Michelle Walker and the support from all of the Lace City Singers, we felt confident we would do
our best. We were as ready as we could be, given the circumstances! When we all arrived in Texas we were quite excited one could say! I stood out on the balcony of our dorm room in the incredible heat, and who should be next door but Ellie Mills and her quartet Luminous! We had such an amazing time with them. We were likened to being sister quartets. We were together all the time and sat in on some of their rehearsals. They were also kind enough to arrange some rehearsal time for us with their coach, showmanship judge Sandi Wright. She gave us amazing tips and tools to use on stage and was so supportive. We felt so ready back stage to show what Region 31 could do, but there was an underlying thought in all of us… we have heard so many incredible quartets this weekend, quartets with international medallist coaches and queens of harmony… the nerves began to show. Then we heard all the guys from Region 31, Luminous and all the friends we had made cheering as our name was announced. The confidence was back! Emma Beeden, Tenor in Lace City, now turned baritone.
The region made a small profit on this yearís Convention and this will be put towards the cost of future education events and next year’s convention. The proceeds from this year’s Raffle were used to subsidise the November Education Workshop at the Sage.
singing for our supper Singing for our supper became a reality on Saturday in the bar - and hopefully we have a few ladies interested in 21st July when we were invited by the all male Wyndham joining us. Singers to perform at their show We had a great night and which was raising money for walking on to sing the final song Children’s Hospice South West with the fellas, guess what?…one held at the beautiful Kentisbeare of our girls (it had to be a BASS) Village Hall deep in the Devon fell over but the trooper she is it countryside. did not shut her up! She eventually We had a super sell out ended up in the accident centre at audience and a lot of fun! The 1am in the morning with a swollen Wyndham gents thought our knee and a broken left thumb! close harmony singing was Life is full of UPS and DOWNS AWESOME!! so BRING IT ON! We had a lovely supper and Sheila & Jenny a good chat with the audience Somerset Hills Chorus
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AUTUMN 2007
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
CLASSIC HARMONY SAVE THE DAY! An eleventh hour ’phone call to Classic Harmony secretary, The crowd, the stage and Alibi, the band who performed Margaret Brown, led to ‘an all hands on deck’ ring-round to before us, were amazing. With at least 200 hundred people find a chorus or quartet to close the Peterborough Festival. standing and sitting on Peterborough Embankment cheering After strong winds and rain on the Friday before the closing us on, we launched into our 15 minute programme – so event, the main outdoor stage, much noise – but according which should have held the City to our friends in the crowd we of Peterborough Symphony managed to stay in tune and Orchestra, had buckled and actually sounded pretty good! was now unable to be used. Then with help from the Classic Har mony had keyboard player and drummer recently become members from Alibi, Amethyst along with of the Making Music group in Sharyn and Margaret from Peterborough, and had been Classic Harmony, led the crowd well received by the organisers with Rule Britannia and Land of and audiences at the opening Hope and Glory – followed by 10 ceremony two weeks before. minutes of the loudest fireworks It was a chance telephone call ever heard. by them to see if we could help Amethyst and Classic Amethyst, from left to right: Lucy, Debbie, Fi and Ally out. Harmony had saved the day! Unable to provide a chorus due to our director being out The organisers were thrilled that we were able to step in at of Peterborough for the week, we offered Amethyst quartet to the last minute to close the festival, and we were pleased to represent Classic Harmony on stage – along with a couple of do it. other members – to help out on the closing numbers. Mind you, with all that noise and all the running around So, after many telephone calls, e-mails and general running to organise, we’re not sure we’d want to do it again. But then around the city, Amethyst took to the stage in front of a mixed again… crowd, many of whom had obviously visited the beer tent at Ally Page least once that day! What a reaction! Amethyst and Classic Harmony
YOUNG SINGERS FOUNDATION I would like to have reported an increase in the collection held for the Young Singers’ Foundation in Birmingham this year but unfortunately we collected less than half of the amount last year. I believe a lot of it was to do with the layout of the venue and we could not cover all the exits and entrances. However, I would like to give heartfelt thanks to everyone who donated and helped raise just under £96. This was rounded up to £100 by a couple of small donations from my chorus, County Connection Harmony. International acknowledged the Region’s support by sending a Certificate which was displayed on the notice board in Harmony Bazaar. I hope that next year we could have a contingent of Young Singers helping with the collection – after all they are our future and if only some of them would make applications for grants, they could be the recipients of any money we collect. Anyone who is about to take up a career in Music, which includes vocal studies, by attending University or specialised
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educational facilities could apply for a Grant or Scholarship and, I say this every time I write, wouldn’t it be great to see a young person from this Region on the list.
