Chorus Rehearsal Always Saves the Day

It's happened more than once.  The day has gone horribly and all you want to do is get in bed and stay there with the covers over your head.

The first time I discovered what going to my chorus rehearsal could do to turn the day around was years ago.   My boss at the time was a good 20 years younger and could be very opinionated and arrogant.  He was also a bit of a bully and seemed to actually enjoy pulling rank. He would make personal jabs when talking about any kind of work place conflict.  I could usually shrug it off, but on this particular day he kept me in a meeting far longer than necessary and by the time I went back to my desk I was feeling very low and defeated.  As the day came to an end, I got in my car and when I came to the intersection of the lane exiting work, I stopped.  Should I turn right and go home or left and go to chorus rehearsal?   With much effort, I made myself turn left.  

When I got to rehearsal, I was in a pretty fowl mood.  We started physical warm-ups, and as the music played and I started to move and stretch, I felt slightly better.  Soon we were totally engaged in the musical work for the evening and as the chords rang out and the chorus came more and more together as a harmonizing unit, the horrible day started to fall away.  I stood in the middle of those ringing chords and felt just great, filled with energy and happiness.    

My cell phone rang on the way home; my boss calling to apologize for being such a jerk.  I accepted the apology, of course, but laughed a little to myself.  My day had turned around all by itself, because I went to rehearsal, because I had discovered this wonderful hobby, because I am a Sweet Adeline.    

My Singing Story ... Donna Johnson

Truly one of the best times of my life.  I joined the chorus in July of 1978 just three short months before the chorus went to International competition in Los Angeles.  I remember how excited I was but also how confused I felt  because I had never experienced anything like this in my life.  It was all new but I just knew I loved being one of the “glamor” girls of Sweet Adelines…that is how we were known in those days.  The contest was one of the last times our beloved director, Marvin Yerkey, stood in front of the chorus.   We lost Marv in 1980 after a short illness.

I experienced ritual by fire when we went on retreat before contest and stood on the risers for hours and hours – I was so tired when I got home, I had to crawl up the driveway. 

The day of the competition came and I sat on the bus next to Marvin as we rode to the contest. He was so nervous that he almost jumped out of his own skin.  We always found ways to take the edge off and I recall that some of our choreography included “chorus kicks” which Marv wanted us to do “down and dirty” – someone had the bright idea of us pinning tassels on our t-shirts under our jackets and when Marv motioned to do it “down and dirty” – we opened our jackets and made the tassels move.  I can still see the look on his face…we all had a great laugh!

San Diego was the 1^st chorus to sing and we were awesome…unfortunately, before we took the stage, there were some mis-communications among the stage crew and the judges and apparently there was no “sound check” before we sang…the judges could not hear us.   As is customary before a contest, we had not eaten anything or had anything cold to drink…you girls know the drill.  After we sang, we all got drinks and snacks, took our seats in the audience only to be informed that we would have sing a 2^nd time….we were called backstage where we sat through the entire second half of the contest and then we took the stage again to perform our contest package for the 2^nd time. It was hard to bring back the “edge” and our second performance, although wonderful, did not earn us the 1^st place medal as we had hoped….we were the 2^nd place chorus but still proud.   Since I had never performed in such a large venue, when the curtain opened, it was as if I was paralyzed, I opened my mouth and no sound came out.  The chorus was about 2 bars into the song before I found my voice.   But, what a rush – wow, I can still feel the excitement and it is something I will never forget.  After the Show of Champions on Saturday night, many people came up to his and mentioned that we may not have won the contest but we sure won the show. 

Marvin was a wonderful and talented director…when he turned around and raised his hands – it was magic; he totally held the whole chorus in the palm of his hands and I consider myself fortunate to have been able to sing under his direction. 

I cherish my time as a Sweet Adeline….I made many lovely friends, have treasured memories of contests, shows, hours and hours of rehearsal, feeling shivers up my spine when we hit a chord just right – it is hard to explain to anyone who has never experienced it and I would not trade my memories for anything in the world.  I sang for 8 years but then moved to Escondido and had other family obligations which prevented me from continuing. 

Sweet Adelines are special people and I am proud to have been a member of such an elite chorus and organization.  For those that do remember me, I was Donna Shepard in those days (1978 to 1985) and I send love and best wishes to everyone, past and present. 

My singing story... Deb Straight

My cousin has been a barbershopper for as long as I can remember and for years I enjoyed listening to his chorus and quartets perform, but I never even thought about the possibility of doing it myself.  In fact, I didn’t even know the opportunity existed, and I guess I’ve been trying to make up for that lost time ever since!

While on active duty in Okinawa, I sang with two church choirs which kept me singing at least 4 times a week and upon return to Hawaii I was eager to continue my singing.  So, in 1999, I searched for a singing group to fill that niche.  It was then I began my affiliation with the then Satellite Sweet Adelines chorus, Na Leo Lani.

A few years later our chorus president, who was a dual member with the Greater Auckland New Zealand Chorus (GAC), got a few of us energized to give competition a try...something satellite choruses don’t do much, if at all.  About 8 of us became dual members of GAC and competed with the them at the 2004 International contest in Phoenix. After that competition, a few of the “Hawaii gals” assisted the “Kiwis” in navigating Arizona and California on a short and scenic road trip which eventually landed us as invited guests at a BBQ hosted by the San Diego Chorus.  It was there that it became known the “Hawaii gals” were looking for opportunities to sing with larger choruses and compete. Without hesitation, the San Diego chorus offered us an opportunity to audition and join them on the 2006 contest stage in Vegas. Nine of us took them up on the offer, returning proudly with our 6th place international ribbon and a burning desire to
perhaps do it again.  In 2008, 4 of us were once again on stage with the San Diego chorus but this time we were lucky to have the International Competition in Honolulu so we could share the excitement of our 7th place ribbon with our family, friends, and fellow singers.  Still with the competition bug, 2 of us joined the San Diego chorus on stage for the 2010 Houston International, and 2 of us (and maybe even more) look forward to being on the risers with the San Diego chorus again when the International Competition returns to Honolulu in Nov 2013.

Since my journey began in the world of barbershop, I don’t believe my feet have hit the floor. I’ve visited and sung with choruses throughout the US, and NZ, currently hold membership in 3 Sweet Adeline choruses (one of which is the newly chartered Honolulu Blend Show Chorus), and I love quarteting! There is nothing quite like the bond/sound formed amongst your fellow singers when you sing those 4 notes that form a perfect chord that rings…ah, music to my ears.

In 2003, I traveled to my first Barbershop Harmony Society Convention in Montreal to watch my cousin perform. In 2008, my cousin was thrilled to visit Hawaii to attend his first Sweet Adelines International competition and watch me perform with the San Diego chorus. Barbershop harmony is truly a huge part of our lives and we are lucky to share the joy of this common experience.

Deb Straight
Bass, San Diego Chorus (2006)
Bass, Na Leo Lani Chorus (1999)
Bass, Honolulu Blend Show Chorus (2007), chartered in Feb 2012!