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Last April I took part in my first official panel in region 19’s contest in Ocean City,
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ope you’ve all got this date in your diaries, as it’s going to be a fantastic event! We are planning a wide range of sessions that will appeal to Chorus members, Quartet members, Directors, Choreographers, Regional Coaches, Music Teams and there will be 2 Symposium Choruses! And if that’s not enough…the fabulous, 4 times top ten International Chorus - Coastline Show Chorus will also be there! Wow - how will we fit it all in?! The Faculty will be Gail Jencik, Director of Coastline Show Chorus, International Faculty member, Lynda Keever, Lead of the 4Bettys Quartet and Certified Music Judge, plus our very own Alyson Chaney,
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26 - 28 JULY 2013 CORN EXCHANGE, EDINBURGH
Tenor of Storm Quartet and International Faculty member. Final touches are being put on the sessions and will be shared shortly! Some of the topics covered will be Singing In Tune, Chorus and Quartet Choreography and Makeup, Personal Vocal Instruction, training for Coaches, Music Selection, Embellishments and lots more! On the Saturday night there will be time to relax, party and..... enter a Talent Contest! This idea is still in the planning, but it would be open to anyone other than established choruses or quartets! You could do something on your own,
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SUMMER ROLLERCOASTER EVENT!
am so delighted to be the first approved judge in Europe - in fact the first anywhere outside the US and Canada!
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NEWS AND VIEWS FROM REGION 31, FEBRUARY 2013
CONGRATULATIONS VALERIE, FIRST APPROVED JUDGE OUTSIDE THE USA AND CANADA!
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e.g. recite a poem, sing a song, or you could join with others and do something in a small group. The idea is that it will be a 5 minute performance at most and it will be limited to 10 acts, so it doesn’t last too long and get in the way of partying! More information to follow, but get your creative juices flowing - the more inventive and crazy the better! (All we ask is that you keep it suitable for all ages!). No doubt there will be lots more than 10 who will want to enter, so a random draw will have to be made for this, but if you don’t get into the ‘official contest’ you could always just perform at the party! Given that the workshop falls in holiday time, our advice would be to get your hotel/bed and breakfast accommodation booked right away. You don’t want to miss this great weekend of education. The RMT will be deciding on the cost of registration shortly, but we know how financially challenging things are for some people right now, so rest assured we will be keeping the cost as low as we possibly can. Registration will include all of the above education, plus lunch and dinner on Saturday and all tea and coffee breaks. I do hope you are as excited about this as we are! We will let you know as soon as more information is received and decisions made, so keep an eye on the Quartet of Nations website and Facebook!
NEWS AND VIEWS FROM REGION 31, FEBRUARY 2013
Chorus Director Surrey Harmony Chorus
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A leading women’s barbershop chorus based in Coulsdon, Surrey, is inviting applications for the position of Chorus Director. We are seeking applications from dynamic and experienced directors to take our already successful chorus forward in the future, following chorus founder and director Jenny Lawson’s announcement of her retirement.
At Surrey Harmony we aim high, with five gold and seven silver medals to our name and success at international competition, but we also have plenty of fun along the way.
www.surreyharmony.com
Anne Cargill, Aberdeen Chorus
ust a reminder to those of you who are thinking of forming a quartet comprising of some or all CAL members. In keeping with chorus
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CHAPTER AT LARGE QUARTETS
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daunting, but I am looking forward to a wonderful experience working with a talented group of women and hopefully making a useful contribution. Thanks to everyone for your support – will keep you posted!”
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introduced to the staff at International Headquarters. I will attend the Board meeting in Tulsa on 1st March as an observer and after the meeting there is a Board dinner and installation ceremony when I get a badge! It’s very exciting although somewhat
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hat a delightful surprise it was to be appointed to the International Board of Directors for a year starting May 2013. As preparation for my role I have been sent lots of information, minutes of previous meetings and suggested reading lists. I have been invited to go to Tulsa at the end of February to have an induction day with the present, past and future presidents and to be
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To register your interest and request an information pack, please email Sandra Sullivan at sandra@marangmail.com
Deadline for applications is 30th April 2013
CONGRATULATIONS ANNE, OUR FIRST IBOD MEMBER!
