QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
SUMMER 2007
HARMONY RAG FAREWELL FROM THE 1ST EUROPEAN SWEET ADELINES The final chapter for Purbrook is to look back on a to an end – but not quite as 13 of our ladies sing (still in wonderful history that will always be part of Sweet Adelines. 4–part harmony) for charity entertaining senior citizens in full We never quite reached that gold 40’s dress with songs from that star that we all chase but were era – aptly named “Reflections” first in so much more. who are so popular they are 1975 – The First Chorus in constantly being booked and 14 Europe with Ann Gooch (USA) of us called “The Beat Go’s On” arriving to help and guide us to sing for the pure joy, not wishing charter and dear Beryl Mort, our to sing for any association as Director then, who did so much Sweet Adelines was our first to help bring in more Choruses. love. 1980 – The First Chorus to sing Why did it end? We were down at Convention in USA with 19 of to 27 (not all singing members) us never to forget our standing and many over 65 and although Purbrook Harmony in their famous Black and Gold ovation when the curtain drew we tried every method and means back. The First Chorus to sing in the Netherlands with their to recruit it was not to be and with so many other talented new Chorus and the beginning of long friendships and now Choruses in our area it became difficult so we agreed to we have come full circle as they return to Region 31 as disband from Sweet Adelines and had a marvellous farewell originally we were only in Chapter 1, New York. Dinner with much We gave our support to many previous members and laughter, tears note with pride three who are now Directors in their own and memories and right; Julie Smith now successful in Canada, Sally Tomkins although we said with her lovely Bass voice, and Rebecca Thorpe, now with “Goodbye” such is Coastline, who under the guidance of Pat Bentley became the bond that we one of the youngest Certified Directors, and all Gold Medal all keep in touch winners with our Quartets. We have so much to be proud with our monthly of. news “Purbrook Chorus breaks often happen which is sad but when Gossip” and plan we see Spinnaker on stage we know that 30 of those very to party together, as many of you will know no–one parties good singers had like dear old Purbrook!!! their grounding We can be proud of our achievements and many Directors with Pat Bentley have recalled that when they started they used to watch us at Purbrook and and want to be as successful and now they are!! yes, we can feel But now we bring the curtain down with pride in our loyalty proud of that as to Sweet Adelines, at one time we were 60+ but when you we do also of the become a struggling small Chorus it is less of a joy and we many medals have found that at this stage more help is needed from the our Quartets and Region to keep the morale high when having to compete with Chorus have the “big guns” though we can say we have been there, done gained, too many to mention!! that and enjoyed it all so with our love and good wishes to We have had great laughter (remember “The Pits”) and you all, we leave you In Harmony. tears but it has been so worth it and all good things come Purbrook.
See centre pages for convention news 1
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
Stage Dynamo! Your chorus will have at least one if not more I’m sure. A bit of a “stat” anorak that can quote scores and produce from the depths of a handbag information showing exactly where a certain chorus was placed in 1998! And boy were those stat lovers sent into overdrive when it was announced that Aberdeen had improved their overall marks by a total of 58. I looked behind me and I could see from the reaction in my former chorus Aberdeen that they knew they’d gone over 600 points. But where did that leave the rest of us? It wasn’t long before we knew and with the announcement of the results came a goal realised - a Master Director title for Surrey Harmony’s Director Jenny Lawson. We wanted to win, of course we did. But we also wanted to build on our performance in Las Vegas and go over the 600 points mark. After all, we’d come so close in our two previous competitions with 599 and 597 and we wanted it so badly for Jenny. “When I walked out onto the stage to collect our medals I could hear this huge roar from Surrey Harmony. I knew there would be disappointment at not winning, but I also knew that noise was for our best ever performance in competition and for me getting the Master Director,” says Jenny. “I will confess
I have been wanting it for a long time, but it wouldn’t have been achievable without the sheer hard work put in by the members to bring two new songs up to competition standard in just 7 short months. All of us in Surrey Harmony are on a journey together and what ever success we achieve is down to that team work, plus we have had some wonderful coaching”. Jenny was described by Showmanship Judge Renee Porzel as a “stage dynamo” and now has the T-shirt to prove it! We are thrilled she has made Master Director at last. The problem is that the dynamo has been fired up with renewed enthusiasm and that can only mean more coaching, more vocal production work, more work on stamina, more attention to choreography details, more CPR, just more, more MORE! Funny thing is we just can’t wait. Sheena Kaighin, Surrey Harmony
TRUE BRIT It’s produced names like Amy Winehouse, Katie Melua and X factor winner Leona Lewis, and now a Sweet Adeline is set to make her mark. Surrey Harmony’s youngest member Sophie Doughty has won a place at the renowned Brit School in Croydon. Thirteen year old Lead Sophie will study Music at the Performing Arts and Technology School from this August. Sophie has been with Surrey Harmony for two years and is also a member of the National Youth Choir. She had to pass a tough audition to
get into The Brit School where there are three applicants for every place available. Sophie’s main subject will be singing – she hopes to make a professional career out of it. With a Region 31 gold and silver medal already to her name, plus an appearance at International Convention in Las Vegas, Sophie’s already no stranger to the big occasion. We wish her every success with her studies. Surrey Harmony
