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W
ith a few short weeks to go,
Canadian Showtime Chorus, Limestone City Voices and S.L.A.M.! are putting the final touches on their packages and we want to take this opportunity to wish all of them the best of luck in New Orleans. We are proud to be represented by you!
We know that your journey to the International stage has been filled with coaching, extra rehearsals, sore feet, sore muscles, LOTS of water consumption, costume discussions, makeup decisions, travel arrangements and checklists. We also know that these moments go by fast, so we encourage you to enjoy every one of them. Whether it's your first time on the International stage or whether you've been there before, every new memory is special and it's these memories that strengthen the bonds you have with each other.
For those unable to be in New Orleans to cheer them on, please remember to watch via the International webcast, available free of charge! Why not have a webcast party?
Please make note of the schedule below so that you don't miss out on cheering on our friends!
In Harmony,
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North Metro
welcomes:
Natalie Feltrin
Bytown Beat
welcomes:
Christi Barry
Maria Pakenham
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Upcoming submission deadlines:
September 29
October 30
November 29
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Region 16 events / competitor schedules
Note: times below are shown in Eastern time.
We are 1 hour ahead of New Orleans.
Monday September 16
- Region 16 Pep Rally 9:00pm - 10:00pm
- Sheraton New Orleans, 500 Canal Street New Orleans, La., 70130
- Room: Napoleon D 1, 2 & 3
Tuesday September 17
- Harmony Classic 7:00pm - 11:30pm On-Stage Times
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Limestone City Voices
- Contestant # 2 (Division A) take the stage at 7:57pm (Eastern)
Wednesday, September 18
- Quartet Semifinals 11:00am - 10:30pm On-Stage Times
- S.L.A.M.!
- Contestant #43 takes the stage at 9:26 pm (Eastern)
Thursday September 19
- Chorus Semifinals 11:00am - 10:30 pm On-Stage Times
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Canadian Showtime Chorus
- Contestant # 31 takes the stage at 8:21pm (Eastern)
Friday, September 20
- Quartet Finals 12:30pm - 6:00pm
Saturday September 21
- Chorus Finals - 12:30pm - 7:30pm
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- Master Director 700
- 3-time Queen of Harmony
- Sound Category Judge
- Sweet Adelines Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
- Vocal Pedagogy Expert
- To read more about Kim, click here
REGISTRATION FORMS & INFORMATION
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USD Registration Form
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Registration Deadline
September 20
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Hotel Information
Sheraton's website
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SCHEDULE (a more detailed schedule will be distributed closer to the event)
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Friday, October 25
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Saturday, October 26
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Sunday, October 27
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- 7:00 pm - Very Large Quartet (VLQ) Contest with celebrity judges from S.L.A.M.! (2019 champs) and Soundbyte (2019 silver medalists)
- 8:30 pm (approx.) - Round Table Topics... Like 'speed-dating' but with educational subject matter!
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- Interactive classes with world-renowned Kim Vaughn who'll deliver material based on our 2019 judging panel comments.
- Learn a new song
- Director class
- Quartet coaching sessions
- Special Membership Chair lunch!
- DCP testing
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- 9:00 am - 12 noon (approx.) - Quartet coaching-under-glass, back by popular demand!
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2020 CONVENTION INFO SESSION
- A special presentation to all Music School attendees will be given by JD Crowe, Shelley Snoulten and Cathy Stovold about our new 2020 convention site in St. Catharines!
- To find out more about the First Ontario Performing Arts Centre, click here.
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Any quartets that did not renew their registration during the renewal period (May 1 - July 31), have been cancelled and the name has become available. If your quartet would still like to renew, you can e-mail or fax a completed Quartet Renewal form.
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Music education is a hallmark of the Sweet Adelines International mission, and the organization helps support its educational mission through grants and scholarships provided by the Young Singers Foundation.
Grants are available to individuals, groups or organizations sponsoring or hosting barbershop education and performance opportunities for young women. Opportunities might include music festivals, education workshops or seminars, and/or other music education events. The current grant cycle is open from
August 1 to November 1, 2019 for events beginning May 2020 or later.
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Canadian Showtime Chorus' SAOTY 2019
Some people just seem to have a special gift for sharing their time and talent in the most amazing ways. For them, it is never about being noticed for all the things they do, it is simply a reflection of their devotion to and generosity toward the chorus and the positive attitude that guides them in everything they do. CSC is fortunate to have many such members.
