Special Valentine Offer for Military Members
January 30, 2012
This year, as our way to say “Thank You” to our military heroes, we are offering a FREE delivery of a Singing Valentine to any Baltimore-area family member of a military service member currently serving in a war zone.
If you are currently deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, or Pakistan, we would be honored to deliver your Valentine’s message to your loved ones on the Home Front. We will visit your loved one’s home or office (in the , sing two love songs, and deliver your personal sentiment in a Valentine’s Day card. Deliveries via phone are also available.
If you know a deployed service member who might like to take advantage of this offer, please spread the word!
To take advantage of this offer, just contact us via our Contact Page.
Christmas Chocolate Treats
December 18, 2011
It’s Christmas time, and that means sharing good times with good friends as often as possible. Lustre got together one Sunday afternoon in mid-December 2011 to create lots of yummy treats for the Christmas season. We hope you enjoy this short video wishing you the sweetest of Christmas seasons!
Houston Recap
November 11, 2011
Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s been almost a month since we returned from the SAI International Convention and contest in Houston! We had such a great time! As you know, it was our first opportunity to compete in the International Quartet Contest. We weren’t totally sure what to expect, so we were going in to the event with a desire to just have fun, see what it’s all about, and get that “first time” experience under our belts. We are happy to report that we did all three!
Ready to board the bus to the contest!
On Wednesday when we performed on stage, it was a wonderful moment for all of us. We felt the support from our friends and family in the venue and across the web cast. We had worked so hard for so many years to be on that stage, and now the moment was here! After exiting the stage, we shared a giant group hug, and then we were greeted by our supporters from our wonderful Region 19. What a great feeling!
When the results came out, it turned out that we did not score as high as we had hoped. We read through the judges comments, taking in the feedback and talking over what it meant. While we were admittedly a little bit disappointed, we also realized that we had achieved everything we had set out to do. We soaked up the experience of singing on the International stage (we can now cross that item off the bucket list!), we had fun doing it, and we loved the fantastic support of our friends and family all throughout the process. The experience was fantastic, through and through.
For the record, our score was 1071, and our placement was 34th. You know what? We’ll take it!
Now, it’s back home to rehearse, learn some new music, add on new skills, and keep loving each other and loving what we do.
Heading to Houston: Webcast Link
October 12, 2011
The Sweet Adelines International Quartet and Chorus competitions next week in Houston will be webcast live for free. The link to access the webcast is new this year:
The webcast is free, but donations are encouraged to keep the quality high and the cost to SAI low.
Region 19 competitors will be on the webcast as outlined in this post. We hope you’ll watch the fun!
Heading to Houston: Region 19 Appearances
October 9, 2011
Whether you’ll be in Houston at the convention with us, or at home watching on the webcast, here is the info you need regarding when Region 19 competitors will be on stage during the 2011 SAI International Convention. All times listed are Central Standard Time, so if you’re watching from back home, be sure to adjust by one hour (later).
You can watch via FREE webcast from here.
Tuesday Oct 18 – Harmony Classic Competition (for small and midsize choruses)
7:15pm CST – Upper Chesapeake Chorus, competitor #6
Wednesday Oct 19 – Quartet Semi-Finals
11:50am CST – Escapade Quartet, competitor #6 (Wildcard from Region 14, 2 members in HCMC Region 19)
2:20pm CST – a.k.a. Quartet, competitor #18 (Region 15 champs, 1 member in HCMC Region 19)
2:40pm CST – Whole ‘Lotta Harmony, competitor #21 (Wildcard from Region 19)
6:10pm CST – Lustre, competitor #34 (Region 19 champs)
8:50pm CST – Capri, competitor #47 (International Third Place medalists last year, Region 19 Champs from 2004)
Thursday Oct 20 – Chorus Semi-Finals
10:58am CST – Pride of Baltimore Chorus, competitor #2 (Region 19 Champion Chorus)
7:07pm CST – Harbor City Music Company, competitor #32 (Region 19 Wildcard)
Friday and Saturday Quartet and Chorus finals – order and times of appearance TBA.
