Harmony rag 2017 3 autumn winter

HARMONY RAG Autumn/Winter 2017

McREGION 31 SHINES BRIGHT AT INTERNATIONAL

IN THIS ISSUE Hi and welcome to this edition of Harmony Rag! As your new Communications Coordinator I thought I should introduce myself. I have been singing barbershop since I joined Surrey Harmony in October 2002 and was baritone from the moment I heard that harmony line! I have competed in two quartets, Polyphonic and Encore, and in 2009 left Surrey Harmony to help found Vocal Dimension where I am the bari section Leader, Events Coordinator and Assistant Director. Regionally, I have been Quartet Liaison, Competition Coordinator and Events Coordinator for the first years in the Sage and helped to bring Alba Show Chorus and The Buzz quartet over for education events. Communications Coordinator is a new area for me and it’s a steep learning curve, I had forgotten how many emails and issues the RMT deals with!

Hilary Pinnock did a great job in this role—and her and Charl Asuit are a fantastic support to me. The RMT are now running at full strength again which is perfect timing as there is a lot going on with convention closer than we all think and our region hosting the BinH Mixed Quartet competition, plus a few other exciting things in the works for Region 31. It’s a great time to be part of our strong region.

HARMONY RAG QUARTET OF NATIONS REGION 31 Sweet Adelines International Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organisation of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education, competition and performance The Quartet of Nations Region 31 represents Sweet Adelines International in the UK and the Netherlands

If you have any suggestions or would like to help me ensure communications are relevant and getting where they need to, please contact me.

Yours in harmony, Emma Riley Communications Coordinator

FEATURES 15 • FORTH VALLEY REFLECTS ON VEGAS 2017 CONVENTION 17 • AN UPDATE FROM FINESSE 18 • VIVA EUROPA! 20 • SURREY GOES TO EUROPE REGIONAL BUZZ

3 • A YEAR WITHOUT CONVENTION—WHAT? 4 • HEARTBEAT UK CHORUS AT 20 YEARS 6 • GWEN TOPP RETIRES AS DIRECTOR OF ABERDEEN CHORUS 7 • LONDON CITY SINGERS DEBUT ALBUM 8 • RHAPSODY ROOKIES 8 • THE SPINNAKER SPARKLE KEEPS SHINING 9 • VOCAL DIMENSION FEATURES ON PRIMETIME TV! 12 21 23

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Warmed Up Notices & Fanfare Calendar & Coaching Directory

Harmony Rag is published three times a year in March, July and October by the Regional Management Team of the Quartet of Nations in digital format. The July issue is also published in print format.

Materials sent for publication are at the author/contributor’s risk and while every care is taken, neither the Quartet of Nations Regional Management Team nor Sweet Adelines International accept any liability for loss or damage.

Send all queries, copy and images to the Harmony Rag Editor, harmonyrag@sweetadelines.org.uk SUBMISSION DEADLINES For March issue – end of February For July issue – end of June For October issue – end of September

REGIONAL BUZZ A YEAR WITHOUT CONVENTION— WHAT?

By Stephanie Aisthorpe, President, Plymouth Mayflower Chorus

We ladies at The Plymouth Mayflower Chorus decided to take a break from convention this year and put our energies into recruiting and rebooting!

We are delighted to say that we will be back in 2018 with 13 new members and a refreshed spring in our step!

However, we did miss taking part in the fabulous competition at the Sage in Newcastle this year and we also missed attending the famous afterglow parties that tend to spring up all over the city, so we decided to create an afterglow party all of our own!

We held our ‘afterglow’ function in the beautiful ballroom of The Duke of Cornwall Hotel in Plymouth who had donated it free of cost to us. The girls in the chorus set about decorating the room with all things musical (mostly handmade) and we invited choruses and choirs from all over the South West to join us for an evening of wining, dining and song... especially song!

As well as the Mayflowers singing their hearts out, we were also treated to singing from our guests who were members of other singing groups, some of whom joined together to form impromptu groups! It was all very warm and fuzzy!

We were very fortunate to have a fabulous local singer, Lorraine

Plymouth Mayflower cheque presentation (credit: Jean Graham)

Johnson, to sing for us so that we could boogie into the small hours, as well as an up and coming feisty band from the South West, simply called ‘Blank’ who also performed a set for us. Both acts generously performed free of charge. So, along with our ticket sales, our super draw, raffle, auction and a couple of fun party games, we were thrilled to be able to hand over a cheque for £1,500 to a children’s charity, Children’s Hospice South West, who were extremely grateful.

Another exciting venture that we undertook this year was to perform on stage with the wonderfully talented Richard Navarro where we provided the backing vocals for his uplifting

and moving self-penned songs. This took us out of our comfort zone and away from our beloved barbershop, but we embraced the challenge whole heartedly and did ourselves proud. It was a fabulous concert and will live as one of our favourite chorus memories.

Richard Navarro is an incredibly talented man who deserves to have more recognition. Look him up on www.richardnavarro.co.uk Like most choruses, we are at our busiest during the festive season and last year was no exception. Along with the usual turning on of lights, children’s parties and late night shopping events, we were requested to perform at possibly the most quirky venue to date... the National Marine Aquarium

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REGIONAL BUZZ

HEARTBEAT UK CHORUS AT 20 YEARS

By Stella Vincent, Press & PR, Heartbeat UK Chorus

2017 heralded the 20-year anniversary for Heartbeat UK Chorus and what a year it’s been!

We all expected it to be a quiet jaunt through the year with a few social occasions and celebrations. After working so hard in 2016 to compete at International Convention in October, where we placed 19th (the highest debut placing for a UK chorus), we decided not to compete at regional convention in May to take time to focus on some other things. It has turned out to be a great chance to do more in the community, to recruit and to build upon our singing skills.

Top: Mayflowers at the Richard Navarro concert (credit: Heather Sadler) Bottom left: Susie with underwater Santa (credit: Susie Hyslop) Bottom right: Mayflowers selfie with the fishes (credit: Susie Hyslop)

in Plymouth! There was something very special about singing our beautiful Christmas arrangements with the colourful majestic fishes swimming behind us and watching the faces of the excited children. The highlight of the sing-out was when a snorkelling Father Christmas joined the shark tank and danced along behind us!

Honestly... it did happen!

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We hope you have enjoyed reading our round up of our non-convention year 2017. The Mayflower ladies are very much looking forward to seeing you all at The Sage in May 2018 where we will be back doing what we love most – singing barbershop on the convention stage!

