Today is “Ask a Stupid Question Day”
September 28, 2009
How many singers are in your quartet? It may sound like a stupid question – which is perfect for today, National “Ask A Stupid Question” Day! We get this question pretty frequently – sometimes in jest and sometimes in all sincerity. Well, (most) everyone knows that the answer should be “four”. However, recently, Lustre had an experience which puts that answer into question!
We had the privilege of being invited to perform on a benefit concert for the quartets from Region 19 that are competing in Nashville next month. Our tenor could not be with us that day so we were just a trio. But then a good friend of ours, Sue Taylor, also found herself without the rest of her quartet. Sue is the tenor of A.K.A. – Region 15 2009 Champions. So we worked up a few songs that we could sing together for the benefit.
On the day of the event, there were two shows. When it was our stage time for the first show, three-fourths of Lustre (Lori, Lori and Jenny) came out on stage and stumbled through many unfortunate mishaps. One of us tripped over another, the pitch pipe was dropped, someone had toilet paper hanging out of the back their pants, we realized we were missing our fourth person, we forgot the words to the song, and the list goes on. Fear not, however, our “schtick” was all preplanned. As we explained to the audience, we had decided to get out of the way all the fears and worries that contestants have before going on stage… to get all that “bad mojo” out of the way for the Region 19 quartets going to Nashville. After we had our “grand entrance” mishaps, we sang a trio piece. Next, we brought out Sue to sing a couple of quartet pieces. It went off really well and we were pumped for the second show of the day.
Between shows were discussing if we should switch a song for the 2nd show and that is when we found that our baritone had all but lost her voice. Well, that just set us up for the next show even more. Second show – trio comes out – all the mishaps – we make the announcement about getting the bad mojo out of the way – brought out Sue and then announced that our baritone had one more problem that some contestants fear – the loss of her voice. So we asked for a volunteer from the audience to sing the baritone part. Since there were no volunteers we decided to let Lori pick her own replacement. We pulled Rick Taylor (director of Chorus of the Chesapeake (BHS) and Upper Chesapeake Chorus (SAI), famed quartet singer, husband to Sue, and our gracious plant) to join us. Instead of replacing Lori – Rick found himself standing behind her and singing thru her. Lori lip-synched most of the song. For the end, Lori stepped to the side and Rick joined the foursome to make us five. So, to answer the question, “How many are in your quartet?” – well I guess it just depends on the circumstances!
Upcoming Shows
September 22, 2009
There are a couple of great opportunities to hear some really great barbershop coming up – we hope you’ll be able to join us at one or more of these events:
On Saturday Sept 26, the Harbor City Music Company Show Chorus is holding its annual show, entitled “Painted Lips”. This show promises to be fantastic! HCMC has been gearing up to represent SAI Region 19 at the International Competition in Nashville next month. This show will highlight HCMC’s preparedness for the contest, and also will showcase the chorus’ wonderful and wide range of repertoire. Lustre will be singing on the show, along with other great quartets and vocal groups. Come on out and join the fun! Ticket info is here.
A week later, on Oct 3, Lustre is proud to be the featured quartet on the annual show of the Heart of Maryland Chorus. We have many friends in Heart of Maryland, and we are looking forward to this event very much! We’ve been privy to some of the preparation for the show, and we think the show is going to be a ton of fun. We hope to see you there, too. Ticket info for this show can be found here.
Lots of great singing happening in the Balt/DC area – come on out!
A Recap of Region 19′s FLASH Weekend
September 15, 2009
Based on the number of Facebook comments I’ve seen about individuals’ experience at FLASH this past weekend, I would say a great time was had by all. For you non-barbershoppers, FLASH (Friendship, Laughter and Singing Harmony) is an event that SAI Region 19 puts on that provides classes, opportunities for new quartets to introduce themselves, and a venue to allow those choruses and quartets going off to international competition to strut their stuff. It also allows for Sweet Adelines around the region to reconnect and to learn about upcoming regional events. We certainly reconnected with our sisters in harmony: we “dedicated ones” were still singing in the hotel lobby until 2:00 a.m. FUN!
