Important Recent Announcements
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For your convenience, here are links to recent important announcements sent to all members:
RMT Positions Open for Application
We need YOU! Please consider applying to be on the slate for one of our RMT positions. Click here for January 11th email to all members with links to job descriptions and application. The deadline to submit your application to Carol Maynard is February 11, 2021. Contact Sue Melvin, RMT Team Coordinator, with questions.
From International
Region 16
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Education Corner
QUARTET WEBINAR
Thank you to those who participated in last month’s Grow From The Inside zoom meeting series and to our guest faculty, Caitlin Castelino.
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To watch the January 16, Quartet Day Webinar presentation the videos are available to Region 16 members only via the Members Only page of the regional website. Log in with the generic Region 16 Username (member) and Password (R16sings) then go to the Member Resources section and click the Webinars link."
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Click Here to view the PowerPoint presentation referenced during the call for additional resources and information.
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Past Issues
Next deadline
February 25
NEW
members'
login info
USERNAME:
the word 'member'
PASSWORD: 'R16sings'
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JUMPSTART YOUR MOTIVIATION: RE-LIGHT THE SPARK
Make sure you sign up for the next session!
Faculty: Sue Melvin, Region 16 Team Coordinator, Click Here for Bio.
Date: Thursday, February 18, 2021, at 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Description: COVID-19 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.
LOOKING AHEAD…..
YWIH – IGNITE THE PASSION
Faculty: Melody Hine, Click here for Melody Hine's bio and to register.
Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021 – Save the Date
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Alana Regular, Region 16 YWIH Coordinator, has created a fun and informational session which includes guest faculty, Melody Hine. Join her to explore ways to bring the joy of barbershop to young women in your area and foster their interest in the craft. This class will include marketing and mentorship ideas. We will also celebrate and share Region 16 members' own experiences as YWIH. .
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DIRECTOR'S CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
Don’t let your materials sit and gather dust! Let Joan Borden know if you are interested in completing a module. dc@saregion16.com.
Do you want me to organize a review class for one of the modules? Email me at education@saregion16.com and let me know which one. I’m happy to help!
In Harmony,
Susann McKinley, RMT Education Coordinator
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Thank You to the Wonderful Women of Region 16 |
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There is no possible way that I can measure my gratitude or describe the enormity of the impact of the region’s crashing of North Metro’s rehearsal on January 6. It meant more than you will ever know to all of us. I was so emotional both during and after your visit as I reflected on the blessing of each member of our region and your capacity to love and to lift others. We were all overwhelmed by the beautiful words shared by those of you who spoke and I will never forget how you made me and our members feel. The flowers you sent were so gorgeous and thoughtful. It was shared with me that each yellow rose represented each one of our regional choruses, forming a beautiful bouquet. My heart is full and I am renewed in my faith and positivity that we as a region and as people, will continue to inspire each other to take another step, to open another door, and to move forward together no matter what we face.
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Thank you to every one of you who took the time to share your evening with us and give us such a memorable gift of hope, joy, and love. I am so proud to be a member of our Region 16 family. Much love and gratitude to you all.
The North Metro membership thanks you individually in this special presentation of appreciation. Click here to view.
Erin
xoxo
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Chorus Directors' Coordinator |
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“…and since we’ve no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!”
At our January Directors and Assistant Directors Zoom get-together, there was lots of talk about how Zoom has changed the way we “do business”. For instance, now we have no worries about the weather forcing us to cancel a rehearsal! You can bet we will take advantage of that even when this pandemic is over.
Technology has given us the ability to travel to rehearsals near and far and to attend workshops all over the world without ever having to pack a suitcase. It has opened up the opportunity to have coaching from those musicians we so admire without the extra expense of airline tickets and hotels.
The “pressure” of preparing for contest or for a show is gone and leaves us with time to explore much more of our barbershop craft. We have time to view and critique our own performances and to enjoy and learn from the wonderful performances of our barbershop heroes. We have time to focus even more on our own vocal skills and expand our understanding of music theory.
And, best of all, we have the opportunity to get to know each other better…something that often is lost in the hustle and bustle of in-person rehearsals. We are discovering hidden talents among our members and finding so many unique ways to just have fun. And, we are reaching out to each other by phone calls and emails…and even porch visits… to show how much we really care about each other.
This pandemic has forced us to think “outside the box” and is proving it's true that “every cloud has a silver lining”.
Stay safe…stay Sweet Adelines Strong!
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Region 16 is taking the new year by storm! There are still so many amazing things to do even if we must wait a little bit longer to be together again in person.
