RMT Team Coordinator Message |
Happy New Year friends!
Like you, I am looking forward to a brighter year – one that will eventually allow in-person singing! In the interim, can we consider challenging ourselves and each other to prepare for that exciting day? Some ideas:
- Use our singing voices as much as possible
- Take advantage of the great educational opportunities that exist both within our region and through Sweet Adelines and the barbershop community
- Stay connected by attending chorus rehearsals to keep our skills in tune
- Visit other choruses’ virtual rehearsals elsewhere in the world
- Re-engage our minds, rejuvenate our spirits, renew our commitment to our craft, reinvent ourselves as musicians
Our new regional Core Values and Mission Statement remind us of what our great region stands for and provides inspiration to us all as we embark on a new year of possibilities. (Special thanks to the Regional Marketing Team for this attractive graphic design, as well as the awesome new header design that appears on this Sixteenth Notes.)
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Click image to enlarge
Together we can inspire each other to be ready to hit the ground running!
Keep the faith and KEEP SINGING!
In harmony,
Sue Melvin
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Grow From the Inside Classes
We are so happy to start the new year with a fun-filled, educational day!. Paula Allen, Quartet Coordinator, and I are so excited to bring you our next Grow From Inside session, Quartet Day Webinar!
When: Saturday, January 16, 10:00 am– 3:00 pm
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This event will be addressing topics, skills, and ideas for quartets to implement in their rehearsals, but please know that all Region 16 members are invited to this FREE, all-day educational event featuring International Faculty, Caitlin Castilino, Baritone of LoveNotes Quartet and Director of Diablo Vista Chorus.
For your convenience, again, here is the schedule of classes Click Here, which was included in the January edition of Sixteenth Notes."
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The next session in February is on a Thursday evening. Many of you have said it is difficult to join the Saturday sessions. Hopefully, this time and day will work better in your schedule.
What: Jumpstart Your Motivation: Re-Light The Spark
When: Thursday, February 18, 2021, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Description: COVID caused many of us to slow down, or experience a decrease in mental energy, over these last many months. This interactive class will help you get back on track and recharge/rejuvenate by providing ideas for becoming more effective and motivated for rehearsals, learning new music, and in your personal life. Click Here to register.
I look forward to bringing more educational classes to you throughout the coming year.
Susann McKinley
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Past Issues
Next deadline
January 31
NEW
members'
login info
USERNAME:
the word 'member'
PASSWORD: 'R16sings'
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Zoom Tips
For Zoom Participants
If you want to focus on a particular person (including yourself) in rehearsal, you can “pin” their video to your screen. This will keep their video in speaker view on your screen even if someone else speaks. Click here for instructions. When you pin yourself it’s like practicing in the mirror!
For Zoom Hosts
Spotlighting a presenter on Zoom makes sure that everyone sees them in full screen (speaker view) even if someone else speaks. Recently Zoom added the ability to spotlight up to nine people at once, great for highlighting co-presenters or a group of people being recognized. Click here for instructions.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of Region 16 – whether you are in a quartet, want to be in a quartet, or enjoy listening to a quartet. Here is another quick reminder about the invitation to join the FREE education session on Saturday, January 16. I am excited to hear Caitlin teach again. She will add more layers to the beginnings she taught in the fall. More details are in this edition of the Sixteenth Notes. I hope to see you online that day.
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Visit the Region 16 website!
Click and find information about:
Got ideas to make your website better? Send your suggestions to Leila Brown, Webmaster.
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A little bird told me that the more you 'LIKE' Region 16 FB, Tweets, and Instagrams, the more our website is shared. That means the more we can promote our wonderful Region, choruses and quartets. So go ahead... LIKE us!
Don't forget to tag us @SAIRegion16 or use the hashtag #SAIRegion16
WHAT IS A HASHTAG?
A hashtag is a word or keyword phrase preceded by a hash, also known as the pound sign (#). It's used within a post on social media to help those who may be interested in your topic to be able to find it when they search for a keyword or particular hashtag.
GREAT Reasons to Use Hashtags:
1. Hashtags simplify the process. Searching a hashtag pulls results for each post using that hashtag. Using a hashtag helps you reach your target audience, and likewise makes it easier for others to find your information.
2. Hashtags compel an action. When a user sees a post that is of interest, the user will likely spend time looking through content brought up by the hashtag.
3. Hashtags evolve. Hashtags are being used by more and more platforms, impacting the amount of information put directly in front of social media users.
