Great Day at Angel’s Touch Assisted Living Center
June 26, 2011
What a fun time we had singing for the residents, family and guests of the Angel’s Touch Assisted Living center! This facility is family-run in our local community, serving approximately 15 full time residents at any given time. The owner and operator, Mr. Mark Wah, invited us to provide the musical entertainment at their Family Fun Day. In the back yard area under tall trees and in the shade of pop-up canopies, more than fifty people from infant to octogenarian gathered to celebrate Father’s Day and families.
Mr. Wah had asked us in advance to make sure that we sang “the old songs” for the residents, who hoped to hear music from their younger days. While our regular set list does include a very wide variety of music from the last century or so, we definitely wanted to please the audience as much as possible. So in preparation, we pulled out some oldies but goodies and gave them a go: “Wait ‘Til the Sun Shines Nellie”, “Ain’t She Sweet”, “My Wild Irish Rose” and a few other similar selections were added to our regular repertoire. The audience did appreciate the attention to their tastes, and we received a warm response from them.
After our performance, we had an opportunity to chat with some of the members of the audience. We discovered that it is a small world after all in the barbershop community. Mr. Wah had gone to school in the Baltimore area and had been a student of the late Fred King, legendary Barbershop champion, director, teacher and arranger. Also, we learned that one of the center’s residents had been a member of Patapsco Valley chapter of BHS, and it turned out we had a few friends in common.
These are the kinds of days that make us glad to be part of this hobby. Getting out into the community, sharing music with audiences of all types, making friends and having good times – this is what it’s all about! Thank you, Angel’s Touch Assisted Living Center, for inviting us!
Coaching with Jean Barford
June 12, 2011
They don’t call her “the Queen Maker” for nothing! Jean Barford is one of Sweet Adelines’ most sought after coaches. She’s a Queen of Harmony herself, having won the SAI Quartet Chamopionship as tenor of “Sounds of Music” quartet in 1974. She was long time Master Director of Gem City chorus, leading them to five Gold Medal wins. She is a respected judge, and a busy coach for quartets and choruses. She has coached countless quartets into the SAI Top 10, and is the driving force behind many of the SAI Quartet Queens of Harmony.
So we were thrilled to have an opportunity to be coached by Jean while she was in town recently. We had a two hour session with her, and worked on our music for the upcoming quartet contest in Houston. Jean helped us with some vocal production improvement, synchronization, and with some new ways to find energy and excitement in the songs.
Now the task at hand is to listen to the recordings of the sessions, rehearse the techniques and changes that we worked on, and keep onward and upward in the improvement of our craft. One of the things Jean does best is to give the singers tools that can be used themselves, without having a coach around. So we can continue the process of discovery and improvement on our own.
Thank you, Jean, for the great coaching session. We hope we’ll be able to see you again soon!
SAI Region 19 F.L.A.S.H.
June 10, 2011
Event Date: Saturday Sept 10, 2011
Lustre will be performing at Region 19′s F.L.A.S.H. (which stands for Friendship, Laughter, And Singing Harmony). We will be featured on the Saturday night show as reigning SAI Region 19 2011 Quartet Champions. In addition, we will perform with Harbor City Music Company. F.L.A.S.H. serves as a “send off to Houston” performance for all of the quartets and choruses who are competing at the International contest in October. How wonderful it is that the region gives us the opportunity to have a “dry-run” in front of our friends and supporters before the “big show”.
The F.L.A.S.H. weekend is an annual educational event for chorus and quartet members. We’ll be there all weekend – and we hope to see you there!
Sweet Adelines International Convention – Houston 2011
June 10, 2011
Event Date: Wednesday Oct 19, 2011
Lustre is proud to be invited to compete on the International stage in Houston TX. We are competitor #34 out of 49. If you are unable to be in Houston with us – check out the webcast at the SAI website – http://www.sweetadelineintl.org/webcast.cfm
Learning and Growing in Sweet Adelines
June 5, 2011
We’ve got a summer jam-packed with coaching dates in preparation for our debut at the SAI International Quartet Competition later this fall. This got me to thinking and reflecting on how Sweet Adelines is truly a very special “hobbyist” organization because of the huge emphasis that is placed on learning and education. I don’t know of another hobby that offers so many opportunities for personal learning and growth. Here are some examples:
Weekly chorus rehearsals – at Harbor City Music Company, our weekly rehearsals are essentially a group lesson in vocal and performance skills. The training and instruction we receive from our director, Michael Gellert, is top notch! Other SAI choruses have the same experience, largely due to the educational services offered to chorus directors through the SAI organization.
Specialized coaching sessions – whether with the chorus or the quartet, success in SAI is highly correlated to how much you take advantage of the high caliber coaching opportunities that abound. These coaches travel the world to bring intense instruction to your group. Most of these folks are weekend hobbyists themselves, though you’d never guess it from the knowledge they bring and the improvement you experience after meeting with them.
Regional educational events – twice each year, Region 19 hosts educational events geared toward individual, quartets and chorus improvement. Top coaches from around SAI are brought in and Region 19 members are invited to spend the weekend learning and grown. Not just for singing, the education extends to other skills as well. Just yesterday, SAI Region 19 offered a free (did I say free?) day of “Administrative Chapter Training” for SAI members. The topics during this event included workshops on financial planning, section leadership, team building, and other “professional” leadership topics. These events are training opportunities normally reserved for the workplace, but SAI brought them to their members free of charge!
When I joined SAI as a member of HCMC, I had no idea that I would be joining an organization whose focus is so clearly on the education of its membership. That turned out to be a happy surprise – the music and fellowship with other women drew me in, but the educational opportunities have been a large part of why I’m still here and more importantly, why I’m thriving in SAI.
Are you interested in joining this great hobby? Visit the Sweet Adelines International website to find a chapter near you!
Family Fun Day at Angel’s Touch Assisted Living
June 5, 2011
Event Date: June 19, 2011
Lustre is pleased to be performing on Father’s Day for a Family Fun Day at Angel’s Touch Assisted Living center in West Friendship, MD. The residents of this assisted living home appreciate good ol’ fashioned barbershop music! We’ll be brushing off a few old chestnuts and bringing in some “new” stuff from the ’40′s, ’50′s and later. We’re looking forward to the chance to meet and sing for the residents and their families.