We began the year with an exceptionally successful ‘Learn to Sing’ event. We decided to do it a bit differently this year and offered the ladies the chance to learn a song with us over six weeks then sing it in a show in Buxton. We were staggered to have 30 ladies sign up for the course. Some just wanted to sing on stage for one time only – but we were lucky enough to have quite a number decide to stay with us and we now boast 15 new members who continually worked hard to take part in the year ahead as we began our celebrations.

Our first big stretch was to sing with the women of Styal prison in March where we met Lieutenant Harriet Tadikonda who is a talented composer and who was introduced to us by Valerie Taylor and Vocal Dimension who had worked on the One Voice project in the military – a way to bring people of all faiths

‘Learning to Sing’ course with Heartbeat UK Chorus

together. The event at the prison was truly uplifting and special. When we sang Saints and the whole audience joined in it was wonderful to see how singing can bring people together.

We eagerly made plans for our grand birthday celebration in July when we held the biggest tea party ever!

Afternoon tea, a Ceilidh band, lots of singing and a very special guest appearance of the region’s wonderful quartet, Finesse. We were so proud of Sarah Cole when she got the year off to a flying start by becoming their new bass in January.

In June, we were honoured to be asked to support the One Voice campaign for children’s choirs at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. Lieutenant Harriet Tadikonda’s composition was a joy to sing and we were moved by the

contribution of so many young people in song. The occasion was made even more emotional as it followed the atrocity of the bombing of the Manchester Arena. Along with 2000 children and representatives from all the religions of the world, we sang for peace with heavy hearts as we remembered those who had died.

In the sunshine of July, we enjoyed supporting Only Men Aloud at the beautiful Gawsworth Hall Open Air theatre and August brought some more good weather and exciting news when we were privileged to be chosen to support Russell Watson in the Great British Prom at Bolesworth Castle in Cheshire. I think we became a little star struck! What fabulous days to be out in a field with so many talented singers and musicians.

Left: Heartbeat UK Chorus performing at the Bolesworth Castle Right: At the Buxton concert in February 2017

Also in August, we were delighted to welcome John Beasley to our rehearsal. He recorded us singing and interviewed some of our members for the podcast he was producing. This has now been published and also featured Cheshire Chord Company, Cottontown Chorus and MUBS. You can find it here www.facebook.com/ harmonyukpodcast.

During the year, four of our members organised groups of Heartbeaters to sing from time to time at local nursing homes to support Alzheimer charities and to provide entertainment for those affected by this cruel disease. Music in Mind have held various events which involve performances and sing-a-long activities. In September, we supported the Memory Walk event when several members took part in a sponsored walk raising over £300 for the Alzheimers Charity.

Following our busy summer we began in earnest to prepare to compete at the Irish Association of Barbershop Singers (IABS) Convention being held in the beautiful town of Cork in October.

With so many new members to help learn our new ballad, one of our girls decided to research people’s different or preferred methods of learning songs. The results are both enlightening and entertaining. Our member

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REGIONAL BUZZ

GWEN TOPP RETIRES AS DIRECTOR OF THE ABERDEEN CHORUS

By Anne Cargill, Aberdeen Chorus At a time when we seem to be bombarded daily with news of Brexit, we in Aberdeen now have a much more pressing concern – Gwexit!

Gwen has been the Director of the Aberdeen Chorus for over 20 years and has decided that the time is now right for her to step down.

Left: IABS first place trophy Right: Hat in the River Lee

Katherine has presented her findings and they can be viewed on YouTube https://youtu.be/f09xYYoeC Our diligence to learn and our hard work in rehearsals with a full day of personal voice instructions (PVIs) run by the music team and then a wonderful weekend under the instruction of Claire Barnett-Jones (LABBS judge and opera singer), paid off with a stonking result at IABS when we represented Sweet Adelines Region 31. We were so excited to place as gold medallists in the International section. The weekend was not without its ups and downs however. Particularly when, on the way back from the rehearsal room, one of the hats (an integral part of our performance), blew off into the river Lee, never to be seen again! But with true Barbershop resolve we quickly secured an alternative thanks to the loan of a top hat from the concierge at the Metropole Hotel. It has to be said that the citizens of Ireland are indeed a very supportive and friendly nation!

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As our 20th year is nearing an end, we look forward to more exciting events.

We are so proud of Sarah Cole’s debut performance at the International Convention in Las Vegas with Finesse and their 9th place finish, and also extremely proud of Forth Valley Chorus with their amazing achievement as the first UK chorus to perform in the final! Plus the wonderful Life’s A Pitch – all such fabulous ambassadors for our region.

As the year draws to a close we are privileged to be invited to sing at Cheshire’s lovely stately homes, Tatton Hall and Lyme Hall for their Christmas events. It’s been a busy year but we’ve been pleased to have the chance to participate in a number of community and charity events, to continue to improve our singing skills with visiting coaches and to recruit some lovely new ladies who bring such joy and enthusiasm to us.

Then just when you think what a busy year that was and hope to put your feet up, it’s 2018 and we have convention in May to work towards.

What an exciting hobby we all have!

Gwen Topp, Aberdeen Chorus

REGIONAL BUZZ She took the position of Director from singing on the risers and quickly became a Master Director, building the chorus up over the years and raising our standard of singing and performing. Under her leadership the chorus has won many awards in Sweet Adelines contests over the years. Gwen has always been keen to provide variety for the chorus, taking us to other barbershop competitions in Ireland, Wales and more recently in Spain.

A talented arranger, Gwen’s songs are firm favourites with audiences and her originality and creativity will long be remembered by chorus members and our fans. Christmas is always a time when Gwen’s creativity is unleashed – with fun filled shows featuring fairies, dwarves and pirates to name but a few. Edinburgh Fringe shows were also an opportunity for Gwen to show off her creative talent with performances featuring aliens and ABBA lookalikes!

Gwen also found time for quartetting, first of all singing bass with HopScotch, winning the regional contest in 1992 and competing at International Convention in Baltimore that year.

Since 2001 she has sung baritone in Vocal Zone with Val Muir, Anne Cargill and her old school friend, Dorothy Main.

Always on the lookout for talent in the chorus Gwen quickly spotted the potential of the young Sophie Radcliffe and has gradually mentored and supported Sophie to become the confident co-director of the chorus.

Gwen will be a very hard act to follow!

We hope that she will remain an active member of the chorus and continue to provide us with valuable advice from her many years of experience.

