Editors Notes:
An edition of the Regional News eBlast will go out on the 15th of this month..
View this email in your browser to see the all the wonderful news our sister chapters have to share .
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MARCH 2019 Chapter News eBlast
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Regional Convention - May 02-05, 2019
Nugget Casino Resort - 1100 Nugget Ave, Sparks, NV
Information is being updated regularly on the website regarding competition. Please check back frequently:
Link to: 2019 Region Convention
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Sacramento Valley Chorus was privileged on Feb. 1 and 2 to have as our Visuals/Expression coach, Judy Pozsgay. We learned to feel and reveal the emotions of a song, not just sing the correct notes and words, and to show those emotions in our posture, face and eyes. All the while, we must maintain our schwa mouth and relaxed throats. The buoyancy of our bodies and appoggio posture add to a lively, vibrant and expressive performance. The chorus enjoyed all of her wisdom, insight and humor. Thanks, Judy!
Judy Pozsgay with SVC Music Director Dede Nibler and Assistant Director Vicky Lampe.
--submitted by Donna Wierzbowski
--photos by Jannie Baker
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This cold and rainy February started off with coaching from Jim Arns. Our weekend with Jim was packed with pointed and productive work and, as always, mixed with laughter. He almost didn’t make it because of mechanical trouble with the plane but the problem was obviously worked out because he made it. YAY!
February was spent preparing for Regional and making sure all activities related to that were being taken care of.
MVC had dance auditions for one of our newest songs. We can’t wait to see how the movement will be worked throughout the song and incorporated into our performances.
We received the rehearsal and performance schedule for our trip to New York City and Carnegie Hall in June. Rehearsals will be Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with the performance Monday evening. After the performance we will be whisked onto a Spirit Cruise Ship for a moonlight cruise in New York Harbor. Of course, in our free time, plays, tours, dinners, museums, etc. are all being booked. It’s looking to be a grand time in the Big Apple!
Dale Summer
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We have lots of snow in Central Oregon & have had to cancel rehearsals & coaching.
Crescendo quartet performed some fundraising Valegrams for some well-loved folks. Such fun!
Director Search
Bella Acappella, a 5-time, medal winning small chorus of dynamic, joyous, energetic women is looking to fill our permanent Director position with a skilled musician whose experience includes barbershop/acappella background. Please check us out at bellaacappella.com
Submit resumes to: bellaacappellasai@gmail.com or PO Box 2215 Bend, OR 97709 phone (541) 728 9392
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Oregon Spirit Chorus
February was full of singing for Oregon Spirit Chorus: Our Valegram quartets and octets sang throughout the Salem area. They were hired to show appreciation for everyone from romantic partners, grandpas, and valued volunteers. Fun and fundraising at the same time! Our singers brought back lovely stories about the recipients of their singing Valentines.
Then, on February 16, we hit the road up to Canby to sing in the Oregon Trail Pitchpipers annual show, “Memories from Back in the Day”. Afterwards we joined the Pitchpipers for a pizza afterglow, and quartets popped out of the woodwork!
We have two new members joining this month. Welcome to Pam White, who moved from central Oregon, and transferred her membership from Bella Acappella. Welcome to Barb Usera, who is new to Sweet Adelines. Two wonderful new additions who will compete with us in May!
The Pacific Northwest weather has been cold and wet, as usual, but we don’t care, because next weekend, we’ll be indoors working hard on a coaching weekend with Lea Beverly. Look out for a knockout show in May!
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February is all about celebration isn’t it?
In this month we have had Valentines quartets out and about to deliver Singing Valentines, both in person and via phone, reaching loved ones far away. We have welcomed Gail Reese as a new member and we have celebrated Little Sister graduations for Penny Stinson (returning member) and Caroline Kirchner. Helen Monk was the recipient of the WOOPS Award (Women Out Of Perfect Steps). You can ask her what she did to deserve this special award next time you see her:) We also had a fun evening honoring and sharing our love for our five new Emerita members: Juanita Erickson, Joyce Richwood, Ellen Hoppe, Sandy Van Mell, and Betty Carol Smith. Each of them had a couple of members telling about their lives in and out of Sweet Adelines as well as a quartet singing them a special song. What a tremendous month this have been, filled with love and compassion for one another.
Jette Sorensen, Team Coordinator.
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One born and one to go. Oregon Coast has two members who have been with us for about a year with one having a baby in October and the other due in March. We grandmas are having a great time with River (Joanna Underhill, mom), the new arrival, and looking forward to Ezra (Corrin Perry, mom) coming to rehearsal soon. The chorus had fun doing two baby showers within six months.
In addition we have just admitted two new baritone members: Dixie Lorange and Willa Martin.
We have a garage sale coming up on March 15 & 16 and are working on a package to do for groups needing entertainment in the area. We are starting to learn What a Wonderful World.
Evelyn Brookhyser
Team Leader
Oregon Coast Chorus
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A MONTH OF MILESTONES
February was a busy month with happy and sad milestones. We bid farewell to our chorus sister, Tamah Nakamura, who passed away on February 19. Tamah joined Na Leo Lani after moving here two years ago. She quickly made friends with her generosity, good humor and wisdom. We miss her.
A happy milestone was celebrating the 100th birthday of one of our founding members, Luella Spudaro. The Friends quartet made sure she began her next century in barbershop harmony.
Na Leo Lani announces the opening for a new Music Director
Our current Music Director will be leaving the island in the summer of 2019. We are seeking applicants interested in taking over the responsibilities of the position. Ideally, the candidate will have the following qualifications:
- Foundational music education
- Knowledge of acapella barbershop singing
- Some directing experience
- Choral show production experience
- Be a good team player and positive leader
- Interested in community outreach and membership building
The Music Director is responsible for directing the chorus at rehearsals and performances. The Music Director works closely with the administrative and creative teams to select and perform a variety of songs in community settings. The Music Director will also prepare and direct the chorus for the regional contest on the mainland in May of 2020.