This year, 21 of these women were nominated for Sweet Adeline of the Year. We thank them profusely for all the things they do for our chorus. Of these 21 nominees, Julie Sykes has stood out since joining the chorus. Her outstanding dedication, work ethic and musical contributions have consistently helped in the growth and improvement of our chorus. Julie is truly deserving of the SAOTY 2019 title this year.
CSC in the Community - Xmas in July
Santa Claus was on hand Thursday, July 25 as representatives from the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group - which operates Lansdowne Park and owns the CFL's Redblacks, the OHL's 67s and the Fury soccer club - and Mayor Jim Watson unveiled plans for a festive weekend market to take over the site's pedestrian spaces. The Christmas market will include food and beverage tents, musical guests and local vendors in cabins lining the wintery streetscape.
A small group representing our chorus was invited to sing Christmas music for the announcement event. Thank you to our singers from
Key Rings quartet--Nicole Wieczorek, Belinda Boekhoven, Catherine McConkey and Mary Leat--along with Nora McEwen, Gloria Bouchard and Grace Kelly from
Absolutely and Aileen Carney from
High Definition. We are so very proud to be part of the community experience!
National Anthem Performance
We have been invited once again to sing the Canadian and American national anthems at the Ottawa Champions CANAM League Baseball game, August 29.
Holiday Gala Performance
On December 1, 2019, we will again host our Annual Holiday Gala and Fundraiser at Sala San Marco Event Centre, 215 Preston St., Ottawa. We had a sold-out affair last year featuring the era of swing. This year, the evening will showcase a top-notch a cappella performance by CSC, a live auction, and a dance down memory lane with music from the 1960-80s. This promises to be an attraction for all ages to enjoy great music, fun activities and dance the night away. Come join us! Tickets are $60 for adults and $25 for students, and are available through a chorus member or Eventbrite (coming soon).
Countdown to New Orleans
CSC has been rehearsing through the summer, enjoying extra section rehearsals and coaching sessions in our preparation for our time on stage in September. Check out our latest blog to learn more!
"Laissez les bon temps rouler" (Let the good times roll)!
Danielle Shanefield
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Chorus members of Peterborough's
Kawartha Music Company
(KMC) energize their lives by getting out and sharing at local community events. Informal performances help spread the word that a cappella / barbershop is a blast and that we're all together in song! The nearby village of Lakefield, Ontario, has welcomed volunteer KMC performances over many years, with singers strolling through the streets at Christmas holiday time and recently, performing sets at the annual Dragon and Fairy Festival.
Guess which dragon won first prize in the Best Dragon contest for 2019? Guess who had the most fun?
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Lakefield Fairy and Dragon Festival, June 2019, with director Cindy Bennett-Awe |
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Wearing our fairy wings for the kids! Photo credit: Clifford Skarstedt, Peterborough Examiner
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Canada Day took KMC to the shores of Little Lake in Peterborough to help celebrate our July 1 national holiday. So much fun to be out singing in the community on a warm summer evening.
And not skipping a beat (well, maybe
) off we went to sing at the local seniors' centre, Activity Haven, garden party and tour on 6 July.
Have a wonderful end of summer everyone!
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As our short summer season draws to a close,
Bytown Beat
is back on the risers and starting to get into the swing again.
Our wind-up potluck BBQ in June was a most enjoyable evening at Colette's beautiful house and she and her family treated us royally. The food was, as usual, varied and delicious, and everyone had a chance to sing along with the karaoke machine. Some brave souls even went for a swim in the pool. It was also great to have a former member, Ruth Lamb, now a resident of Nova Scotia, join us. Ruth was our CCL for a number of years.
We are delighted to welcome two new members to the chorus: Maria and Christi. They were duly serenaded with our welcoming song and presented with their rose on passing their auditions. We will be holding an "intake" evening in early October, hoping to find new singers in the community who want to join in the fun of membership in Sweet Adelines.
One evening in June we sang out at a seniors' residence in our area. It was rather special as the father of one of our singers is a resident there and we hope we made his evening memorable. Our audience was most appreciative and made us feel so welcome.
Four of our ardent golfers attended the Limestone City Voices golf tournament in June and had a great day on the course.
Our director and assistant director, Janet and Kelly, attended Harmony University over the summer and no doubt have learned new techniques to help the chorus improve.
Next on our agenda is the show we are putting on at the Meridian Theatres at Centrepointe in Nepean on November 9. The show committee has been working hard putting this together, as has the music team. We are putting on two performances, afternoon and evening, and the theme is twofold. The first half will encompass music of the 60's and the second half will be music from the movies. The name chosen for our show is "Feelin' Groovy" and a few of us will even remember when that song first became popular! We hope to see some familiar faces in our audience so make a note on your calendar and come on down and groove with us.