London City Singers recording in North London

LONDON CITY SINGERS DEBUT ALBUM

By Adel Hanily, London City Singers It’s safe to say that London City Singers has had a year to remember.

We struck gold when we won the International Chorus Competition at Spanish Association of Barbershop Singers Convention in April. But our achievements didn’t stop there. This year we are also celebrating our tenth anniversary and to mark the occasion we are producing a debut album.

Recording an album is no small task and it doesn’t come cheap, so we set up a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds for the production of the CD. This was a big success and we not only met our target, we exceeded it. We’re truly grateful for the support!

So then it was onto the recording.

After months of prep, we headed to a beautiful church in North London along with music mastering and mixing pro (and fellow barbershopper!), Peter Nugent. We stormed through our tracks in record time and Peter is now working his magic mastering it all together.

The album is set to be released in March 2018 and will contain a mix of folk, classical, pop and West End/ Broadway hits. Five of the ten tracks have been arranged especially for us by our Musical Director, Simon Arnott.

We cannot wait to hear the results of our hard work and we are excited to share it with you all.

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REGIONAL BUZZ

RHAPSODY ROOKIES

By Katie Tarleton, Rhapsody UK Chorus After their summer break, Rhapsody UK Chorus held a ‘Learn to Sing’ fourweek course to entice new members to the fabulous art of barbershop.

Seven people signed up online to come and join us to sing, but on the first night we were delighted to have 19 ladies arrive, keen to find out what all the fuss was about! Graham Davies, our Director, was beside himself with joy facing the full risers and when we started to sing, he got shivers – a very good sign for things to come!

The new ladies – or Rhapsody Rookies as they were christened – settled quickly into the order of the rehearsal evenings. Physical warm up, vocal

warm up with the chorus and then into learning their performance pieces with our lead section leader and previous Music Director, Helen Glavina, along with section helpers from the chorus, before joining again with the full chorus to sing another piece together.

Each week the chorus returned to listen and watch them perform and we were all amazed at how great they sounded and how fast they learned! So much so that it was decided that they could learn a third piece to sing along with the chorus! Three pieces in four weeks is quite a result, I’m sure you’ll agree!

Sisters Steph and Natalie joined for the challenge to get their brains working more, as well as for the fun and enjoyment. “I find singing a stressreliever”, said Natalie, “I feel more relaxed when I leave – and it’s nice to know you’ve not lost your faculties!

We found out about Rhapsody when

a leaflet for the course came through the door, we’d been looking to return to singing and this felt like the universe was speaking to us – this was the chorus for us.”

They have found that their singing had improved through those short weeks, and they stayed because the people were so open, friendly and funny – the word “naughty!” was used for one section but we couldn’t possibly comment for which one!

The friends and family performance given at the end of the course was a complete success. The seats were full and so much support came from our audience. The Rookies rocked and we are so proud of what they have achieved. Singing with them all was such a pleasure and Rhapsody is very excited to audition ten of them who want to be part of our continuing journey.

THE SPINNAKER SPARKLE KEEPS SHINING

By Tracy Daniel, Spinnaker Chorus The life of a Spinnakerette is never dull for sure. There is always something going on within our chorus whether it be a new song to learn, new members passing auditions, coaching sessions, sing outs, festivals, social and fundraising events, etc.

The Rhapsody Rookies with Music Director, Graham Davies (credit: Lucy Edwards)

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We are a wonderful team and our fundraisers are a very special part of that. Elspeth Smith and Wendy Ranft are our Fundraising Coordinators as well as members of our bass section.

They are also great friends which is probably why they are so successful in this shared role. They manage to come up with the most fantastic, imaginative

REGIONAL BUZZ ideas which in turn raise much needed funds for chorus – and we all know how important that is in order to keep a chorus of 70 plus afloat.

The sort of events they’ve organised include a Tea Party, Fashion Show, Murder Mystery Night, and Karaoke Night, numerous raffles, guessour-convention-score sweepstakes and more. Their events are always meticulously planned right down to the tiniest detail. They enlist the help of Nikki Kelleher from our lead section, who is also a school catering assistant, to provide tasty meals, deserts and amazing baking to enhance our events.

Every financial year our President, Jill Cook, sets our fundraising goal and this year we exceeded this by £2,000 thanks to Elspeth, Wendy and Nikki.

Our fundraising progress is recorded on our fabulous lippy-tometer and provides great excitement at each quarterly reveal. It’s certainly not an easy task thinking of original ways to raise funds but these wonderful ladies really do have a knack for it. They are currently planning some special craft items for the Spinnaker Harmony Bazaar stall at Region 31 convention in 2018 so look out for some great buys in May. In other news, Spinnaker is excited to announce that we have just finished recording our debut CD called ‘In the Pink’ featuring our favourite repertoire songs. We had two recording sessions with the amazing 4-Part Music Ltd mobile studio on Sundays during October. Our CD will be available in early December and we already have approximately 200 pre-orders, so profits from sales will add to our fundraising tally. Also, on Saturday 28th October, we were honoured

Top: Spinnaker’s lippy-tometer for fundraising Bottom left: Mic warming at the 2017 European Barbershop Convention (credit: BinH) Bottom right: With Jules & Shelley from 4-Part Music

to be invited as mic warmers for the second day of the chorus competition at the European Convention 2017 in Bournemouth. It was a super event and wonderful to see Sweet Adelines Region 31 represented in style with fabulous performances by Surrey Harmony and Viva Acappella.

2017 has definitely been exciting so far and we can’t wait to find out what will 2018 hold.

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Vocal Dimension Chorus riff-off with A-Flame on BBC1’s Pitch Battle

VOCAL DIMENSION FEATURES ON PRIMETIME TV!

By Viv Cooper and Nicky Shipp, Vocal Dimension Chorus This summer, we were thrilled to appear in the brand new Saturday evening BBC1 TV show, Pitch Battle – showcasing the UK’s best vocal groups in a series of singing challenges. A clue to the show’s pedigree and ‘share-thelove’ ethos lies in its Musical Director being none other than Deke Sharon!

In February 2017, impressed by a video of Vocal Dimension’s silvermedal-winning performance at Harmony Classic 2016, the show’s researchers invited us to a London audition involving over 120 selected groups. After an exciting evening and tantalising wait, we were delighted to be awarded one of the coveted 30 places.

