SACRAMENTO VALLEY CHORUS spent the month of November celebrating our singing sisterhood! We share in the enthusiasm for the barbershop/a cappella style of singing, of course, but we’re also grateful for the friendships, the education, and the opportunities to support each other – especially during this pandemic when some are alone or facing other covid-related hardships. We spent part of a recent rehearsal sharing what this year's Thanksgiving meant to us, and we agreed that having each other is a gift that keeps on giving! We look forward to better times around the corner when we will be able to sing together in a safer environment.
Each week we celebrate an individual and get to hear about their SAI journey. This month Sue Barkley and Judy Halloran shared their stories.
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Happy Holidays, Region 12! DVC sends our warmest wishes for joy in whatever you’re celebrating this season. We miss you!
For our 2020 finale, DVC will welcome music judge Jana Gutenson on December 8. Jana will demystify the music category for us, including that ever-important question: what makes a contest song a contest song? Despite its many challenges, this year’s virtual reality has provided valuable learning opportunities with some truly incredible people, and for that we’re truly grateful. Heartfelt thanks to Ryan Heller, Erin Howden, Judy Pozsgay, Lynne Smith, Jan Gervais, Kim Vaughn, and Jana for sharing the journey with us.
We’re hopeful that we’ll see your beautiful faces again in 2021—and you’ll see a new face joining us! We’re overjoyed to welcome Baby Castelino to the DVC family in May, and we can’t wait to be his or her doting, singing aunties. Please join us in congratulating Caitlin, Peter, and fur-baby brother Mickey!
Stay safe, friends, until we meet again. It looked pretty different this year, but one thing hasn’t changed: We’re glad we laughed, we’re glad we loved, we’re glad we sang today.
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It’s pretty hard to wrap our heads around the fact that this is the 9th month we’ve all been under some level of restrictions due to the pandemic! As with every chorus, we here in Salem are staying connected and finding new ways to do things, and I’m sure most of you would agree that it’s been challenging at times!
In October, Oregon allowed indoor gatherings of up to 10 people, so we put together a plan for returning to singing safely called Healthy Harmonies (HH). We polled members to find out what days (other than our regular Tuesdays) would work for in-person rehearsals for 9 singers (plus Director Kathy Scheel). We put the dates on the calendar, asked people to indicate attendance so Kathy could put together a balanced group of those available, and everyone attending was required to submit a health questionnaire as well as a release of liability form. We ordered HEPA filters for the size of the space, as well as mask inserts, sanitized wipes, and other safety items; arranged for the venue to allow us two separate spaces so we could change rooms while the filters cleaned the air; and we planned to only rehearse for 30 minutes in each space. This approach was per the recommendations from a large national study on safe singing. Our HH team would meet attendees at the door, take their temperatures, and make sure everyone knew the expectation to wipe down all surfaces before & after our rehearsal. It was a great plan, and everyone was on board! Then in November, COVID cases started rising and our governor announced stricter lockdowns to just 6 people indoors. Sigh….. So we’ll revisit the HH plan again in January and will keep our fingers crossed!
In the meantime, we’ve learned a fun parody called Amazon’s Sweetheart (orig. Nobody’s Sweetheart). To give you a hint of what the song is about, here are the lyrics for the first page: “Facebook Live! Instagram! I’m on the interwebs to buy some glam! Since COVID, the mall is closed; I’m quarantined here at home. I turn on my Mac, the screen lights up and glows; all my favorite sites selling gorgeous clothes….” We decided to do a slide show instead of a video, so watch for that to be shared later this month. Seems like good timing!
We sincerely wish our Region 12 friends a wonderful holiday season, celebrating in the way that makes you happy, and giving thanks for the good things that life brings you.
With a song in our hearts,
Oregon Spirit Chorus
www.oregonspirit.org
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Happy Holidays from all of us at PEC!
Check out all the fun things members of Pacific Empire have been doing to enjoy the Fall season!
The month began with an election celebration by eating a handmade Biden cookie, baking pies, wreath making, decorating for Christmas, annual camping and bird seed ornament making, watching Fall colors, baking pies, safe visiting, baking pies, eating and drinking, setting a fancy holiday table just for yourself, traditional turkey smoking, celebrating women, baking pies, shenanigans with SIP family and more of PEC’s famous pies!
We will be hibernating and taking the next few weeks to rest. PEC will be back next year with our 2021 January Kick-off, January 6th.
Enjoy your Holidays!
#PECStrong
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The year continues to flow by! Here we are in December, and we are fully immersed in holiday music and preparations.
