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HARMONY RAG Convention Special June 2013

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nisl consectetur et. Donec sed odio dui. Cras mattis consectetur purus sit amet fermentum. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Donec sed odio dui. Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla.

Fortuity

2013 Region 31 Champion Quartet

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Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Aenean lacinia bibendum nulla sed consectetur. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna. Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna. Cras mattis consectetur purus sit amet fermentum. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque

Spinnaker

2013 Region 31 Division AA Chorus Champions

Contents

Usuals 5  RMT Updates 7  Regional Buzz 26  Coaching Directory

Features

17  Tyne To Shine 2013 - the results are in! Competition results from the exciting convention weekend in Gateshead

22  The first time Read about the convention experiences of the firsttimers

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About the cover Fortuity, 2013 Region 31 Champion Quartet Photography by Event-Photos

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“656: the magic number”

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QUARTET OF NATIONS The word ‘wow’ is no longer enough to describe Region 31’s convention weekend. The quality and standard of performances are simply ‘up there’ with six choruses and two quartets having 600+ scores! When compared with the rest of the world, our quartet champions, Fortuity, top the international rankings with 656 points.

Sweet Adelines

It is always delight to be part of this fantastic region and now I’m honoured to be serving you on the RMT ensuring that you all get the news, notices and updates in a timely manner. There are several changes in the horizon, starting with the look and feel of the Harmony Rag. After this issue is out, Liz Tomes (new Marketing Coordinator) and I will be working on improving our regional website. If you have any ideas and suggestions, please feel free to send them to me. I’m also on the lookout for those who would like to help me on a more regular basis with the Harmony Rag so lookout for the flyer in this issue. If you are a budding writer, photographer or proofreader, then I’d love for you to join the team.

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

In the meantime, do enjoy this packed, special issue of the Harmony Rag. I’m quite sure that the convention stories will bring back warm and fuzzy feelings of that wonderful weekend in Gateshead!

International Region 31

Harmony Rag is published and printed annually in June by the Regional Management Team (RMT) of the Quartet of Nations. Harmony Rag Lite is published in August, October, December, February and April and is only available in digital format. Materials sent for publication are at the author’s/contributor’s risk and while every care is taken, neither the Quartet of Nations RMT 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

Charl

CHARL ASUIT HARMONY RAG EDITOR AND COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR charlasuit@gmail.com Twitter: @charlie74 4

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Deadlines are one (1) month prior to publication Design and layout by Caktus Ltd Printing by Caktus Ltd

RMT UPDATES

MEET THE NEW APPOINTEES TO THE RMT

place medals. When not singing, she works for OFSTED where she manages a programme of conferences and seminars for schools and FE providers that require improvement.

The following were appointed to the RMT for 2013-2014:

Liz Tomes, Marketing Coordinator DaleDiva Born in Belper, Derbyshire, Liz discovered barbershop from a story in a local newspaper posted by Ally Law, with the headline “Wanted - women who sing!” She turned up (along with 80 other women) and listened to Ally explain her vision for starting a local group and the rest is history. Outside singing, Liz is a Senior Communications Officer for the Derbyshire County Council and runs her own sports therapy massage business. In joining the RMT, Liz is looking forward to “finding out more about how Sweet Adelines International works behind the scenes and how our region contributes to that and seeing what I can bring to the role to help spread the word about this amazing hobby of ours.”

Deborah Pollard, Events Coordinator Lace City Deborah is not quite a ‘newbie’ to the RMT as she had already served in several roles in the past including the Competition Coordinator from 2011 to 2013. She has been a Sweet Adelines member for 16 years, 14 of which has been serving the music team of Lace City chorus even though she was so adamant that she wouldn’t take on any responsibilities! Deborah also sang in the quartet ‘UpBeat’, winning regional 5th, 4th and 3rd

Charl Asuit, Communications Coordinator London City Singers Two years ago, Charl was looking for a group to sing with regularly. She had sung with choirs (both university and church) back in the Philippines so she was up for something really different. And since she always loved

RMT UPDATEs Whilst early-bird registration is closed, you can still signup for the Summer Rollercoaster weekend in Edinburgh. Visit http://sweetadelines.org.uk/summerrollercoaster.htm Chapter presidents and team coordinators, please do not forget to complete and submit your response for the Annual Regional Evaluation - https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SNRR56L - by 31 July 2013. This will greatly help the RMT and International staff to know the best way to serve your chapter and its members. Please see the announcement in this issue about the new venue for convention in 2014.

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listening to and watching barbershop performances, she finally decided to give it go after finding London City Singers. Some sequins and bling must have stuck as Charl has now decided to serve on the RMT to share and possibly pass on her skills “to make Region 31 the coolest and bestest region of Sweet Adelines International!” These skills include managing business processes more efficiently through the use of technology.

Alyson Chaney, Workshop Coordinator Lace City Alyson is the other half of a barbershop partnership with husband Glenn (director of Lace City chorus and sings with Major Oak chorus). Whilst not a stranger to serving in the RMT, Alyson still loves being involved and really looks forward to working with talented and dedicated women. Her barbershop journey began in 1990 when she joined a chorus at Arnold Hill School in Nottingham where she was a languages teacher. One of her claims to fame is introducing Ellie Blackeby (bass of Fortuity)

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to barbershop through a club that she used to run at school for 11-12 year old girls called “baby barbies”. Alyson is also a proud grandmother to three gorgeous grandchildren - Ben, Luke and Jessica - who live in County Kerry in south west Ireland.