Saturday Oct 22 – Rising Star Competition (Young Women in Harmony quartets)
??:?? CST – Stars of Harmony Quartet (Region 19 YWIH)
Also appearing from Region 19 (times will be updated if we can find the info):
- Claire Domenick and Nikki Hartshorn, director and choreographer of Greater Harrisburg Chorus, are serving as Director and Choreographer of the SAI Family Chorus which will perform on Saturday during the Chorus Finals show
- MAXX Factor Quartet, reigning Queens of Harmony / SAI 2011 International Quartet Champions, will sing after the Quartet Finals, and also will be inducted to the Coronet Club on Friday night’s Coronet Club show.
- Maggie Ryan, member of Greater Harrisburg Chorus, will serve as commentator on the webcast during the Chorus Semi-finals Session 1.
Region 19 will be all over Houston next week!
Heading to Houston: Tuesday Tour Puzzle
October 8, 2011
This week, on our international preparation tour, Tuesday night had us dropping in on the Chorus of the Chesapeake rehearsal in Dundalk. Then it was off to Silver Spring to visit our sisters at Capital Accord Chorus.
The Tuesday Puzzle Map
- Our starting points:
- Kate – at home in Silver Spring
- Lead Lori – at home in Dundalk
- Jenny – at home in Elkridge
- Bari Lori – at work in Lanham
- Our destinations:
- Dundalk, Chorus of the Chesapeake Rehearsal
- Silver Spring, Capital Accord Rehearsal
- Our park and rides:
- 95 & 495
- 695 & 295
The 13 steps:
- Bari Lori and Kate meet at the park and ride at 495 & 95, leaving Lori‘s car there.
- We are running a bit early, so the two go to the BP convenience store to get water (and some strange looks from the cashier wondering why we were dressed exactly alike).
- Kate drives to the park and ride near 695 & 295, picking up Jenny there.
- Kate drives all Lustre’s harmony parts to Dundalk Government Center, meeting up with Lead Lori.
- We warm up and sing a couple songs
- Jenny and Lead Lori hop in Lori’s car while Kate and Bari Lori hop in Kate‘s car and off we go back to the park and ride at 695 & 295.
- Lead Lori and Jenny hop in with Kate and Bari Lori, together again.
- Off we go to the park and ride at 495 & 95, where Lead Lori and Bari Lori hop inBari Lori‘s car.
- We meet up again at Capital Accord rehearsal.
- We sing a couple songs, change clothes, sing a couple more songs, then change clothes again.
- Jenny and the Loris wave goodbye to Kate and head back up the road to the park and ride at 695 & 295.
- Kate heads home from there.
- Bari Lori delivers Jenny and Lead Lori back to their cars and all head home.
Facts about the trip:
- In the course of the evening, Jenny rode in every car owned by the quartet
- Total park and ride stops : 5
- Car duets during the course of the evening:
- Bari Lori & Kate
- Lead Lori & Jenny
- Kate & Jenny
- Lead Lori & Bari Lori
So, the evening was more difficult to organize than our typical “meet at Jenny’s and go”, but we managed it beautifully. I don’t think we could have accomplished it in a much “greener” way either. What do you think?
Heading to Houston: The “Tour”
October 2, 2011
As much as we love to sing and perform, stage fright and nervousness has been a challenge for each of us to varying degrees over the years. As part of a strategy to combat the nerves, we have created a tradition of performing our contest material in front of live audiences as many times as possible in the weeks prior to the contest date. We create our own “tour”, calling up local SAI and BHS choruses and asking permission to drop by and sing for them during their rehearsal nights. The first year, we even created our own tour t-shirts advertising the dates and locations of that year’s “Knock Out the Nerves” tour.