Although the Rising Star Quartet contest has been postponed until 2023, it is the perfect opportunity to get your feet wet in the quartet world. The extra time allows for those interested to team up with like-minded youth and create a plan for the road to the 2023 contest. Check out the 2019 champs, Duly Noted Quartet for a little inspiration: Click here.
If you are interested in joining a youth quartet but don’t know where to begin, please drop me a line at alanaregular@gmail.com and I’d be happy to help.
Alana Regular
Region 16 YWIH Coordinator
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Zoom Tips
Keyboard Shortcuts
1) Many of us have heard by now that we can press the keyboard's space bar to Mute/Unmute on Zoom. Click here for Zoom’s Push to Talk instructions.
2) Frustrated because the Zoom meeting controls toolbar obstructs part of your screen view during screen sharing? You can temporarily Hide and Unhide the toolbar with another easy shortcut.
- Windows:
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Press these 3 keys at the same time to hide the bar: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+H
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Press the Esc key to unhide the toolbar.
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Mac: Ctrl+Option+Command+H
3) Can’t get to the Raise Hand command within the Reactions button fast enough? Try the keyboard shortcut:
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Windows: Alt + y
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Mac: Option + y
4) For other helpful Zoom keyboard shortcuts for Windows PCs and Macs, click here.
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Last month Region 16 was so fortunate to host Caitlin Castelino for a Zoom day of education. I encourage you to use some of that information this month. Here are a few suggestions:
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Contact your quartet mates (or a few keen singers if you are not in a quartet) to set up a ‘messenger chat’.
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Before that date, each of you picks one topic that spoke to you from Caitlin’s classes or something you have found on the Regional or International website, then make a few notes to share that info.
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On your ‘meet’ day you could each share your item or you could choose just one or two topics. For an informal workshop with your quartet, if you chose Caitlin’s suggestion of defining your strengths, you could share a few things you are good at hearing synch, searching for rep songs, organizing a rehearsal schedule, etc. Then identify what you think the other quartet members are good at. Identify any obvious gaps.
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Another topic Caitlin spoke about was vertical vs. horizontal tuning. If that sounded like Greek to all of you, invite someone into your messenger chat to give you a few pointers on what to listen for, how to improve your tuning. It doesn’t have to be formal or long-winded. Pick a topic of interest to all of you, or maybe explore a suggestion on a scoresheet.
Just because we can’t sing together doesn’t mean we can’t learn something together or share ideas. We have long heard complaints of not having time because “we have songs to learn, coaching to arrange, performances to prepare”, etc etc… now we can make time to learn while enjoying each other’s company again. If you need resources, post a request in the Region 16 Quartet Facebook Group. There is always a helping hand eager for contact.
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Visit the Region 16
Website!
Finding resources is easy on the Region 16 website!
Click and find info 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
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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Northumberland Chorus began rehearsals on January 4 after some time off to celebrate Christmas, say goodbye to 2020, and welcome in 2021. I am very confident that this year will be a lot better than last. I know it will be a very gradual progress but at least we’re heading in the right direction. At our first rehearsal, there was some catching up to do and then we sang part of our repertoire. |
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On January 11 we had Sandi Wright from St. Louis as our guest. Sandi is a vocalist, director, coach, and judge. She told us an interesting fact about herself. In 2017, Sandi was named Ms. Missouri Senior America.
Sandi gave a very interesting presentation on singing. She talked about perfect pitch and how very young children can be taught how to recognize notes that they hear and some may even be able to hear harmony notes. She said almost everyone can sing and only about 4% of the population is tone-deaf. She mentioned something that I have been thinking a lot about lately and that is, if you don’t try something and practice it, you won’t be able to do it. That goes for singing, as well as everything else in life. If somebody says they can’t sing, don’t take that as an excuse not to join Sweet Adelines. It is certainly something to think about.
We are planning a social night on Zoom for next month. Our chorus always has a good time, when we’re together, whether it be singing or just talking and catching up.
Laura Heighway
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It is January 2021! Isn't it wonderful to be able to say that?
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Heartland has taken off running, spending our first rehearsals of the new year going over repertoire and choreography. Giving us even more inspiration is not only the news of the vaccine but the arrival of our new risers! We can't wait to try them out, and we will be ready for them. |
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On January 26, we held a Trivia Night. While we love each other and are always supportive, that Sweet Adeline competitiveness was in evidence as we yelled out our Team Names to answer a question, all in good fun of course. We had 5 teams; Ear Candy, Lockdown Squares, Bright Lights, So What? And Minstrel Threeo. It was a close game, with Bright Lights shining brightly at the end.