The Young Singers Foundation was created by Sweet Adelines International in 1992. The Foundation’s purpose is to enrich the lives of young people through educational programs in vocal music: scholarships; grants to schoolbased music programs; and funding to after-school and community vocal music activities for young people. The funding is available to all regions of Sweet Adelines International so it is up to us, the members, to encourage youngsters or schools to apply for funding. If you
need further information of how to apply for these Grants please contact me and I can send leaflets, or go directly to the Young Singers Foundation part of Sweet Adelines website www.sweetadelineintl. org/young-singers-foundation.cfm. I would like to thank the Regional Management Team, once again, for allowing a collection to take place. I should also like to mention that it is the intention of the Region to make a donation in place of the Silent Auction to Young Singers as they did so generously did last year. I should also like to make a plea for each and every member to donate just 50p to this cause during Convention next year or anytime until then. If you want to do this within your chorus, then cheques can be sent to me and made payable to “Young Singers Foundation Region 31”. Once Again, THANKYOU to everyone who dipped into their pockets and purses in May – let’s go for a record next year! Fran Pocock – YSF Liaison Region 31 fastnet@f-kpocock.wanadoo.co.uk
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
30th Anniversary 1977 - 2007 1977 - The year we chartered! - and, by Director. Rebecca joined us in 2004 and a wonderful coincidence, Headquarters was a previous member of Purbrook and had booked their International Convention a Quartet Gold Medallist. She is also the
that year to take place in London at The Royal Albert Hall in October. The event was televised, and we were thrilled to be invited to sing on that great stage and to receive our Charter as full members. At this time we were called The Brighton Ladies, but this was again changed in 1984 to Coastline Harmony Chorus to represent our members who came from other local areas. However, none of this would have happened if it had not been for a special meeting held in 1973 by a small group of wives and girlfriends of male barbershop sing er s w ho decided they wanted to sing fourpart harmony too. A few meetings later, and discussions about outfits, in June 1973 a chorus was formed. They called themselves the Sussex Harmonetts. 2007 – Thirty years on from receiving our Charter we can now boast how lucky we are to have Rebecca Thorpe as our
youngest Director in our Region, and under her direction in 2006 Coastline broke back into the medal tables and were delighted to receive 2nd Place Small Chorus medals. We had 28 singing members on stage and of those, 6 were singing with us for the first time. Our membership has now grown to 36. It doesn’t seem that long ago we marked our 25th Anniversary, but preparations are now in full swing for yet another great celebration on 6th October when we are holding a grand Dinner/Dance. Attending this will be three founder members who still sing with Coastline today - Jackie Collier, Valerie Paddock a n d Pau l i n e Wakeling. We look forward with pride knowing that through all the highs and lows of the past 30 years, Coastline Harmony will continue to shine for many years to come. Coastline Harmony
AUTUMN 2007
A Very Special day! Saturday November 17th 2007
“Why?” is the question you may very well ask - and the answer is that this is the day when barbershop hits the Leicestershire town of Loughborough in a very big way. In each of the past two years the Grand Central Chorus has organised shows featuring top American quartets, “Four Voices” in 2005 and “OC Times” in 2006. This year the guest quartet are the 1999 International Champions “Fred”, who are renowned for the high quality of their singing and their very high entertainment value. That is merely the icing on the cake, as two other events are taking place during the day. The guys in “Fred” will be coaching the National Barbershop Youth Chorus during the day, and that session is open to anyone who wishes to observe, and the Ivy League, LABBS own youth chorus, is also going to be rehearsing in the building. But there is more! In conjunction with the theatre, the Grand Central Chorus are holding an open harmony singing workshop for young men and women aged 25 years or less, and we are hoping for a good response from local schools and colleges. Altogether this looks like a great day, but any help in publicising the events would be most welcome. The coaching sessions and the workshop, which is sponsored and therefore free to participants, will be held at Loughborough Town Hall, starting at 10am; no prior booking is necessary. The evening show, featuring “Fred”, the Grand Central Chorus, “Pitch Invasion” and the National Barbershop Youth Chorus, starts at 7.30pm in the same venue and tickets costing £14 can be obtained from the theatre box office on 01509 231914. Further details for the workshop can be obtained from Chris Blatchford on 01509 646506, or Alan Goldsmith on 01673 860366. We would love to see you there! Alan Goldsmith Chairman, East Midlands BHC 5
AUTUMN 2007
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
Convention Bournemouth International Centre Friday 26 to Sunday 28 October
Our special guests are the Dutch male vocal quartet – Rock4 For more information about the weekend and for hotel bookings please see the LABBS website: www.labbs.org.uk For tickets please contact Viv Garner on 01767 261520
Hope to see you there! RMT Report T h e I nte r n at i o n a l Ed u c at i o n Symposium (IES) this year featured a special track for RMT members, funded by Sweet Adelines International. 6 members of the region 31 RMT attended IES in San Antonio, Texas, in July this year. This was a great opportunity for us to network with RMT members from other regions and to get to know the people at HQ that we deal with by email. We also picked up some interesting news about developments in Sweet Adelines: IES 2008 will be the last one and there will be a special directors’ track run at the symposium. The proposal is to run “area schools” on a 3-year rolling programme, with events being held in
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Europe, Australia/New Zealand and the 2009. The competition will take place US/Canada. on Tuesday evening, taking the place of An RMT networking day will be held the Showcase. each year at The Rising Star c ompetition for Young Women In Harmony quartets will be held at International Convention as from 2009. The competition will take place on Saturday morning. (The Saturday morning education event will either be run alongside the Rising Star competition or moved to Friday morning.) The quartet registration fee will be increased to $80 per year as from next year. International convention. We will let you know as soon as we The Harmony Classic competition for have more information about the area the 5 highest-scoring eligible choruses schools which are replacing IES. in the A and AA category will be held Valerie Taylor at International Convention as from Communications Coordinator
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
AUTUMN 2007
TOPAZ AND LUMINOUS QUARTETS AT IES You should all have seen the Rising Star quartets at IES! WOW, WOW!!!!! 20 quartets were competing for the coveted title of Rising Star Champion Quartet 2007 and the standard of the competition was just incredible. A few of us from the Regional Management team were lucky enough to witness the event - we were so excited for our own region’s quartet Topaz, who came 7th in the competition, beating so many wonderful quartets. Region 31 (UK) also got our first ever International Gold medal when Luminous quartet won the Rising Star contest! The bass in the quartet is Ellie Mills and she usually sings with Lace City chorus. (She used to sing bass in “Pure Innocence” quartet.) Luminous were just fantastic and they got a score of 390 out of 400 points, scoring a perfect 100 in music! Competing in Region 31 is one of the quartets options next year so you may all be able to hear for yourselves how fantastic they are! Luminous quartet is made up of Lauren Robards (tenor), University City MO, Emma Harris (lead), Eureka MO, Ellie Mills (bass), Nottingham, UK (currently St. Louis, MO) and Casey
Bazzell (baritone), St. Peters, MO. http:// www.stlharmony.org/ We can’t wait to see Ellie on the front of the Pitch Pipe - it’s just so brilliant! As the Rising Star Champions, Luminous will have the honour of opening the International Quartet finals in Calgary later this year. For Ellie this will be a very special moment indeed - her chorus, Lace City, will be there together will all her family to cheer her on. The Luminous girls have only been singing together since January 2007.