4. Hashtags reward the distinctive. Hashtags make finding information easier for social media users. A unique hashtag makes your message stand out to the users who ding the hashtag valuable.
#hashtag # cheat sheet
Primary Region 16 Tags (choose1)
#sairegion16
#Region16Chorus
#Region16Quartet
Add your geographic location
#YVRsings
#YEGsings
#YYCsings
Or something like #Region16sings #YHCsings #EastGwillimbury
Add a SAI Tag
#SweetAdelilnes
#SweetAds75
#LifeOnAHighnote
Choose additional tags that tie into your content and message
#R16inHarmony
#BarbershopSingers
#barbershop
#acappella
#ChoirLife
#HarmonyTogether
#Singwithus
#ZoomRehearsals
#TogetherinSong
#Sing
#Community
#Love
Of course, do not forget to add your chorus tags/event tags. With all our membership programs starting in the new year, hashtags will make your content discoverable, and allow you to connect with and engage other social media users. Let’s increase your traffic out there.
Martha DeClerq
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Questions?
Do you have a burning question? Is there someone on our RMT who can offer you guidance or answer that burning question? So simple! Just click on the Ask Us square and we will direct your question to the appropriate RMT member, and voila your question will be answered. Not magic....just simple. We want to support you so go ahead and click the box.
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I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Northumberland Chorus for its generous donation to the YWIH program in memory of their beloved Maria Godfrey, past director. This gift of love is much appreciated and will help support our youth program.
Did you know that Sweet Adelines International offers musical education scholarships for young women? What a fantastic opportunity! Check out the links below for eligibility. All applications must be in by January 25, 2021.
The photo submission project is well underway! Thank you to those who have already sent in your photos. If you joined SAI before the age of 25 but prior to the creation of the YWIH program, we are still interested in your participation to help showcase our youth members throughout the years. If you haven’t sent in your photo yet, please make sure to get it to me by the end of January.
Alana Regular
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2020 seemed like the year that would never end, but for Bytown Beat Chorus, the past few months have flown by! We were very busy with three open houses, a new social media campaign, a new Mission Statement, holiday well wishes videos, and to end the year our first virtual Christmas Tag.
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Here is last year's Chorus Christmas picture. |
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So, we are taking a much-needed break over the holidays and will resume our virtual rehearsals on January 11 followed by the launch of our New Member drive on January 18.
Christine Yorke joined us virtually for a couple of rehearsal evenings to help us develop a new Mission Statement. We will put it out to the Region in the new year. Meanwhile, we are just trying it on for size and fine-tuning it before we finally publicize it. It was a great uplifting two evenings where we, as a chorus, all helped put our ideas and thoughts together to come up with a statement that expresses what we stand for as a chorus. This process has brought us closer together and will help us streamline how we approach things we do in the future.
Our last Open House of the year was our Tis The Season Holiday party. We really didn't know what to expect from having our holiday party online. Current chorus members joined at 6 pm for our semi-annual dinner together and our invited guests joined us at 7 pm. Our Management Team had lined up fun activities, crafts, games, and carol singing for a fun-filled evening. They even showed videos of our goofy satire take on holiday songs from past holiday parties. We laughed until we cried and our sides hurt. It didn't matter that we were each sitting alone at our computer screens as we all felt connected and together through shared memories and songs. At the end of the evening, no one wanted to leave.
So from our Chorus to all of you and your families, Happy New Year! See you in 2021!
Vanessa Echlin
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On November 16 the Bay of Quinte Chorus joined us for our Open House on Zoom. Joel, their director, taught us a song and Diane Martin from our chorus taught us two songs. We had a lot of fun with a Canadian Trivia word game that Diane Hall shared with us. We asked volunteers to share their musical backgrounds with us, which was really interesting. The video of our uptune, Love, from the 2019 convention was played. It was fun looking back at that. We all sang “Can you Feel the Love Tonight” and “How we Sang” to backup tracks. We were so happy that a potential member as well as a former member of our chorus, Michelle Legette, could join us for our Open House.
We were surprised and delighted to have North Metro crash our rehearsal on November 30th. Our Zoom host apologized for telling the little white lie but as one member said “It was the best little white lie she had ever been told!” Thank you to North Metro for making us feel so special!
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On December 7 we had Thérèse Antonini as a guest. Thérèse spoke to us on discrimination in Sweet Adelines. It gave our members, who weren’t able to attend her presentation earlier, an opportunity to be brought up-to-date on the new direction that Sweet Adelines is taking on this issue.