The chorus was busy in November putting together a virtual chorus holiday greeting. Each participant made an audio recording of her part of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and also made a video - which was harder, because she had to put on makeup! The audio and video editing skills of Julie Starr, Jamie Osborn, and Roberta Marton resulted in a beautiful and creative presentation. We will be sending it out to our email list and family and friends in mid-December, and it will be available on the BASC YouTube channel.
In a further fit of productivity, eight quartets made up of chorus members created video holiday cards to share with their friends and family. Many of the quartets had never even sung together before! Each quartet chose a different song. Their lead made an audio recording, and then each harmony part played the lead's recording in her ear while recording her own part. The audio editing skills of Julie Starr and Roberta Marton put the four tracks together. The quartets came up with their own choreography, props, costuming, and storyboards. Then each quartet member recorded her video while singing along to the quartet's "full mix track". Video editing magicians Jamie Osborn and Roberta Marton put it all together, and voila! Eight wonderful video holiday cards were produced!
If you want to view some of the quartet holiday cards, here's the link to the BASC YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwvKEA2C3Yon2GT1nXZxrQA.
In addition to the holiday card efforts, we have:
- had an interval ear training class
- had a class on the language of music
- spent time improving characterization
- spotlighted one member every week to tell her story
- welcomed Jana Gutenson for an overview of the Music category and review of one of our songs
- continued to welcome returning guests from our October guest program
- auditioned and will soon welcome in our first new Zoom member
Outside of rehearsals, our Events Coordinator continues to offer Coffee Chats each weekday. It has been a great meeting place for people to check in and make connections with others in a more casual setting. We are preparing to do a Secret Santa gift exchange among interested members, and the gift giver will reveal herself at our upcoming holiday party on December 17.
We look forward to the new year and the hope for a healthier 2021! Sending you all warm holiday greetings.
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WAKE UP WITH DEDE - VOCAL WARMUPS
From December 1st through December 17th, morning vocal warmups will be Tuesday through Thursday. There will be no morning vocal warmups from December 18th through January 4th. In the new year, we will resume morning vocal warmups, M-Thurs, on Jan 4.
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SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL NEWS!
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Sweet Adelines 75th Anniversary Virtual Convention
Part of our history…Archived for you!
The exciting performances, inspiring speeches, and powerful education classes of the historic 2020 Sweet Adelines International Virtual Convention are now archived on the Sweet Adelines website for easy access.
Here’s how to find them:
Visit www.sweetadelines.com and log in to the members-only section of the website. Select the “International Education” section located in the menu navigation under “Education” to access videos, education handouts, and sheet music for featured songs.
Here’s where to find the “International Education” section on the Sweet Adelines website via desktop/computer and on a mobile device/smart phone.
Once you are on this page, select the button to view videos and materials from 2020 Virtual Convention: |
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Please Note: The “International Education” section is only visible if you are logged in as a member. If you need help logging in to the members-only section of the website or navigating our members-only education portal, please view our step-by-step login instructions.
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The 2020 Virtual Convention videos will remain archived on the SA website for the foreseeable future so Sweet Adelines can relive the memories and be inspired all over again by the way we came together to stay #SweetAdelinesStrong in our 75th year! Thank you to the many, many members who made Virtual Convention possible. We couldn’t do it without you!
Should you have any questions relating to Virtual Convention, please contact events@sweetadelines.com. |
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THANKS FROM THE REGIONAL TEAM COORDINATOR
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Your Vote Counts!
I am very proud to announce that 100% of our chapters cast ballots for the International Board of Directors election.
Thank you so much, Region 12 !
Birgit Andersen
Team Coordinator
Regional Management Team
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THANKS FROM THE REGIONAL FINANCIAL COORDINATOR
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THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU
Region 12 would like to thank all the members who donated above and beyond their Fall AIM Registration Fee! We collected over $700 in donations. Those of you who ear-marked your donation to YWIH, please know that the money went into the YWIH account. The rest of the donations went into the General Fund which supports all AIM Education weekends. Your generous spirits during this 'unusual' Sweet Adeline year are appreciated!
Stay well and "Wear Your Mask."
with a song,
Geri Miller-Riedel
Financial Coordinator
Pacific Shores Region 12
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Join Christchurch City Chorus virtually! Watch "The Greatest Christmas Show" from the safety of your own home. Fabulous songs will be included, from Broadway shows (This Is The Moment from Jekyll and Hyde) to the gospel song Hallelujah as the finale.
Saturday December 12th 2pm or 7pm NZDT - New Zealand is 21 hours ahead of Pacific Time, so this would be Friday, December 11, at 5pm or 10pm PST.
Live-stream tickets: NZ$ 20 per device. Here is the link to get the live-stream tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/the-greatest-christmas-show
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The Greatest Christmas Show promotional video
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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:
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