quartet has had a lot of great coaching from Sandy Wright (director of St Louis chorus in region 5) - what a coach she is! Our own quartet, Topaz, also got coaching from her during the week at IES and they soaked everything she told them up just like sponges – their great result speaks for itself! The Classic Harmony chorus contests were also fabulous and both gold medals went to choruses outside the US – what a shock for the Americans! The small chorus contest was won by ALBA from Sweden - Ase Hagerman’s new chorus. They were brilliant! Their package was so entertaining and original and it was a delight to watch them perform. The mid size chorus contest was won by the New Zealand chorus and they also put on a fantastic show. There you are - a lot of excitement and I am just over the moon for region 31. All of our region’s hard work, education and coaching are paying off! What will be the next highlight for this super region? It could be your chorus or quartet making Ellie moved to the US for a short spell as the headlines! part of her work/life experience and she Jeanette Yuile has not wasted her time over there! The Marketing Co-ordinator
Crisis? What crisis?
Many choruses go through difficult times. If your chorus is facing one of those times and you would like some help to resolve a dispute or conflict, or just get things moving in the right direction, please contact the RMT. We offer a confidential conciliation and mediation service and we are here to help. If you would like more information, please contact the Team Coordinator, Debbie Pern.
A------Z of Sweet Adelines A for Sweet Adelines who set the pace B for Barbershop with Bari’s and Bass C is for Chorus, Competition as well D for Dress – oh! What a swell E for Enthusiasm, just what we have F is for Friendship, caring and loving G for the Girls, 30,000 or more H is for Harmony, sung the world o’er I for International, the bond is so strong J come and Join, then its Joy all along K for Kindness, that holds the key L for Leads who have the melody M is for Moves, we must get them right N is for Notes reaching new heights O for Onionskin, give it a hitch
P is for Practise, perfection in Pitch Q is for Quake, which we sometimes do R for Risers transported by you S for Smiles getting broader by far T for Tenors who reach for a star U is for Unity, Undivided are we V is for Venues, near or far, maybe W for Women, no men at all X for Xmas when we have a ball Y is for You; you must play your part Z is for Zeal and that’s where you start Cathy Young City of Roses Apologies to Cathy for the incorrect printing of this first time round.
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AUTUMN 2007
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
DATES: Arriving from 6 pm on Friday 9 November 2007 finishing 12:30 pm Sunday 11 November 2007.
BOOKING FORM:
VENUE: The Sage Gateshead/Newcastle is an amazing home for live music on a landmark waterfront site. We will be using Hall Two, one of the Sage’s two outstanding performance spaces of acoustic excellence, the Northern Rock Foundation Hall and rooms in the Music Education Centre.
Name:
WHAT’S INCLUDED?
Postcode:
Top quality educational classes provided by Rumors and our
Daytime telephone:
own international and regional faculty members
Lunch and dinner on Saturday, tea/coffee at specified times Saturday night barbershop show featuring Rumors! CDs and music for symposium songs YOUTH BARBERSHOP FESTIVAL: On Saturday 10 November, we will be having an event for local youngsters (aged 10+) and any YWIH members who wish to participate. There will be specially arranged classes and the opportunity to perform on the Saturday night show. ACCOMMODATION: A full hotel booking service is provided by the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative - Book online at www.sai.newcastlegateshead.com or via the link on the Quartet of Nations website. TRAVEL: For the special price of £4.00 you can pre-purchase a 3-day Convention Travel pass valid on all metro (underground) and Quaylink buses linking the Sage with the city centre, airport and train station. Be sure to add this to your booking form to be sure to receive your pass with your joining instructions. HOW TO BOOK: Complete the form opposite and send with a cheque payable to “Quartet of Nations Region 31” to: Debra Watson, Registration Co-ordinator 9 Stenigot Grove, Lincoln, LN6 3PF (Tel: 01522 884523) BOOKING DEADLINE: All bookings should be received no later than 28 September 2007. We reserve the right to refuse any requests received after this date. Note that there are limited spaces available. Once the workshop is full, applicants will be put on a cancellation waiting list.
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Address:
1
Email address : Chorus Name: Dietary or Accessibility needs:
Please attach a separate sheet with names, membership numbers and any special dietary or accessibility needs for all group members
No.
Members2 @ £75
£
No.
Non-mbrs @ £80
£
No.
3
YWIH @ £30
£
Remember to book your Convention Travel Passes (these will not be available onsite) No.
TOTAL
Travel Passes @ £4 £ £
NOTES: 1
Music and CDs for symposium songs will be mailed during September 2007. Prior to this date, all correspondence will be via email. 2
Member rate applies to registered Sweet Adeline Members who have paid Region 31 dues for the year 2007-08 and front line male directors of SA Choruses. 3
YWIH applies to young women age 26 and under. Group leaders are responsible for ensuring the safety and supervision of young people under the age of 18.