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The Winners: Bright Lights
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Congratulations to everyone. Lights get bragging rights for the month.....and the opportunity to come up with next month's social event lol. |
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We are still using FundScrip to help raise monies for our local community. Reach out to one of our members if you'd like to purchase gift cards to help us help others. This month's donation went to Fare Share food bank.
Our February rehearsals are Tuesday, February 2, and 16 at 7:15 p.m. If you would like to join us, either as a prospective member or just to come and visit, send an email to our Membership Chair, Carol Sullivan at carkingsull@yahoo.ca. We would love to see you!
Diane Martin
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January 2021…The chorus was excited to be beginning a new year after all the challenges of 2020. We knew that there were still challenges ahead, but with our new ‘Tool Box’ we were ready to keep ‘Zooming’, recording, singing on mute! and delighting in seeing so many chorus members each week at rehearsal
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Just before Christmas, Bytown Beat sent out a challenge to ‘don an old costume’ and ‘perform’ in it in a whole new way. Three of us…Joan, Pat & Anne…met the challenge and the photos are attached! Great trip down memory lane with the costumes and a great way to communicate laughter and fun. Thanks, Bytown for sharing your creativity!!
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The chorus is currently enjoying the company of 4 wonderful Prospective Members…2 Leads, 1 Bari and 1 Tenor…Ruth, Kat, Janice and Sandra, and a special visitor from Wales, Kerri, cousin of Assistant Director, Laurie and a very keen Bass! The chorus is very impressed with their commitment in these difficult times, especially when they have yet to meet any of us in person!
After the surprise visit from North Metro, Orangeville was so pleased to be able to ‘payback’ and be part of a collective surprise THANK you visit to them on January 6. Holding up ‘We love North Metro’ signs, it was a delightful sharing time and so good to be able to see so many of our chorus sisters!
Master Director Joan and our Music Team have been working overtime to keep the chorus interested and occupied. We have been asked to submit recordings…audio or video…of a piece of music or performance that especially moves us, or that has special meaning. The submitting member then gets to speak to the chorus about her choice and we get to enjoy it. So far we have been entertained by other Sweet Adeline choruses and musical folk with exceptional talents who are known to chorus members as family or friends.
And then we were given a ‘Challenge’! For 10 weeks, in teams of 4…we are practicing and using the new Vocal Tool of ‘Bubbling’, to strengthen and improve our vocal instrument. We record our times and each Wednesday the ‘Team Captain’ reports the team total for the week. We had to name our teams, NOT using the word ‘Bubble’. One team is called ‘The Spumante Bambinos’ so you can see where this is going!!! Last week’s high score was 367 minutes.
And so we soldier on into 2021 guided by Joan and this phenomenal Music Team, and our every faithful administrative leaders – full of hope, promise, and the continued joy of singing and friendship that we get from this outstanding hobby. The ‘one night a week’ is SO WORTH IT!
Anne Richardson, OSC.
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Oh, what a way to start our New Year with an explosion of the most beautiful tributes and testimonials to North Metro, to our loved and admired director, Erin, and our director emeritus, June Dale from YOU, our most loved and respected sisters in harmony. The tables were turned on their ends when 250 members of Region 16 crashed our rehearsal with an amazing display of love and support and a delightful and funny program richly honoring NM. We were dumbstruck by such an unexpected occurrence, we were moved by your outpouring of love and support, we were bolstered by your energy and your kindness as you reflected on our journey over the years, and we were so richly entertained by Leila Brown’s wonderful video which included our, ahem, once hidden bloopers. Now that you have all witnessed these performance 'snafus', we are left unabashedly exposed to the barbershop world! Kidding, of course, we had so much fun sharing our bloopers with you and reliving the unexpected.
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Every member of North Metro thanks you for embracing us as you did on January 6. We recognize and acknowledge the humungous effort required to put the Crash together and link in with us, and we thank Sue Melvin, Martha DeClerq, Susann McKinley, and Suzanne Askin for orchestrating such a beautiful and memorable night. Leila Brown was commandeered to produce the wonderful keepsake video. We are indebted too to Barb Hodge, Joan Boutilier, Sue Melvin, Martha De Clerq, Joan Borden, JD Crowe, Sue Marriott, and Andria Coward for their heartfelt and meaningful messages which deeply resonated with each one of us, reminding us of the bonds that bind us together as singers but most of all as humans. How fortunate we are to claim the friendships between us, to rely on our unique network which reassuringly honors and guides us, at times from the darkness into the light but always with the assurance that by lifting each other up we can overcome our difficulties, and together we are better and stronger.