VOLUNTEERING AT CONVENTION By Deborah Pollard, Events Coordinator (Competition Coordinator 2011-2012) As I’m sure is true for many of you, convention is the highlight of my barbershop year and this is not just because of the opportunity to get glammed up and compete on the convention stage. As Competition Coordinator for the past three years and having served on the RMT as Events Coordinator for a previous four-year term, convention allows me to give back to an organisation that has provided me with invaluable development and confidence-boosting opportunities. It allows me to be part of a wonderful team of volunteers planning and delivering every small detail of the weekend. This year in Gateshead, there were many people working behind the scenes – many of whom you may not have even noticed, but you would have certainly noticed if they hadn’t been there doing their bit to help. Sam Todd and Janice Brown, for example, gave

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up hours of their time to manage your registrations and ensure that you all had a seat to sit in. Liz Mills as Official Panel Liaison (OPL) corresponded at length with the judging panel in advance of the competition weekend and was very busy during the event itself making sure that all of their needs were met – booking taxis, organising food and making sure the judges turned up at the right place at the right time. Alison Beaumont (who will be taking over from me as Competition Coordinator for 2014) was an incredible support backstage; she helped to set everything up from 8am on Friday morning, was present during both competition sessions to manage the flow of competitors, and was there at the end packing everything away. Others helped in a smaller, yet just as valuable way. You couldn’t have missed the couriers, in their bright purple vests, who ably managed the traffic pattern and were such a calming influence on everyone who crossed the competition stage. Then there were the ladies who acted as pages for the panel secretary, diligently passing papers, timing performances and helping get the result packets ready for collection immediately after the competition. We had volunteers who acted as emcees and others who photocopied result sheets and made sure they were available as soon as humanly possible at the end of each contest. Ally Page and her team of

RMT UPDATES

volunteers deserve a special mention for stage managing the Show of Champions on Saturday evening and Vocal Zone did a great job on Friday morning working with the judges to set the stage for the quartet competition. Then, there are all of the Regional Management Team members who volunteer all year round undertaking a myriad of tasks; for example: they visit potential venues, negotiate and sign contracts, design the convention programme, plan educational classes, order the medals and trophies and correspond with

International HQ to put all the arrangements in place. The tasks undertaken by this army of volunteers vary in complexity, time commitment and skills required, but they all have two things in common: they fitted their volunteering around singing with their chorus or quartet (at least two of them did both) and they enjoyed being involved. I’m sure you will all join me to say thank you to them for their contribution to such a fantastic weekend.

If you would like to be one of the team helping out next year, I want to hear from you. At this stage, I am looking for ‘expressions of interest’ only – no firm commitment is needed. Email me at deb.pollard@btinternet. com letting me know if there is a particular role you are interested in, how much time you can offer – both in advance of the contest weekend and during the weekend itself and what skills you would bring to the position. I look forward to hearing from you!

REGIONAL BUZZ

GOLD IN SPAIN By Lesley Sheridan, Tone-Acity After several weeks of gruelling quartet and chorus rehearsal schedules Tone-Acity were more than ready to get on that plane to sunny Benalmadena and compete in the Spanish Association of Barbershop Singers (SABS) En Armonia Convention. We were joined by 50+ members of our LABBS chorus Affinity Show Choir and supporters and wow did we do some laughing! We performed on the Thursday night “Fun Show” and our act

was a spoof of our baritone Lorna’s recent 80s themed hen night! She got married to Andy Walker (bass of Crossfire Quartet) at the end of May. We had such a good time and loved being able to make the audience laugh with our silly antics. The next morning we entered the International Quartet Competition with our fellow Sweet Adelines sisters Simply4. We were totally thrilled to win the gold medal and achieve our best score to date! Congratulations to Simply4 for their fantastic performance and also Fourmidables who won the SABS Quartet gold medals.

We then spent the rest of the weekend rehearsing and performing with Affinity who mic-warmed and mic-cooled the Chorus Competition. Big congratulations to Spangles Chorus for achieving their SABS Chorus gold medals and retaining their title for another year. Is there a better way to promote barbershop harmony between singers and organisations than visiting each other’s home countries and conventions? Sincerely doubt it! We want to thank the SABS organisers and chorus members who made us all feel so welcome and we hope to return

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REGIONAL BUZZ

again to Spain in the future. We were really sad not to compete as a quartet at Tyne to Shine in May and hope that you all had a wonderful time and achieved your goals. We will be back next year for the Region 31 contest and are looking forward to seeing you then. Lots of love from Lesley, Jen, Sheri and Lorna Tone-Acity xx

At least I’m not like Wendy, With a hundred bags in tow! I board the northbound train, With a checklist in my mind, Eyelashes, tan, hairspray, nails, And a suitcase full of wine. Arriving at the hotel, I dump my bags and my bling, Taking only a few new chants, I go to watch Blonde Ambition sing. A phenomenal performance, Our blondies really wowed us, I’ve never felt so proud to boast, That they hail from my chorus! Saturday is soon upon us, And I start to run around, Blusher, bronzer, shimmer dust, Enough to make a drag queen proud!

