May 1997

Welcome to issue # 5 of your chapter newsletter for 1997. Our annual show is successfully behind us, and summer vacations are just around the corner. We have lots of singing and fun lined up for the next couple of months -- so why not share the fun. Tonight's an "official" guest night, but as we're repeated many times, "every night is a guest night". Take the opportunity to invite your friends, co-workers and acquaintances to come out and see what we’re all about -- don't keep the fun all to yourself.

Bulletins will be published monthly (well sort-of) for distribution at the first (or second, or maybe third or...) meeting of each month (except July and August). Deadline for material to be included will normally be the last Monday before publication (unless advertised otherwise). When you’re done reading this bulletin, recycle it -- pass it along.

AFTER THE SHOW

We appear to have had a fairly successful show on our recent " little outing"! (How many of you recognize where that quote comes from?) First I suppose you are going to want the numbers and will no doubt skip directly to them regardless of where they are placed. I'll make it easy: here they are.

Attendance 375 warm bodies

Tickets sold 400

Money collected $4000

Money deposited $4000

Expenses: This is an anticipated list of expenses. There is the matter of gratuities for the collegiate quartets which is not firm; the cost of a new make up kit (We now have two. Don't ask!), and other expenses no doubt.

a) Theatre rental $395.98

b) G.V. Audio (sound system) $200.00

c) Gratuities to Campbell & Leboldus $600.00 not firm

d) Refund to members re tickets sold twice

or paid for by members & not used $30.00

e) Donation to charity of choice re volunteer

workers at show $80.00 not firm

f) Copyright fees .022 of gross sales $90.00 approx.

g) Bruce Fish, printing etc. $75.89

Total expense $1,471.87
Profit $2,528.13

Personal comments from the show chairman:

First I would like to thank the entire show committee for their help and cooperation. You made a rather rushed job easy. We all know their names so I will not repeat them. I would, however like to give special recognition to a few individuals:

Bill Coulthard; for putting together a script (and formulating "the plan".)

Bruce Fish; for his superb effort and work in ticket and program design and production.

Ken Holzer; for making us appear and sound respectable on stage. He remarked that there were parts where we sounded good. From Ken, that's high praise!

Dave Pearce, Vic Goertzen and some others for selling a pile of tickets. You know who you are, I won't name names.

And to the people who gave of their time and muscle with the set etc.

Last and most importantly to the entire chorus for their effort in assuring the success of the show.

Your show chairman

Stuart Reiley

Afterglow:

Way to go Bob. The Afterglow was well attended and everyone seems to have had lots of fun and singing (we might even convince Dave Slinn to come back out as a result). The food and facilities at Empringham's were top notch.

Thanks to the Show Committees and Everyone else who made our show a success:

Chairman: Stuart Reiley

Secretary: Wayne Keys

Treasurer: Rod Schlosser

Publicity: Gord Gardiner

Printing (tickets, programs, flyers): Bruce Fish

Ticket distribution, collection: Stuart Reiley

Stage Manager: Don Gardiner

Guests/layout: Ken Holzer, Bill Coulthard, Bruce Fish, Stuart Reiley

Afterglow: Bob Grieve

Grampa: David Hicks

 

 

B

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G

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Only 2 Bingo's left before summer.

Tuesday May 27th 5:30-midnight
Thursday June 12th 5:30-midnight

Guest Night:

Tonight’s a special opportunity for us to show our guest’s what we’re all about, but any night can be a guest night. If you didn’t invite your guest out tonight, then they’re not having as much fun tonight as we are. So share the fun and harmony – invite a guest for next week.

 

GUEST NIGHT -- Monday May 12th!

That’s tonight! Hope you brought your guests!

(If not, why not invite them for next week)

Bulletin Material -- Bruce Fish

Well guys, submissions for bulletin material are getting as scarce as hen’s teeth. This is YOUR chapter bulletin, and your opportunity to get your messages out to the membership. Bulletin article submissions may be submitted in just about any legible format (and at almost any hour of the day or night). You can fax it to me at work (751-7002); email it via the Internet (bfish@cableregina.com); save it onto a diskette (just about any format); or scribble it onto a scrap of paper (as long as I can decipher it). Email or diskette are preferred as this saves me from having to retype it (and in return, I’ll let you get away with being a little past the official Monday night deadline).

This is your Chapter bulletin -- if you have something of interest, or some information to share with the chorus, pass it my way, and I'll see that it gets into the next available bulletin. You can also check out our Chorus home page, bulletins and upcoming events at www.gpfn.sk.sa/culture/arts/gharvest.

The deadline for the next Sharp Notes is June 16th. This will be the last newsletter until September so, get our your sharp pencil and start working on YOUR article for the next issue.

Watch for your next bulletin on June 16th

(Bulletin material gratefully received anytime – deadline for submissions, June 9th )

From the Harmonet

Watch for Tom Arneberg’s upcoming article in the Pitch Piper. "How Can I Get Barbershop Info via the Internet?". If you have access to the Internet, you’ll find this interesting reading…

Tom Arneberg

toma@mcs.com

District Communications Officer

SPEBSQSA Executive Director Daryl Flinn invites you to join him for a "Fireside Chat" LIVE from Harmony Hall on Thursday, May 15 at 8:00 p.m. CDT.

This is the first in an occasional series of live Internet chats with barbershop luminaries. Future guests will include SPEBSQSA President Tim Hanrahan, Director of Music Education Greg Lyne, and others. (Mail suggestions of guests to Dave Bowen, dmb@cray.com )

Darryl will chat with folks in the America Online chat room BBSHarmony from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., then move to the Internet Relay Chat room at irc.louisville.edu from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. A transcript of both chats will be available.