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With
our new members' program coming up soon, we've been having some fun with our flyers! While usually we focus on just the singing aspect, we all know that a huge part of chorus is our wonderful sisters in harmony, so we've been featuring the happy faces of some of our members.
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Theatre Orangeville's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is now in the history books. The chorus has hung up their mystical costumes representing reeds and sand and trees and swamps, adorned with tendrils and
necklaces of
feathers, fruit and nuts, and set aside the garland head pieces and nymph hats. They have allowed the haunting harmonies to recede to the corners of their minds and have begun to let the four-part harmonies return to the surface. It was an experience like no other. It was show business like never before
experienced. It was rehearsals in the pouring rain, shows in the heat of the summer sun and the cool cool of the evening after the sun had set. It wrapped the chorus in a fantasy world of fairies and other woodland creatures and exposed them to a phenomenally talented cast of professional and amateur actors and the creative partners on stage.
Orangeville Show Chorus was delighted to be part of the 'Dream at Island Lake'. The accompanying photos just begin to show the fun, the excitement, the creativity, and the joy of this marvelous adventure.
Anne Richardson
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This summer we have lost two members of North Metro's family.
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Barb Borovicka
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Long-time member Barb Borovicka (formerly Stewart) lost her final battle with cancer. In spite of the pain she was in, she loved to be on the risers.
And just recently, during our rehearsal on Wednesday, August 28, we lost one of our charter members, Carol Sutton. She was recently diagnosed with liver cancer and lost her
battle at home, surrounded by her family.
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Carol Sutton with her husband Ralph
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Carol's
Celebration of Life will be held on
Sunday, Sept. 22 from 1-4 pm at the Pickering Recreation Complex on Valley Farm Road in Pickering, Ontario. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ajax Pickering Hospital Foundation.
We look forward to seeing everyone at our show on Saturday, October 5 at 2:00 and 7:30 pm. Tickets can be purchased online through Ticketmaster - search for "Stand in the Light".
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Sue Melvin's fundraising class in Syracuse encouraged our members to look for higher profit opportunities.
Our members went home and fired up some good brainstorming activities that didn't involve our members spending their money to profit the chorus.
This August, we completed a Value Village clothing and housewares drive. We collected 4,636 lbs of soft items, 1,616 lbs of housewares and 916 lbs of books. In addition, we sold items on a buy and sell website. This was an easy fundraiser that gave us amazing results! In fact, we loved it so much, we're planning to do it again next year.
Now, as summer draws to an end, DSC is revving up to celebrate 25 years in Sweet Adelines! We will be having a retrospective celebration on November 16 (see the flyer below).
We want to wish everyone competing in this year's annual convention all the best as you connect with old/new friends and sing from morning to late at night. Have the best time ever and we will loudly be cheering you on from Ontario to NOLA!
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A
Cappella Challenge 2020 is on its Way!
Calling all youth a cappella groups! It is time to prepare audition submissions for the third annual A Cappella Challenge. If you are part of, or know of, a youth choral group that performs a cappella music, we would like to hear from you. Complete guidelines regarding audition submissions and the live contest details are available online. Online auditions are due by November 30, 2019.
This past year's event, held on February 9, 2019, was a huge success, with groups from southern Ontario participating in a day filled with wonderful a cappella performances and the joy of sharing music with an appreciative audience. With representation from a cappella groups featuring as few as three members to over 30 members, incredible talent crossed the stage throughout the evening. The winning group, Hawkapella, represented Sir Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.
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Hawkapella, 2019 A Cappella Challenge Winners
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The purpose of the A Cappella Challenge is to promote a cappella singing amongst young people and to provide them with a forum to showcase their talents. As they perform alongside North Metro Chorus, many of these young people will be introduced to the a cappella art form of barbershop for the first time. What a wonderful way to introduce young women and young men to this wonderful hobby of ours!
The live contest date is set for February 8, 2020. Funding, in whole or in part, is being provided by the Young Singers Foundation of SAI and Region 16's YWIH program. Mark it on your calendar and plan to attend. Information regarding ticket sales will be posted in mid-December.
For further information, please feel free to contact:
Colleen Drautz
and
Karen Armstrong
Co-Chairs of the A Cappella Challenge
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Sweet Adelines Region 16
Leila Brown - Communications Coordinator
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