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Northumberland Chorus hosts a Christmas tea and show every year as a fundraiser. It has always been very successful. Our local T.V. station, Cogeco, videotapes the show for us, and then it can be viewed on their station, YourTV, throughout the Christmas season. Since this year we were unable to have our Tea, Sharon, our director, worked with Cogeco to put together a DVD of some of the songs we had done over the years. Sharon also acted as MC. Copies will be made and distributed throughout the long-term care homes in the Port Hope and Cobourg area, enabling them to be entertained by our chorus with some Christmas songs. This can also be viewed on the YourTV station. Many thanks to Sharon, who did a terrific job of choosing the songs and also doing the commentary.
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On December 15 we had a Zoom Christmas party, complete with refreshments. Some of our former members whom we haven’t seen for a long time joined us. We viewed some of the shows that were used for our Christmas DVD and it was so much fun looking back. I enjoyed seeing some of the performances before I joined the chorus. Nancy did a terrific job with the technical part, sharing the videos. We played a Christmas word game and some of our members entertained with songs and jokes. Thanks go to Cheryl for organizing the party. I think everybody had a lot of fun.
We are now taking a break and will be coming together again on Zoom in January. Looking forward to 2021. Hope it holds lots of good things for everybody.
Laura Heighway
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As I write this, today is the first day of winter! Our chorus is now on a break until the first week of January so we’d like to share with you how our COVID fall went.
We were fortunate to have some very nice days in the earlier part of fall so we held two outdoor rehearsals (with masks). It was really great to have the opportunity to sing together after so many months of Zoom rehearsals. It brought much joy to our members to be able to hear each other sing and share in the love of harmony!
We had member milestones to celebrate this year. Cheryl Street received her 25 years pin, Marg Wheatley received her 15 yeas pin, and Dale Lehtila and Brenda Barker both received their 10-years pin. Colleen Stickle won Region 16’s Assistant Director award and was presented with it during the virtual Fall Music School. Colleen was absolutely thrilled and surprised by this recognition. She was also our Sweet Adeline of the Year recipient.
We joined Northumberland Chorus the evening they had Titanium quartet visit with them. Our members found that quite interesting. Northumberland also invited us to their fall Open House. We also joined York Harmony Chorus for one of their rehearsals. It was fun. Martha DeClerq has been our coach many times. She coached us earlier in the year in preparation for competition just before Ontario went into lockdown in March.
The biggest surprise for us was the night North Metro Chorus crashed our rehearsal. The love and friendship they shared were really uplifting and we couldn’t have appreciated it more.
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During the fall our Director, Joel Bootsma, critiqued one of our new songs by asking each one of us to send him audio tapes for feedback. Our newest member, Julia Skibinsky, is in the military. She was posted to Afghanistan in the spring and recently returned. After her 14 day quarantine, she was singing with us on Zoom. It was great having Julia (baritone) back. Jenny Omdal (lead) and her military husband were posted to Ottawa. The fall was very busy for her with the move and a new job. Jenny will continue singing with us on Zoom.
Marg Wheatley organized a fundraiser for us with Rotary of Kingston and Napanee. We sold CashCalendars and with Marg’s help, we managed to sell enough calendars to earn a bonus sum of money for our chorus. Our final Zoom rehearsal was our Christmas party. We were silly and had a great time sharing a night of music, games, homemade cookies, and our drink of choice, (not to mention our elf hats). It was a wonderful way to end our 2020 Zoom rehearsals and to sign off until January. We hope everyone had a great holiday. We wish you only the best for 2021 – good health – friendship – and love.
Dale Lehtila
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It’s hard to believe that almost 9 months have passed since Canadian Showtime Chorus last gathered in person! Seems like a lifetime ago! Since our last post we have been very busily and happily engaged in producing our very first virtual project - a virtual holiday greeting card. In October, we put out a call for singers near and far to join our ranks for a six-week program of learning four holiday songs, attending our weekly rehearsals, and submitting audio and video tracks for our virtual greeting card. We were delighted that our ranks grew to over 100 singers for a couple of months – what a burst of energy we got from seeing these new friends at our rehearsals!