This strategy has served us well. Prior to this year’s regional contest in April, we sang in front of audiences no fewer than eight times in the three weeks prior to the contest. Six of those times we had the opportunity to wear our contest costumes for the performance. This was fantastic rehearsal, because we became accustomed to wearing the dresses and being comfortable in them, and then on the day of the contest itself, the feeling was less nerve-wracking and much more “Oh, ok, we’re going to sing again.” The comfort and familiarity of the contest costume was a big factor in feeling confident on stage, and contributed to our winning performance, we’re sure.
So for our debut performance at the international contest in Houston, we are falling back on the strategy that has worked for us before. We will be visiting some local SAI and BHS choruses in the next two weeks to sing during their rehearsals. We won’t be able to visit as many as we’d like due to constraints on scheduling, but we are grateful for the welcoming response we’ve gotten from those that we’ve contacted.
We’re looking forward to seeing our friends in the following local choruses. If you are in the area and can join us on any of these events, we’d love to see you!
Fall 2011 Tour Dates:
Monday Oct 3: Upper Chesapeake Chorus Friends and Family Send-off to Houston
Tuesday Oct 2: Dundalk Chorus of the Chesapeake (BHS) rehearsal night
Tuesday Oct 2: Capital Accord Chorus rehearsal night
Wednesday Oct 3: Harbor City Music Company Show Chorus Friends and Family Send-off to Houston
Monday Oct 10: Pride of Baltimore Chorus rehearsal night
Heading to Houston: The Clothes
September 26, 2011
Sweet Adelines is pretty much the only organization I can think of where grown women actually choose, willingly and sometimes even eagerly, to dress alike. I don’t mean only on stage – that’s a given – and not only in the convention hall – that’s perhaps expected – but out in public, walking along the avenue, at restaurants, and at tourist spots around the city. It’s true. Lustre will spend Tuesday through Saturday dressed alike every day, all the way from our identical tops, pants and jewelry down to the color of polish on our toes. In fact, some of those days we’ll change clothes once or twice, all the while maintaining our matching wardrobe. It’s quite a fashionista’s dream-slash-nightmare to outfit four women for an SAI convention.
First to worry about are the performance costumes. Not only do they need to match, but they are judged as part of the Showmanship category – so they have to be right! Nothing should pull or tug, nothing should wrinkle or crease, and nothing should gape or reveal. The fit and style needs to flatter all four women. The color needs to be vibrant on stage under bright lights. The jewelry needs to highlight the face, and the shoes need to match the style of the costume and be comfortable enough to put the singer at ease. For our performance costumes, we are so very fortunate to have a fabulous seamstress in our midst. Bari Lori made both of our contest dresses, and in both cases, she took a pattern and customized it to our precise needs. Both dresses turned out beautifully!
Next, we need to have “walking around” clothes for four to five days. Our criteria: These clothes should be comfortable for all four of us to wear and feel good in, they should be flattering to all of our shapes. They should convey our quartet personality of “serious about having fun together”, if that makes any sense at all. We want to look put together but not formal or stuffy, professional but not business-like. Relaxed and casual but intentional. Comfortable but not slouchy. Easy on the glitter and rhinestones, but showier than normal clothes. Some of them need to be a little dressier than others, to cover the variety of occasions that we will attend during the week.
Oh sure. No problem. (Help?!?!?)
The criteria might be easier to meet if we all wore similar sizes or had similar body shapes even of different sizes. But among us we have regular misses, tall misses, and women’s sizes (bordering on petite women’s). Not very many stores cater to the needs of women in our many size ranges.
We’ve found that JCPenny typically suit our needs for pants and sometimes tops, and they have great coupons and sales that are easy on the budget. We’ve found some fantastic bargains at Coldwater Creek, which is normally very pricey. We’ve found cheap clothes on the clearance racks at Fashion Bug, and we’ve scoured Dress Barn for hours. We shop online a lot, using Chadwicks for basics. We’re not too proud to look in Walmart for very casual items. We found one of our outfits unexpectedly at the BHS (Men’s barbershop society) International Convention! And one of our tops came from a choral performance wear outfitter which we found online. When forming the quartet, we did not expect to shop together nearly as much as we do!