WE WERE OFF TO BRUM BUT OUR COACH DIDN’T COME! Convention 2007 will go down in the annals of Spinnaker Chorus history as the year we nearly didn’t make it. Oh – it started well enough – 42 of our 58 strong chorus duly arrived at the coach pick-up point just after 7 am on Friday 11 May and then waited – and waited – and WAITED for the coach to arrive …. it didn’t! Imagine the scene - 42 of us standing on the pavement in a main road surrounded by suitcases, carrier bags, cool bags etc all feeling more dejected by the minute. We sang some of our repertoire to entertain passers by and 2
to help keep our spirits up - we’d spent months practising our songs, hitting the notes and learning the choreo and at the eleventh hour we’d been left stranded, not knowing if we would make the competition at all. Each frantic phone call to the coach company resulted in us listening to yet another pre-recorded message. Nuala Hobden, our treasurer, had booked the coach, which was based in Cheltenham, to pick us up in Portsmouth and take us to Birmingham. Several phone conversations had taken
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL place during the previous few days to ensure that everything was in order - so why weren’t they ringing us, they had our number? Meanwhile 42 pairs of eyes anxiously scanned the horizon, willing the coach to appear, and Nuala was besieged by jittery chorus members all desperate to know if it would arrive in time for us to register for Saturday’s performance – she would like to have known that herself! Nine o’clock and still no coach – the clock was ticking away – and we were 180 miles away from Birmingham - this was a real emergency and we had no Plan B. One of the chorus, Barbie Corstorphin, rang the local evening paper and they suggested we ring some local radio stations to see if they could help. Mercifully, ‘The Quay’ radio station, based in Portsmouth, picked up the cudgels and said they would broadcast an appeal for a replacement coach. And then things started moving at a cracking pace. Barbie’s phone rang and it was Sam, the breakfast presenter from The Quay to say that Mark Moody, a fellow presenter, had a call from someone with a coach for hire. The owner of the coach company, Zenith, that ferries the Portsmouth football team players to their away games had a coach – they had to prepare it but would pick us up as soon as possible. Meanwhile as we all stood in the street waiting, cars hooted as they passed, they’d heard of our plight on the radio and were showing support – I think that’s why they hooted – it couldn’t have been our Directorless singing - could it? “Stay on the line Barbie” said Sam, “we’ve another caller and he has some good news for you”. On the line came Pete Higgins, owner of The Betting Rooms in Southsea, “When the coach arrives, get your ladies on it, go to Birmingham and enjoy the contest and I’ll pick up the tab!” Well, result or what? Meanwhile a photographer from The News had arrived and was busily taking photos of some of the chorus and collecting copy for the next evening’s issue. What a chaotic morning – even if we make it now, will we be fit to compete? 10.30 came and went and then at 10.40 the coach arrived to loud cheers from the chorus, and to our great relief we boarded the coach, the cases were stowed and we were on our way to Birmingham …… only 3.1/4 hour late!!!. There was more drama to come however. As we approached our hotel
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a strong smell of burning filled the coach – controlled panic began to show on many faces. The driver assured us the coach was not on fire – there was a problem with the clutch – I don’t thinks many of us were entirely convinced and as the coach doors opened we tumbled out into a very wet and windy city centre feeling as though we’d really been through the mill. We did have one piece of luck that day, on our arrival the hotel lobby was a seething mass of bedraggled ladies from various choruses, bags and baggage were everywhere – we were so-o-o pleased that Nuala had thought to preregister us! A quick cup of tea, or for some, a stiff drink and the events of the morning started to recede – time to get into competition mode. Saturday dawned much brighter and drier which was great but this was competition day and nerves started to kick in when we thought of the evening ahead. We spent the day rehearsing and preparing and then it was time to make our way to the Symphony Hall for the main event. We were entered in the mid-size chorus section and were the 14th entrants. When we arrived the competition was running late - good – more time for us to practice! And then before we knew it, it was “Close all the doors” ……. and we were on stage. We sang our beautiful ballad with all the emotion that it deserved and had great fun with our up-tune - then it was all over and our success or failure rested with the judges. Tension mounted as we listened to the results for the small choruses and it was almost unbearable as third
and second places were announced for the mid-size. “The winner of the mid-size chorus is SPINNAKER CHORUS” was the next thing we heard – joy, relief, amazement, elation, disbelief, tears, hugs … (stop me or I’ll go on ad nauseum) – what a fantastic result, what a brilliant buzz - after such an awful and scary start to the weekend - we were over the moon! Can’t wait for Convention 2008 – just hope the journey there is a little less exciting – although if it is you won’t want to hear about it, on second thoughts - BRING IT ON!! Spinnaker Chorus
Did anyone find a beige cord Wallis jacket left in the Birmingham Symphony Hall on the Saturday night of convention. If found please email maureenwalker22@yahoo.co.uk 3
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
Why MacBass can’t sleep! It’s 2am on Monday 14th May and I’ve been lying in bed with a grin on my face remembering all the wonderful things that happened this weekend in Birmingham….I can’t sleep, so why not get up and write it all down! Since Mac4 first competed in 2005, with a very pregnant lead, we have worked so hard and this weekend it all just came together. We went to competition with the aim of improving our scores and maybe as a result being in the medals somewhere! We never considered silver! We had so many magical moments and got so many lovely compliments from people. Here are just a few that are really special to me:
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Queens (!!) who said, “Well done ladies you did a great job up there” and sat in the auditorium smiling, encouraging and watching all the performances. What great ambassadors they were for our organisation. • All my beloved chorus friends, who hugged me and were so happy for me (especially the fabulous basses!) • The very special Forth Valley “Moira’s” who cried all over me. • Gail Jencik who had asked us specially to phone her with the results and was so thrilled for us. • MacCoach Paula Williams who worked with us on the evening, came all the way to the last warm up room, kept us calm, focused and made us so so eager to get on that stage! • MacArranger, Mike Taylor who graciously let us sing his beautiful arrangement of Red Red Rose in the Showcase. • Maureen Wilson from the chorus, who made our beautiful (and comfy) red swing tops and said she couldn’t wait to see them on stage under the lights. • The fabulous Birmingham Symphony Hall – what a thrill to sing in it! • Our own Catherine Macdonald who took her new chorus Hillfoot Harmony to competition for the first time and with the smallest number on stage came 11th! We are all so proud of her. • Everyone round us on the train home who wanted to know what we’d been doing. 4
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Our beloved 85 year old chorus member Netta, who came all the way down the train clambering over people sitting on the floor, to tell us how thrilled she was for us and to admire our wonderful photos. What an inspiration. • This year’s fantastic photos which are now on display everywhere! • A chorus score of 603 and David now a Master Director! In fact, 3 new Master Directors in Region 31! Is this a great Region or what?! • Our chorus, who although they were a little disappointed with their result, still managed to pull out all the stops and have a great party on the Saturday night with the funniest skits, songs, outfits and surprises! And we’ll be back next year so watch out! • 65 new friends from Phoenix and Flaunt who said such nice things about the chorus and us and who sounded amazing in the Showcase. • Gold medal winning tenor from the inspirational Spinning Jenny Quartet, Joan Harvey and her husband Bill, chairman of BABS, who sat in the front row grinning at us all the time. • Vocal Zone our dear Scottish friends who were so gracious and thrilled for us. • Maclead’s 4 year old who wanted to know all the details of what we were doing every time her mum spoke to her on the phone and wanted us to sing down the line to her. Her little 2 year old brother waiting desperately to have a shot of our medal! • MacBari’s husband who doesn’t drive but came all the way in to the station on the bus and was standing beaming on the platform as we got off the train. • Mactenor’s barbershop boys, who were whooping and hollering in the background when she phoned home with our news. • My husband who held it all together at home and had a tidy house, a special hug and a steak pie ready for my return (boy it’s good to eat again!) and told me I was his heroine! • My cool 16 year old in the middle of her Highers, who’s still not too sure of mum wearing sequins, false eye lashes and making funny faces, who very shyly smiled, hugged me and told me she was proud of me. • My 12 year old, with his first real school exams starting on Monday, who wanted me to test him on his Maths and Biology revision as soon as I got back. “But we can do it while you’re in the bath and in bed mum if you’re tired” (Oh joy!!). As he snuggled up closer and closer to me, his attention turned from his biology revision to the score sheets and he poured over them asking questions and analysing all the scores (maybe it’ll help with his maths exam!) So tomorrow it’s back to work, the school run, Tescos and the washing, but tonight my silver quartet medal is on the bedside table beside me, I have my health, a wonderful family, the best quartet in the world and a great chorus of friends - it doesn’t get much better than this! Elspeth Muir, MAC 4
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
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The MAn behind the sequins I’d like to introduce you to one of Region 31’s new Master Directors (how great is that?!), David Sangster of Forth Valley Chorus. You will have seen David on stage at Birmingham, when we were absolutely thrilled to be awarded the magical score of “603” and 4th place regional medal. David was appointed Director in 2005, following in the footsteps of Maggie Wood who directed over the previous 18 years. We think he’s settling in well! David has a very musical background - a classically trained pianist with a Diploma from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Passionate about unaccompanied harmony singing, David is a devoted advocate of barbershop. When you see him in action, it’s hard to believe that despite having written arrangements, sung in quartets and coached others, his stint with Forth Valley is David’s first experience of directing! Over the last two years we’ve been discovering some rather unexpected aspects to David’s personality. Here are some surprises so far about the man in front of Forth Valley Chorus: The Country & Western fan: David has arranged of one of his favourite songs, Dolly Parton’s classic “Jolene”, for the chorus to sing. Unbelievably (to David!), many people had managed to get through life without having heard the
