Sweet Adelines Lake Ontario Region 16 Newsletter
October 2018
A Message from the Regional Executives - St. Louis 2018
Wow! What an International Competition it was last week in St. Louis! 

Celebrations got underway on Tuesday evening with an energetic, fun filled, and well attended, Region 16 Pep Rally. Cathy Stovold and June Donovan had the pleasure of leading our members in the recognition, acknowledgment, and  support of our wonderful Chorus and Quartet representatives before they took their exciting walk onto this years' competition stage!
 
Hearty congratulations to Spritzer on their 6th place medal and another trip back to the 2019 International Convention in New Orleans!  We are so proud of our 2018 Region Quartet champions SoundByte who performed for their first time ever on the International stage. They confidently walked through the curtain and presented a beautiful performance! 

And how about our Region 16 Chorus representatives!  Wildcard Chorus, Circle of Harmony made us all extremely proud with an impressive and lovely performance under the direction of Master Director Barb Hodge on their first time on the International stage. No stranger to the International stage, Buffalo Gateway Chorus, under the direction of Master Director Diane Porsch, delivered a beautifully performed and very entertaining package in the Chorus finals on Saturday which resulted in a 10th place finish! 
 
Last, but certainly not least, our beloved  2018 International Champions, North Metro, under the direction of Master Director 700 Erin Howden amazed and touched the hearts of the Sweet Adeline world yet again with an unforgettable outgoing champion package.  The highlight of their performance was when the lights went off and the arena was dark, illuminated only by flashlights and cell phones. A very moving experience that those in attendance will not soon forget! 
 
We are immensely proud of each of our Region 16 Chorus and Quartet Representatives to this 72nd International Convention!
 
If you missed any portion of the contest, remember that all videos have been uploaded to the Sweet Adeline YouTube channel. Click here for direct access
A Message from SoundByte




Dear Region 16,

As I write this we are waiting in the Chicago airport for our next flight into St Louis for International. 
  
Thank you for your amazing support and gifts of love for St Louis. It's truly a dream come true!  What a magical adventure and privilege.  Our hearts are filled with gratitude for your warm welcome as we returned to our original Sweet Adeline home after four years away.  

We are excited to have the opportunity to see many of you at Music School in November.  Please come visit us at our table. 

Check out our Facebook page to see highlights of our journey to the International contest stage and beyond. 

Lots of love,

Alicia, Denise, Maria & Rhonda
Fall Music School 
November 9-11
Kingston Ontario

Guest Faculty: Ryan Heller

Watch for the "Notes Before You Go" coming soon! 
 



 

Contact Julie Sykes for more information
In This Issue
Submission Deadline for next Issue
November 15,2018

Friendly reminders about your articles: 
  • Keep your submissions to approximately 500 words. We all have a lot of great news to share and I encourage you to submit monthly so articles could be kept to a reasonable length.
  • Send your articles either in a Word document, or in the body of an email. Please do not send as a PDF
  • Send your articles to sheighwayreg16@live.ca
If you have any questions, please let me know! 

Sue
Region 16 Welcomes! 
Canadian Showtime Welcomes
  • Sarah Laham (Freeman) (Lead)
  • Janet Hockey (Lead)
  • Lynda O'Connor (Lead)
  • Anne Axworthy (Lead)
  • First official Youth Member under age of 18!
    • Thea Regimbal (Lead)
  • A warm "welcome back" to Kaeli Porteous (Tenor)
Durham Shores Welcomes
  • Sara Miron
  • Virginia Watts
York Harmony Welcomes
  • Terri Ward 
Past Publications
Click on the link below to see past issues of the Sixteenth Notes