We threw ourselves into learning songs and attending a full schedule of music and choreo rehearsals, with

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vocal coaching by acclaimed singer, producer and arranger, Nick Girard, of The Magnets and House Jacks’ fame – also one of the jurors on The Naked Choir. Choreography was by Gaz Davies whose credits include the X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Popstar to Operastar and Mamma Mia, The Movie. Between the rehearsals, we enjoyed a couple of days of being filmed in and around Reigate – attracting many curious-but-terriblyBritish glances!

Then after months of intensive work, VDC travelled to Media City in Manchester to take part in our heat with five other groups of different sizes and musical genres. During three days of studio rehearsals, we got to grips with microphone technique and working with a backing band – new experiences for our group as you’ll appreciate! Amid a flurry of hair, make-up and wardrobe calls, one of the many highlights of the experience was working with the very lovely Vicky Gill, ‘costume queen’ from Strictly Come Dancing!

On the third evening, it was at last

time for the ‘Show Record’ hosted

by Mel Giedroyc. After singing in an epic opening number arranged by Deke, we performed our showstopper – Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics.

Dressed in long black gowns, madeup and coiffured to within an inch of our lives, we circled around each other on the amazing Pitch Battle set.

Catherine Duggan, who sang the solo riff in Sweet Dreams, says: “I was thrilled to be chosen to do two solo spots for VDC in Pitch Battle. When I sat down to watch the show at our viewing party, I wasn’t sure how they

The now famous mic drop

REGIONAL BUZZ our solo, a beautiful arrangement of Something by George Harrison. Claire comments: “When we sang it at the dress rehearsal, we were lucky enough to receive some coaching and positive words from Deke Sharon. To sing it just a few feet from him, with our wonderful chorus standing behind me creating the most incredible wall of sound, was one of the best moments of my singing career.”

Vocal Dimension Chorus in Pitch Battle action

were going to come across – so I have to admit it was a relief when I heard them!”

Next, in a Pitch Perfect style riff-off, team VDC battled it out with our warm and friendly opponents – gospel fivepiece, A-Flame. The whole atmosphere of the show was very similar to convention, everyone wanting all the groups to do well and feeling the love!

Our riffs comprised three specially written four part arrangements, culminating in I’m Too Sexy by Right Said Fred. We really went to town on it and the judges got to their feet to

clap along and dance! The climax was an iconic mic drop by ‘GangstaGran’ Lesley Tring, which brought the house down – and set Twitter alight. Deke Sharon asserted that it was the best moment of his life!

The three judges, including international stars, Kelis and Will Young, spent an agonisingly long time deciding which group should go through to the Solo Round. But, after lengthy deliberation, they finally opted for A-Flame. Everyone was sad that our fabulous soloist, Claire Miskin and the group were unable to perform

The blow was softened by Will Young saying he couldn’t let VDC go without telling us we had REALLY risen to the challenge and had taught him something that day. And Head Judge, Gareth Malone, added that VDC’s performance was “joyous and what singing in a choir is all about.” We were also very pleased that the winner of our heat, Leeds Contemporary Singers, went on to win the whole series! VDC’s Director, Valerie Taylor, sums it all up: “It really was an amazing experience. The atmosphere in the studio was electric and we had such fun singing with the other groups.

I hope we’ve put Redhill on the a cappella map and shown what can be achieved when a group of ordinary – but fabulous – women sing their hearts out”.

Left: Getting ready at the makeup room (credit: Nicky Shipp) Middle: Valerie Taylor and Mel Giedroyc Right: Official Pitch Battle photo (credit: Nicky Shipp)

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COLUMN:

WARMED UP Like all of you I am immensely proud of our Region 31 successes in competitions recently. Congratulations to Heartbeat Chorus and Ignite UK for their excellent performances and placements at the IABS Convention in early October, to Viva Acappella for a wonderful bronze medal at the European Barbershop Convention in Bournemouth, and to our international competitors Forth Valley, Finesse and Life’s A Pitch for their fabulous performances in Las Vegas. Special congratulations to Forth Valley Chorus for making history – the first Region 31 chorus to perform as mic warmers in the finals of the international chorus contest with an outstanding package which took everyone’s breath away and which has won them many more admirers throughout the world!

It’s been a busy autumn with our Spotlight on a Song workshops which have been hugely popular. Well over 500 of you attended these day workshops all over our region and I’d like to thank our fantastic faculty who led these workshops so well and so successfully. Thanks to Valerie Taylor and Amanda Prest (Netherlands), Nancy Kelsall and Sandra Lea-Riley (South East England), Gaynor Schofield and Chantel Parsons (Central England), Glenn Chaney and Helen Abbott (South West England and Scotland) and David Sangster and Norma Ferrier (North West England). Thanks also to the choruses who hosted these events, laying on cakes and refreshments and troubleshooting on and before the day. You were magnificent, as was the Region 31 Workshop Coordinator, Chrissie Boden, who worked her socks off to ensure risers were delivered, venues were booked and faculty were fed and watered!

As I write we are just about to hold our Tune In Directors’ Workshop in Birmingham starring the amazing Dale Syverson and Joan Boutilier. Almost 50 directors, assistant directors and music team members will attend this workshop and will help our region to grow in stature even more!

This column’s edition of Harmony Rag has been kindly written and contributed by Kim Wonders, Master Director of Metro Nashville Chorus. This is a fantastic article—from the November 2017 issue of Forward Motion (newsletter for Director Certification Program members and front-line chorus directors)—and and I hope it will help to further increase your warm up resources. Many thanks to Kim for her insight and practical help.

Wishing you all a great Christmas and New Year!

Alyson

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR VOCAL WARM-UP TIME

By Kim Wonders, Director, Metro Nashville Chorus

The most important time in your rehearsal is your vocal warmup time. It is the time that sets the tone for the rest of the rehearsal, so it is important how it is handled. You want your vocal warmup time to be positive, productive and creative for your singers.

My job as director is to help my singers improve their individual vocal skills and that is my focus during vocal warmup time.

Our vocal warmup time is 20-25 minutes and most of the warmups are in unison. My philosophy is that establishing an ensemble unit sound and blend helps in developing section blend. As we work on vocal warmups, I want my singers to develop stronger listening skills as well. Are they listening to the singers around them? Are they matching resonance, vowels and diphthongs?