original song! Apparently to help us get into character, David came to chorus one night armed with a CD recording of the diminutive Texan, and wearing his “Dolly” t shirt, a treasured memento of a recent Glasgow concert. It was then that we realised the full extent of his C’n’W obsession! The aspiring Pop star: at our annual chorus weekend away in February, we enjoy the opportunity to improve our vocal production and spend quality time together. An added bonus of the weekend, for me, is the Saturday night party, where in true Sweet Adeline style, we get together and have a good sing. At David’s first weekend retreat, he was “encouraged” to join in by the famous Forth Valley “Moira’s”. A true performer, David had prepared a little something and treated us to his rendition of Michael Jackson’s “She’s out of my life”, which once took him to the “Stars in their Eyes” regional semi-finals. He received quite a reception from his gob smacked chorus! The Sweet Adeline: David is happily married to Linda, long time chorus member and tenor in The Swingettes. Linda is also a very active member of the costume team. Now, let’s face it, we all love wearing sequins and bling and it turns out David is no exception. Linda and the team were instructed (by David?!) to ensure that the director’s costume for this year’s convention included at least as many sequins as the rest of the chorus. The result? “Great shirt” on our score sheet from Renee Porzel! We’ve really enjoyed having David as our director so far. It’s been a great 2 years, filled with lots of funny memories and fantastic music, which makes the inevitable hard work well worth the effort. We’re all looking forwards to making even more beautiful music together in the future!! Susan Waddington, Forth Valley Chorus
spotlight They weren’t able to stand up, they were placed in the wrong formation and were asked to sing long before they were expecting it, but none of it phased Queens of Harmony “Spotlight” when they appeared on BBC 1 Breakfast during their brief visit to the U.K. “There
the BBC studios. “Kendra, Kerry, Patti and LeAnn were trying to warm up in the lobby, and so impressed one person that they sold one of their CD’s even before they made it to the studio.”! “We waited for a long time and suddenly we were on the set being given microphones,” says Kendra. “That was when they told us we’d have to sing sitting down and in the places they’d already decided for us. We just had to take a deep breath and we were live”. Bill Turnbull and Susanna Reid were the presenters. They talked to Spotlight about the history of Sweet Adelines, their own success as a quartet and the reason for the U.K. visit – to perform at was a lot of hanging around in a small, the Region 31 convention. “Suddenly hot and airless room,” says Sheena we were being asked to sing again and Kaighin who accompanied “Spotlight” to it was all over”, says Patti. “But it was
great fun and we’re told the programme has around 5 million viewers so we hope it’s helped to raise the profile for Region 31”. “Their singing went down a storm,” said BBC Producer Emily Burns. “Next time they’re in the U.K. I’m sure we’ll have them back on”. Sheena Kaighin, Surrey Harmony
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
A FOND FAREWELL FROM FORTH VALLEY It’s the end of an era for Forth Valley Chorus – the Netta Thomson era. Netta, our oldest member, has decided to hang up her false eyelashes at the ripe old age of 85. Netta joined Forth Valley Chorus shortly after its inception in 1987. A very loyal member, she’s hardly missed a rehearsal or sing-out over these twenty years.
Netta is always on the go – making great use of her free bus pass to travel around Edinburgh. Take a typical Thursday – Netta leaves home at 11 am and travels a few miles by bus to help run a club for visually impaired people.
At 4 pm she’s off on another bus to Edinburgh, does a bit of shopping and then travels to our rehearsal hall, for almost 3 hours of rehearsal, eventually arriving home at 11 pm. How many other 85 year olds would have the stamina to keep going for twelve hours on the trot? Netta’s stamina was honed in her school days when she spent much time swimming and cycling, becoming a sports champion for her school. She walked to work every day and during the war spent two weeks in the summer helping to bring in the harvest at a farm in Kirkcudbrightshire. After her marriage she and her husband spent many happy times cycling through the Scottish countryside. After Alex’s death in 1987, Netta began voluntary work with two clubs for the blind and still organises outings and lunches for them. She’s an independent lady, game for anything, and didn’t need much persuasion to carry a huge blow-up banana on stage during our recent sell out show in Edinburgh.
Diminutive in size, big in heart and loved by everyone in Forth Valley Chorus, she will be greatly missed on the risers but we wish her a well-earned rest in her retirement – if she ever takes the time to sit back and relax! Marion Devlin Forth Valley Chorus
A ROARING SUCCESS! What a weekend! What a show! What a party! What a competition! Our region has excelled itself again and put on a convention full of excellence, great flavours and lots of fun. We enjoyed a fantastic weekend together and I hope you all agree that this was the best convention ever! The standard in our region keep going up and this year was no exception. The venue also provided us with the best backdrop ever and the acoustics were outstanding. What a stage to sing on and we can’t wait for the 2008 convention when we will be back in Birmingham Symphony hall. We celebrate our three new Master Directors in the region and the RMT sends big congratulations out to Aberdeen’s Gwen Topp, Forth Valley’s David Sangster and Surrey Harmony’s Jenny Lawson. What a fantastic result for them and the region! We also congratulate our winners, first timers Phoenix chorus and Flaunt! quartet. What a result for them! They will be great ambassadors for our region when they compete in Calgary and Hawaii. Both Phoenix and Flaunt! 6
are contributing to the ever increasing standards in our region and we can’t wait to see them strut their stuff on the International stage. Thanks to all the competing quartets and choruses. You are putting in tremendous efforts, you are all fantastic and we applaud you all! The feedback from our members is so positive and we are delighted that you had such fun. It takes a lot of effort to organise the convention and it gives the RMT and Convention team great pleasure to see our members enjoy themselves. Spotlight quartet was a natural highlight of the weekend and we really enjoyed their show performances and education classes. All 4 Spotlight members provided a lot more than we asked of them and some of you were even lucky enough to both sing with them and try on their crowns! The coup of getting Spotlight on the famous BBC Breakfast sofa gave the region a fantastic publicity opportunity and many eyes will have been opened to what women’s barbershop is all about. We look forward to seeing you all back in Birmingham for more next year - we’ll be bigger and better again! Until then - keep singing! Marketing Co-ordinator, Jeanette Yuile
