During August, SVC enjoyed some in-person rehearsal time, but when the hospitals started filling up with Covid patients we held a group discussion and decided to return to a combination of smaller live groups. We also continued with Zoom.
Happily, we were still able to have two new ladies join us as potential members. We are thrilled to have them spend time with us as we continue to sing and learn and enjoy the fellowship that is Sweet Adelines.
At our annual fundraising event ‘Race for the Arts’, we had 8 wonderful ladies get sponsors and do the 5k run/walk event here in Sacramento at beautiful William Land Park. We hosted an informational table at this event and sang tags for interested passers-by. Once again this year we had a blast!
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Finally! We sang together - in-person, outside and distanced – and oh, how we sang! We sang for just a few hours on a Saturday morning at a member’s church in the Livermore wine country where we made wonderful music together, proving that all those months of Zoom rehearsals paid off. Over the past year of Zooming every Monday, we learned three new songs, yet as we sang those songs in person for the first time, we sounded as if we have been rehearsing together all along. Barb was very pleased. “That made my three-hour drive to get here well-worth it!”
In preparation for returning to regular rehearsals September 13th, in the parking lot of the Hill and Valley Club in Hayward, several members have taken advantage of our baritone Harriett Feltman’s Saturday Singing Salons in her garden patio. The salons are informal gatherings in a supportive atmosphere offering vaccinated attendees an opportunity to work on rebuilding vocal stamina.
“Socially distanced, with masks optional according to everyone's comfort level in the surroundings, we worked on old songs and the new ones we learned over Zoom,” explains Joanne Morrison, chorus president. “We even worked on some holiday music to ready ourselves for the performances we hope to give in the upcoming season. For me, the sessions felt like coming home to family after a long absence.”
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Things have been rockin’ and rollin’ along at PEC for the last few months. We have been rehearsing in person outdoors in our beautiful courtyard at our rehearsal hall since the beginning of June. It feels great to sing together and hear those ringing chords again, surprisingly even with masks on. Our fabulous Visual Team gets us moving with fun new music and routines, taking advantage of all the space outdoors. We do a lot of “dance-walking”. Sure makes ya feel good to sing and dance together again, filling our bodies with air and the air with song. We rehearse from 6-8 pm now because it is getting dark earlier. We have tentative plans to move indoors in October.
Over the last 3 months we have had fabulous summer attendance, and we took off 2 weeks for the 4th of July as usual. Members always seem to come and go at rehearsal throughout the summer months, going on vacations, visiting family, and participating in fun summer projects. We thought we would share some of the fun our PEC members have been having!
Susan (bass) visited her daughter and grandsons in Nashville and then went on to see her son in NYC. Amy (baritone) visited family in Santa Cruz and saw humpback whales feeding in Morro Bay. Stephanie (baritone) had fun singing in summer school, since an Associate's degree in music requires 53 credits! Ellen (bass) was thrilled to become a Junior Giants Assistant Baseball Coach for underserved kids 6-14. She helped 60 kids twice a week for the whole session, all funded by the SF Giants. It was the highlight of her summer. Way to go, Ellen! Jadine (baritone) safely traveled to Maui with her family, including 4 teenagers, and she was thankful that everyone who flew on the plane had to have negative Covid tests. And who doesn’t stay outside the whole time when you are in Hawaii! Tina (bass) loves to work all summer and fall so she can take the winter off, going to Disneyland for Christmas. Cathy (lead), Greer (lead), and Cathi (bass) love to spend time traveling together and camping on the beach. Wendy (bass) took her annual trip to Cabo with hubby and then traveled to Sedona with friends. Jane (baritone) visited her cousin in Torrance, California on his 100th birthday. Barbara (tenor) is off somewhere in the world on one of her adventures. We will find out when she gets back. PEC members who are teachers haven’t been able to take much of a break preparing for this new semester back LIVE in the classroom. Hip, Hip Hooray for our Teachers!
There is one PEC teacher who has some wonderful things happening in her life this summer. PEC will welcome a new member of the family in November as Aubrey (Lead) and Matt Jordan are having a baby! Congratulations to this happy young couple.
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High Desert Harmony had a fun and very busy August with a variety of events, including a garage sale fundraiser on Aug. 15th. The smoke that settled in the Reno area from several wildfires in the Sierra didn't keep the shoppers away, and we had our most successful garage sale ever, raising over $1600.