A POEM FOR MILLTOWN SOUND

We’re ushered into warm-up, Then lining up backstage, With knocking knees and sweaty palms, I’m suddenly so afraid. I take a glance behind me, But my sisters are beaming ear to ear,

By Steph Hepburn, Milltown Sound, www.milltownsound.co.uk Well, a year of hard work, And the day finally came, To don our purple dresses, And take to the stage. All packed up and ready, It’s off to Gateshead I go,

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I think, ‘With all this positive energy, We can’t go wrong this year!’ On the stage I sing from the heart, And remember to strut my stuff, It feels amazing, the audience love us, But have we done enough? I take my seat and anxiously wait, Hoping the judging was fair, But with fingers still crossed and heart beating fast, I leap into the air. Milltown Sound have won a medal, We’re announced in second place, From everywhere I feel arms around me, As tears roll down my face. The afterglow soon gets started, With drinks and friends and tags, But Suzi’s been hiding a party trick, Her own unique crab dance! At 3:30 in the morning, I finally drag myself to bed Songs and jokes and laughter, All still ringing in my head.

REGIONAL BUZZ

Sunday, I leave my purple family, With a medal and new memories, Words cannot express how much, I truly love you Millies!

COMPLETELY BLOWN AWAY By Linda McCurrach, Assistant Director, Forth Valley chorus Wow, what a contest! The whole of Forth Valley chorus were blown away by the fantastic reception we received from a packed house in Gateshead, clearly still sizzling from performances that had gone before us. Being so late in the draw, we had very little idea about what everyone else had done so total elation erupted when we were announced as winners. And how wonderful to share a score of 656 with the fabulous quartet champions Fortuity. The focus in our build up over the preceding weeks and on stage was less about scores and results per se (though of course we wanted the highest score and best result possible!) and more about giving a fully committed, heartfelt and joyful performance. When we came off stage we all knew that we had given the best we could and whatever would be would be. The amazingly talented Mo Field coached us this year and stayed with us right up to the warm-up

room! Mo’s calm yet passionate guidance helped us tremendously in staying grounded and focussed on what we needed to do, and how we needed to be, to give our best to the audience. This certainly took some of the weight from our director David’s shoulders, so much so that he was happily agreeing to (and implementing) last minute directing changes on the day of competition! It is a constant joy and honour to be part of, and to represent, a region such as ours, where every single competing chorus scores enough to be eligible for a prize and where, in recent years, no fewer than 9 choruses have scored over 600 points. Let’s be a bit “un-British” (and un-Dutch!) and celebrate unreservedly just how far we have all come. Thanks again to everyone in Region 31 for your kindness and support.

DALEDIVA’S WILDCARD INVITE TO BALTIMORE By Jo Poll, President, DaleDiva and Ally Law, Director, DaleDiva

Some of you may be aware that our high score at Region 31 convention in Gateshead this year meant that we had the great honour of being invited to attend the 2014 international competition in Baltimore. ‘Overwhelmed’, ‘flattered’ and ‘euphoric’ are words that first came to mind and we consider the opportunity to represent our fantastic region a great honour. We just wanted to let you know that, after much deliberation, we, as a chorus, do not feel ready for this enormous step just yet. DaleDiva is all about ‘the journey’ and we feel we have lots more to learn, and skills to

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refine before we can really do justice in representing Region 31 on the international stage. We know that this may disappoint some, however we know that this is the right decision for us at this time, and we hope you will respect our decision. We genuinely hope that one day we will be able to take part in the international competition representing all of our friends in Region 31, but the time is not yet right. We will, of course, be glued to the Baltimore webcast next year, shouting our support for our champs Forth Valley and Vocal Dimension, we know they are going to do a fabulous job.

NEVER A DULL MOMENT WITH THE DIVAS! By Liz Tomes, PRO, DaleDiva, www.dalediva.co.uk, facebook. com/dalediva, twitter. com/DaleDivaChorus It was fantastic to see you all again at convention and we’re still celebrating our silver medal. To achieve a top ranking place was something we’d worked hard towards – but it was still unbelievable when it happened! We’d set ourselves a tough target at last year’s competition to break the 600 point barrier

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– a challenging but realistic ambition which we achieved with a score of 608 placing us fourth. So this year it was all about setting our sights on doing even better. We hired coach Doug Harrington for our annual retreat in February in addition to the regular sessions we have with our permanent coach and friend Nicky Salt of Finesse quartet. This was coupled with more focused rehearsals and full-day sessions brilliantly planned and led by our musical director Ally Law and assistant director Harriet Adamson. We worked harder than we’d ever done towards the competition – and it paid off with our score of 634 and cherished silver medal. This is made even more special as the competition once again this year was extremely tough. It was great to see all our old friends in Gateshead and make new ones too. Thank you to everyone for all your support, good luck messages and congratulations – and many congratulations to all the choruses and quartets who took part, especially our new champions

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Silver sensation

Forth Valley and Fortuity. We like to mention London City Singers who were staying in the same hotel as us. A great job singing for evaluation and it was great to meet you. We also need to make special mention of two of our chorus members as it was their first convention. It was a big day for them but they all rose to the occasion, performed brilliantly and helped us achieve our goal – well done Di and Claire! We are also very proud of assistant director Harriet who along with her quartet Flame achieved an amazing fifth place for their debut outing at convention. Well done girls! Since Gateshead we’ve hosted our first ever ‘DaleDiva Fashion Fever’ charity fashion show

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raising £400 for a local children’s charity as well as boosting chorus funds. It was a fantastic sell-out night and an event we’re already thinking of hosting again. All that showmanship work we’ve been doing was certainly evident when we watched our own Diva models strut their stuff! We finished off the evening with a few songs – and think we may have even picked up a couple of potential new recruits from the audience who want to come and audition with us! Now we have our usual busy schedule of shows to look forward to performing for our lovely audiences in and around Derbyshire. There’s never a dull moment with the Divas…

GETTING TO KNOW FORTUITY By Ellie Blackeby, Fortuity/Lace City Aloha! Thank you everyone for your wonderful messages, texts, emails and comments at convention and since then. We are incredibly overwhelmed by it all. Our feet haven’t hit the ground! We are thrilled to be going to Hawaii to represent the region along with the fabulous Finesse, Echo and Viva Acappella. I’m sure that some cocktails will be enjoyed when we’ve all finished competing. We’re delighted that our coaches Valerie Taylor and Emma Duguid will be there, too. We definitely owe them a drink! But before that, here’s more about us...