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
AUTUMN 2007
THERE’S RUMORS ABOUT… Are you ready for the Rumors? We are so excited about this year’s regional education weekend – what a coup to get Rumors to take part in our weekend and what a programme they promise to deliver together with our own regional faculty! Make sure you go nowhere else from 9th to 11th November – it is guaranteed to be a weekend you will never forget! Full of exceptional learning opportunities, singing, wor ld class performances, friendship and fun – you would be mad to miss it! Rumors is the 1999 International Champion Quar tet of Sweet Adelines International. They burst onto the scene in 1997, stealing the show at the Sweet Adelines International Competition. Many in the audience thought they had won, until it was discovered they had gone over their time limit by 18 seconds, just enough to bump them from first place. The next year, conspicuously wearing watches, Rumors was crowned the Best Quartet in the World, 1999 International Champions. Rumors members - Dale, Judy, Peggy and Charla steadfastly refuse to take themselves seriously. The true details about Rumors are highly classified, but it is rumored that...
they have performed together since the beginning of Sweet Adelines; they have competed among the best in the world; they live in different states but fly to practice together every other night; their appearances include: America’s Funniest Home Videos, David Letterman, Oprah, Phil Donahue and Rikki Lake. M a s te r D i r e c to r D a l e Syverson is also the heart and soul of the Rich-Tone Chorus. As the daughter of a barbershopper, Dale has been a part of the Sweet Adelines organization since she was a child. Since Dale became the Rich-Tones’ Director in 1976, the chorus has grown from 18 members to over 150. Like Rembrandt or Picasso, Dale is a master artist who paints music with her hands. Dale’s creative and musical exper tise comes from over 40 years of training and directing experience in the Sweet Adelines organisation. We are selling places quicker that for any other educational workshop before so hurry up if you want to be there. Places are limited so the “first come first served” rule will apply – get your booking form in to us as soon as possible to ensure that you secure yourself a place! Jeanette Yuile, Marketing Co-ordinator
Spotlight on… Goodness, how time flies when you are enjoying yourself! I couldn’t believe it when at our Aberdeen Chorus post competition party in May I was presented with my 15 years longevity award, it seems like only yesterday I was lured into the wonderful world of Sweet Adelines! Many of you will remember me from my duties as Competition Coordinator, and after having taken a couple of years off, I’m back serving on the RMT as Team Coordinator. I am thrilled to be back working with such a focused, enthusiastic team! Whilst my Chorus/Region 31 duties (strange I hear some of you say – where are a big part of my life, I have another life do you have the time for another life!).
I work full time at Deeside Golf Club in Aberdeen as General Manager/Secretary, which is a great job especially when I have to get my golf clubs out and play all the great golf courses. The highlights of 2006/7 were playing the West Course at Wentworth, Sunningdale and the New Course in St Andrews – mind you I am still struggling to get my handicap below 18! I also find time to spend with my daughters Jennifer and Sarah, I suppose I better mention my new four legged granddaughter Heidi the mad labradoodle! Debbie Pern Team Coordinator
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AUTUMN 2007
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
The Plymouth Mayflower Chorus A Sparkling Night for RAPID-UK
What a great time we had at Crown Hill Fort opening the Twilight Music and Fireworks Concert in support of RAPID-UK. It was one of the rare rain free evenings of the summer. What a line up– from a group that beat the African rhythm to a Beatles tribute band. I am glad the chorus were on first so that we could bop the night away and enjoy the whole show. The firework finale was superb!! Since then the flooding in Gloucester has ruined their headquarters and all the equipment. They have had inflatable boats and teams out rescuing people from the rising water. They really needed any monies raised to carry on their work, normally overseas, but on English soil this time.
Standing Ovation for Barbershop
cope with anything. We even did an encore and had an amazing standing ovation. Afterwards a composer and musician gave us an original work, and people were asking where they could see our next performance. What a thrill!! We can’t wait to be asked to return next year. A comment from the organiser: “I’m so glad you enjoyed the concert - it was a real highlight for me, and for the 100 or so audience. You were, of course, worth more than the cost of the coach, and I’m grateful for the implicit contribution you made to the festival, as well as the lively and skillful performance. Next year the church events will be organised by a team, which I will chair, so I will obviously propose you again for what I think of as the Monday slot. Best wishes and thanks to you all,” Mike Bailey
New Members through Vocal Workshops
Our normal Monday night rehearsal venue transformed into a full blown concert for the world renowned annual Folk Festival in Sidmouth. A really exciting first for the chorus at this amazing event. We all piled onto the coach in Plymouth not knowing what to expect or how we would fit in with all the other performers from around the world and just a little scared because we were the only act for this early evening show in the Parish Church. Would barbershop be well received? Well, it was brilliant!! The knave of the church was full, with standing room only at the back. Restacking the chorus to stand on just three steps and modifying the choreography created its own problems, but hey — we are women and Sweet Adelines, we
Starting at the beginning of July the chorus advertised a six week course of vocal lessons with Sarah Gill, one of our assistant directors and bass section leader. We targeted Parish Magazines, the local papers, put up posters, handed out flyers, but the best of all was the Plymouth online Diary. Forty people turned up on the first evening, exceeding all expectation. After giving out CD’s and music, they had to learn two songs, homework sorted out those who were really interested. The following weeks settled down to about twenty-five with at least ten possible new members. One of the highlights of our performance in Sidmouth was that the class joined us on stage and sang their two songs, How We Sang Today and One Fine Day, as our finale, with family and friends watching. We will certainly be doing this again and I will be putting us in the Plymouth Diary every week to advertise our rehearsals. The whole chorus has enjoyed the experience.