I start the vocal warmups with a breathing exercise and move to a vocal warmup that involves bubbling. After a bubbling exercise, I then do one or two middle range vocal warmups and then I switch to exercises that move up the scale to the upper range. By the time my singers get to rehearsal their vocal folds in their lower range are already warmed up from talking all day, so my focus is to challenge my singers to increase and strengthen their upper range. We do several vocal exercises in the upper range Throughout our vocal warmup time, I remind my singers to use their hydraulics—to keep the entire body engaged and fluid and to move lots of air. We will do one low range vocal exercise and we usually end our vocal warmup time with interval work. Interval work is so crucial in a cappella singing because it helps in developing ear training and tuning in our singers. From time to time, we will sing a round at the end of warmups, which gives singers an opportunity to apply the skills they have been working on and it is a fun way to end vocal warmup time.

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Alyson Chaney, a certified International Faculty member and current Region 31 Education Coordinator, presents a regular column about how to devise a great vocal warm up routine. She would love to hear from you, too.

If you have any great warm-up routines to share, please send to alysonchaney@yahoo.com

WARMED UP Being a chorus director has many responsibilities and preparing our chorus to sing is one of the most important things we can do for our singers. We are the only voice teachers most of our singers will ever have.

Here are some of my favorite vocal exercises that I use with my singers: #1 - bubbling - great for starting the vocal warm ups #4 - Nng to AH - good for mid-range #6, 8, 10 & 11 - Ascending exercises that are good for developing the upper range

WARM UP #1 – BUBBLING

Reminders Make sure the highest note is forward, not back Bubbling does three things for us when we sing: moves the air, opens the throat, brings the sound forward

WARM UP #4 – NNG TO AH

Reminders Start in Eb and repeat by going up by half steps Keep the jaw relaxed Shift to AH when you get to G as the starting note and keep the sound consistent No dumpage on the low note!

WARM UP #6 – E-O-E-O (ASCENDING)

Reminders Good for vowel matching and keeping the sound forward during the descending 5 tones Teaches EE and OH to share space – the tone is open yet forward; EE is a tongue vowel, OH is a lip vowel Second time you say EE is better than the first time – make the first EE sound like the second one Take a ‘hot potato breath’ on the first EE – be careful on the last OH be out front; the EE is helping you present the OH OH feels better inside your mouth but it should live out front

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WARMED UP WARM UP #8 – LOO EEE

Reminders Good for keeping forward placement and resonation during ascending pattern Make sure the OO on LOO has space Focus on maintaining forward placement and resonation while descending Careful to not pinch the EE as you ascend the scale

WARM UP #10 – OOH OOH OOH OOH

Reminders Good for register break, resonance and freeing the upper range The first four OO’s should be lifted and buoyant Focus on a seamless sound from low to high Open to OH on the highest note when you get higher Think about making the sound travel through this exercise

WARM UP #11 – SING EEE EH AH

Reminders Good for register break resonance and seamless sound The EE vowel should be tall Maintain the vowel space as you move through the exercise Focus for a consistent seamless vocal quality Source: Sing Baby Sing

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FEATURES

Forth Valley Chorus front row

FORTH VALLEY REFLECTS ON VEGAS 2017 CONVENTION

By Sarah Davis, Forth Valley Chorus It’s hard to put into words just how Forth Valley Chorus (FVC) is feeling about the awesome and unforgettable experience that was Vegas!

We are celebrating 30 years this year since our chorus was formed and it is extra special to have broken some new ground at International in this milestone year. We have some members who have been in the chorus since the very first rehearsal, and we are particularly delighted that those ladies who have travelled every step of the FVC journey, have now had the experience of

singing on a Saturday at International not something anyone foresaw in those early rehearsals with just eight singers in a church hall!

After 18 months of hard work and fundraising, we finally arrived in Vegas. But nothing quite prepares you for the assault on the senses that is arriving in Vegas for the first time!

We hadn’t quite realised that we were staying a stone’s throw from the Statue of Liberty or that the Eiffel Tower was just up the street! Nor did we know that while in Vegas we’d be having dinner in St Mark’s Square after a stroll by the Grand Canal (both of which are indoors!), before strolling home past a live erupting volcano!

We had a great time exploring Vegas and the surrounds. Some of us did trips

to the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam and others went pony-trekking in cowboy country. A few of us braved the New York New York rollercoaster (no screaming allowed to preserve our voices!) and others enjoyed the Zipline at Fremont Street.

There were unexpected benefits to Vegas life. No one walked less than 15,000 steps a day, so we all came home with very toned legs! And it was an absolute pleasure relaxing in the heat and sunshine at the pool between rehearsals and topping up on much needed Vitamin D ahead of a long Scottish winter!

The hard work soon got underway and we had three great rehearsals, joined by Joe Connelly, ahead of our semi-finals performance. We were

HARMONY RAG | Autumn 2017 | 15

FEATURES very pleased with how our semi-finals set went on the day, especially the standing ovation we received after the uptune. After a long and increasingly nervous wait, we were over the moon to hear our name called out as the mic warmers, making us the first UK chorus to get to sing our finals set on the Saturday! The excitement really grew during Friday and on Saturday morning as it hit us that we were going to be gracing that fabulous stage for a second time!

We had worked hard on our finals set for a few months prior to Vegas and it had been very well received in our Friends and Family concerts back home in Edinburgh. However, nothing could have prepared us for the audience response it received in Vegas. The theme and story of the set really seemed to strike a chord with people and we were completely overwhelmed to receive several standing ovations during the set and another one when we walked back into the auditorium! We felt like celebrities that afternoon as people kept stopping us to say how much they loved it. We received lots of incredible feedback on social media, too. It was a wonderful afternoon which we will never forget. I don’t think we could have felt any happier, even if we’d won the contest!

A special word of congratulations goes to our amazing emcee, Audrey.

She has been a fabulous emcee for FVC for many years but she hit new

Forth Valley Chorus working hard at rehearsals

heights with the finals package. We were so proud of her amazing delivery and I don’t think any of us can watch the YouTube video of our finals set without crying as soon as she starts saying “You took the plunge into the unknown………” Bravo, Audrey!

So how did we reach the position of eleventh in the world? Well in the last three years or so, we have benefited from some fabulous coaching. Sandy Marron is a great coach of every aspect of barbershop and we’ve learned such a lot from our coaching with her, particularly in relation to vocal production. Joe Connelly is also a fabulous all-round coach and has also taught us a lot about mindset and focus. Indeed, we discovered new levels of focus in Vegas which we didn’t know we were capable of!

We’ve also been fortunate to work with some excellent local nonbarbershop coaches: Anne Lewis on vocal skills, Jean Sangster on performance and Kirsty Hamilton on choreography. What’s been interesting is the extent of overlap between the messages from these coaches and from our barbershop coaches. All of our coaches have placed a great emphasis on authenticity and the audience experience, and it means the world to us that our finals package really did touch the audience.

