Welcome to Nicole Chapen, new director for Riverside Chorus in West Dundee, Illinois.

 

Nicole comes from Region 22 where she directed Stateline Harmony at this past year's regional contest.  

Before moving to South Beloit (on the Wisconsin stateline) she sang with  Prairie Echoes Chorus in Dekalb.

Spring Valley 

 

Cheers! for Region 3 competitors heading for the International Convention and Competition in Honolulu, Hawaii next month.  Look for stage times and webcast information in this issue!

 

 We AIM to Please!

WOW.. what a great weekend eh?  Jim and Renee once again proved why Region 3 has the best to offer when it comes to education and talent.  From the Friday night introduction, through all the lessons on Saturday, followed by a terrific dinner and show, it was a jam-packed weekend full of education and entertainment.
 
With 285 attendees, AIM 2008 proved to be the largest attended AIM weekend in years.  Representatives from nearly every chorus in the region experienced a show stopping performance by the fabulous Melodeers as well as our very own Four Betty's.  Keeping company with these world-renowned winners were some of our other quartets who will be representing Region 3 at International in Hawaii this year.  Chi-Town sound experienced their first sing with the champs while the veterans Jukebox showed once again why they continue to return to the International stage. 
 
The entertainment on Saturday struck a chord with several choruses who had us rolling in the aisles with favorites such as the "Hooked on Classics" medley by Grand Rapids and an encore International performance of their "Laundry package" by Prairie Echoes.  Of course we would expect nothing but perfection from our own directors who did a more than fine job in the first annual "Directors Chorus" performance (Oh, did we forget to mention that you'll be doing this every year?  Oops).  Amidst all the laughter were unforgettable moments such as Fandangle's final performance, fantastic MC work by Judy Herrick and Julie Zehnder and an awesome sing with the champs with the Melodeers that brought nearly every singing voice onto the risers, what an amazing experience.
 
We laughed, we cried, we learned a lot and shared the gift of music with each other and next year we will do the same as we welcome more phenomenal faculty to this phenomenal region.
 
The Region 3 RMT would like to extend a special thank you to Debi Batchelor for booking Jim and Renee during her reign as Education Coordinator, and to our current Education Coordinator, Ann Jarchow for putting together a stellar weekend and to Jim Arns and Renee Porzel for reminding us once more why we do what we do.

 

Neither rain nor floods could keep the Melodeers away from AIM weekend!  Jim Arns and Renee Porzel were honored to be the guest faculty, along with the Melodeers, who served as a demo chorus.  On Saturday night we loved debuting our four contest songs which we will be singing in Hawaii in November.  We are all looking forward to representing Region 3 on the International stage, and can't wait to get there! We loved the special songs you sang to us at the end of our performance, and really enjoyed having you join us on the risers for "Sing With the Champs."
 

 

The Melodeers Sing and the Cubs Win!!!
The Melodeers were honored to sing the national anthem at Wrigley Field on August 21st, 2008.   It was an unforgettable experience for Jim Arns and 17 Melodeers to sing in front of a packed ballpark of 39,000 Cub fans.  [Editor's note:  I'll bet the Cubs are wishing that Melodeers had opened for them on October 4.  Maybe next year!]
 
As soon as life gets back to "normal", the Melodeers will be making a new CD.  We'll keep you posted.

 From Judy Westers at Grand Rapids . . . 

The pinnacle remains the Saturday evening show with the stage set in front of the barn.  Everyone is invited to sing  and the show begins with a children's talent show followed by any of the quartets present.  There are usually a few surprises here too!     
 
The highlights for me this year were singing Edelweiss with my husband and 3 children in 4-part harmony and my 9 year old daughter singing tenor with 3 ten year olds named Slamka and Denino. 
 
Barbershop harmony from 10 and under!  Who would believe it?  You have to be there to enjoy the harmony. 

 

 

 *    Singing the short-a sound, as in 'ahh', for 2-3 minutes will help banish the blues. It forces oxygen into the blood, which signals the brain to release mood-lifting endorphins.

*    To boost alertness, make the long-e sound, as in 'emit'. It stimulates the pineal gland, which controls the body's biological clock.

*    Singing the short-e sound, as in 'echo' stimulates the thyroid gland, which secretes hormones that control the speed which digestion and other bodily processes occur.

*    Making the long-o sound as in 'ocean' stimulates the pancreas, which regulates blood sugar.

*    To strengthen immunity, sing the double-o sound, as in 'tool'. This activates the spleen, which regulates the production of infection fighting white blood cells.

Spring Valley 

 

Convention Webcast:  http://www.sweetadelineintl.org/webcast.cfm

Edge O' Town 

1st Annual Quartet Workshop 

 

Choral-Aires Chorus 

 

 
Mary Walters
Midwest Crossroad Chorus 
 

Sharon Devos
I would like to say "Thank You" to Region 3 for affording me the opportunity of attending this year's IES.  I am most grateful for the Scholarship I was granted that assisted in getting me to San Antonio.