The Power of Our Director
A chorus member has found a picture taken at our last convention. Our Director Jo Channon has enslaved the waiter. Notice how he is obediently painting her nails!! Jane Wood Vice President and Publicity Officer The Plymouth Mayflower Chorus
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
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Flaunt! Well, Flaunt! have had a busy time since the last Harmony Rag. After our busy and exciting weekend in Birmingham, we had the perfect antidote… a quartet holiday to Kim’s place in Spain! We spent a wonderful week in the sun, relaxing, singing, drinking, eating, learning new songs and did we mention drinking?! One of the wonderful things about barbershop is that we can share it wherever we go, and we also enjoyed a lovely day in Torrevieja with the Velvetones Chorus. We watched, sang, did a bit of coaching and lapped up their fabulous enthusiasm.
We took every opportunity to sing, in restaurants, by the pool, in an octet and learnt a song on the beach. Our star performance was at Alicante airport when Jenn and Nicky had to go home to get back to school. (Shame!). Alicante check-in staff were holding up their telephones so that their amigos could hear us. Alicante airport has GREAT acoustics. Sadly we had no hat! June and July were wedding months. We sang at several weddings, two were members of our own chorus, Louise and Rae-Anna, (not marrying each other though!). Needless to say both brides looked beautiful. We are now looking for
more wedding songs as we have more bookings. As well as all that, we managed to fit in singouts, and have some coaching with Doug Harrington, Ally Law and Liz Garnett. The rest of the summer will be busy too… Caroline has moved house and Kim is jetting of f here, there and ever ywhere with work. Jenn disappeared off to Kansas in July and then on for a visit to her sister in San Diego. She got back and then there was just one day to fit in a quartet rehearsal before Nicky went off to Turkey with her boys, complete with crutches after badly spraining her ankle. We have booked our flights and hotels for Calgary and are travelling and staying at the same hotel as Lace City Chorus, who have been very helpful and welcoming showing us newbies the ropes. They have also invited us to sing at their dress rehearsal night in September. Thank you for your support! We are very much looking forward to getting to know them better and very
excited and proud to be representing Region 31 in Calgary but the butterflies start when we think about singing….. against the best quartets in the world….. in front of 10,000 people and live on the internet....wooooaaaah here they come again...!!!!!! We are working very hard to ensure we give the best performance ever, and are thrilled that ten members of our chorus are coming to support us too. Calgary won’t know what has hit them! The more artistic of the group are working on a t-shirt design as we type. The RMT have then invited us to sing at the SAGE Symposium in Gateshead in November, and to be coached under glass by Dale Syverson, (wooooaaaah
here they come again…!!!!!!) Flights booked for that too! Flaunt! are becoming regular jet setters! Anyway, we hope you are all enjoying your Summer too, and look forward to imagining you watching us on the webcast at International and seeing you all at the Symposium in November. Kim, Jenn, Nicky and Caroline Flaunt! www.flauntquartet.co.uk
Barbershop in Harmony! Two meetings have been held bet ween representatives of BABS, LABBS and Sweet Adelines in Region 31 to discuss ways of working together to promote barbershop harmony in our region. Bill Harvey (Chairman), Alan Goldsmith (Vice-Chairman) and Laurie Whittle (Marketing & Communications Director) represented BABS. LABBS was represented by Jacqui Edwards (Chairman) and Val Lawrence (Membership Secretary) and the Region 31 representatives were Valerie Taylor (Communications Coordinator), Jeanette
Yuile (Marketing Coordinator) and Deborah Wheeldon (Events Coordinator). The meetings have enabled us to get to know our sister and brother organisations and talk about opportunities for cooperation and collaboration. Between the 3 organisations we have more than 5000 members! By working together we hope we can raise the profile of barbershop as a serious musical art form. We are discussing possible joint events and will keep you posted about developments. Valerie Taylor Communications Coordinator
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
THE JOURNEY TO “LUMINOUS” The journey to “Luminous” becoming the 2007 Rising Star Champions began in 1996 when I joined “Baby Barbies” at Arnold Hill High School, in Nottingham when I was 12 years old! It was run by my chemistry teacher, Glenn Chaney, who later became a Master Director with the chorus he founded, Lace City Singers. Shortly after this I began singing with my first quartet, “In the Spotlight”, and after just over one year together, in July 1999, along with 2 other quartets from my
sister Sophie sings baritone in Lace City Singers. Unfortunately my Dad was turned down due to wardrobe issues so 3 years ago he joined the Major Oak Chorus, also founded and directed by Glenn. Until leaving the UK last year, I was a Bass Section leader and Music Team member for Lace City Singers. Being an active YWIH member in region 31, I initiated the Region 31 YWIH Showstoppers chorus, which I am happy to hear is still going strong. This inspired me to register
previous quartet on the St. Louis Harmony Chorus September Show. Emma left the chorus due to University commitments, but we stayed in touch. In December I was introduced to Casey who turned out to be an old friend of Lauren and Emma, and a great bari. She jumped at the chance to sing in a quartet and “Luminous” was born. We registered with Sweet Adelines and on March 30th, after only 8 weeks of rehearsals, we competed in the 2007
school, we journeyed to IES in Texas to enter the very first Rising Star Contest. With our hair in pigtails, wearing bright blue pyjamas with big yellow moons and holding teddy bears, my quartet of 14 & 15 yr olds came away with the silver medal! I was completely hooked on barbershop. When I was 14 I joined Lace City Singers and immediately got together with 3 school friends from the ‘Texas group’ to form “Pure Innocence”. We competed 4 times in Region 31, achieving 4th place in 2003 and 5th in 2005, as well as winning medals, including gold, with Lace City Singers. I am responsible for persuading my mum and sister to join Sweet Adelines. My Mum, Liz, sings bass in Lace City Singers and Upbeat Quartet, and my