Canadian Showtime
Canadian Showtime Chorus's Musical Journey with our new Director-extraordinaire, Joe Connelly at the helm is well underway.
Since June, we have been actively welcoming new and returning members to Canadian Showtime as we continue on our path to Internationals in New Orleans 2019 (See RHS 'New Member' column).
In late October/early November we will be welcoming singers to join our Holiday Chorus.  They will be invited to learn two songs and enjoy performing with us at our Holiday Gala Event on December 2, 2018 in Ottawa.   We are hoping these singers will get a taste of barbershop and get hooked.  In early 2019, we will welcome all new singers to join our high performance chorus as we begin the next leg of our journey to New Orleans in September 2019. 
CSC is working at raising our profile in the corporate and wider community.  We were honoured to sing the Star-Spangled Banner and O'Canada at the Ottawa Fury Soccer Game  September 30th.  The match was between the Ottawa Fury and the Bethlehem Steel  at the TD Place Stadium, Landsdowne Park, Bank Street, Ottawa.  The Ottawa game was a no goal unfortunately, but the experien ce for chorus members was winning and the comments made by those in attendance were outstanding!  

Swing was in the House! CSC teamed up with the Ottawa Swing Dance Society. Laura Smith of Side Street Swing and her partner Jeremy provided a 45 min. dance lesson at our chorus hall on October 16th. They will bring a group of dancers to fill a table at our Holiday Gala (December 2nd), provide a dance lesson after the show,  and also dance with our guests.  A definite win-win for all!

On a more serious note, on Friday, September 21, the most violent and destructive weather event in recent memory hit the Ottawa-Gatineau region.  It consisted of not one, not two, not three, but six tornadoes, accompanied by vicious thunderstorms that turned quiet streets into torrential rivers and winds that reached 260 per hour.  It was an unprecedented weather catastrophe by any measure .  A sense of normalcy began to return to the Ottawa area on Tuesday following the September 21 st disaster and  I am happy to report that there were no fatalities and we are all safe!   Canadians and especially Ottawans are unaccustomed to dealing with drastic weather such as we experienced, but as usual, our community rallied together and a lot of people stepped up to help storm victims with monetary gifts, a hot meal, or a shower.
Circle of Harmony
Save the date! 

Circle of Harmony has moved their traditional pre-holiday show from November to March 23, 2019. Come on out and join us as we share our love of singing - and probably dish a little about our very first trip to Internationals!



Image City Sound


We are submitting this article for the Sixteenth Notes on Monday October 15, 2018 right before International competition is about to start. We are proud to have of the women from our chorus that are representing Region 16 from SoundByte Quartet and in Buffalo Gateway Chorus on the International stage. Sally, Cheryl, Rhonda, Denise, Alicia and Maria we love you all and are blessed to have you all in our lives. Sing your hearts out ladies! We're all cheering for you and all of the ladies that step onto that stage!
Over the summer Image City Sound Chorus has been very busy fulfilling our patriotic duty to our community and to our country. One of our favorite opportunities is when we sing for our new U.S. citizens at the oath ceremonies, where we sing the Star Spangled Banner (our National Anthem), along with God Bless America. One of these oath ceremonies was on July 4th at the Genesee Country Village & Museum, and another was at the Supreme Court building on July 12th. In August we participated in an event honoring our military veterans at the Monroe Community Hospital, sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution. We also sang on Flag Day, June 14th, at the Irondequoit American Legion Post #134's Celebration with the Bay Waters District Boy Scouts of America. Again, we sang the National Anthem and God Bless America, and were part of a very heart-warming ceremony of lowering the tattered flag, presenting it for proper disposal, and raising the new flag.

Another favorite affiliation of ours is with Honor Flight Rochester, honoring war veterans and affording them opportunities to visit the military monuments in Washington, DC. In the past, we have performed at HFR benefit concerts and participated in various fund-raising events. On June 17th we sang the National Anthem for the veterans returning to the Rochester Airport on Mission 60. We are so proud to meet and greet, and sing for, these veterans who have given us our freedom. Said Peter Glennon the chairman of the Honor Flight program "Image City Sound always performs uplifting renditions of American classics that stir the hearts of our veterans."
We love our country, our community and our chorus. God Bless America!!!
In harmony,
Ellen Rightmyer
Northumberland Chorus
Northumberland Chorus is as busy as ever.
 
On September 17 we had a coaching session with Martha DeClerq with eyes on convention in April.  We always enjoy having Martha coach us and learn so much from her.  
On September 28 we performed for about 20 minutes at the Big Beat Show at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope.  This was a fundraiser for our local radio station.  The theatre was quite full and was an exciting experience that we all enjoyed.  After we sang, we were able to sit in the audience and watch the other performers.
 