Fashion fever

Gemma Netherton-Hind, Lead Age: 23 From: Derbyshire When did you start singing barbershop? 2005, aged 15 years old Which choruses have you sung with? Lace City and Moor Harmony What you give up to prepare for convention? I gave up chocolate, cheese, alcohol and my major vice…. Diet Coke. What’s your favourite thing about Fortuity rehearsals? Being able to act like a lunatic knowing that the other three will

inevitably follow! We also have an inability to form actual words or make any sense when around each other but we totally get it! Most importantly, our rehearsals are governed by food! Who would you like to thank? I’d like to thank Glenn Chaney, Angela Sanchez-Rosemurgey and Ellie Blackeby (nee Mills) for convincing a 15 year old skater girl that barbershop was indeed very cool! I want to thank the other three for helping me reach for my dreams and for loving me regardless of my clumsiness and stupidity at times! Also, Ellie and I need to thank Theresa McDonnell, a voice teacher from Lace City who worked with us in between quartet rehearsals. Sarah Netherton, Baritone Age: I’m the oldest and wisest! From: Cornwall When did you start singing barbershop? In 2006 Which choruses have you sung with? Champagne Cornwall and now I direct Celtic Chords What you give up to prepare for convention? I stopped having caffeine, fizzy drinks, alcohol and reduced chocolate and cheese intake! What’s your favourite thing about Fortuity rehearsals? I love the complete playground humour of the girls. I leave my five year old at home and spend the weekend with three more! Who would you like to thank? I thank the girls for sharing this with me and I also need to thank my wonderful husband, Tristan, and my little boy, Sennen.

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Veryan Zimber, Tenor Age: 27 From: Cornwall, currently living in Bristol When did you start singing barbershop? Aged 11 Which choruses have you sung with? Champagne Cornwall, Lace City and Bristol Fashion What you give up to prepare for convention? I stopped having caffeine, cheese, alcohol and chocolate. What’s your favourite thing about Fortuity rehearsals? This list could be endless but I love that we work so hard and stay in the zone and then when we have a tea break we come out with things like “what would you rather be a penguin the size of a giraffe or a giraffe the size of a penguin?!” [Ellie] and “why is B&Q called B&Q?” [Gemma] Who would you like to thank? I really want to thank Tracey Bailey and Champagne Cornwall as this is where I started my barbershop journey. I learnt a lot of my craft from this chorus and they will always be an integral part of my success.

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Obviously my family as well for putting up with us. My mum for allowing me the chance to grow up in such an amazing art form, bringing me to rehearsals, concerts and the first convention I ever experienced at the age of 12 where I sat and watched about 6 hours of barbershop and loved every minute of it! Ellie Blackeby (nee Mills), Bass Age: 28 From: Nottingham When did you start singing barbershop? Aged 11 Which choruses have you sung with? I’m an assistant director of Lace City and sang in St Louis Harmony (Missouri, USA) when I lived there for a year What you give up to prepare for convention? I gave up caffeine and alcohol for a month and for the last week or so I cut down on things high in sugar or fat. What’s your favourite thing about Fortuity rehearsals? You never know what will happen. One weekend when we were rehearsing at my parents house Sarah appeared in a tiger onesie

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complete with a tail and ears! We only just made it to a show once because of an unexpected first aid trip because one of the girls sat on their straighteners and burnt their bum! Who would you like to thank? I really want to thank Glenn and Alyson Chaney for introducing me to the ‘baby barbies’ when I started secondary school. Without their inspirational idea of taking 12 teenage girls to the first Rising Star contest in 1999 I don’t think I would be doing what I’m doing today. They are still a huge source of support and encouragement to me. I also need to thank my parents, sister, and amazing husband Duncan for all their help and support.

HI FROM FINESSE By Helen Owen, Finesse Wow, what a convention that was! Region 31 certainly goes from strength to strength. We felt privileged to be a part of such a wonderful weekend

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and would like to congratulate all the competitors and particularly our outstanding champion quartet and chorus!

REGION 31 VS ROSA - THE STATS!

For Finesse there were so many highlights - we were honoured to be able to sing on the wonderful Sage contest stage - twice, as well as a couple of songs after the competition. We were overwhelmed by the support and warmth we received, thank you. It was a joy and a privilege to be able to present Fortuity with their medals and flowers.

By Geekus Maximus (aka Emma Riley, Team Coordinator, Vocal Dimension)

Saturday was an exciting day, I was busy helping my husband celebrate his 40th birthday as he had decided there was no better place for life to begin than at Region 31 convention. Okay, let’s be fair, he was told that’s where he would be! Meanwhile Tan and Beth took on the important task of page for the chorus contest and despite a few worries beforehand, managed perfectly! The most incredible turn of events though would have to be Nicky, live and unleashed in charge of a microphone with not a single joke or deviation from her cue cards! A remarkable feat indeed! However, without a doubt the highlight of the weekend for us was the honour of singing on the show with our dear friends and mentors, The Four Bettys. We look up to them, we learn from them, we laugh with them and to be asked to sing with them was the icing on the cake!