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Changing gears, our rehearsals are filled with variety, from interesting vocal education from Erin's deep well that, I believe, stretches from here to mainland China; a fun educational music trivia game not unlike Jeopardy but without the promise of winning big dollars! and section rehearsals and dueting with other parts. To further challenge our thinking and creativity, Cathy Partridge and Laura Gills, North Metro PR representatives, have been enlisted to gather member suggestions and ideas for a creative hashtag that best describes our chorus. Erin is encouraging this thanks to last month's Regional promotion. Now, this should be fun!
We were happy to be able to support our community by donating to the following three charities this past Christmas: Red Door Family Shelter, Covenant House, and the Daily Bread Food Bank
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And last but not least, it is a pleasure to welcome our newest and returning member, Nancy Hamacher, back into our family.
Jacqui Barron
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In Ottawa, January is the month where there is supposed to be a slow ease into the year with a lot of snow and cold weather. You know the atmosphere, where you curl up, hibernate and sleep until spring. I guess Bytown Beat didn't get that memo. We arrived back at Zoom rehearsals on January 11 with a singalong evening and we have a full agenda, from our Director, for the weeks to come.
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On January 18 it was Blue Monday, but there was nothing sad or blue about it for us. We started our Back to Basics New Members program. We have three new member candidates who have decided to try us on. Our Director and Assistant Director have decided that, while we have online time we are going to have a refresher on the tools we need to keep our instrument in tune, and to do a self-check to make sure we are using it correctly and safely. This definitely keeps us all on our toes. It's going to be a very engaging 6-week program and it will be a good refresher for the whole chorus. We started with the basics of breathing and we went through all the steps to help make ourselves the best singers we can be. What a wonderful opportunity to re-centre ourselves.
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January 25... Instabangs day! On this evening we had special guests Titanium Quartet visit with us. When they arrived on the Zoom screen, Bytown Beat surprised them by sporting homemade instabangs. It was super fun and it brought a smile to their faces. To start off the evening with them, we separated into vocal sections, and then members were able to ask them section-specific questions. What a wonderful opportunity! Then we had a full chorus question and answer session with them. We all received some awesome tips that we can take and put into practice. This is one of the coolest things about Zoom! We are in Ottawa and they live in Texas and yet they were able to pop by for an evening without having to experience any jet lag.
We are all looking forward to the coming weeks and can’t wait to find out what else our extraordinary Directors have in store for us.
Vanessa Echlin
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Looking back at the year 2020, I am still amazed at the profound changes that have occurred both in our own lives and indeed globally; our world has changed like no one could ever have imagined! And yet, many things have remained the same, like the importance of having our friends and family to count on to get through this, even though we have to be physically separate from them. It has been difficult for many of us, but we are resilient and have adapted to doing things differently than we ever could have dreamed possible.
GKC is no exception. We have continued to meet via Zoom for Tuesday rehearsals as well as conducting the regular chorus business of the Management team and Music team meetings. We have taken advantage of educational opportunities/webinars offered by both International and Regional faculty, as well as been visited by our International President Joan Boutilier, who kindly congratulated GKC on our 60th Anniversary, and Paula Allen on her 50th Anniversary longevity awards; and we have been surprise ‘zoom-bombed’ by our beloved North Metro and returned the surprise ‘zoom-bomb’ favour to them!! That was SO much fun!!
Our fearless leaders Sue Marriott and Andria Coward have been our cheerleaders since the very beginning of all this, while both have juggled the responsibilities of caring for young children and working virtually from home with the ever-changing COVID19 scenarios. You ladies are absolutely awesome!!! In addition to learning new songs, each week they post musical links to inspire us and lift our spirits.
Another new weekly feature is having one member choose in advance a song from any period or genre, and then share why they chose that particular song and what it means to them; then we listen to it together. Another fun activity at the end of rehearsal is sharing a secret bio and talent, and then have us guess who it is; you can learn a lot about your fellow chorus members!! We have also added a new baritone member to our ranks, Anavi Davies, who found us online. Welcome, Anavi!!
Some day in the future we will safely be able to sing together again in person, and I know we all look forward to that day SO very much. In the meantime, stay safe!