Nine women came to our first Christmas Chorus rehearsal with more expected next week!


O ur Christmas Chorus will run from October 15 to November 19. We welcomed a group of new women to sing with us at our rehearsals so they can join us on stage for a portion of our Christmas Tea and Show on November 17. They will also join us on November 16 to perform for the annual Bethlehem Walk in Cold Springs.  This is a community event we look forward to every year.
 
A group of us are looking forward to Fall Music School in Kingston.  We have registered two quartets for a coaching session.  We're very proud of that, since we have such a small chorus.
 
York Harmony Chorus

It has been a really busy couple of months for York Harmony Chorus. Beginning with a highly successful membership open house on Sept. 18th. What a night! We had 15 prospective members come out, with many of them actively going through the YHC audition process as we speak! 
 
Shortly after, on Sept. 29th , Y HC had a magnificent weekend of coaching with none other than Diane Porsch! Huge thanks, Di, for always pushing us forward, and doing it with your unique brand of humour! 

On Oct. 9th we had an incredible night with the owner of The Pink Studio in Toronto, Natalie! With her guidance, we unleashed our inner goddess. Here we are strutting our stuff!

a group of us performed at the Inception High Tea and Fashion Show, organized by  Noble Media Marketing & Outreach.  It was great to be a part of a performance with a cause. Proceeds went to 'Inn from the Cold'; a local shelter assisting homeless children and their families. 

Of course, we have been having all of this fun while also preparing for our Christmas performances coming up "before you know it"! Our show, Winter Magic, takes place on Sat, Dec. 1st 2:00pm at the Newmarket Community Centre, Doug Duncan Drive. Tickets are $20. Get yours today! Contact: grant.martha601@gmail.com or call Martha @ 905-616-6436.  

The very evening before, on Nov. 30th , YHC will be musical guests at the Newmarket Citizens' Band winter concert - Comfort and Joy - at Old Town Hall in Newmarket. Tickets available at the door or by email at: info@newmarketcitizensband.ca    

Finally, we would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest member, Terri Ward. We are so glad that you have joined us! Here is Terri surrounded by YHC's Master Director, Martha DeClerq, and our fantastic Membership Director, Anne Gauvreau.
Chorus Events

We are thrilled to announce that North Metro's A Cappella Challenge for youth is underway once again. It is time to start planning your audition submission!
Last year's event was a huge success with groups from across Ontario participating in the inaugural event. With representation from a cappella groups with as few as four members to over 30 members, incredible talent crossed the stage in an evening of fun, high quality vocals, and comradery. The winning group, JAMME, hailed from Etobicoke School of the Arts.
The purpose of the A Cappella Challenge is to promote a cappella singing in our young people and give them a forum to share their talents with one another and with a grateful audience. As they perform alongside North Metro Chorus, some of these young people will hear the a cappella sounds of Barbershop for the first time. What a wonderful way to introduce young women and young men to this fulfilling hobby of ours.
If you are part of a youth choral group, work with a youth choral group, or know of a youth choral group who might be interested in the A Cappella Challenge, please share the link to our website with them (www.youthacappellachallenge.wordpress.com ). On-line auditions are due by November 30, 2018.
Please keep an eye on the website for ticket availability in December. We would love to have you join us in the audience on February 9, 2019 at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.
If you'd like further information, please feel free to contact us.
Colleen Drautz   and Karen Armstrong
Co-Chairs of the A Cappella Challenge 



Barrie Soundwaves presents
Shades of Broadway
October 27th

for more details visit


Join Canadian Showtime
for Oktoberfest! 
Friday October 26th

tickets available on 



Canadian Showtime presents
An Affair To Remember
Sunday December 2nd

tickets available on 
 

 











Image City Sound 
Holiday Cabaret
December 1,2018



  Christmas Eve with 
Durham Shores
November 25,2018



York Harmony Chorus
Winter Magic
December 1, 2018

www.yorkharmonychorus.ca
 
Sweet Adelines Region 16
Sue Heighway - Communications Coordinator