Our December 15 launch party was heartwarming, fun, and of course tearful at times, as we awaited the big reveal. But first, we had breakout rooms dedicated to trivia, scavenger hunts, bingo, and recipe and tradition sharing. The big reveal moment did not disappoint, including a segment with Director Joe like you’ve never seen him before! As Joe says, “it takes a cast of thousands” – and our in-house production team could not have done it without the amazing talents of Tim Waurick on sound, and Dave Ammirata on visuals.
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Speaking of Tim Waurick, we were fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach with him virtually in November. As an added bonus, each Canadian Showtime singer had a 20-minute personal session with him on a song of our choice. We plan to do more of this with other coaches in the future. Keeping our singers working and focused on learning new skills are what it’s all about!
And how amazing is our North Metro Chorus? During the months of November and December, they surprised many of us by dropping in to our rehearsals en masse – armed with loving signs and heartfelt words. What a tremendous gesture of support they provided to us – thank you North Metro!!
As we wrap up the year that was 2020 and take a well-deserved break, we’re also getting geared up for a new member drive starting on January 19 to be exact. Keep your eye out for our new member promos in early January!
Wishing all our Region 16 friends, and their families a healthy and happy New Year.
In Harmony,
Nicole Wieczorek
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For our final Zoom meeting of 2020, Circle of Harmony held an amazing party with lots of sharing stories, songs, videos, and so much fun! The evening wrapped up with this fabulous customized version of Deck the Halls, courtesy of the creative talents of our director Barb Hodge and co-director Margaret Fielding.
Sing along and don’t forget to add the ‘fa la la la la, la la la la’!
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Crazy how the whole year passes
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Join the group of singing lasses
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Covid stopped our weekly singing
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Miss the girls and harmony ringing
Fa la la la la, la la la la
What the hell is singing on Zoom?
Sing alone inside your room
Hard to sing and stay together
Having wine, I sing much better!
Pin your face inside that wee box
Who’s that with gray hair and long locks?
PJ pants are loose and comfy
Bra is off so I'm not grumpy
Need to learn a part of a song
Record myself to see what is wrong
Music's out, I take a peek
Forget it now, I'll do it next week
Miss the times we've come together
We miss Erin saying put on LEATHER
Singing colours, BEING ENOUGH
Helping us to strut our stuff
Christmas show is put on hold
Droplet spread is why I'm told
So, I'll bake and drink more beer
Hope my costume fits next year
Miss the fun at competition
Eyelashes, makeup, the warm fuzzy traditions
Miss the medals and the wine
Miss the time we laugh, tag, and dine
Miss performing and singing TALL
At least we didn't have to learn 10 songs over the summer for our show in the fall
No fundraising, dues on hold
Covid eased the financial load
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Love to learn about our members
All the things that they remember
Talents and amazing interests
We could start COH Pinterest
Soon we'll all be ringing chords
If we all support Doug Ford
We can't wait to see each member
Hope we're back before September
Christmas is here, 2020 is ending
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Things look good, vaccines are coming
Fa la la la la, la la la la
All stay safe, social distance
Fa la la la la, la la la la
We wish you all a joyous season
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Best wishes for a great 2021 from your sisters in harmony at Circle of Harmony!
Lisa Michaels
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Happy Holidays from YHC! This December we really Decked the Halls with our many virtual activities. On December 2 we celebrated “red and green” night, featuring J.J. in our “So you wanna know” segment. It’s been great spending some virtual, quality time with select members through this time set aside in our rehearsals!
On December 8, we paired up for an evening of heartwarming fun with The Heartland Singers. Exhilarating warm-ups, videos, sing-alongs, and social group visits made for a wonderful rehearsal. We were even entertained by a fancy Hawaiian Island elf dance featuring Directors Martha and Hannah! Thanks for a fun evening, friends!
In addition to our rehearsals and parties, this December we participated in an online challenge from the Orangeville Show Chorus, to dust off our show costumes and perform some everyday tasks in them. (Thanks to Bytown Beat for starting this). In turn, we challenged our new friends, The Heartland Singers. We can’t wait to see your posts
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On December 15 we had a wonderful 'Christmas Pajama Party'. It was a huge success, thanks to our hosts for the evening, the “Left-Hand Leads”! A special thank you goes out to our illustrious host, Marla, and Jane A. for their tech skills. Some of our amazing entertainment included: Sangria and On Track quartet performances; Heather and her brother Ian's duet; Jen’s Hannukah Song; Pat and JJ's cocktail hour; and Marion's crafting corner!
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Finally, we are busy preparing for our virtual open house, scheduled for January 19. “Even a pandemic can’t stop the music”. |
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Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and harmonious New Year!