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Valerie Taylor, Director of Vocal Dimension Chorus
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Maryland. This was one of the last steps on my journey to being approved. My scoring and comments were assessed by the Judge Specialists and, as it had been a successful debut, I was asked to write a paper analysing the Sound category and its relationship with the other three categories. I submitted this in November and it was reviewed by the Judge Specialists and then by the Education Direction Committee. On 23rd January I received an email telling me that my paper had been approved and that I had advanced to Approved Candidate Judge! So, no longer a trainee, I will now sit every year on official panels around the world - the next one is region 14, North Carolina, in April. I am often asked when I will be judging in our region. The answer is never! Judges are not generally assigned to their own regions; this is to ensure the judging process remains as impartial as possible. The next stage for me will be to become a Certified Judge. To do this I will need to receive an invitation from the Judge Specialists to trial score or judge the international contest. I think I will need a few more years under my belt before I get there! Thanks to everyone for your good wishes, and a special thanks to the RMT for their support throughout my judging journey”
NEWS AND VIEWS FROM REGION 31, FEBRUARY 2013
S w e e t A d e l i n e s I n t e r n a t i o n a l
t’s been eight months since we achieved our impossible dream and boy have we been busy. There’s not been a single month without one event or another from barbeques to a mediumship evening, boot fairs, clothes collections, garden parties, concerts and much more. We’ve relaunched our website, started our own YouTube channel and endless laughter and after 3 years’ practice, on top of that worked hard on shaping the bathroom rota ran like clockwork! Wednesday (Semi-finals day) was so much our convention package. We have two fun, that is until it was time to read out the retreat weekends planned with coaching names of the finalists! Terror then gripped from Doug Harrington this year, as well as choreography coaching and extra us such as we have never experienced rehearsals slotted in. So far it’s been a before in our quartet lives. If ever we had whirlwind and this year will be even more wondered how much all this meant to ushectic, but we are all incredibly excited we knew it then! We had obviously done and proud to be representing Region 31 something right since we were placed at Internationals in Hawaii. To keep up to 6th after the semi-finals. After the finals date with our latest events and news check our position had dropped to 9th - still an out our new website www.vivacappella. improvement on last year but our goal co.uk. Why not support us by attending for Hawaii is to have a finals package our biggest event this year, ‘The Poshnic as strong as our semis package- which Summer Ball’ on Sunday 25 August at The means embracing and understanding the Warren in Hayes, Bromley. Our black tie American sense of humour, or have them event is shaping up to be a night not to embrace ours….hmmm, we can but try! miss! Tickets are £40 per person. Thank you once again to everyone for all
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Congratulations!
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lthough it was a little while ago now, it would be remiss of us not to have a quick catch-up about Denver! A fabulous week was had by all especially as for the first time ever, we felt as if we completely fitted in - at the Quartets’ Reception, the contest stage and
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VIVA A CAPPELLA AT FULL STEAM!
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Celtic Chords!
HI FROM FINESSE!
your messages of support and best wishes each and every one is greatly appreciated.
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CHORUS NAME CHANGE! Dres Kernow, under the direction of Sarah Netherton are now
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ollowing months of searching, we’re delighted and excited to announce that London City Singers has appointed Melanie Rice as our new Music Director. Melanie is no stranger to Sweet Adelines, having been a member in Canada from 1991 to 2008. She sang with international champions North Metro Chorus from 1999 to 2008, where she also served as tenor section lead. Between 2003 and 2008, she sang in several quartets including Frenzy (who went on to represent their region at international in 2007). In response to her appointment, Melanie said ‘I am absolutely thrilled and look forward to working with and developing this talented and enthusiastic group of women’.
even back stage at the Quartet finals, all of which in previous years had made us feel overawed! It was a delight once again to meet our coaches face to face, rather than via Skype. Having the 4 of us in one room is, as you can imagine, a source of
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Elaine Hamilton, Education Coordinator, Region 31 Quartet of Nations
NEW DIRECTOR FOR LONDON CITY SINGERS!