We wouldn’t be able to achieve any of this without David. It’s difficult to describe just how hard he works for

the chorus. He brings such energy and commitment to the chorus and somehow never has an off week! Also, we sang two of his arrangements in our finals set (our two Scottish numbers) and we are very fortunate that he can create bespoke music for us.

FVC were very lucky to get to share the Vegas 3 experience with Life’s A Pitch and Finesse. Both quartets did the region proud in an exceptionally highquality quartet competition. We were lucky enough to spend some time socially with both quartets in Vegas, particularly Life’s A Pitch and you will never meet nicer ladies. It was our pleasure to get to know you a bit better and you’ve gained around 100 fans for life! Finesse were rather busy, what with being international top 10 superstars and all! But we were very touched that they came to cheer on both of our performances. Finesse are regular fixtures in the top 10 now, and we can’t imagine what hard work goes into that. Congratulations to Finesse for another stunning performance, particularly to Sarah Cole for your quartet final debut!

We also had quite a big cheering squad in the auditorium. Various longsuffering chorus husbands and partners were there, and we also had a number of ladies from Aberdeen chorus who had flown over to support us, which we greatly appreciated. At this point I should mention our three Aberooters who joined us as dual members at

FEATURES are delighted to say that Anne and Sally have decided to stay on as dual members!

Unfortunately, several of our members couldn’t be with us but they were incredibly supportive in the run-up to Vegas and while we were there. We set up a Facebook Group for FVC members so we could all communicate while we were away and it was great sharing the Vegas jokes and banter in real time with our members back home.

It helped us all feel like they were there with us. They also had a party at home to watch us compete and some of them even wore their costumes! Thank you, ladies, your support meant the world to us and you were such an important part of our Vegas preparations and success.

We’d like to close by thanking everyone in Region 31 for your incredible support before, during and after our time in Vegas. I think all of us in the region want the same thing – for the rest of the world to get to appreciate the great talent we have in Region 31. Hopefully the door to the top ten is now ajar and one of our

Region 31 choruses will break through it soon. We’ll be glued to that webcast next October and cheering our hearts out for our friends in Lace City and Phoenix!

Look out world, Region 31 is coming!

AN UPDATE FROM FINESSE Wow what a whirlwind!

This year has raced by and suddenly we found ourselves back in Vegas on the International stage. We had such a fantastic week together – lots of love, laughter and of course singing. We liked to think that Sarah’s influence was making us appear more youthful although in reality I fear the three of us may be turning Sarah old before her time—Horlicks at bedtime—need I say more? The cherry on top of our fantastic week was of course to receive our 9th place international medal, after only eight months singing together. What an honour! Once again we felt a very long way from our homes and loved ones and were

Top: Audrey Tainsh as emcee (webcast screenshot Bottom: Kate McGeoch and her tartan teddy

rather short notice (July!!) as some of our existing basses were unable to make it to Vegas. Anne Cargill, Sally Dobson and Claire Fyfe have been absolute stars, driving down from Aberdeen every week for rehearsals, learning six songs and all the choreo in record time and generally fitting in brilliantly to the chorus. We can’t thank you ladies enough for your commitment and dedication. And we

Finesse quartet selfie

HARMONY RAG | Autumn 2017 | 17

Viva Acappella at the 2017 European Barbershop Convention official photo (credit: BinH)

extremely thankful and blessed to receive countless messages of support and congratulations from all our barbershop friends. Thank you—we can’t tell you what it means to us when we are so far away.

What better way to get over the jet-lag than to head to an incredibly sunny Bournemouth for a long weekend of exceptional barbershop, as LABBS hosted the European Barbershop Convention. We were invited to represent Sweet Adelines international in the World Harmony Showcase on Friday evening. As well as enjoying four days of outstanding contests, and our congratulations go to all the winners, we also got to be proud mummies and aunties as we watched Scarlet-Rose and Sophie mic-cool the chorus contest with the LABBS Youth Chorus on Saturday. To close a fabulous weekend, Helen’s husband, Stuart won a European Silver medal with his quartet Portobello Road. We had hugs with our favourite coach, Lynda Keever, who was judging the contests, the sun shone and we ate chips by the sea – all in all, a perfect way to spend a weekend.

In 2018, we are very much looking forward to lots more opportunities to coach, both choruses and quartets 18 | Autumn 2017 | HARMONY RAG

and to sing for as many of you as possible on your shows. If you would like Finesse to coach you or sing on your show, do please get in touch (no request is too cheeky!) – tunefultan@ virginmedia.com

VIVA EUROPA! Viva Acappella is proud and privileged to have represented Sweet Adelines Region 31 at the European Barbershop Convention 2017, held last October at the Bournemouth International Centre.

The European Barbershop Convention is held once every four years in a European host country in conjunction with their own convention, so it’s very rare and exciting for the UK to host the contest and for us to have a chance to compete on home turf! Despite only having four months to prepare, Viva managed to fit in extra weekend rehearsals, section rehearsals, front row rehearsals and a whole new set of choreography, determined to represent our Region to the highest level.

The weekend started early for some, with the UK LABBS Quartet Semi Finals and Finals taking place on Thursday,

26th October. Some of Viva’s members were able to be in the crowd to support our wonderful Helen Warner and her quartet Avalon as they fought for a coveted top six finals place Imagine our delight when they not only made it to the finals but then sang beautifully in that round and secured third place bronze medals! It’s an incredible achievement and we couldn’t be prouder of Helen, Boo, Karen and Sophie.

There were two days of chorus contest – Friday and Saturday – because the UK LABBS choruses, European men’s and women’s choruses all competed in a mixed up order; a total of 46 choruses! On Friday more Viva ladies took to the stage with the LABBS Youth Chorus, just 13 singers under 30 who blew us away with their beautiful ensemble voice on stage.

We cheered and supported them and were delighted when, come Saturday evening’s results, this LABBS Youth Chorus won the Phoenix Trophy for the highest placed small chorus in LABBS – coming 11th overall! Well done Helen, Sophie, Natalie, Emma and Carly for representing the youth so fantastically.

On Saturday 28th, it was finally our turn to take to the stage. We began with our last rehearsal on Saturday at

FEATURES 9am, hair done and make up begun.