Marylin 'Connor
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As we rolled into 2021, like many Region 16 choruses York Harmony Chorus members participated in the North Metro Chorus rehearsal “SURPRISE” party. What a FUN event! Erin and her members were truly surprised. It was a memorable night that lifted everyone sharing our true appreciation for North Metro Chorus and how they have been such a “shining light” in our region this past year. Special acknowledgments were expressed and a lot of laughter was shared especially during the NMC “bloopers” segment. It was wonderful to have Joan Boutilier join in, Martha DeClerq, and many others who reiterated how Sweet Adelines International is as an extra-amazing global organization making us all very proud to be a part of. |
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January 19 YHC hosted our FIRST VIRTUAL Membership drive. Our social media and membership gurus were busy coordinating our event through various social media sources. Some members also provided heartfelt testimonials expressing WHY YHC? They were great. Our efforts were successful. We had 16 enthusiastic participants! The evening went off without a hitch. We even had one of the newest members (who is tokened as our FIRST virtual member), Silvana Ferrantone share how her experience has been getting to know us YHC’ers over these past few months. Some of the new faces who attended were very impressed by how welcomed they felt, and the quality of our performance that was shared online. Overall RAVE REVIEWS! We are excited to have them join us.
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This past week, we started a review segment on learning
more about the actual reading of the music. Starting at the very beginning which may be review for some, but it’s a very good place to start.
This is being lead by our talented in-house music teacher, Jane Agosta with
assistance from other members of our SUPREME MUSIC TEAM!
Our members have always believed in the importance of community involvement and making a difference together. We are currently putting efforts towards helping our local Community Food Pantry. Making a difference! Shining some light. Stay tuned next month for our update. Stay warm! Stay safe! This too shall pass…
Kelly Nesbitt
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This past month we have been working on a new song. Our director, Donna Kleist shared with us the historical background and context of the lyrics, and we established breathing plans and interpretation details. Now we are working towards being able to qualify on the piece.
We have been starting our Zoom rehearsals with “Sing, Baby, Sing” warmups presented to us by our director, and it has been a great resource. Recently we have been experimenting with getting together in smaller Zoom or FaceTime groups to sing through songs and listening to each other sing. We are also looking into getting the equipment and training to be able to sing together through car radios. We are excited to try it out!
Laura Marie Kleist
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We are now in the full beauty of winter! With sparkling fresh snow and clear beautiful blue skies come the colder temperatures. And music, new music for Canadian Showtime members to learn – our beat goes on.
After the excitement of our Holiday chorus and greeting card project in December, we thought we might hibernate a bit in January – but our awesome Director Joe continues to engage and challenge us in exciting ways to rise up and continue striving for musical magic!
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We started 2021 off with a bang – celebrating our charter anniversary on January 12 – 37 years as a chartered Sweet Adeline International chorus, plus 2 years as a prospective chorus before that (chorus was formed in 1982)! Membership Ambassador Kelly Edwards planned a beautiful night for us – with slide shows and memories galore. And in the days leading up to our Zoom-anniversary party, the entire Management Team pitched in to deliver over 65 goodie bags to our porches with a big “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL JANUARY 12” label attached. Some of us were tempted…many of us I would say – we shook the bag…we squeezed and poked a little – but in the end, we all waited. In the bag, we found a commemorative roll of toilet paper – perfect for 2020…and a delicious hand-crafted cookie, which we got to enjoy together.
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During our charter party, we also acknowledged some special ladies and their milestone membership years. Their surprise charter gift bags included their anniversary pins. Congratulations to the following…
5-years
Brenda Chupick, Dianne Dinsdale, Audrey Lemieux, Sandie Tario
10-years
Filiz Dogan-Hoca, Kelly Edwards, Nancy Lambrechts, Catherine McConkey
15-years
Aileen Carney
25-years
Jeanne d’Arc (JD) Crowe
30-years
Gloria Bouchard, Marie Dean, Nancy Noecker, Linda Rowat
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Like many choruses, we appreciate and participate in the events put on by our Region 16 educational team, led by the amazing Susann McKinley! Over 20 of our members participated during the quartet workshop held January 16, and 3 of them volunteered to be coached under glass by workshop faculty, Caitlin Castelino – an amazing learning experience.
Our journey to increase our member ranks continues! We were excited to welcome 12 prospective new members to our rehearsal on January 19 – the first of our six-week new member program. Whether CSC ends up being in their future journey or not, it’s wonderful to share the joy of our musical craft with others.
Sending love and virtual hugs to our Region 16 sisters!
In harmony,
Nicole Wieczorek
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