Wow, what a convention! Region 31 (Quartet of Nations) is going from strength to strength and has had a triumphant year in comparison with the Rest of Sweet Adelines (ROSA)! The combined virtual medal haul of our choruses and quartets is through the roof and some startling stats are there to be savoured along with the oddity of our top chorus and quartet both scoring 656! As in past years, here are a few facts and highlights: Competition sizes We had 20 quartets competing this year and 2 evaluating, which keeps us in the in the middle rankings for size of competition. The smallest was Region 3 (Lake Michigan) with 7 and the largest shared by Regions 16 and 24 (Lake Ontario and Mount ‘n’ Shore), though Region 16 gets the top prize as they also had two evaluating. For choruses, we kept our second place spot with 21 competitors and 2 evaluations. The smallest chorus contest was in Region 35 (New Zealand), with 8 competitors and 2 evaluations, and the top spot went to Region 16 (Lake Ontario) again with 26

competitors and 2 evaluations. This year, a total of 13,552 singers crossed the competition stage. The smallest number of singers in the chorus contest was 251 in Region 35 (New Zealand) and, with an amazing 953 singers, we had the most! Quartets A total of 467 quartets competed this year, 21 less than 2012. 85% scored over 400 points, 40% over 500 points and only 6% over 600 points. Those scoring over 400 or 500 points are down from last year but those scoring 600 are down only by 2%. Fortuity totally smashed the competition! With 656, they are the highest scoring quartet in the 2013 season and, in fact, have scored the 3rd highest ever regional quartet score after the Buzz and Touché quartets, both of whom did rather well at International!! If you look at straight world rankings based on score alone (sorted by grand total then down the categories with Sound the first decider for a tiebreak) Fortuity are 1st and Echo, our 2nd place quartet, are 5th. Echo, who would have won the contest in 24 of the other regions, has also been invited to compete in Hawaii as a wildcard! Additionally our 3rd place quartet, The Late Show, would have won in 5 other regions. Such a strong contest! Our average score for quartets is on the rise. 2011’s average

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UK 5 T C im ha e m s pio ns

ACAPPELLA LIVE!

FORTH VALLEY CHORUS

Under the direction of David Sangster

28 September 2013, 7.30pm Usher Hall Edinburgh

Tickets £16, £14, £12 Concessions available 14

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Box Office 0131 228 1155 www.forthvalleychorus.org

REGIONAL BUZZ

was 475, 2012’s was 484, this year our average is 499 which now beats the 2010 average of 496. We’re almost at a 500 point average which is phenomenal! Choruses A total of 400 choruses competed regionally this year. Of those, 229 were Division A (Small) and 135 were Division AA (Mid-Size). There has been some chorus growth over the year as the Division A numbers are down whilst the Division AA are up. 85% of choruses scored 400+ points, 51% with 500+, 15% with 600+ and this year the number of choruses scoring over 700 doubled to 4, but still only 1%!

6th place would have won in 4 other regions and are ranked 45th in the world! In fact, as last year, our top 12 choruses would have won at least a 3rd place overall medal in a multitude of other regions. DaleDiva has indeed achieved a score high enough to be invited to compete as a wildcard in Baltimore!! Division AA winners Spinnaker achieved a great virtual medal haul, too, as they would have won the Division AA 1st place in 2 other regions and have an overall haul that includes three 2nd, six 3rd, ten 4th and eight 5th place medals. Their world ranking is 89th of 400.

The Region 31 chorus contest this year totally rocked ROSA (I’m starting to run out of superlatives)! Last year we were the only region to have the top 5 all scoring over 600 points. This year we had the top 6 – the most over 600 in one contest probably ever!! The only region to have a 600+ score outside the top 3 was our neighbour Region 32 (Nordic Lights).

Our Division A 1st place chorus, Vocal Dimension, have also brought home the glitter! We’ve already spoken about the 5 regions they would have won the overall contest but they would also have come 2nd in 10 regions (one by only 1 point!), 3rd in 11 and 4th in 2. In fact ours is the only region where their score of 607 would not have netted them an overall medal.

The virtual medal haul for choruses is amazing! Forth Valley with their 656 score would have won in 18 other regions and, in the score world rankings, are 11th!! DaleDiva, Heartbeat and Lace City would have won in 11 regions and are 21st, 23rd and 24th respectively in the world rankings, with Phoenix virtually winning in 5 regions and ranking 39th. Even Vocal Dimension in

How about most improved? Cheshire A Cappella’s excellent 78 point improvement was the 5th highest across regions, the highest being 95 in Region 13 (North Pacific) and smallest just 6 points in Region 5 (Midwest Gateway). Our average score for choruses keeps rising and rising. 2010’s average was 506, 2011’s was

512 and 2012’s was 516. This year our average chorus score was 535.5, much higher than the 499 point average score across all competitions! In conclusion Region 31 and Europe in general is a major force in the international game now. For example, only one other region had a higher average chorus score and that was our European sisters Region 32 (Nordic Light) with a 561 average. We have fantastic representation in Hawaii with our returning top 10 quartet Finesse, Fortuity top of the regional score pile and wildcard Echo. Then in Baltimore, Forth Valley will fly the flag along with Vocal Dimension in the Harmony Classic arena. Sweet Adelines International – here we come! If you wish to play with the numbers yourself, my Excel spreadsheet, as last year, is available on the Quartet of Nations website. This year I would like to raise a bit of cash for both the Young Singers Foundation and the Vocal Dimension international fund. So, if you enjoy the stats and feel like showing a little appreciation you can send whatever you feel appropriate to me by PayPal (emma.riley@ reedelsevier.com), and I’ll split it 50/50 between the two. Happy statting!