After a couple of hours of singing and getting very excited, it was time to head into the auditorium to watch the amazing Green Street Blues compete in the LABBS contest, directed by our superb Ros Kipps. Green Street Blues is a chorus started by a handful of current Vivas about 18 years ago – and now it’s come full circle into a Viva’s hands again. Imagine our pride as yet again, the results that evening revealed Ros’s chorus had won The Red Rosettes Award for the highest placed mid-size chorus and came sixth in the UK LABBS Chorus Contest!

En masse, Viva entered the zone and got into our sparkly pink and black outfits, pink hats included, and donned the makeup. We headed into the photographer’s room, where a man with meticulous attention to detail got us looking our best for photographs.

We then moved straight into the warm up room and proceeded to line up on stage, ready to go. The sound and atmosphere of the audience behind the curtains added to both the excitement and the nerves. “Contestant Number 33, representing Sweet Adelines Quartet of Nations Region 31, from Bexleyheath, under the direction of Gaynor Schofield, Viva Acappella!” It was time!

Rosalind Kipps awarded The Katy Phillips Young Barbershopper of the Year (credit: BinH)

Top: Viva Acappella on the 2017 EBC stage (credit: BinH) Bottom left: Bronze medals... yes!

Bottom right: Viva Acappella off stage

We poured our heart and soul into our performance and as always, it was over far too quickly. Despite some minor wardrobe issues (anyone spot Gaynor’s flying earring?!) we pulled off our tricky hat reveal and enjoyed every moment, despite it going by in a blur.

Some of the LABBS Youth Chorus ran straight off to rehearse for their mic cooling slot and the rest of us enjoyed catching up on some lunch and watching other chorus performances.

When it came to the results and awards ceremony, we were stunned to hear our wonderful Ros Kipps had also been awarded the Katy Phillips Young Barbershopper of the Year Award. I’m

sure many of you know how hard she works for our hobby and how much she deserved this. We couldn’t be prouder.

Following this were the chorus results.

We were already delighted to have heard of the success of Viva members in the LABBS Youth Chorus and Green Street Blues, so our elation was only added to when we were announced as the bronze medal women’s European barbershop champions! We scored a massive 81.3% – an A-level score – and actually achieved the highest Singing score in the whole women’s contest (beaten only by men’s champions Zero8 with their unbelievable score of 90%)!

HARMONY RAG | Autumn 2017 | 19

FEATURES

congratulations goes to the worthy winners of the gold and silver medal placements for the European women’s choruses, the White Rosettes and Amersham A Cappella – more UK home-grown talent, wahoo! Every medal winner and every competitor deserves our praise and admiration after an incredible weekend.

SURREY GOES TO EUROPE

By Sheena Kaighin, Surrey Harmony Chorus

Top: Avalon Quartet with their bronze medals (credit: BinH) Bottom: LABBS Youth Chorus with five members from Viva Acappella

And Viva members hadn’t stopped yet… Ros Kipps, having already had an amazing weekend as it stood, then competed with her quartet Nightfall in the European quartet contest on Sunday and placed sixth with a whopping score of 71.3%.

We’re not being political when we say, “we love Europe!”

After all, the chance to meet up and sing with fellow barbershoppers from all over the UK, Sweden, Finland, Ireland Germany, Spain and Holland doesn’t come around all that often.

We were delighted to be asked earlier in the autumn to represent Sweet Adelines Region 31 at the European Barbershop Convention in Bournemouth. And what a wonderful experience it turned out to be. Congratulations to our sister organisation LABBS for an extremely well-run convention. We presume you laid on the beautiful weather as well!

We got to listen to some high level barbershop singing, heard some wonderful new songs and admired great costumes – even lederhosen! In between, there was the chance for fish and chips, Cornish pasties and whippy ice creams on the beach.

We send our congratulations to all the award winners especially to our very good friends, Viva Acappella, for their bronze medal.

Surrey Harmony had a blast sharing the stage with everyone.

This convention was an amazing experience for all of us. We are proud of our members who took part with huge successes in various other quartets and choruses, as well as our several new members who competed for the first time ever over the weekend!

We didn’t just have a great time singing, but grew together as a chorus, a group of friends and a crazy barbershop family.

Our thanks must go to LABBS for managing to run both conventions side by side smoothly and with such aplomb. It was wonderful to experience home-grown talent alongside our sisters and brothers in harmony from around Europe! A huge 20 | Autumn 2017 | HARMONY RAG

Surrey Harmony at the 2017 European Barbershop Convention stage (credit: BinH)

FANFARE

NOTICES

FANFARE is a new regular column in the Harmony Rag and will contain short items of news. If there’s anything you’d like to contribute next time round, please email RMT@ sweetadelines.org.uk. The item should be short, maybe two or three sentences only. Geeky facts welcome, too!

BINH 2018 MIXED QUARTET CONTEST

REGIONAL DUES INCREASE

By Dorothy Main, Regional Finance Coordinator

ATTENTION ALL CHORUS TREASURERS AND CHAPTER-AT-LARGE (CAL) MEMBERS! At the post-convention meeting in July 2017, the Regional Management Team decided that we need to increase our regional dues. The dues are our only guaranteed income and recent conventions have cost the region financially.

As befits a region of our standard and member numbers, we are required to hire appropriate venues for convention and we have also embarked on providing a live webcast, all of which cost money. We negotiate the best contract deals we can and then we have to wait and see who registers…… hopefully almost all members will attend our annual regional convention and we need to cater for that eventuality. However, that has not always been the case recently and we need to spread the load more equally, hence the increase in dues.

One idea – which happens already in several regions – is that the annual regional dues payment for each member covers the cost of a convention AET, plus a workshop fee and running costs for the region However, we decided that that was perhaps a step too far right now, so we have decided on a modest increase of £4 per person per annum (£2 for Youth members). So, please make a note of the change.

As of 1st January 2018, the annual regional dues per member will be £20 per year, £10 per year for Youth members Treasurers and CAL members, when you receive the invitation to renew memberships due on or after 1st January, please arrange to pay your regional dues at the same time.

Paying the dues in a timely fashion keeps all your members in good standing – vital in the run up to convention and being on the contest stage.

The BinH 2018 Mixed Quartet Contest will be held during the weekend of Region 31’s annual convention at The Sage next May. The Quartet of Nations Region 31 of Sweet Adelines International looks forward to welcoming the mixed quartets who will compete on Sunday morning, May 13th.

Registration opened December 1st 2017 and closes January 14th 2018. Places are limited so spread the word and get a wiggle on!