Interested parties are encouraged to visit a regular Na Leo Lani rehearsal on Tuesday evenings from 6pm to 9pm, generally held at the Plaza Waikiki Assisted Living Center Activity Room, 1812 Kalakaua Ave., Honolulu.
Resumes and cover letters should be submitted to NaLeoLaniChorus@gmail.com. Deadline for application is April 10, 2019.
Aloha from Na Leo Lani!
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Tickets for DVC's spring show are now on sale! Featuring LoveNotes Quartet and emceed by Barb Vander Putten, it'll be one heckuva party, and it's not to be missed! All proceeds will help the chorus on the journey to New Orleans, and our first-ever international appearance. It's a journey 63 years in the making!
To buy tickets, visit https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4058335. To ask questions, contact us at diablovistainfo@gmail.com. We hope to welcome you to the greatest show you'll see this year!
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Pacific Empire Chorus hit the ground running after our holiday break in order to get ready for our annual Crab Feed! Our Crab Feed is an “ALL IN” event where each chorus member lend their talents to selling tickets, decorating the hall, baking fabulous homemade cookies and bars, and of course, preparing to sing two sets of love songs! Our fearless leader is Wendy Gibson who organizes this event each year. Our Crab Feed is our biggest fundraiser of the year and provides the funding for most of our coaching for the year. We were joined by Ladies First, a Young Women in Harmony group directed by Karen Fish. Ladies First not only entertained the crowd, but also served as our waitstaff during the Crab Feed.
We hope to see YOU NEXT YEAR for this FUN and FABULOUS event!
After the Crab Feed, we have switched to preparing for the Regional Contest in May. Patty Pennycook has us working hard and having fun each Wednesday night as we focus and prepare. In February, PEC had a coaching weekend with Awesome Joe Connelly. Awesome Joe helps us sing our best! We also have hosted guest nights and have welcomed several new members.
Best wishes to each chorus as we are all getting ready for contest!
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Where did the time go? February flew by as we dug in to our contest package, working on unit sound, characterization and fine-tuning our visual plan, yet we had time to celebrate!
We welcomed a new Lead, Tracey Torola to our chorus who recently moved to the Bay Area and found us online. Her eagerness to audition and become one of us as soon as possible was obvious, and it paid off – for us!
We also celebrated a birthday for our oh-so fabulous director Barb Vander Putten who we love! And of course, any excuse for cake, right?
We had a very successful Section Day on the 23rd, and spent the day “duetting” with sections, working unit sound with the help of Barb and Harriett Feltman, and enjoying an amazing potluck during our lunch break. We have some amazing chefs in our chorus.
Speaking of Harriett, she devoted a Saturday to a focused vocal coaching workshop with our bass section. We are very fortunate to have Harriett and others with vocal and musical expertise among our ranks. The month of March will bring more hard work including Donna Schanck attending a rehearsal to fine tune our visual plan, and a two-day retreat with one of our favorite coaches, Jan Gervais. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful talent in our Region 12!
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WINTER AIM 2019 - Follow-Up Survey
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LAST CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS SURVEY
We're conducting a survey and your input would be appreciated. If you did not attend Winter AIM we ask that you complete the survey by answering the first question on the survey and then scrolling down to the bottom . It is important to hear from you, as your feedback helps us plan future educational events for the region.
Click the button below to start the survey. Thank you for your participation!
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HARMONY COLLEGE NORTHWEST
June 14-16, 2019
PLAN TO ATTEND
You don’t want to miss Harmony College Northwest on June 14-16, 2019 in Tacoma, WA. HCNW is one of the premier barbershop educational events in the country! In addition to all the great classes, there is so much more: high caliber faculty, reconnecting with old friends, amazing coaching, a fabulous Saturday night show, singing tags into the wee hours, and great food, all on the beautiful campus of the University of Puget Sound!
Over 100 classes are tailored for a wide variety of barbershop interests: general singers, quartetters, marketing and membership teams, arrangers, people new to barbershop singing, and even techno-geeks. And there are over 30 classes designed specifically for Directors and Music Team members.
Our headliner quartets in June will be Signature (BHS), and Frenzy (SAI). Featured faculty this summer includes barbershop stars like Lori Lyford, Kevin Keller, Jean and Brian Barford, Jana Gutenson, Ryan Heller, Ron Black, and many more!
Here’s what you can do now:
- Mark the date on your calendar: June 14-16, 2019
- Put the registration in your personal budget.
- Tell your chapter members – classes for every interest.
- Encourage all members to attend HCNW with you.
- Come for chorus coaching.
- Send your chorus director.
- Bring your quartet for coaching.
Registration will open in early March:
- $215 - Residents (staying on campus)
- $150 – Commuters (driving from home)
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Announcements:
Thank you to everyone who came to the Winter AIM. So many great classes by Marcia Pinvidic and our Regional Faculty. Our weekend was filled with performances on Saturday from the YWIH Chorus, Novice and Double Quartet. A big thank you, as always, to the Love Notes! for their performance. The weekend was a blast! See you at our next AIM.
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WEBSITE CONVERSION DATE
We are very excited to share that we will be launching our new website
May 15th.
Please email Piet Chini - Communications Coordinator, the name of your chapter webmaster or web contact person(a), as we are creating an email list. We plan to send out updates and tutorials on how to interact with our new website as we get closer to the conversion date. Plus we are planning to hold website classes at upcoming AIMs.
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