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July 2009 InCider Press Page 3 |
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There are many ways to write a report on a convention. From my perspective there were just a few things that really jumped out at me. First, the California air is wonderful to breath. I understand why there are so many people who have opted to live in this area. Temperatures were in the 80's and 90's, but with the dry air, to us Kansans it felt like the 70's...perfect. The next thing that hit me as a little different from previous conventions was the number of young people...both on the risers and in the audience. There is definitely a youth movement underway in the society. We need to jump on board. Hopefully on the 25th of July we will learn what this is all about. On the risers we saw a definite trend to wearing black suits...sometimes tuxes, sometimes suits, but definitely black was the "in" color. Looked very sharp too. we still saw a lot of long ties, and there was one chorus on the international stage which wore red bow ties and cummerbunds. Be sure to keep your red accessories! Lastly, it was so refreshing to see all of the singers on stage so committed to their task of presenting their songs. At this level you see no slackers. Everyone was on board and in tune with what they were trying to do...from facial expressions to body movements to posture to vowel shapes...all things that we do not emphasize enough because we work on words and notes almost all the time. Hopefully we will use the learning tracks that will soon be issued to do our homework with the notes and words so we can get off the music and concentrate on the performance of the songs and to relating to our audiences. The International Convention is a place where I can go and completely be submerged in the sounds of happiness. My mind is cleared, my disposition is transformed, and the world becomes a happy and actually spiritual place, which brings peace to the soul. Then there is the competition. Wow! The chorus competition (my favorite day of the week) was almost unreal. The Vocal Majority did their usual flawless performance. They had the highest score ever recorded in a chorus competition. Then came along the Denver Rocky Mountain chorus. They performed every bit as well as the Vocal Majority, but the scores were not reflected quite as high. They did have scores high enough to have won the competition last year. But, if that was not enough, our Central States representative, The Ambassadors of Harmony, blew both of them away! They broke the record which had just been set by the Vocal Majority and by a large margin! Everyone in the audience knew when the Ambassadors finished their songs that they had won. It was almost an unbelievable experience...scoring 2926 points out of a possi |
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Oh, the things that I saw Don Thomson, Associate Director |
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ble 3000. That is almost perfect! In my eyes (and my ears) they were perfect, and I was almost overcome with joy and excitement. The chapter purchased a copy of the chorus performances, and we will make sure that everyone will get to witness this marvelous performance. Wish you all could have been there. Barbershopping was raised to a new level last weekend! ♪ |
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side. He has come to the last 2 shows at McCain, and several of our other performances and he truly likes to hear us. I just can’t get him to come to a practice and sing with us. Seriously, the one comment that was echoed by several of my friends in the audience was that our patriotic tribute with the band was very heartfelt and was amazing to watch and hear. One even went so far as to say that we needed to have weekly performances at the park the same way as the Band does. That would be a logistical nightmare in its own right. It appears-as usual-that we are doing the right things at the right times and we are putting our hearts into our work. Again, I doubt we would be where we are today without the outstanding leadership and guidance of our directors and the time and effort our senior chorus members put into producing a quality product. I cannot emphasize strongly enough as to how proud I am to be associated with the Little Apple Chorus and to be counted among such a great group of dedicated people. Whether or not you know it, we make an indelible mark on our community with our performances and commitment to our community. I personally thank each and every one of you for your personal sacrifice and dedication to the craft. Lastly, I am proud to consider you and your families as part of my extended family. “Sing Together so we all may be heard!”♪ |
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The marquee at the Honda Center welcoming the International Barbershoppers Photo by Harvey Kiser |