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
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CONVENTION RAG
Chorus Champions 2007 – Phoenix
quartet Champions 2007 – Flaunt! 7
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
HAWAII HERE WE COME!!!!!!!! What can we say? How do we feel? three members of PHOENIX share their thoughts and feelings… From Nicky Salt, Chorus President We have had an amazing weekend! Sweet Adelines has From Lynda Wood, Director welcomed the chorus into their association with open arms, Phoenix has and for Phoenix to win had a fabulous first the Chorus competition time convention at and Flaunt!, to win the Birmingham Symphony Quartet Competition Hall, which was a on our first year in is superb venue. We are just wonderful! honoured to be SAI I can’t tell you Region 31 champion how proud I feel to be chorus and because President of the most we had the privilege of incredible bunch of watching most of the women ever!!!!! contest know the very high standard we were From Ally Law, up against. The warmth, Chorus member encouragement, Wow! What a congratulations and brilliant weekend, we praise from sister choruses has been humbling to say the had such a blast in Birmingham. We are absolutely thrilled least. For some of our singers it was their first time on stage and honoured with our gold medals but more than that; we and the whole experience has given them such an honest made so many lovely new friends, got to sing at a wonderful flavour of the true spirit of this association. venue, watched such great performances and had a fabulous Over the coming year we will represent the region with Chorus party hosted by the one and only ELVIS! pride and look forward with great excitement to representing We were so proud of our quartets especially FLAUNT the region in Hawaii in 2008. who did a cracking job, we know you will be great in Calgary Anyone who achieves success knows that there is more and will be great ambassadors for region 31 as we hope to hard work to come, as improvement never stops and the be in Hawaii in 2008, we are so excited!!!!!!! Thank you for ethos of Phoenix is to keep raising standards whilst having making our first competition unforgettable. lots of fun and making lifelong friends. Phoenix
If you’ve got it – Flaunt! it!!!!! Wow – what a performances too. The standard was weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! high which made for a great contest. We had the time of our lives and are absolutely thrilled to be Sweet Adeline Region 31 Gold medallists for 2007. It was actually a great relief to us all that we were in matching outfits on the day…..Having bought a dress 2 sizes smaller than she was at the time, in the hope that she would “get into it by the competition”, Nicky was, (with the help of magic knickers!!) thankfully in it by convention!!!!!! Just as well considering we’d got the matching jewellery and sparkly shoes to match anyway!!!!! (We will be selling the DVD of Kim and Nicky getting into their magic knickers prior to the contest, to raise funds for Calgary!!!!!!) Congratulations from us to all the other competing quartets for their 8
And finally, thanks to all of you taking the time to congratulate us at convention and for your wonderful emails, cards and messages left on our website and for just making our win so special. We have had the most amazing introduction to Sweet Adelines! During the next year we hope to visit as many Chapters as we can and get to know more of you better, and we will be ambassadors for Sweet Adelines wherever we sing. Now begins the hard work to fundraise and raise our game to represent Region 31 when we compete at International in Calgary. We hope we do you proud. Jenn, Nicky, Caroline and Kim xxxx www.flauntquartet.co.uk
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
Silver Medal, Mac4
Bronze Medal, Cornish Lace
4th Place, Upbeat
5th Place, Vocal Zone
Silver Medal, Surrey Harmony
Bronze Medal, Aberdeen
4th Place, Forth Valley
5th Place, Spinnaker
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
Midsize Chorus Gold Medal, Spinnaker
Small Chorus Gold Medal, Somerset Hills
Midsize Chorus Silver Medal, Stockport Liberty Belles
Small Chorus Silver Medal, Classic Harmony
Midsize Chorus Bronze Medal, Lincoln Sounds
Small Chorus Bronze Medal, Apple County
Hillfoot Harmony
Sheffield Harmony
Champagne Cornwall
Mayflowers Plymouth
Coastline Harmony
Riverside Harmony
Congratulations to everybody
County Connection Harmony
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Photographs courtesy ŠDave Page Photography
City of Roses
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
SUMMER 2007
What a fabulous weekend What a fabulous weekend- for so many reasons! Eu4ia (and partners) attended convention just to have a good time – this was the first time we didn’t have to compete at a convention since we first got together in 2000!! No racing around attending briefings (actually, Jane and Kate did attend the quartet briefing through habit), no one had to be anywhere officially (well, Nancy and Jane were Panel Secretary and Page – best seats in the house so they told us afterwards!), we just attended to support and have fun (which we did in cartloads). Sweet Adelines region 31 convention is such a great event. What a fabulous competition – quartet and chorus. The standard of the quartets was amazing – we actually couldn’t tell who was going to be the top 5 as there was such a broad spectrum of talent on the stage – congratulations to Flaunt, Mac4, Cornish Lace, Upbeat and Vocal Zone. You were all fabulous and the highlights were numerous. There has been a lot of hard work over the last 12 months and it certainly paid off. The choruses, yet again, amazed us with their great sounds, choreography and sparkle – every chorus had something to give and entertained the audience – there were times when you forgot it was a competition. Congratulations to Phoenix, Surrey, Aberdeen, Forth Valley and Spinnaker – also to Somerset Hills! To the new Master Directors, the high scores say it all – great results – you deserve the accolades. Everyone on stage shone; there was not one disappointment! Obviously, this all lead to the most important event – the Saturday night party!!! It was such a blast – we got to sing with Spotlight (high spot) and once we started we couldn’t stop.
