CINCINNATI, OH -- About 900 women who love to sing are tuning up, tooting pitch pipes, knocking out their scales and getting ready for the most musical weekend of the year.
That would be the Sweet Adelines International East Central Region No. 4 annual convention and vocal competition at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center today through Saturday.
Hosted by the hometown Queen City Chorus and Seven Hills Chorus, the event brings in 20 choruses of women from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia. They'll compete in quartets and choruses as small as 15 and as large as 110. It's all a capella, with nothing but a pitch pipe to help them find that first A-flat.
Sweet Adelines is an international organization of 30,000 women making up 1,200 barbershop quartets and 600 choruses, with a repertoire drawn from four forms of music native to the United States: Dixieland jazz, cowboy songs, American spirituals and barbershop.
"We call it a competition, but we're really just competing against ourselves," says Lynn Hartmuth, director of the 45-year-old Queen City Chorus since 1992 and a member of the Sweet Adelines for 37 years. "Our real goal is to be better than we were last year."
To pull it off, says the 52-year-old West Chester Township resident with a degree in music education from Miami University, her singers practice two songs (one ballad, one up-tempo) for three to six months.
"That's a lot of time for two three or four-minute performances, but it's what you do when you want to get better. We have 39 members now, so we'll be competing in the Mid-Size Chorus Division, and I really, really want to make a showing."
Like they did in 2004 when they had fewer than 30 singers and took first place in the Small Chorus Division.
Also hoping for a strong showing is Jason Remley, director of the 49-year-old Seven Hills Chorus since 2003. The 28-year-old Wyoming resident has a bachelor's degree in voice, bachelor's and master's in tuba performance and a full course load at Miami University, where he's getting a degree in vocal performance and education.
Last year, his 60 singers took fourth place in the Mid-Size Division.
"Choruses compete more for scores than against each other. If we score well enough this weekend, we go to the International Competition in 2007 in Calgary."
Which explains Remley's intense rehearsal schedule.
"For me, getting ready for the competition is a year-'round effort studying and selecting music, making teaching tapes for the chorus, bringing in outside coaches and starting rehearsals," says Remley.
"And yes, rehearsing can get pretty boring, because sometimes we practice as long as 60 minutes on one 15-second passage," he says. "But that's what you do to improve your score."
So who are these women who devote countless hours to singing?
"There's no real profile," Hartmuth says. "Our chorus' youngest is 15, and the oldest just turned 90. We have young professionals, business owners, stay-at-home moms, singles, marrieds, something of everything."
Remley agrees, but sees a trend taking shape.
"I think choruses are getting younger. Used to be members were women who finally got their kids packed off and had some free time. Now, we're getting more and more women in their early 30s who don't always have any free time, but make it for themselves anyway," says Remley.
"I think the youth trend is because of the social angle - the rehearsals, the trips out to our public performances," Remley says.
"And the fun atmosphere at the convention," Hartmuth says. "We meet and make friends with women from all over the region. It's a giant party."
One other common trait both directors agree on: The sounds coming out of the groups are amazing, and all the more remarkable because very few of the singers actually read music. They learn by rote from teaching tapes Hartmuth and Remley make, then practice at home as well as in group rehearsals. Again and again and again.
It all climaxes this weekend, when singers are judged on the same four criteria:
Sound: It's the overall sound of the quartet or the chorus. In tune? Full, round sound? Perfect harmony?
Expression: This criterion refers to the interpretation of the song and how well the group tells the song's story.
Music: Is it a good arrangement? Does it work for the voices in this particular chorus? Is it a good fit for the song in question?
Showmanship: A catchall category, it includes visual delivery, costuming, audience rapport, even the women's makeup.
"The judging is tough," says Hartmuth. "They don't pull any punches or soften the blow at all."
So the chorus keeps working. And rehearsing. And rehearsing some more.
E-mail jknippenberg@enquirer.com
Reprinted with permission from the Cincinnati Enquirer: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060406/ENT/604060321/1083/LIFE
 Add as favorites (33) |  Quote this article on your site | Views: 1537
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment Tweaked Special Edition v.1.4.6
AkoComment © Copyright 2004 by Arthur Konze - www.mamboportal.com
All right reserved |
