"I'm a choral conductor, have worked in independent schools since 1981. Went to UCLA in musicology but loved being in small madrigal groups, producing concerts, writing program notes, so I never finished the PhD. Saw the Whiffenpoofs in 1984, discovered the Nylons, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and Bobby McFerrin early on, and never looked back. Soon my students were coming back from college talking about their groups and giving me arrangements and new ideas, and I began collecting CDs like a maniac. In 2000, I took a sabbatical and went all over the country listening to a cappella and choral rehearsals, gathering more music than I could possibly digest. My current job, at Windward School in West Los Angeles, gives me plenty of musical stimulation. Contact me when you're bringing your group to LA!"
Betsy has set up a special email address just for her CASA correspondence: socalcasa@earthlink.net. Please add her address to your mailing lists, as she will be the one sending out the updates beginning February 1st. Also make sure you set your spam filters to allow this new address so you don't miss all the great information she'll be sending!. My address (socalcasa@sbcglobal.net) will be good until the end of February to ensure an easy transition.
A last word from me about CASA -- it's a wonderful organization staffed almost entirely by volunteers to promote the art form we all love so much. To find out how to join CASA, to read tons of stuff about all types of a cappella, and to network with the rest of the planet's a cappella singers and fans, be sure to visit the main CASA site at www.casa.org.
And for my last time, here's what's going on now: :-)
CONCERTS
Sunday January 22
The Masters of Harmony in the San Marino Celebrity Series at the Chapel of Lake Avenue Congregation Church, 393 North Lake Avenue, Pasadena. 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by calling Betsy Bogue at 626-441-3973.
The Bobs in their 25th anniversary show at McCabe's, 3101 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. 7:00 p.m. For information and tickets, visit www.mccabes.com or call 310-828-4497.
The Catalina Chord Club at the Catalina Coffee Co., 126 N. Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach. 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. They welcome a cappella groups of 3-7 members, any style, to join in an open mic setting in a cozy, comfortable atmosphere. Contact kate@graphicool.com for more information.
Sunday, February 19
Baked A Cappella at The Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City. 7:30 p.m. This month's performers are The Mighty Echoes with other groups TBA. Tickets are $15 plus a 2-drink minimum. For more information visit www.thebakedpotato.com or call 818-980-1615.
Friday February 24
The Mighty Echoes at Coffee Gallery Backstage, 2029 Lake St., Altadena. 8:00 p.m. $18 cover. For reservations call 626-398-7917.
THE A CAPPELLA COMMUNITY AWARDS (ACAs) - LOCAL WINNERS!
The results of the ACAs were announced January 15th Here are the local winners:
Favorite Jazz Group: m-pact
Favorite Doo-Wop Group: The Alley Cats
Favorite Vocal Percussionist: Jake Moulton (of m-pact)
Congrats to our local faves! To see the entire list of winners, visit www.casa.org and click on the "Awards" bar on the left.
OTHER INFORMATION
"The Yale Spizzwinks, America's oldest underclassman a cappella group, will be touring southern California this March! We will be in both the L.A. and San Diego areas between March 4th and March 18th If you are interested in having the Spizzwinks come and perform for or with you, please don't hesitate to contact David Resnick, tour manager for the group For more information, check out their website, www.spizzwinks.com, or contact them at
."
The Perfect Gentlemen, Ready Willing & Mabel, South Bay Coastliners and LA Southtowns will be traveling to Ireland in October for the Irish Association of Barbershop Singers. If you would like to join them on this trip, contact Leo Larivee of TLC Tours at Leo@TLCTours.com
That's it for now! Thanks to everyone who provided their information for this update. Betsy will be in contact about future updates..
April Lacaba -- SoCalCASA@welcome.to
Dane Hutchins -- dlhutchins@cox.net
Betsy Hanger -- socalcasa@earthlink.net
Amy Fogerson (emeritus) -- socalcasa@sbcglobal.net
So Cal CASA website: http://welcome.to/SoCalCASA
Click on the wrench in the upper left-hand corner to see what else you can do.