Even though the bar denied all knowledge of an extension – the party continued, transferring to a very accommodating hotel where we all sang extremely loudly – not necessarily in tune or particularly beautifully but with heart! – Sandra tried to run at one point but Kate chased her around the bar and found her hiding behind a pillar – no escape! (The alcohol had nothing to do with this of course – it was just the excitement of the moment!). All in all, a great convention – It’s possibly the best all round contest we’ve seen to date (shame Olivia missed it after her previous 7 attendances! She’s off to see Daddy, Simon, Tony and Grandad compete at the BABS convention in Scarborough with Bolton’s Cottontown Chorus, so she still gets her fix!) It was wonderful having the freedom to sit and watch a full competition without worrying about timings, rehearsals, finding your warm up rooms, when to eat, getting ready in time etc. etc. etc. to be honest, I think we all missed it a little and that stage certainly looked fun – roll on next year, we can’t wait! Thank you, dear friends, for accepting us into your hearts over the last 3 years – we are honoured to be a part of such a wonderful association. Furthermore, if anyone would like us to help in any way, contact us, we would be thrilled to do any shows, coaching, visit a rehearsal etc. We are going to record our second CD this summer so hopefully we will have that ready for Xmas presents!! (just in case anyone is stuck for an idea). See you all soon. Kate, Sandra, Nancy & Jane Eu4ia www.eu4ia-quartet.co.uk
Thank you Region 31 Thank you Region 31 for making Dorothy, Tin man, Lion and Scarecrow feel so wonderful during and after our performance. We had so many lovely and encouraging comments over the weekend that will stay with us always. We had an absolute ball entertaining
you and will giggle for many years to come as we picture ourselves walking back to our hotel amongst the Friday night ravers in all our glory (I’m sure some of them thought they were hallucinating!!!!) Once again THANKYOU Richochetxxxx
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you For all the hospitality and friendship during the weekend in Birmingham. We felt very welcome. It was a wonderful weekend with lots of good singing from quartets and choruses. Saturday night we went to room 201 in the Copthorne Hotel to celebrate with Lincoln Sounds Chorus their 3rd place medal in the AA division. Once more “CONGRATULATIONS”. We did a lot of singing and a lot of laughing. We enjoyed the acoustic sound of the Symphony Hall and yes… we come to compete next
year. We are the New Land Singers Chorus and Vocal Flair Quartet from Lelystad. So hope to see you all in Birmingham May 2008. In harmony… Jacqueline, Els, Karin, Liese en Ina “ New Land Singers” and “Vocal Flair” 11
SUMMER 2007
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
Congratulations to All competitors Jingle Jingle All The Way, and it isn’t even Christmas What a superb time we had manage to recruit this time as she in Birmingham. Our Region is already sings professionally in a achieving such great results, we blues band. really have reached that other It was a great evening all round level that seemed so elusive just because as an added bonus a a few years ago. The directors chorus member, Jess Curtis, on of Forth Valley, Aberdeen and learning that the local station was Surrey Harmony all joining Glenn coming, arranged their jingle in as Master Directors, what an barbershop style. After a quick achievement!! We can’t wait until learning session and a couple of sound takes, Devon would be able next year when the choruses from to hear our four part harmony on Holland join us. Radio Devon visited the chorus in the spring to let one of the airwaves. It does make for an interesting rehearsal to be their listeners experience the barbershop sound. She’s the recorded all evening! one in the middle of the risers, not in red and black. We didn’t Jane Wood, Mayflowers, Vice President and Publicity Officer
Convention 2007 What an amazing contest in a beautiful new venue! My warmest congratulations to all this year’s medal winners especially Phoenix and Flaunt! They will be wonderful representatives for our Region at International this year in Calgary and next year in Hawaii. Thanks too to our fantastic convention team, ably led by Emma Riley, Competition Coordinator for this year. And of course huge thanks too to all members of our Regional Management Team who are just awesome. It is always a challenge to stage a convention weekend in a new venue but our marvellous Events Coordinator Deborah Wheeldon just took the whole thing in her stride. Thanks too to Marketing Coordinator Jeanette Yuile for the huge amount of publicity generated by our convention. It was sad to say farewell to Sheila Doherty who has been a fantastic Team Coordinator over the past 6 years. She has worked tirelessly on behalf of you all and she will be greatly missed by the team (and the Scottish contingent will miss her input in those games of Trivial Pursuit!). We were thrilled to welcome Spotlight as our special guests and from your comments you loved having them share our convention with us. Our judging panel for this year was so impressed by the new standards set by our region. It was fantastic to see three new Master Directors and so great to see four choruses scoring over 600 points, a feat which is only emulated in a handful of regions throughout the Sweet Adelines world. We are really and truly making a name for ourselves now and you can all be proud of the achievements of Region 31. These are some of the comments made by the judges in their post competition meeting. We will certainly use their comments to structure our education for this coming year. • It is always advisable to sing a tune up note after taking pitch. Quartets would particularly benefit from this. There are no points to be lost by this, but you could lose points if you start the song out of tune. Pitch pipe should be blown for longer and it should be louder. 12
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Some quartets and choruses chose arrangements which were too difficult. Make sure you choose music which fits your skill level. • Harmony inaccuracy was an issue in uptunes. Ballads tended to be more accurate. Develop vocal stamina through sustained breath support. Better posture would help clear up some of the problems of unsupported sound. • Make sure phrase endings are properly energised and executed – diphthongs turned, “r” pronounced. • Practise the entrance, break and exit. Time the blowing of pitch so that there is less “white space”. • Be more sassy! • Make up needs to be more garish. Lipstick tended to be faded on some competitors. Choose vibrant colours. Have choruses invest in a photographer’s light and assess the make up using this. Don’t just rely on normal indoor artifical lighting. • The eyes are the windows to the soul. Wear eyelashes! • Now and then chord clarity was lost. Make sure the vocal energy is consistent all the way to the tag. However they loved : • The number of quartets competing in our region. This was very impressive. • Some excellent choreography plans. • The intuitive feel for singing the music. • Very impressive standards overall! We have some exciting plans for our region’s development and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our Autumn workshop at the Sage, Gateshead, with the incomparable Rumors. Watch out for registration forms which will be coming your way very soon. Best wishes for a well earned rest from competition! Alyson Chaney Education Coordinator
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
SUMMER 2007