This year’s FLASH was held in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Classes started late Friday evening and went through Sunday morning. The guest faculty was Tori Postma, director of Mountain Jubilee Chorus. Lustre attended several of the classes on Saturday which included a class on the barbershop style that really enhanced my understanding of our craft. In addition to the classroom learning, Lustre also had the opportunity to be coached by a long time friend of Lustre and HCMC, Gene Bender. Gene’s coaching helped give some emotional color to our contest ballad and to help create a unified emotional look and sound to this moving song. We thank you, Gene!
To top the weekend off, Lustre was invited to perform on the Saturday evening show which included performances from the chorus and quartets in the region who are bound for this year’s SAI International Competition in Nashville. As you may recall from an earlier article, HCMC is representing Region 19 at International contest. Lori, Lori and Jenny are members of HCMC and thus performed with the chorus on Saturday’s show as well.
I personally want to take the opportunity to thank everyone for all the laughter and friendship and for once again sharing your talents with the region. I’m exciting for the new quartets that have introduced themselves this weekend and wish them best of luck. Want to also say “in bocca al lupo” to our three quartets and chorus who will be competing in Nashville. We’ll be there to watch and cheer you on!
Birds on the Wires
September 10, 2009
So while it may not be barbershop – it is a beautiful piece. For music lovers everywhere…take a couple minutes and enjoy the following. It really is amazing where you can find music!
Music – the Language of My Life
September 6, 2009
Tonight at the dinner table, somehow my kids and I got onto the topic of musical notation. We all agreed that none of us could remember a time when we couldn’t read music. I’m pretty sure I learned to read music before I learned to read words. If not, it sure seems that way. I spent hours and hours as a kid, playing the piano, playing band instruments, and singing. My kids are teenagers now, but they learned how to read music when they were very young in elementary school. Both are active now in high school and college instrumental music programs, and both are avid lovers of music of all styles. My husband would say the same thing, having played trumpet his whole life. Music, and in particular reading music, has been part of all of our lives “forever”.
It was a bit disconcerting this evening, then, when my daughter tried to teach me how to play a song on her ukulele. Yep, she plays ukulele. Quite well, actually. (She also plays electric and acoustic guitar, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano, and has in the past played flute and violin. I’m so jealous! Oh, and she’s saving up to buy a drum kit. Heaven help us!)
Anyhoo, I had a notion to learn to play the ukulele. Willing and eager to teach me, she wrote out a short song using a new (to me) kind of notation – the “chord chart”. This is a pictorial representation of the frets of the ukulele, with lines to represent strings and dots to represent where your fingers go on the strings. I tell you, it was one of the most frustrating experiences, to not be able to quickly read that notation and make my fingers do what the notation said! I knew the song, I knew the chords I was supposed to be playing, I could even hear them in my head! But to turn those charts into music by way of my brain telling my fingers what to do – it just wasn’t happening!
To even further complicate matters, she showed me “tablature” notation. This is a character-based representation of the strings and the frets – very difficult to describe actually – and even more difficult to decode. All of a sudden, in the middle of my short ukulele lesson, and for the first time that I can ever remember, I felt like music was out of reach for me. I just couldn’t crack the code. It was so frustrating!
But there was my daughter, easily moving back and forth between “regular” notation, chord charts, and tablature. She can look at any of the three and instantly know what she’s seeing, and more importantly, make her fingers do the right thing on the instrument that she’s playing at that moment. It is truly amazing.
After walking away from the experience and giving myself a little space, I realize that it’s all a matter of practice and repetition. I am fluent in regular musical notation because I spent thousands of hours in my lifetime reading music for various reasons. If I were to put the time in with the chord charts and the tablature notation, I think I might be able to learn them too.