on the Directors Certification Program. In summer 2005, I spent one month in the US where I attended the Barbershop Harmony Society International Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah and received a hefty dose of barbershop whilst staying with Sandi and David Wright in St. Louis, Missouri. The rest, as they say… is history! After graduating from Durham with a degree in Geography and Environmental Management, I moved to a suburb of St. Louis to pursue a year long internship in the City of Chesterfield Planning Department. I immediately joined the St. Louis Harmony Chorus where I met Lauren (tenor) and Emma (lead), and only 2 weeks later I stood in as bass in their
Region 5 quartet contest in Springfield, IL placing 9th singing ‘Deed I Do’ and ‘The Bandstand in Central Park’. That same weekend Lauren and I became regional chorus champions with the St. Louis Harmony Chorus, directed by Sandi Wright, achieving a score of 646. My parents were in the audience which made it very special. We didn’t have much time to find a costume for the contest, so Lauren offered the Bridesmaid dresses from her cancelled wedding….. It proves that Bridesmaid dresses can be worn again! With no time for alterations we were duct taped, safety pinned and even sewn into the dresses as the competition escort arrived! Not something I would recommend! The alterations and diamante
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL shoulder strap were completed in time for the Rising Star Contest by the 78 year old costume coordinator from St. Louis Harmony Chorus. Upon our return from regional we threw ourselves straight back into rehearsing and preparing for the Rising Star Contest. We rehearsed between two and four times a week to build up a ten song repertoire for our fundraising show in June, from which we raised more than enough money to cover the expenses of attending IES. We performed 3 or 4 other gigs and were honoured to be guests on the Summer Show of the Ambassadors of Harmony, 2004 Barbershop Harmony Society Champions; a perfect dress rehearsal for Rising Star. Sandi and David Wright have coached us weekly since our formation; their support and encouragement has been invaluable; they are such an inspiration. They fed and watered us, changed a flat tyre, helped us rescue Casey when she ran out of gas on the highway on route to our first rehearsal and you can always rely on David if you fancy a beer. He’s also been known to arrange the odd song or two! They already called themselves “Ellie’s American parents” so we joke that they now have four extra daughters! Five days before contest, while I recovered from tonsillitis, we were still undecided between ‘Deed I Do’ and ‘Yes
Sir That’s my Baby’ as our contest uptune; two very different songs. Our contest ballad ‘At Last’ by Nancy Bergman, was so strong that David suggested we take the more complex ‘Yes Sir’ as it would set us apart from the other quartets and show maturity. When we received 100% in the music category we were assured we had made the right choice!!! Seeing Topaz, Glenn & Alyson Chaney, Deborah Wheeldon and the RMT members at IES made the week even more special for me. I will never forget walking on stage and seeing the British contingent cheering and waving flags; particularly Jeanette Yuile who was going crazy with the flags! We opened our contest set with ‘At Last’ and before finishing the last chord the audience were on their feet. It was such a buzz and gave us that extra bit of edge for our uptune. We came off stage completely satisfied; whatever the result, we felt like we had won the audience. We were followed immediately by “Topaz”, who were fantastic! They put into play every word of advice thrown at them that week and were true ambassadors for region 31! I hope they return in 2008 to improve on their well deserved 7th place! When “Luminous” was announced as the 2007 Rising Star Champions chaos broke out! The emotions that went rushing
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through me were indescribable. I do remember thinking two things as the gold medals were hung around our necks and the audience sang to us. Firstly, I wished my parents and sister could have been there to share the emotional moment with us! Secondly, I thought how wonderful it was that Glenn and Alyson Chaney, the two people who got me started in barbershop and saw me win my first medal in 1999, were able to be there to see me win an International Gold Medal with “Luminous”! “Luminous” is very thrilled to have helped me bring the first International Gold medal home to the UK, and can’t wait to represent Regions 5 and 31 when we perform at the International Convention in Calgary. It will be great to sing at International in a year when Lace City Singers and my parents will be there. I return home to the UK directly from Calgary so it will be a bittersweet for me to leave behind the place I have called home for the past 13 months. It has been an amazing year, and who knows what the future holds for “Luminous”. We would love to compete next year either in Region 5 or 31; maybe we can be the second transatlantic quartet to reach the top. Thank you to Region 31, especially Lace City Singers, for all your support! Ellie Mills Bass with Luminous Quartet
CHARTERING PROCESS OF A PROSPECTIVE SWEET ADELINES CHORUS EXPLAINED The group wanting to join Sweet Adelines first apply to Sweet Adelines International for “Prospective status”. The Membership Co-ordinator in the region will receive notification from SAI about the new group. The membership Co-ordinator and Education Co-ordinator organise music and admin visits to the new group to explain all the details about chartering from both a music and admin point of view. All the form filling starts and the new group has to establish a board or team, elect board or team members and select a permanent musical director for the group. There are also several non refundable payments to SAI during the prospective status time and a new group has 2 years to complete the process towards chartering or they will have to start again. The new group also has to select a name that has to be approved by the RMT in the region and SAI. A new group has to have 15 members or more, not including the director, to charter. The new group has to create a “Chapter