The good thing about this situation is that there’s no question or worry about what we have to pack for this trip. The packing list is very long and very detailed, and outlines every outfit down to the most foundational detail (including foundation undergarments!). There’s absolutely no stress about “what will I wear” on this trip – it has been scheduled for weeks in advance, assigned to a particular day, and included in the quartet schedule that will be posted on the wall of the hotel room. No guesswork, no worries. Just check the items off the list, put them in the suitcase and go!
This hobby is phenomenal in a lot of ways, but the opportunity for shopping! Who knew?
Heading to Houston: Coaching
September 25, 2011
One of the first things we did after we won the Region 19 Quartet Championship is pull out the calendars and we set up our coaching schedule! We knew that we were going to want and need some really strong coaching in order to put our best effort on the stage in Houston.
Some quartets like to stick with one coach, others like to work with a wide variety of coaches who bring different approaches and different strengths. We tend to take a middle of the road approach. We work with two coaches who are in our local area, and then we also take advantage of out-of-town coaches who come into the area if we can work it out.
This summer, we had the great pleasure of working with Jean Barford, Betty Clipman, and Ruth Ann Parker, all of whom are legendary quartet coaches in the Sweet Adelines world and came in from across the country to work with SAI singers in the Baltimore area. We had Jean in June, and Betty and Ruth Ann in August. So that left us May, July and September to schedule our local coaches, Leslie Wodday and Michael Gellert. We also took advantage of our Region 19 educational opportunity, FLASH, and received coaching at that event. All told, we had eight different coaching sessions from six different coaches during the last five months.
Excessive? Some quartets would say so, but we say no!
We have learned something unique and something valuable from each of these people. And at the same time, they all have reinforced each others teachings so that each of our sessions builds on the others, and makes up a strong educational basis for us. Because SAI has such clearly defined judging criteria, the coaches are all able to work within the framework of those criteria to point out certain aspects and concentrate on certain areas of the musical performance without contradicting each other and without confusing us. (this last bit is very important!!!!)
After each of these coaching sessions, it’s then our job to take what they have taught us and put it into our regular performances in a consistent manner. We typically make digital voice recordings of the coaching sessions, and then individually play them back multiple times to make sure we have caught all the instruction, and to make sure that we remember the information as we continue to prepare our music. And we hold each other accountable for performing as instructed. Often during rehearsal, one of us will say something like, “Remember at this spot Jean wanted us to sing this phrase with more of a ballad feel,” or “Is this the place where Betty asked for more focused sound?”etc. We’re still learning this barbershop craft, that’s for sure. We’ve worked out a pretty good habit of doing our homework after coaching, remembering it from week to week, and incorporating the lessons into our new, better “normal.”
We imagine that all of the other quartets who will cross the stage at the International contest in Houston have had similar experiences this summer, with calendars full of coaching sessions and rehearsals that reinforce those coaching lessons. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – this hobby has a WONDERFUL focus on education and growth that just can’t be matched in anything else we’ve seen. We are having a blast!
(Hey Leslie, we need to get a photo taken with you!!!!)
Heading to Houston: A Blog Series
September 25, 2011
In just three short weeks, we will be flying down to Houston to participate in the SAI International Quartet Competition for our very first time. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true – we will be walking across the stage and competing with 45 other quartets from around the world, all of whom are at the top of their game and are the best there is in women’s barbershop music. Wow!!!
As we head into these last few weeks, we thought we’d share with you some of the ins and outs of what it takes to prepare for this competition. Mind you, we’ve never actually competed at this competition before, but we feel pretty well prepared, because (1), we have been to Regional competition lots of times and we have a pretty good system worked out, and (2), we have lots of friends around us in our local region who have been to this contest and they’ve all been so helpful to us.
So in the next few days, look for a series of articles about how we have prepared musically, logistically, mentally, financially, and emotionally for this upcoming event. As we’ve said before, “It’s all about the journey.” And what a journey it has been!