REGINA GOLDEN HARVEST Barbershop Chorus

Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America

# Sharp Notes #

Publication of the Regina Golden Harvest Chorus

Golden Harvest Chorus meets most Monday Evenings, 7:30-10:00 at
Knox Metropolitan United Church, corner of Victoria and Lorne, Regina, Saskatchewan
Guests always welcome!

March/April 2002

Annual Show

Only three regular rehearsals left now before the curtain goes up (across?) on our 2002 Annual show at Darke Hall.

All(?) we have to do now is polish our music and presentation, sell tickets, polish our music, sell program ads, polish our music, …

We’re glad to have our Show Producer Lynn Lowes back from down south, and Show Chairman Gord Gardiner has the committee busy.

Ron Evans is getting our musical presentation into shape. Dave Pearce has been busy promoting the chorus and show. Stuart Reiley has ticket sales humming along. Graham Coulter has been busy drumming up show program advertising. John Leitch has our finances under close control. Bruce Fish is looking after ticket and show program layout and printing.

Before we know it, it will be time for the big event. The weekend will kick off with a get-together-and-meet-the-quartet event on Friday night at the Regina Inn. This is a chance to say Hi to our guest quartet Counterpoint – and no doubt, an opportunity for lots of harmonizing. Stage setup will be Saturday morning followed by a dress rehearsal on Saturday afternoon.

Then it’s time for the main event – our Saturday Night Show – followed by a chance to relax and kick back (and lots more great music) at our Afterglow at the Regina Inn.

And we’ll wind up this great weekend with Sunday morning brunch at the Regina Inn – and a chance to say thank you and goodbye to our guest quartet before they fly back to BC.

Come join us
for an evening of family musical harmony
as the Golden Harvest Chorus presents
our 2002 annual show

"Back to the 90's"

with guest quartets –
Counterpoint,
Chord Jesters and
Sound Investment.

Tickets are $12.50 each and are available from any chapter member or at the door on
Saturday April 20th, 2002, 7:30pm at Darke Hall, Regina, SK

Tickets available from
Bach and Beyond,
The Book and Briar Patch,
or by calling
Stu Reiley 757-2569 or
Lynn Lowes 584-8468

See you there...

$$$$’s

Anyone with ticket or program advertising money, please turn it in to Stuart Reiley and Graham Coulter as quickly as possible so that they can pass it on to our Show Treasurer John Leitch. Show expenses have started to roll in and it will make John’s work a lot easier if show receipts start to roll in too.

Clear Lake

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the first weekend in June.

I'm very worried about two of my friends, Wilbur and Sarah. They used to be one of the cutest couples I know; they did all the adorable stuff that cute couples do, giving each other sappy nicknames and doing everything together, never a cross wordBut ever since Wilbur started taking Spanish lessons, things have been really tense between them..

It's the first thing he's done on his own since they got together. Sarah doesn't care much about languages, and has no interest in learning another one. It wouldn't be so bad if Wilbur weren't such a natural. After about three months of lessons, he was starting to think in Spanish, and if she interrupted him while he was doing his homework, it would take him a moment to switch gears, and he'd either answer in Spanish or have to ask her to repeat what she'd said. Then she'd get upset at him for ignoring her or saying things she didn't understand, and they'd fight. They still use the cutesy nicknames and all, but it feels like it's pretty hollow and sometimes even sardonic, mocking the closeness they used to have.

The last time I was over there, the tension was palpable. Sarah was obviously avoiding Wilbur while he was working, but at one point she came over to ask him something, and it just didn't get through as he was so absorbed in his work. And when he looked up and blinked and said "¿Que, Sarah-Sarah?" she just snarled "Whatever, Wilby-Wilby".

Teach the Children to Sing!

Executive Meeting

Our third executive meeting of the year was at the home of John and Valerie Leitch with eight members in attendance – Ron, Wayne, Dave, Stuart, John, Bruce, Peter and Jack.

• March financial report submitted by John – cash flow between now and the show will be tight – need to watch our expenses and generate revenues (sell those tickets and push those show ads)
• Membership – Wayne has contacted 8 former members to discuss returning to the chorus and sent letters to 8 new prospects; planning for a guest night / open house for Monday April 29 (second Monday after the show); will promote this in the show program
• Music – we should be considering another coaching session – Music committee will discuss and make arrangements; no extra practices planned before the show; no music on the risers so that we can focus on performing
• Motion to recruit and accept qualified singers for the 2003 Regina anniversary show even though they may not wish to become permanent members; Dave will also draft a letter to go to former Regina barbershoppers.
• Stuart has put our name in to sing O Canada before a Rider game.
• Next Bingo – Tuesday April 2^nd
• Chapter Elections set for June 10
• Consideration being given to child/student show ticket prices.

Next meeting will be April 28, 2002, 1:30pm at Wayne Keys’.

Harmonizing Makes us Healthier

There are now substantiated medical reasons for why we have a "performance high" or feeling of euphoria following a barbershop concert or singing session. It’s not just emotional. Some of it is now believed to be chemical, and related to the singer’s state of mind.

A recently published study by researchers from the University of California at Irvine, showed that a protein our immune system uses to fight disease, called Immunoglobulin A increased by 150 percent during rehearsals of choirs they were monitoring; and 240 percent during the group’s performances. "The more passionate you feel while singing, the greater the effect," said education professor Robert Beck, co-author of the study, along with Thomas Cesario, dean of UC-Irvine’s College of Medicine. [The study was published in the scientific journal Music Perception.]

The researchers used volunteers from the 160-member Pacific Chorale to obtain saliva samples on cotton swabs to calculate the presence of Immunoglobulin A before and after singing. In a published account of the study in the Boston Globe, the scientists theorized that the difference in the higher levels of the disease-fighting proteins between a rehearsal and a performance might have resulted from the singers’ thrill of the performance itself.

Carl Douglas Rogers
from the Harmo-ssourian
July 31, 2001

Coming Events

Articles in this bulletin do not necessarily reflect the views of the chapter. Unless carrying a byline, they are those of the editor. Items received may be referred to the executive before publication.
All chapter officers and members are encouraged to submit articles to the Sharp Notes.
Please address any comments, suggestions or submissions to the editor – Bruce Fish, 761-2503 / bfish@accesscomm.ca. Current and back issues of the Sharp Notes can be found on the Golden Harvest Chapter website at www.gpfn.sk.ca/culture/arts/gharvest.

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