standing rules and bylaws” document and have them approved by the regional Team Co-ordinator. The new group also has to have another musical and administrative visit from the regional Membership Co-ordinator and Education Co-ordinator. This will fulfill the required two musical and two administrative visits before a new group can charter. The final chartering process includes more form filling and the final payments include the International annual membership fees per member and the regional annual membership fees per member. The new group has to be chartered before 15th January of the year they would like to compete at regional convention. I hope this explains the process to those of you who wondered how this all works. Please contact me if you would like to find out more about our chartering process. Jeanette Yuile. Marketing co-ordinator and acting Membership Co-ordinator
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
Harmonize The World The Tropical Way Tropical Harmony are a group of Sweet Adelines from different choruses all over America who travel abroad together and arrange performances whilst on holiday. Next June they are making a grand tour of Italy. If anyone in Region 31 is interested in joining them contact Rose for further details. They would really love us to join them. It was last summer when I first heard of the Tropical Harmony chorus. Patsy Meiser their Musical Director contacted me by email saying they were going to be touring the U.K. in May 2007 and wanted to meet as many Sweet Adelines as they could during their visit. Alyson
accommodation was sorted for them all on the Tuesday. Phew!! I thought the Mayflowers were going to have to divide fifty assorted Yanks between us!! We had organised our soiree at the beautiful Royal Corinthian Yacht Club overlooking the Sound for the Wednesday night and my message (remember my message) was to ask if any of the hale and hearty members would like a guided tour of Plymouth on the Tuesday evening. About eight Mayflowers arrived at the hotel expecting to take out a small group only to find that no one wanted to miss out, so it looked hilarious as this conga of women walked the streets of Plymouth.
Chaney had spoken to Patsy at IES and told her what fun they would have with the Mayflowers. Thank you Alyson, no I really mean it, thank you. In the New Year many emails were exchanged and invitations issued. You may have noticed an open invitation via the Harmony Rag to all Sweet Adeline choruses to join us for an evening of song and laughter. Prior to the chorus arriving in Plymouth on the Tuesday there was a slight hiccup. I telephoned their Plymouth hotel the day before arrival to leave a message, only to be told that they were not expected until the Wednesday. Alarm bells rang. Something was seriously wrong and knowing the Tropicals were visiting Bath I phoned the largest hotel to ask if they had a party of Americans staying, but as I was talking to the receptionist I could hear them singing in the background (as we all do). With a bit of juggling,
Fortunately it was a glorious evening and the Tropicals were taken to all the major sights ending up the The Mayflower Steps where the Pilgrim Fathers had set sail for the New World in 1620. Many photographs were taken and we all sang Let There be Peace on Earth, gathering a small audience. The next stop was the Island House across the road from the Mayflower Steps. The night before the ship sailed, many of its passengers had lodged there and on the outer wall is a large wooden plaque listing all the names of the passengers. One lady saw her ancestor’s name on the plaque and reverently stroked her fingers across it. It was very touching and moved me as I am someone who has walked past that list of names a hundred times and not really given it much thought. They all loved the Barbican and a visit to the Gin Distillery was also a hit. This used
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to be a Monastery and all the medieval features are still there. Honest that’s all we looked at! It was a very weary party who walked back to the hotel. Remember, they had been sightseeing and travelling all day, but they were very jolly and looking forward to meeting the rest of our chorus the following evening. The next night saw the Mayflower Chorus decorating the yacht club with both American and British flags and red, white and blue balloons. It looked super. The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club is right on the waterfront; it couldn’t have been a better location. The time at last had come, Tropical Harmony arrived and what a racket. It sounded like five hundred people and not the hundred it was. Everyone was excited and there were lots of hugs and photos. Eventually everyone settled, with the two choruses sat down mixed and mingled together and looking like they had known each other for years. It was a wonderful feeling. Tropical Harmony entertained us with a super repertoire and their choreography was great considering they had only had one rehearsal together. The Mayflowers and the staff of the yacht club showed their appreciation very enthusiastically. At the end of their package the Mayflowers joined them and the two choruses sang Can You Feel the Love Tonight. Well, you certainly could feel it. Assistant Director Jo Moore then led the Mayflowers in an upbeat package of Rock n Roll numbers, which received a fantastic reception. There were presentations and then two quartets from Tropical Harmony, Solar Flair and Tropical Attitude sang. They were very entertaining and amusing. It was fabulous. There was a lot more singing and eating and talking, the buffet was delicious thanks to Steve the chef and the whole evening was brilliant. An occasion the Mayflowers will always remember. We would love to give any of our sister choruses across the world a welcome should you choose to visit the West of England, just get in touch. Rose Padwick President The Plymouth Mayflower Chorus
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
AUTUMN 2007
Coastline Harmony’s Calendar of Events SINGING IN THE RAIN!
Coastline Harmony were delighted to perform at the 10th Anniversary celebrations of Emmaus on 30th June in Portslade. Emmaus is an organization that offers homeless men and women “a bed, and a reason to get out of it”. The event was opened by their UK President, Terry Waite, who then continued to carry out a grand fund raising auction. Although the relentless torrential rain did not stop all day, Coastline managed to keep dry as we sang to the audience under cover of the marquee. We thoroughly enjoyed joining in the celebrations which were great fun - and also taking refreshments in their wonderful café.
Southwick Fayre
Then in July in slightly less wet weather conditions, we participated in a local Fete on the village green and sang to everyone pausing at our fundraising stall. No one was able to escape without buying something!