But I also think there is one more ingredient that is necessary – and that is the spark of desire. My daughter taught herself to read these notation styles because she wanted more than anything to play the guitar and the uke. She has put a lot of time into each instrument, and has the calloused fingertips to show it. And because she was driven and interested, she is now fluent in all three notational languages.
What’s the message of this story? Maybe it’s that I’m not meant to play the ukulele. Maybe it’s that I’m in awe of my daughter and her gifts. Maybe I’m just rambling (ok, yes, that’s true!). No, it’s that I realize I’m blessed to be living a musical life, and that I’m thankful for the tools which have allowed me to do that. I’m glad that music has been the language of my life.
About “You Turned the Tables On Me”
September 2, 2009
Doesn’t every new quartet wish to emulate a great quartet? To sing great arrangements…to pick up a new song a make it just as wonderful as the original artist? Well, as a brand new quartet in 2005 we were (and still are) very ambitious. We had heard “the Buzz” – SAI 2005 Quartet Champions – sing “You Turned the Tables on Me”. Not only was it a great song, but also one I knew. Being relatively new to barbershop at that time it was good to know that songs I knew outside of the barbershop world would translate to the harmonies we all know and love.
“You Turned the Tables on Me” is a popular song with music by Louis Alter and lyrics by Sidney D. Mitchell, published in 1936. It was introduced in the musical film Sing, Baby, Sing. The most popular recording was by Helen Ward with the Benny Goodman orchestra.
So, we picked up a copy of this fun and challenging Nancy Bergman arrangement and began learning. In Spring of 2006 we competed in our first Regional competition. On Saturday night, after the contest is over, you find yourself singing in the hospitality rooms at the hotel for many appreciative audiences. As a newer quartet we didn’t have a lot in our repertoire so what did we sing? You guessed it, “Tables” as we call it. By the end of the night, after singing in a dozen or more rooms, I think, we had finally ‘learned’ it. We still work on this piece today and are making it better every year and will continue to “perfect” it as we forge ahead on our journey.
Lustre Judges National Anthem Contest
August 13, 2009
Event Date: September 11, 2009 – 6pm to 7:30pm
Last September, Lustre had the great pleasure to sing the National Anthem at WPOC’s Sunday in the Country . As the winners from last years contest, we have been asked to judge the contest this year.
Come on out and watch the competitors as they sing one song of their choosing and the National Anthem. (No promises…but last year they handed out free concert tickets while we were there!)
Interested in the opportunity to kick off this years Sunday in the Country? Go to www.wpoc.com. You’ll find all the details for the contest are here. Hurry – video submissions are due by August 28th.
Or if you just want to be entertained – be sure to stop by and say hi if you’re in the area – and sing a tag with us! We’d love to see you!
Annapolis Subaru
149 Solomons Island Rd
Annapolis MD
HCMC Annual Show
June 27, 2009
Event Date: Saturday Sept 26, 2009 7:30pm
Lustre is pleased to appear on the Harbor City Music Company Show Chorus Annual Show. The show will be held at the Pascal Center at the Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, MD. Contact us for advance tickets. Hope to see you there!
F.L.A.S.H.
June 18, 2009
Event Date: Sat Sept 12, 2009 8:00pm
Lustre will be performing at the SAI Region 19 annual educational event called F.L.A.S.H. (which stands for Friendship, Laughter, And Singing Harmony). We will be featured on the Saturday night show as reigning Region 19 Second Place Medalists. In addition, Lori, Lori and Jenny will perform as members of Harbor City Music Company in Saturday night’s “send off to Nashville” performance. Other quartet performances will include MAXX Factor, Capri, The Fource, and Whole Lotta Harmony. There will be lots of fun in the light-hearted and low-stress Novice Quartet contest, and tons of laughter in the Comedy Quartet “competition”. And don’t forget fun performances by other choruses as well.
SAI sisters, come on out and have a great weekend! While you’re there, look for us, we’d love to hang out in harmony!