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Fortuity

2013 Quartet Champion Lace City, Celtic Chords and CAL TOTAL SCORE 656

Flirty Eyes (Hill and Bergman), Once Upon A Time (June Dale)

MOST IMPROVED QUARTET 2013

THE RESULTS ARE IN! Forth Valley

2013 Chorus Champion

Director: David Sangster TOTAL SCORE 656

From The First Hello, To The Last Goodbye (Arns), Cry Baby (Marcia Hill and Nancy Bergman)

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QUARTET RESULTS Echo Spinnaker, Heartbeat

The Late Show Viva Acappella

If I Give My Heart To You (Jim Clancy) Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You (Greg Volk)

Shanghai (Bergman) What’ll I Do (Ed Waesche)

Mac4 Forth Valley, CAL

Flame Phoenix, DaleDiva, CAL

If You Love Me Really Love Me (Bergman) Sugar Medley

My Foolish Heart (Joni Bescos) Shanghai (Bergman)

Carousel Plymouth Mayflower, CAL

Vice Versa Viva Acappella

Ain’t He Sweet (Lorraine Rochefort) Once Upon A Time (June Dale)

You’re Nobody Till Somebody Loves You (Volk) My Foolish Heart (Joni Bescos)

Mayhem Heartbeat

Raise the Roof Plymouth Mayflower

As Long As You’re Not In Love With.../Undecided Medley (Hine) You Don’t Know Me (Clancey)

Over The Rainbow (Bergman) Jeepers Creepers (Joni Bescos)

Chromatix Phoenix

Blonde Ambition Milltown Sound

My Mother’s Eyes (Renee Craig) When The Red, Red Robin... (Briner)

Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You (Greg Volk) You Don’t Know Me (Clancey)

Oops! Surrey Harmony

JaZZmine Spinnaker, CAL

I Didn’t Want To Fall (Liles) You Made Me Love You (Lorraine Rochefort)

I Didn’t Want To Fall (Liles) Little Lady Make Believe (Gentry)

Score: 614

Score: 570

Score: 549

Score: 520

Score: 504

Score: 462

Score: 458

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Score: 512

Score: 496

Score: 492

Score: 591

Score: 453

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QUARTET RESULTS Score: 450

Footlights Cambridge Harmony, Phoenix, CAL

Fit As A Fiddle (Arline B. Cardoso) At Last (Bergman)

I’m All Alone (Connett) Fit As A Fiddle - parody (Diamond)

Chatterbox Solent Sounds

Incognito Heartbeat

When I Leave The World Behind (Joni Bescos) I’m Sitting On The Top Of The World (Rochefort)

I Didn’t Want To Fall (Liles) The Church Bells Are Ringing For Mary (Barbara Bianchi)

DeciBelles Surrey Harmony, CAL

Chimaera Aberdeen, CAL

At Last (Bergman) Orange Coloured Sky (McNeil)

Sweet Adeline (Giallombardo) Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree (Bergman)

Majestik Solent Sounds

Affinity UK Spinnaker

You Made Me Love You (Lorraine Rochefort) At Last (Bergman)

Some Sunny Day (L. Diamond) Love’s Old Sweet Song (Liles)

Simply 4 Rhapsody UK

Score: 440

Score: 399

Score:394

Score: 450

Score: 440

Score: 397

Evaluation only

Finesse CAL

Evaluation only

How Many Hearts Have You Broken (Eyes Medley) (C. Hine) You Don’t Know Me (Clancey)

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CHORUS RESULTS DaleDiva Director: Ally Law

Heartbeat Director: Nancy Kelsall

If You Love Me Really Love Me (Nancy Bergman) Get Me To The Church On Time (Gentry)

All The Way (Tom Gentry) My Honey’s Lovin’ Arms (David Wright)

Lace City Director: Glenn Chaney

Phoenix Director: Lynda Wood

Lover Come Back To Me (N. Bergman) Smile Medley (C. Hine)

Once Upon A Time (June Dale) Swanee (Ed Waesche)

Vocal Dimension Director: Valerie Taylor

Aberdeen Director: Gwen Topp

I’ll Never Say ‘Never Again’ Again (Tom Gentry) My Romance (Joey Minshall)

I Didn’t Want To Fall (Liles) Angry/Bill Bailey Medley (Bergman)

Surrey Harmony Director: Jenny Lawson

Spinnaker Director: Jenny Savory

If I Give My Heart To You (Jim Clancey) How Many Hearts Have You Broken (Jim Arns)

At Last (Nancy Bergman) I Love Jazz (Take Me Down To The Land Of Jazz) (David Wright)

Plymouth Mayflower Director: Sarah Gill

Milltown Sound Director: Jennifer Carson-Fox

Score: 634

Score: 625

Score: 624

Score: 607

Score: 582

Score: 563

Score: 611

Score: 595

Score: 574

Score: 545

At Last (Bergman) The Moment I Saw Your Eyes (Liles)

How Deep Is The Ocean (Hopkins)

Rhapsody UK Director: Helen Gavina

Cheshire A Cappella Directors: Wally Saunders & Angela Lewis

Score: 532

How Many Hearts Have You Broken/Them There Eyes Medley (Brent Graham)

Score: 514

Most improved corus Lover Come Back To Me (Ed Waesche) After You’ve Gone (N. Bergman and L. Wright)