 

I had the pleasure of attending multiple classes.  Some of those I attended dealt with membership, singing word sounds vs. words, staying in pitch, getting creative with the music and doing different rhythms within the songs.  These are only a few of the classes I had that I gathered information from to share with my fellow choruses.  I also enjoyed the main speaker IES this year, Dr Jim Henry.  After hearing him at classes while I was there I have to say he is a wonderful speaker and educator.  He was able to explain in a verbal and visual manner to help everyone understand what he was doing.  I found it fascinating while he demonstrated how to stay in pitch that a simple hand gesture could make the difference between on pitch and higher than the pitch pipe.  It really can be done to sing a tone and make the pitch pipe sound flat.
 
There were many opportunities to learn, to socialize with Adelines I know and to meet members I didn't know.  It won't be the same without IES but I look forward to the ways we will be afforded to learn in the future.  I am very proud to be a member of the two choruses I belong to and can't wait to find ways to share anything I learned at the final IES.  Maybe someday down the road IES will pop back in the picture and we will get to have it once again.  But for now, everyone should watch for upcoming places and dates and try hard to attend the next educational opportunity afforded us by our HQ Staff.

 
Ginny Nightingale
What an awesome set of experiences!  The "fever" is now part of my skin, but even more so, part of my heart and mind!  From San Antonio International Airport where one could just about pick out all the Sweet Adeline gals arriving and feel the excited anticipation at an otherwise grueling baggage claim area, to the return trip of checking in bags and finding the gate to Detroit Metro Airport for the final leg home, it was one delight after another!  Well, almost every moment with very few exceptions - which in the grand scheme of things is not at all noteworthy.  What a privilege to be part of the tenth and final IES.  There were a few Adelines there who have attended every one of the ten!
 
The Opening Session, "From Start to Finish", focused on three segments of three different ballads for demonstrating ballad phrasing and embellishments. We started with the introduction to It is Well with My Soul, moved to a middle segment of You'll Never Know and then the ending of Scotland the Brave. Rumors, 1999 Internatinal Quartet Champs, did the demonstrations.  We also sang through the thematic repertoire of the week: If You Had All the World and Its Gold, Kickin' Up a Notch and Song's Gotta Come From the Heart.  These three numbers improved as the week went on and most of us managed to be off the paper by the end.  Using them in some of the classes provided a link to the entire week and gave participants opportunities to sing them with more heart and technique.
 
There couldn't have been a finer keynote speaker than Dr. Jim Henry, Director of Choral Studies at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.  Among the many pearls of wisdom he offered throughout the week, one that stands out early on was "The reason the chorus doesn't remember all that you (the Director) tell/teach them is because they're not like you, they're normal!"  "The chorus must sing with emotion rather than a set of mechanical devices strung together."  "A song should not be a "paint by number" art piece when it could be the "Mona Lisa"!"  Participants throughout the week had the privilege of being in his sessions.
 
There were fantastic sessions in the quartet track.  How I wish I had the power of bi-location. A s it was, I bypassed lunch every day but one in order to get to as many as possible.  My favorite had to be "Barbershop Embellishments & Nuances" with Dale Syverson and the Four Bettys.  They provided us with so much inspirational demonstrations that it would have been worth the trip for these two sessions alone!  It was such serendipity to have been in sessions where the Four Bettys were featured in demonstrations. It took all my control not to stand up and shout, "They're from Region 3 and so am I!"  You know how much class and fun they bring to every performance and the IES sessions with them were no exception.
 
I look forward to the future Area Schools when I'm confident that Sweet Adelines International will go beyond our wildest dreams.  Thank you Region 3 for providing my partial scholarship that made the final IES such a set of treasured memories and fantastic learnings!

Choral-Aires 

We know they announced that this was the last IES of this kind but you would have never guessed that!  It was jammed packed with a phenomenally talented faculty, classes that definitely "kicked it up a notch" for us all plus the Rising Star and Harmony Classic contests that were just unbelievable!!  There were nine members of Choral-Aires Chorus who attended (pictured minus Cathy Wehrwein (dual member) as they were busy celebrating Prairie Echoes 3rd place win!!) and we came back with so much information that are heads are still spinning just like boot spurs!!  We are so very fortunate to be a part of an organization that offers such top notch and exciting events for its members!!  Thank you Sweet Adelines International faculty as well as the fabulous 2008 Queens of Harmony - The Four Betty's and we can't wait to see what's next!!

On August 16, four Hawaii-bound quartets, representing Regions 3 and 22, joined together to entertain and fundraise.  Nearly 160 people, representing families and friends from at least three states and three regions, attended the festive event.  From all reports, both the audience and the performers had a wonderful time, proving the show's title to be truly "A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening."

We would like to thank the Four Bettys, 2008 International Quartet Champions, for donating their time and talent, as both emcees and performers.  And we especially want to thank every member of our audience for their enthusiasm and their very generous support of our fundraiser!  We intend to represent you well in Honolulu!

Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

     

 

 

 

 

  

 

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sweetadelines/pitchpipe_200810/