Car Boot Sale
On 11th August we carried out a car boot sale in glorious sunshine for a change. Our fundraising secretary, Jane, was up at dawn so as to get the best pitch on the site. This was yet another great opportunity to sing to passers by and hopefully attract new members.
Candle of Hope Ceremony
tribute to friends, family and loved ones by placing candles of hope around the Then on 18th August Coastline track. Yet again, despite the heavy rain proudly performed the event was very successful. songs at dusk Future events at the In early September we have a car rally to look forward to, then two performances on one day, firstly at the Worthing Sheep Fair in Findon, then in the evening at a charity concert in Burgess Hill on behalf of Scope (a charity supported by the Lions Club). On 13 September we are holding another Open Evening hopefully to continue increasing our membership once again. October finds us holding a fundraising fashion evening, and finally on 6th October, we are excitedly looking forward to celebrating Coastline’s 30th Anniversary with a Grand Dinner Dance. Coastline was founded in 1973 and chartered in 1977 and we are proud to still have some of the founder members in the chorus who are often amusing us with their various first Candle of Hope Ceremony in stories and escapades of things past. Stanmer Park Brighton. This ceremony Well then, time for a rest please – but was part of a 24 hour charity event on no, just when you think it’s safe, what do behalf of Relay for Life – a national you hear – “Ok then ladies, best get out community event designed to celebrate the Christmas Carols”!! the lives of peoople touched by cancer. Sue Goodwin As night falls participants gather to pay Coastline Harmony Publicity Officer
Advertise your Chorus or Quartet here! Maybe you have a new CD that you want to sell. The costs for advertising are as follows: Full Page £60.00 - 1/2 Page £30.00 - 1/4 Page £15.00. Due to the nature of the magazine your article may sometimes exceed the size stated if I need to fill more space but I will never make it smaller!
STOP PRESS CONGRATULATIONS TO VALERIE TAYLOR
WHO HAS JUST BEEN ACCEPTED ONTO THE INTERNATIONAL JUDGING PROGRAMME SHE IS THE FIRST PERSON FROM REGION 31 EVER TO BE ACCEPTED SEE NEXT ISSUE FOR FULL STORY
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
Regional Faculty The Regional Faculty is our own group of trained coaches and educators. They can help in a variety of ways including chorus and quartet coaching, as well as management and administrative advice. Please feel free to contact them to see what they can do for you. Alternatively if you are unsure who to contact, your Education Co-ordinator, Alyson Chaney can advise you on who would be best for you. Fees and expenses should be agreed with faculty members in advance Anne Cargill, Aberdeen Chorus Aberdeen - 01224 704627 acargill@lochside.fsbusiness.co.uk Alyson Chaney, Lace City Singers and Lincoln Sounds Chorus Nottingham - 01636 814377 alysonchaney@yahoo.co.uk Glenn Chaney, Lace City Singers Chorus Nottingham - 01636 814377 glennsings@yahoo.co.uk Kit de Bolster, Flying High Singers Netherlands +30 6885602 kitjack@caiway.nl
Elaine Hamilton, Forth Valley Chorus Edinburgh - 0131 334 2372 elainemrssh@aol.com Dorothy Main, Aberdeen Chorus Aberdeen - 01224 782124 emmandee@tiscali.co.uk Mike Taylor, Spinnaker Chorus Southampton - 01489 600134 mike@stelmo.me.uk Valerie Taylor, Surrey Harmony Chorus Croydon - 020 8660 8037 valerie.taylor@privacysolutions.co.uk Rebecca Thorpe, Coastline Harmony Chorus Fareham - 01329 2354491 Becks2010@hotmail.com Gwen Topp, Aberdeen Chorus Aberdeen - 01224 575366 gmtopp@tiscali.co.uk Michelle Walker, Lace City Singers Chorus Nottingham - 0115 9654524 shelbywalks@yahoo.co.u
Regional Convention Dates:
Got a show?
9-11 May 2008 - Birmingham 8-10 May 2009 - Newcastle 7-9 May 2010 - Newcastle 6-8 May 2011 - Birmingham 11-13 May 2012 - Birmingham
Let us know the details and we will print it here. Swell those audiences for free!
Regional Management Team 2007-2008 Alyson Chaney Education Co-ordinator Lincoln Sounds Tel: 01636 814377 alysonchaney@yahoo.co.uk Debbie Pern Team Co-ordinator Aberdeen Chorus Tel: 01224 586430 admin@deesidegolfclub.com Elaine Hamilton Directors’ Co-ordinator Forth Valley Chorus Tel: 0131 334 2372 elainemrssh@aol.com Eileen Milne Finance Co-ordinator Aberdeen Chorus Tel: 01224 742453 ge@cromar26.demon.co.uk Valerie Taylor Communications Co-ordinator Surrey Harmony Tel: 020 8660 8037 valerie.taylor@privacysolutions.co.uk Deborah Wheeldon Events Co-ordinator Lace City Singers Tel: 0115 963 0114 deborah.wheeldon@tiscali.co.uk Jeanette Yuile Marketing Co-ordinator Aberdeen Chorus Tel: 01330 811544 j.yuile@btinternet.com
Other Diary Dates: Lace City’s Show ‘Hooked on Barbershop’ will be on Wednesday, 12 September, 7.30pm (venue still to be confirmed)
DEADLINE for the next issue
Educational Workshop 9-11 November 2007 The Sage, Gateshead, Newcastle
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18th NOV
Editor - Deborah Lamble 72 Sopers Lane, Christchurch, Dorset BH23 1JF Tel:01202 487287 Email:deborah@lamble.plus.com