100th member Hi! My name is Dawn McGlashan and I joined the Lace City Singers in January 2007 after a friend recommended them to me. I had been singing with traditional choirs for about 8 years and was looking for a change and a challenge. Being completely ignorant about barbershop singing I thought that it was something men did in fours, so it was a complete surprise
when I found out that it was also well established with women and could be sung by a large chorus. When I first heard the Lace City Singers I was completely bowled over by the quality of sound and their joyful enthusiasm. I feel very honoured to be the 100th member of the Lace City Singers chorus. Dawn McGlashan
back to the beginning and it felt great to be part of it. After The Netherlands became a separate area/region you sometimes lose the other choruses out of sight a little but you do not forget them. Therefore it was nice to see and hear them all again at convention and I am looking forward to coming back next year with the whole chorus. That there are so many choruses above 600 points indicates that we will have to do our utmost to get on the same level. We will start with this in Calgary where we will be together with Lace City Chorus at the International Convention. See you all in Birmingham 2008 Back to the beginning. I cannot deny it but this is how it Ina Meskers felt just a little bit at the convention in Flying High Singers Birmingham. Terug naar het begin. My barbershop history starts in 1990 and being a member of Flying High Ik kan niet ontkennen dat ik Singers we had our first convention as dat gevoel een beetje had tijdens a prospective chorus in England that de conventie in Birmingham. Mijn year. Back then I did not know what barbershop geschiedenis begint in was happening. From breakfast till 1990 en als lid van de Flying High breakfast you heard everybody sing Singers ging ik een paar maanden
later mee naar Engeland voor onze eerste conventie als prospective koor. Toen wist ik nog niet wat het allemaal inhield maar er werd gezongen van ontbijt tot ontbijt en het voelde geweldig om daar deel van uit te maken. Nadat Nederland een eigen area/regio is geworden verlies je de Engelse koren wel een beetje uit het oog maar je vergeet ze niet. Daarom was het leuk om ze allemaal weer het zien en horen tijdens de conventie. Ik kijk er dan ook al weer naar uit om volgend jaar terug te komen maar dan natuurlijk met het hele koor. Dat er inmiddels zoveel koren boven de 600 punten zitten geeft aan dat we dus flink ons best moeten gaan doen om hen te kunnen evenaren. We zullen hier vast mee beginnen in Calgary als we gelijk met Lace City deelnamen aan de Internationale Conventie. Tot ziens allemaal in Birmingham 2008 Ina Meskers Flying High Singers
Car Booty Cont… Somewhere in the bowels of a T.V. production company lies hours of film showing a group of women singing barbershop in a car park early on a miserable and wet Sunday morning. They are, perhaps, the least glamorous moments of Surrey Harmony’s brief brush with the process of making a television programme. The eagerly awaited edition of BBC 1’s “Car Booty” programme featuring Surrey Harmony was shown on April 24th, with many of us setting video recorders to see ourselves on the small screen and record it for posterity. “It was a great experience” says Jean Dack who was the inspiration behind the whole project. “But
it’s just amazing how much of the stuff they filmed never made it into the programme. Still they featured our Las Vegas video a number of times and I think we managed to get across just how much fun we have in the Chorus and Sweet Adelines. I think we can call it a great success”. *The Car Booty project helped Surrey Harmony raised £500 towards the cost of their new costume. Sheena Kaighan Surrey Harmony 13
SUMMER 2007
QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
YOUR REGION NEEDS YOU!
Have you considered representing your Region at Management Level? The positions coming up in May 2008 are: Events Coordinator • Education Coordinator • Membership Coordinator • Marketing Coordinator The above positions run for a two year term and involve four meetings a year (one of which is held at convention). The meetings take place in locations around the country depending on where RMT members are located.
Working for your region is extremely rewarding (and fun!) and will give you an insight into the structure of Regional Management and allow you to be part of the decision making for the future of our wonderful Region 31. For more details and job descriptions for the above positions contact Valerie Taylor, Communications Coordinator, or visit the website www.sweetadelines.org.uk The deadline for submitting applications for the RMT is 31st July 2007
“The Superwoman Factor” Down here in Plymouth, the members of the Mayflowers Chorus have been undergoing a remarkable transformation. What is this transformation I hear you ask and how has it come about? From the moment we enter our rehearsal premises we all now straighten up with our shoulders back, put on our imaginary superwoman capes that fly out from our shoulders, and assume our confident superhero personas for the rest of the evening. This has all come about due to the wonderful vocal coaching sessions the Mayflowers have received from
Sandra Smith. Over a series of four, two hourly sessions Sandra really put us through our paces improving and developing our vocal skills. Who would have believed that maintaining a good posture, breathing properly, anchoring that smile and oh yes, singing could be such hard work! Might I add that Sandra displayed a few superhero qualities herself and seemed to be able to spot any difficulties we were having and how to overcome them. I think I can speak for the whole chorus when I say that as individuals she has helped all of us to develop our vocal skills and that this has resulted
in a richer stronger unit sound for the chorus. It is amazing how more confident putting on your superwoman cape makes you look and feel and several of us have confessed to putting on our capes when we are at work and walking around. One chorus member was actually told that she looked taller! On behalf of the Mayflower Chorus I should like to say a big thank you to Sandra and we look forward to many more coaching sessions in the future. Gail MacWattie Mayflower Chorus
Edinburgh Festival Fringe After Vocal Zone’s two successful shows – Bags of Harmony in 2005 and More Bags of Harmony in 2006 at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, it has been decided to take the whole chorus to the fringe this year. We will be performing our hour long show under our Master Director Gwen Topp at 4.30p.m on Saturday 18th August and again at 4.30p.m on Saturday 25th August 2007 at St Andrew’s and St George’s Church on George Street. The show ‘Aberdeen A Cappella’ will be a lively presentation spanning many musical
styles including songs from the shows, popular music, gospel and Scottish music (www. aberdeenchorus. co.uk). If you are in Edinburgh for the Festival and you would like to spend a cheery afternoon with your friends in the Aberdeen Chorus we’d love to see you there. Tickets are available from the Fringe Box Office. E Anne Cargill Publicity Officer Aberdeen Chorus
Southern France
Property sleeping 8 in attractive part of France available to let. Pool, self-contained. Near Rocamadour, Gouffre de Padirac, Dordogne Valley. Visited by Harmony Rag and Express readers who have enjoyed their time in this picturesque part of the Lot department. From £410/week. Comments, details, availability, photos may be viewed at www.gitevisit.com or email me at rgmb55@yahoo.com, or telephone 01323 733786.