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What’ll I Do (Ed Waesche) Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You (Greg Volk)

CHORUS RESULTS Hillfoot Harmony Director: Catherine Macdonald

Somerset Hills Director: Cynthia Tucker

Kiss Me One More Time (Norma Anderson) After You’ve Gone (N. Bergman and L. Wright)

L.O.V.E. (Bergman) If I Give My Heart To You (Jim Clancey)

Lincoln Sounds Director: Pat Barnett Score: 455

Solent Sounds Director: Lorraine Howden

Ain’t He Sweet (Lorraine Rochefort) If I Give My Heart To You (Jim Clancey)

Chase The Rain Away (Lynell Diamond) I Can’t Give You Anything/I’ve Got A Feeling (Bergman)

Cambridge Harmony Director: Hilary Allen

Sheffield Harmony Director: Barry Clinton

Georgia On My Mind (Coffman) Side By Side (Emley)

When I Just Wear My Smile (Tome Gentry) You Don’t Know Me (Jim Clancey)

Celtic Chords Director: Sarah Netherton

Apple County UK Director: Anya Peat

It’s Only A Paper Moon (Rose & Harburn) If I Give My Heart To You (Jim Clancey)

Ain’t He Sweet (Lorraine Rochefort) Once Upon A Time (June Dale)

London City Singers Director: Melanie Rice

Viva Acappella Director: Gaynor Dugay

Angry/Bill Bailey Medley (Nancy Bergman Someone To Watch Over Me (Carolyn Schmidt)

All The Way (Tom Gentry) Don’t Break The Heart That Loves You (Greg Volk)

Score: 495

Score: 442

Score: 431

Evaluation only

Score: 459

Score: 449

Score: 441

Score: 412

Evaluation only

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THE FIRST TIME For any Sweet Adeline, the first convention is always a special one. For Gateshead 2013, there were around 125 first timers and some of them kindly shared their experiences. Chris Davies, Viva Acappella First convention: Gateshead 2013 What was your understanding of convention before the contest weekend? As a complete “newbie” to barbershop, although not to singing, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from convention. My “Viva buddy” Julie, had described to me what convention was about and her enthusiasm was so infectious that I was full of anticipation as convention got closer. I had heard that it would be a mad, crazy mixing pot of excited and incredibly focused women...that I would ache from laughing, be exhausted from lack of sleep, saturated with rehearsal and that I would absolutely love it! What are your thoughts now after attending your first convention? Well....everything I was told was true for a start... nothing could have prepared me though for the thrill of being amongst hundreds of like-minded people, all absolutely determined to do their best and all so friendly! I can see why people say you have to be there to understand what convention’s really like. Overwhelming? Certainly, but in a good way. Any lack of sleep was forgotten in the rush of pure

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adrenaline leading up to and during our performance. Best moment of first convention: The best moment for me was when I was privileged to walk proudly on stage with Viva Acappella, as reigning champions, and be greeted with a huge surge of warm applause from the audience. I am immensely proud and excited to be part of this amazing journey as we prepare for the international competition in Hawaii! Teresa McDonnell, Lace City First convention: Gateshead 2013 What was your understanding of convention before the contest weekend? I had a vision of a whirlwind weekend with lots of amazing music, I was told about the precise timekeeping and about what the audience response would be like (the real thing was better). My chorus was great at giving us lots of info especially Penny Hay and Kath Anderson who could organise a military campaign. They made a handbook to give us times, places to be and other really useful stuff. But all this didn’t prepare me for how amazing it actually was. What are your thoughts now after attending your first convention? I enjoyed EVERY second, there were some trials, the bus journey and setting up our rehearsal space, but the music, comradeship and overall joy of the weekend blew me away. Best moment of first convention: Fortuity winning the quartet contest, especially as I know

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two of them quite well. The Four Bettys doing the education and the response our chorus had to the result, as although we didn’t win, everyone stayed positive and were excited that we are going on a journey as musicians. Thank God for Sweet Adelines and barbershop music. Hanne Kosinowski, Forth Valley Chorus First convention: Gateshead 2013 What was your understanding of convention before the contest weekend? It’s great fun, loads of singing, very sparkly, nerveracking, sleep deprived but utterly worth every single minute! What are your thoughts now after attending your first convention? Thanks to meticulous planning (accurate within 10 minutes) from our convention planners/ management team, I wasn’t as nervous. There were loads of sparkles and loads of singing and I didn’t get much sleep. But it was utterly worth it and I now properly contracted the barbershop virus! Best moment of first convention: When the results were announced and the first word of the winning chorus was “Forth”. I haven’t been as exhilarated in a very long time. My heart was beating like mad and I could hug the world! That was amazing! Helen McEntire, Vocal Dimension First convention: Gateshead 2013 What was your understanding of convention before the contest weekend? My understanding was