Kelly Nesbitt
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Like so many of you, North Metro ended its year with a fun-filled virtual Christmas party. There was much laughter and frivolity as we took this opportunity to celebrate each other, and all that we have overcome surmounting the hindrances placed in our way this past year. And like so many of you, these hindrances became opportunities to innovatively shift our purpose and to embrace all that was within our grasp in our virtual realities.
We all have now experienced the power of Zoom and the new avenues it presents in keeping us connected and focused on the richness of our art form and our meaningful chorus relationships. But did we ever think that Zoom technology might lead us to experience an even deeper understanding and appreciation of what lies within our sisterhood? Virtual reality has resulted in further illuminating the many gifts and talents our members possess; gifts that might not otherwise be known or become public had it not been for our current situation. At our Christmas party, we were in awe of the broad spectrum of talents of our members who took us through introductory special interest classes in watercolor painting, home decorating, origami techniques, meditation, the energized body, the benefits of yoga, and ballet for beginners to name a few. Zoom has allowed us to experience our relationships at a deeper level, recognizing and appreciating the uniqueness in each other. And for that we are thankful.
North Metro wishes you all a healthy and happy 2021 when we, as a Region, can continue to appreciate each other as we stand in our light while shining it on others.
Jacqui Barron
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It's been a bit since we've sent in a submission, but The Heartland Singers haven't been idle!
At our Virtual Fall Music School in October, we honored our Sweet Adeline of the Year, Carol Sullivan. Congratulations, and well deserved, Carol!
On Nov 3, we had virtual coaching with Erin Howden. You'd think that would be difficult to do, but Erin made it look so easy. Though she worked us hard, it was a lot of fun, and of course, there were tears! Thank goodness for the Zoom record button so that we can revisit all of the amazing things she showed us.
November 10 was Talent Night, and what an absolute blast we had. Sometimes we forget that there are talents other than singing... There are, right? Well, tonight we proved that! Singing, photography, story-telling, baking (cookies came through the mail!... I know, right!?), guitar-playing, cross-stitch and needlepoint, and painting are just a few of the ways we are keeping ourselves busy during this trying time. A special shout-out to our organizer and MC, Donna! What fun we had!
December 3 was a night we will never forget. What a wonderful and emotional evening we had when we were crashed by North Metro! It was so good to see other SAI faces, to listen to some Heartland stories, and just to connect with others. Let me just say that many, many tears flowed. Thank you, Erin and NM, you are amazing!
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Oh my! What fun we had with York Harmony Chorus on December 8. Songs were sung, stories were shared, and we even had elves dancing! It was so very good to see our friends in YHC! Thank you Hannah and Martha for putting this together.
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We may not be able to get together to sing in our community, but we have been hard at work fundraising to help it! By using Fundscript to purchase gift cards from our members, we have raised enough to donate to The Distress Centre of Halton, Oakville, Milton Humane Society, and to the FareShare Food Bank of Oakville. Thanks to Kristen and Lori for being there to deliver the cheques!
Many of us have taken the time to visit other choruses around the world from the comfort of our computer chairs. Sweden, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, as well as many cities in the USA and Canada have just been a Zoom button away. It has been amazing to meet and reconnect with Sweet Adelines from all over the globe and to see what they are doing with Zoomersals. No matter where we are, or what language we are speaking, music and harmony are the great connectors.
That's a wrap for this very strange year, 2020. It has been 10 long months since we have been on the risers together, and it looks like there will be a few more. Of the many things to lament this year, there are also so many things to be grateful for. These last three months have just been small examples of how we still get together, support each other and our communities, and overcome adversities. There is a light at the end of the tunnel with news of vaccines being administered. While we still have a bit to go before we all are inoculated, we KNOW we can bide the time with the support that our Sweet Adeline sisters everywhere have shown us.
We will be back on Zoom for our first rehearsal of the New Year on Tuesday, January 5, 2021 (boy that was good to type 2021!) From our risers to yours, we hope the joy of the season, singing, and being together brought YOU great joy!
Diane Martin
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Our virtual Christmas Show is behind us and 2021 lies ahead full of hope and promise. From all of us in Orangeville Show Chorus to all our sisters in song in Region 16, we wish you a Happy, Healthy New Year!
We can’t wait until we can once again harmonize together. Stay safe, stay strong, stay well, and keep those chords ringing in your hearts!
Anne Richardson
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