NEWCASTLE 2018 CONVENTION ALL EVENTS TICKETS (AET)

Early bird registration for Region 31’s 2018 convention opens January 15th 2018. The early bird rate (same price as last year) is available until February 28th 2018. The final deadline for AET registration is March 31st 2018.

DUAL MEMBERSHIP: If you are a member of more than one chorus competing at convention, please remember when applying for your AET, it is only your primary chorus that pays for it. You do not pay more than once.

WE SAY GOODBYE…

… to Sue Finnigan and send her huge thanks for all her hard work and successful endeavours as Regional Events Coordinator.

AND WE WELCOME…

… Deborah Pollard back to the Regional Management Team and into the role as Regional Events Coordinator.

Congratulations Deborah!

ALSO WELCOME…

… to Emma Riley as the new Regional Communications Coordinator and Elaine Hamilton as the new Regional Directors Coordinator.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

Please keep your membership and chorus officers’ information up to date online and also let us know of changes needed on the regional website directory.

Harmony Rag | Spring 2017 | 21

NOTICES The regional bank account details are Sort code: 40 45 26 Account number: 01254944 Account name: Quartet of Nations Region 31

CREATING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT

By Elaine Hamilton, Regional Directors Coordinator It’s a sad fact that people are abused and bullied in all aspects of life. Attending your weekly chorus rehearsal should be a place where you feel comfortable and safe. As leaders and chorus members we all have a responsibility to ensure this is the case.

There are laws and safeguarding policies in place that cover this and whether a leader or an individual, we have a responsibility to ensure we are complying with these.

Safeguarding includes bullying, neglect, physical and mental abuse and radicalisation, to name a few. Of course if you have young singers in your midst, there is even more legislation to protect them and rightly so, but feeling safe should apply to everyone.

So what can you do?

Well first of all, why not raise the subject at your next Management/Board/Music Team meeting? Talk about it openly and don’t just assume everyone is okay. Be vigilant as to how people are behaving towards each other. What is acceptable to one person can be intimidating to the next and everyone’s rights deserve to be respected. Perhaps you might want to provide an opportunity for people to comment (probably anonymously for this exercise) on how they feel at rehearsal. Do they feel it’s a safe environment?

Do they feel they can speak up if it’s not?

If you’re reading this and you feel you have an issue but can’t raise it with your chorus leadership, then please contact anyone on the Regional Management Team (RMT) for guidance.

The RMT sincerely hopes everything is well within all of our choruses but this is a subject that in the past, has perhaps been swept under the carpet. Please take the time to check with your members that everyone feels safe and does not feel discriminated against or bullied.

22 | Autumn 2017 | HARMONY RAG

SHEILA ROBERTSON (1948-2017)

By Lesley Cruden, Aberdeen Chorus

It is with the utmost sadness that Aberdeen Chorus announces the passing of one of our much-loved members, Sheila Robertson.

After a lengthy period of illness following many invasive surgeries, all bravely borne, Sheila died on 4th September 2017. Positive right till the end, she even managed to attend a few rehearsals in the weeks preceding her death.

Sheila simply loved to sing and after joining Aberdeen Chorus, her musical talents were soon spotted and nurtured.

She happily undertook a variety of responsibilities; from devising and taking chorus vocal warm ups at the beginning of rehearsals – to being a highly trusted and respected tape listener in the lead section. Sheila was so happy to help others in the chorus to reach the goal of being totally accurate with words and music whilst we were learning songs; always gently encouraging and never negative or critical – with Sheila it was absolutely ‘no stick’ and definitely ‘all carrot’.

Sheila had a highly infectious smile and a real twinkle in her eye. She managed to retain a genuinely youthful exuberance for life which combined with a quiet wisdom and gentle manner, made her simply one of the loveliest people you could ever hope to meet.

Our lives are very much richer for having known Sheila and we feel privileged to be able to say that she was our dear and special friend.

CALENDAR & COACHING DIRECTORY 5-8 April 2018

SABS En Armonia Convention

Benalmadena, Spain

6-8 April 2018

BinG! Barbershop Music Festival – including World Mixed Contest

Munich, Germany

11-13 May 2018

NEWCASTLE 2018 CONVENTION

Sage Gateshead, England

13 May 2018

BinH 2018 Mixed Quartet Contest – hosted by Sweet Adelines Region 31

Sage Gateshead, England

25-28 May 2018

BABS Sing 2018 Convention

Harrogate, England

5-7 October 2018

IABS Convention 2018

Cork, Ireland

15-20 October 2018

Sweet Adelines International 72nd Annual Convention & Competition

St Louis, Missouri, USA

26-28 October 2018

LABBS Convention 2018

Harrogate, England

Autumn 2018

Quartet of Nations Region 31 Education Workshop – with international faculty

Various regional venues

ELLIE BLACKEBY • Lace City mills_ellie@hotmail.com

SANDRA LEA-RILEY • Heartbeat UK sandraleariley@virginmedia.com

ANNE CARGILL • Aberdeen annecargill2012@btinternet.com

DOROTHY MAIN • Aberdeen dorothymain12@gmail.com

ALYSON CHANEY • Lace City alysonchaney@yahoo.co.uk

SARAH NETHERTON • Acappella Sound sazzle21_5@hotmail.com

GLENN CHANEY • Lace City glenn.chaney@yahoo.co.uk

NICKY SALT • CAL nicky.salt@hotmail.co.uk

EMMA DUGUID • Forth Valley duguidemma@gmail.com

DAVID SANGSTER • Forth Valley carsonsangster@aol.com

NORMA FERRIER • Forth Valley norma.ferrier@whec.edin.sch.uk

VALERIE TAYLOR • Vocal Dimension valerie.taylor@privacysolutions.co.uk

ELAINE HAMILTON • CAL elainemrssh@aol.com

GWEN TOPP • Aberdeen gmtopp@yahoo.co.uk

TANYA JENKINS • CAL tunefultan@virginmedia.com

MICHELLE WALKER • Lace City shelbywalks@yahoo.co.uk

NANCY KELSALL • Heartbeat UK nancykelsall@hotmail.com

LYNDA WOOD • Phoenix lynda@pottonwoods.co.uk

11-13 MAY 2018 @ SAGE GATESHEAD

plus THE BARBERSHOP IN HARMONY 2018 MIXED QUARTET CONTEST

ALL EVENTS TICKET REGISTRATION OPENS IN JANUARY 2018

sweetadelines.org.uk/convention2018