HDH gave back to the community on Aug. 21st, teaming up with Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful to clean and collect trash at Reno's Mira Loma Park. So many friends and family members joined us, and it was a fun and productive effort. The next day, HDH sang during Sunday service at Holy Cross Lutheran Church as a thank you to the church for the use of their facility for our weekly rehearsals.
Vocal coach extraordinaire Debra Lynn, author of The Bel Canto Buzz, visited HDH at the end of August. She spent two days with our members, coaching our Monday rehearsal and giving individual and quartet PVIs. The bel canto method is a natural fit for barbershop, with its focus on light, clear, effortless singing, breath support and articulation. Her expertise, insights and encouragement were so inspiring -- we can't wait to get back to rehearsal to practice these new techniques!
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It's so hard to believe it is already September, with fall just around the corner. We have spent August continuing our alternating in-person/Zoom hybrid rehearsals with solely Zoom rehearsals. Each section has also hosted section rehearsals this month in the park where we have our chorus rehearsals so that we can focus on section specific details. We included Zoom elements in those rehearsals so that all who wished to could participate.
On August 5th, which was a Zoom rehearsal, we were coached by Ryan Heller. He reminded us of the things that have crept into many of our habits while we have been apart, including issues with posture and alignment as well as breathing and vocal production. He also provided Personal Vocal Instructions (PVIs) for a few brave volunteers. We all benefited from the feedback he gave those singers. We spent the rest of that rehearsal working on a few of our new songs as well as having some great discussions about our chorus' values and guiding principles.
On the 19th, we had a great visit from Kim Wonders. She gave us some great examples of the use of characterization in our performances. We learned some great techniques to help us share the stories of our songs with our audience.
We completed production right at the beginning of September on our rendition of When I Sing. You can see that performance below. Hope you enjoy it!
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When I Sing
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We will be beginning indoor rehearsals in late September in a new rehearsal space - a great team has been working diligently to find us a home and do all the things required to prepare the space to be safe for us. We'll have more information about that next month after we've had a chance to try the space out. Happy September!
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Fri, Sep 17 2021
to Sat, Sep 18 2021 |
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Fall Regional Weekend - AIM - with Kim Wonders -REGISTER NOW |
Virtual Event |
Fri, Sep 17 2021
to Sat, Sep 18 2021 |
7:00pm |
DVC Coaching with Ryan Heller |
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| Sun, Sep 19 2021 |
10:00 am |
RMT Meeting |
Virtual Event |
| Mon, Sep 20 2021 |
7:00pm |
MVC Zoom Author Chat Eileen Garvin |
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| Sun, Sep 26 2021 |
5 pm |
Visual Leaders Zoom |
Virtual Event |
| Sat, Oct 16 2021 |
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MVC: Coaching by Deke Sharon |
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| Sun, Oct 24 2021 |
10:00 am |
RMT Meeting |
Virtual Event |
| Sun, Nov 14 2021 |
2:00pm |
OCC Thankful Holidaze 2021 |
Newport, Oregon |
| Sat, Nov 20 2021 |
2:00pm |
River Lights Holiday Tea |
Grace Lutheran Church Spirit Center |
| Sat, Dec 4 2021 |
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MVC - 15th Annual JB Tea - TENTATIVE |
Saratoga Community Center, Saratoga, CA |
| Sat, Dec 4 2021 |
2:00pm |
OSC - SPIRIT OF THE HOLIDAYS |
Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Salem, OR |
Sun, Dec 5 2021
to Fri, Dec 10 2021 |
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SVC - Pearl Harbor Tour 2021 |
Honolulu |
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Click on the pictures below to view individual chapters on Facebook. If you have not already liked their page do so now. Next month we will see the next three chapters.
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Facebook is an excellent way to reach out to your audience. Be sure to post weekly. It can be a recap of your latest rehearsal, the announcement of an upcoming event or share a related musical meme.
Pacific Shores Region 12 has two Facebook pages:
- Pacific Shores Region 12 - Sweet Adelines - This Facebook is used to promote the region's activity and news. Currently 980 Likes, 1092 Following
- Pacific Shores Region 12 - Chats - This Facebook page can be used by the chapters to post events and news. Visit the page and join the group and invite your Region 12 Friends. Currently 167 Members - Please help us grow our Chats Group. Invite your friends.
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SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL NEWS!
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Join Region 12's own directors -
Dede Nibler and Kathy Scheel as co-directors on a trip of a lifetime to London.
www.harmony-travel.net for more information.
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