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QUARTET OF NATIONS NEWSLETTER, REGION 31, SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL
SUMMER 2007
your feedback Thanks to all of you who returned evaluation forms. We received some fantastic feedback and we are so grateful to all those who took the trouble to thank the RMT and everyone on the Convention team for their hard work behind the scenes. We value all your comments however and will be working hard to improve things for next year based on your suggestions. Here is a brief summary of the main points mentioned in your feedback forms. What went well • Fantastic venue with wonderful acoustics. Please have the convention here every year! • Education sessions with Spotlight were great! Loved the formula this year – can it be repeated every year? • Well organised event • Camaraderie of meeting friends from other choruses and bonding with own chorus for a whole weekend • Making new friends • Standards in the region rising once again • Learnt a lot from watching others perform (costume ideas, quality of singing, music choice, wonderful examples of showmanship) • Excitement of competition • Confidence gained from performing • Positive and constructive comments from the judges • Fun and friendship • Location of hotels very handy for venue • Showcase (especially the fun stuff) was very entertaining • Three new master directors for Region 31! Even better if… • Symphony Hall bar(s) open for longer and better staffed to enable afterglow to last longer • More tea / coffee stations • Time spent onstage before chorus announced often very long • Showcase too long • Improve Harmony Bazaar by asking outside agencies to exhibit • Quartet members and chorus MDs and presidents to remain onstage for medal presentations • Later start to the Sunday morning education classes • Adequate water provision during traffic pattern for competing quartets • Get the lighting sorted for the contests • More education geared to smaller choruses • Televise the contest in the foyer
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Make sure the choruses are not rushed on to the stage • More hours in the day / night! • More mass singing • Judges’ handwriting to be clearer! Could they type their comments? • Larger chorus photos not so clear. Chorus members at the side often not visible. • Choice of education sessions on the Sunday morning To answer some of your specific queries: 1. “The quartet contest is too long. Why not limit the number of entries from quartets?” – This is out of our control. Every quartet is entitled to compete in regional contests and SAI rules do not allow for preliminary contests like in LABBS / BABS. Some regions have up to 30 competing quartets. It is very healthy that there are so many quartets in Region 31 willing to compete and we are delighted to see so many of them. The contribution quartet singers make to the progress of their choruses is to be valued. 2. “Why not list in the programme the size of the choruses so that we know which choruses are in which category?” The size of the chorus is determined by the number who are onstage for the contest. As this number could fluctuate a figure published in the convention programme might be misleading. 3. “Why weren’t the judges available for some of the education on the Sunday morning?” – All of our judges had to leave early on Sunday morning to fly home to the USA. Most of our judges work and holiday allocations in the USA are less generous than in the UK. This means that very often they need to return in order to be at work on the Monday morning. This year we knew we had Spotlight to deliver the education on the Sunday morning so a session with the judges was not so crucial. However as many of you requested a Q and A feedback session with the judges we will try to build this in next year. 4. “Too many quartets and choruses sang the same songs!” – Again this is out of our control as contestants can choose freely. Thanks for all your constructive feedback. We work hard to take on board your suggestions and we will be discussing how we change things for the better at our next RMT meeting. Alyson Chaney, Education Cootrdinator 15
SUMMER 2007
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
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 Southsea - 02392 739161 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
Kit de Bolster, Flying High Singers Netherlands +30 6885602 kitjack@calway.nl
Regional Convention Dates: May 2008 9-11 May Birmingham’s Symphony Hall
Other Diary Dates: Educational Workshop 9-11 November 2007 The Sage, Gateshead, Newcastle
Got a show? Aberdeen Chorus at the Edinburgh Festival Saturday 18th and 25th August St Andrews and St George’s on George Street Edinburgh For tickets ring the Fringe Box Office
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Forth Valley Chorus LIVE! at Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline - Friday 15 June, 7.45pm. Tickets £8/ £6 available from the Box Office (01383 314 000) Lace City’s Show ‘Hooked on Barbershop’ will be on Wednesday, 12 September, 7.30pm (venue still to be confirmed)
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
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