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procedures within the Region, quartets who are proposing to compete and/or sing out under the Sweet Adelines name, should first be auditioned. This is to ensure we maintain quality across our community, as I’m sure you all appreciate. If the quartet is connected to a chorus, i.e. they have one or more members who already sing with a Sweet Adeline chorus, then they may be auditioned by that chorus’s Music Team and/or Director. An email confirming this has taken place can then be sent to the Education Coordinator, currently me, to confirm the audition has taken place. If the quartet is made up of all CAL members then they should be auditioned, in person, by the Region’s Education Coordinator, or her appointee. Alternatively, the quartet can submit a DVD of their audition to the Education Coordinator. Any current CAL quartet, who competed at the Regional Convention in May 2012 are excluded from this, as they are considered to be of the required level. If you have any questions about this, please just send me an email.
Coaching Directory AND RMT COACHES http://www.sweetadelines.org.uk/regional_faculty.htm
RMT Sheila Doherty – Team Coordinator Surrey Harmony Chorus 020 8395 2765 shortscot@aol.com Petrina Bache – Directors Coordinator Phoenix Chorus 07772 932432 trinabache@btinternet.com Nuala Hobden – Finance Coordinator Spinnaker Chorus 02392 231569 nualahelen@aol.com Elaine Hamilton – Education Coordinator CAL 0131 334 2372 elainemrssh@aol.com Petrina Bache – Events Coordinator Phoenix Chorus 07772 932432 trinabache@btinternet.com Fiona McGlashan – Interim Membership Coordinator Cambridge Harmony Chorus/Phoenix Chorus 07860 704443 impact@appleshack.com Emma Duguid – Marketing Coordinator Vocal Dimension Chorus 07815 114476 duguidemma@gmail.com Dulcie Williams – Communications Coordinator Heartbeat UK Chorus 01758 730 858 dulciewilliams@hotmail.com
Are you the Musical Director we are looking for? Green Street Blues, ladies’ a cappella chorus, are inviting applications from a dynamic, experienced and talented Musical Director with the musical and performance skills needed to develop, motivate and take this award-winning LABBS chorus forward. Experience in the field of barbershop is desirable but not essential, as any relevant training can be arranged through the various barbershop organisations. The person we are looking for must inspire, coach and motivate….not much to ask, as in return you’ll get a strong and committed chorus who desire to be among the best - combining fun with hard work. Green Street Blues is based near Sevenoaks, Kent and rehearses on Tuesday evenings. If you feel you can meet this challenge, please contact Glynis Murton at gsbsingers@gmail.com listing your qualifications, experience and detailing what you can bring to the chorus. For more information, see our website:
www.greenstreetblues.org
Regional Convention Dates May 10 – 12 2013, The Sage, Gateshead May 9 – 11 2014, TBC Visual Leadership Conference 2013: “Another Step Ahead” June 21 – 23, 2013, Toronto, Canada http://www.erinhowden.com Side by Side Directors’/Judges’ Seminar July 18 – 21, 2013, Orange, CA www.sweetadelineintl.org/index.cfm?id=43 Summer Rollercoaster July 26 – 28, 2013 (Edinburgh Corn Exchange) International Convention November 5 – 9, 2013, Honolulu, HI European Convention Dates March 14 – 17, 2013, Eindhoven, Amsterdam
Assistant Musical Director Prospective Moor Harmony North Cornwall - are actively seeking an assistant musical director. We are a small recently formed, enthusiastic chorus who are keen to progress and learn. We are looking for an experienced barbershopper who loves and knows barbershop, with the potential for taking an active part in directing and inspiring our chorus. We meet in Wadebridge (PL27 7NT) every Thursday from 7.00p.m. to 10p.m. Interested? To apply (with a resume and brief explanation of what you feel you could offer our chorus) or for more information please contact moorharmony@live.co.uk
LABBS and BABS Dates http://www.labbs.org.uk/calendar/index.shtml http://www.singbarbershop.com/diary.htm LABBS Convention October 25 – 27, 2013, Llandudno BABS Convention May 3 – 6, 2013, Bournemouth
COPY DEADLINE Harmony Rag Lite, 1st April deadline for end April of issue. Please send all articles to harmonyrag@sweetadelines.org.uk