TYNE TO SHINE 2013

that it was to be a rather intense weekend of competition and, as a newcomer to barbershop, I was more than a little apprehensive about being with so many women wearing glittery costumes, false eyelashes, bling and pan stick! I’d never heard another barbershop chorus sing, so I had no real idea of how good we were or weren’t compared with others. I was assured it would be great fun and everyone was very excited. I felt a huge sense of personal responsibility and was desperate not to let the others down. I didn’t expect the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up so often. I didn’t expect to laugh till I nearly cried with all the lovely women in our chorus. What are your thoughts now after attending your first convention? I didn’t expect to sing till 1:30am after the competition. I did not expect to feel so moved so often. I did not expect to come home with a gold medal on my first convention. I am 58 years old but I found myself literally jumping up and down with excitement like a child when I heard some of the quartets and choruses sing. It was the best weekend I’ve had in years. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Can’t wait for next year! Best moment of first convention: Apart from winning gold in Division A, the best moment was watching another newcomer to our chorus, Gerry, ‘directing’ (and I use the term VERY loosely) the whole chorus in an hilarious version of Fame in the bar at

the hotel on Saturday night. It had to be seen to be believed! Liz Waddon, Spinnaker First convention: Gateshead 2013 What was your understanding of convention before the contest weekend? New to convention, new to barbershop! I’ve received lots of help, advice, hugs, support and had lots of belly ache laughs over the last 11 months and have made some very good friends from within the chorus. I found that with convention 2013, everyone wanted me to fit in, feel good, look good, perform well and they all looked after me in one way or another. I’d heard that the stage had a “true” sound, in fact “it will sound very different,” that all the choruses would support each other and knew roughly what the judges were looking for in a performer because our director Jenny Savory and choreographer Jo Bradwell had been coaching us for months beforehand. I was told that I’d have to stand on stage as a “first timer” and sing a song with the other first timers! Ha! What are your thoughts now after attending your first convention? It was so much more! I arrived early enough on the Friday to watch most

of the quartet singers and fell in love. Something I would love to do...but must learn to walk before I run! (or breathe before I sing!) The dresses, costumes, hair and makeup, general warmth around The Sage was very welcoming. I spoke to various quartet singers on the first day - after their performances - and had some interesting conversations about where they came from, how long they’d been singing together, etc...the usual ‘newbie’ questions. Everyone was very gracious. I watched all 3 quartets associated with Spinnaker (Affinity, Echo and JaZZmine) and loved their performances. I couldn’t wait for the next day! Saturday arrived. My friends and I made it to the warm up room on time and things started to become a little more exciting! Jenny made us all cry when she thanked people for working so hard during the last couple of months - we wanted to do well for her and each other. There was a real sense of calm and belonging before the show. We walked from the warm up

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room straight out onto stage. There was no time for nerves! No time to remember to smile, remember to lift, remember to shine, remember the notes, words, moves...but we did it anyway. I remember standing on the riser waiting for the other chorus members to file in and thinking “this is it!” ...then it was over. After the performance we filed out into the corridor and I was strangely consumed with...I actually felt like I wanted to cry? I talked to other members to take my mind off the way I was feeling and then one volunteered that the first time she came she felt the same way - that relieved me somewhat. We watched Forth Valley and Viva Acappella perform their songs (breathtaking!) and also the other choruses before the results of the competition were announced. It was the first time I’d seen or heard of the Four Bettys. In awe of them! Best moment of first convention: WE GOT GOLD for midsize chorus! Wow! I cried - but so did everyone else! Well done Spinnaker chorus! We celebrated at the bar in the hotel and Jenny Savory did a very funny skit with Karen Riley, Beckie Puncher and June Samson. Perfect way to end the night.

lots of excitement and emotions involved in this. What are your thoughts now after attending your first convention? The emotions that I felt were overwhelming. I didn’t know that I could feel so happy and so sad all in the same breath. The feeling of being on stage took my breath away and I’m sad that I don’t get to do it again for another year! I was both nervous and excited as we sang, and then the same as we waited for

Joanne Whelan, Milltown Sound First convention: Gateshead 2013 What was your understanding of convention before the contest weekend? I knew that I would be singing on a stage as part of the chorus, and that it would be a memorable experience. I also knew that there would be

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the results. It was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to do it again. Best moment of first convention: The best moment was singing on the stage and looking out and hearing the applause when we had finished, followed very closely by coming second in our section and winning a medal. Knowing that we had come together as a group and performed so well filled me with joy.

G I B

e h T Sutton Barbershop Show y Saturda r e b m e t p e S 13 0 2 h t 4 1

Starts 7.30PM

The Kentones

Sparkling harmonies, fun and top musical entertainment in the barbershop style from five exciting choruses plus special guests.

Sutton Theatre Website

Sutton Barbershop Festival Website

Part of Sutton Barbershop Festival, including street performances. vocal workshop, Visit www.suttonbarbershopfestival.wordpress.com

Tickets £10 / £8 (Concessions) (A £1 booking fee will be charged per ticket purchased)

BOOK NOW! Call the box office 020 8770Rag 6990 June 2013 Harmony or go online www.suttontheatres.co.uk

COACHING DIRECTORY

ANNE CARGILL Aberdeen acargill@lochside.fsbusiness.co.uk

ELLIE BLACKEBY Lace City mills_ellie@hotmail.com

ALYSON CHANEY RMT Workshop Coordinator Lace City alysonchaney@yahoo.co.uk

NICKY SALT CAL nicky.salt@hotmail.co.uk DAVID SANGSTER Forth Valley carsonsangster@aol.com

GLENN CHANEY Lace City glennsings@yahoo.co.uk

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

ELAINE HAMILTON RMT Education Coordinator 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

SANDRA LEA-RILEY Heartbeat UK sandraleariley@virginmedia.com DOROTHY MAIN Aberdeen themains@talktalk.net

COPY DEADLINE The next Harmony Rag will be issued in the end of August - please send all contributions to harmonyrag@sweetadelines.org.uk by

31st July 2013 26

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Vocal Dimension

2013 Region 31 Division A Chorus Champions Harmony Rag

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Forth Valley

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2013 Region 31 Chorus Champions