Ask Darryl how he got started in barbershop, about his vision for the Society, and how he's adjusted to life in Kenosha.

For more information, including instructions for connecting to chat resources, visit the Harmony Hall Chat Salon at http://www.spebsqsa.org/salon.html

Brian Lynch, SPEBSQSA Public Relations Manager

6315 Third Avenue, Kenosha, WI 53143

800-876-SING Fax 414-654-4048

mailto: pr@SPEBSQSA.org http://www.SPEBSQSA.org

Expanding on Leo's subtly made point (which Leo lives on a weekly basis with his own chapter, which has a terrific program), it bears repeating as many times as necessary, folks: In SPEBSQSA, chapters do not place first, last or anywhere in contests. Choruses and quartets can enter contests, but not chapters. In SPEBSQSA, chapters can and should be far more than choruses.

There are all kinds of ways for a member to express his joy for our music, and it really helps when chapters offer their members and guests (prospective members) a complete menu.

Contest placement is only one aspect of a director's ability. I have seen a number of directors lead their choruses to high contest placement, but also demolish the morale and enjoyment of the members. And I've also watched while directors whose choruses do not care to do well in the contest arena help their chapters grow and thrive because of the fun and reward they help create for the membership.

A director can and should be judged by the degree to which he or she helps the chapter's musical ensembles create good music and good performance. This can include performances in contest, in shows, in other public venues, and within the chapter meeting environment itself. It's the experience of the music and the joy thereof that counts, and the music director of a chapter can be a true leader in promoting that. If his or her role is confined to being the chapter's chorus director, rather than the music director of the chapter, then the same applies, but only to the chorus's performance.

In the end, we need to be an ever-growing fraternity of barbershop-style singers, and we need to encourage all men who like to sing our music to be with us every week. A well-rounded musical program, lead by excellent music leadership, which includes as many ways to express the music as the chapter's membership desires, is the best way to do this.

Steve Ross

NED VP for Member Services

Presentation Coach

I enjoy when our musical accomplishments and reputation are lifted up as an example of quality.

From the May 7, 1997, edition of the St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press in which an upcoming performance of Arnold Schoenberg's "Gurre-Lieder" at Orchestra Hall was being reviewed:

"It is a strange scene in Orchestra Hall on a night last week. A woman stands on the stage, empty except for a music stand, a microphone, a piano and an accompanist. Facing her is an audience of six rows of men with choral scores, and at her signal, they sing.

"Do it as if it were barbershop," she advises, stopping them. "Don't approach it from below, hit it right on the money." She signals again, and they sing once more.

This production will include six choirs and an expanded orchestra (400 performers, the largest group to ever perform at St. Paul's Orchestra Hall), and will be conducted by Kathy Saltzman Romey. A connoisseur of fine music!

In Harmony,

David A. McNaughton

Music Director and MuPVP, Dunn County, WI, Chapter

Lead, Hometown Harmony Quartet

mcnaughtond@uwstout.edu

Upcoming Events

Executive Meeting Wednesday, May 14th

BINGO 5:30pm-midnight, Tuesday, May 27th

Fathers Day Sunday, June 15th

Sharp Notes deadline for submissions Monday, June 16th

Mini-HEP, Clear Lake, Manitoba June 6-7-8th

Executive Meeting Wednesday, June 11th

BINGO 5:30pm-midnight, Thursday, June 12th

International Convention, Indianapolis June 29th

Harmony College, St. Joe., Missouri July 27th

Land o'Lakes Fall Convention, Oshkosh, Wi October 17-19th

’98 Land o'Lakes Spring Convention, Eau Claire, Wi May 1-2, 1998

'98 Int'l Convention, Atlanta, Georgia June 28-July 5, 1998

’98 Land o'Lakes Fall Convention, Fargo, ND October 23-25, 1998

'99 Int'l Convention, Anaheim, California June 27-July 4, 1999

'00 Int'l Convention, Kansas City, Missouri July 2-9, 2000

Mini-Hep School, Clear Lake, Manitoba - June 6,7,8

A friendly welcome awaits you at Sportsmans Park, just 1/2 mile south of Riding Mountain National Park on Highway No. 10 Onanole, Manitoba, R0J 1N0.

Quartet Clinic - Great opportunity for the finest coaching available. If you’re a newly formed foursome or seasoned veterans, this clinic will improve your singing and performance capabilities. Limited to first eight quartets. "Northland Gold" guest coaches.

Show Production - A two-hour session on all you want to know about putting on a successful annual show.

COTS - A class open to all chapter officers. We will cover the basics for each officer position, sing at least 30 songs, get a mini chorus ready for the Saturday night show, and talk a lot about your chapter and how it can grow. "Bring your officer manual -- we won't supply them" they were mailed to each chapter in December. Del Ryberg instructor.

Chorus Directors - A big hit year after year, you will have a chance to do three separate sessions: 1. Vocal techniques 2. Brain storming with other directors and Joe Liles about attendance, performance, music selection, and what ever might be on your mind 3. First hand evaluation as you direct a "mock" chorus. Joe Liles instructor.

Vocal Production - Mini-class offered at all general sessions, plus a two-hour session with Joe Liles on your voice and its possibilities. Joe Liles instructor.

General Sessions - Instruction on vocal warm-up, tag singing, pole-cat program, judging categories, news from Kenosha, and gang singing. Duane Rygg, Joe Liles & Jim Hall co-instructors.

How to Choreograph a Song - helpful steps from song selection to adding the proper moves (2 hour session) Jim Hall instructor.

How to form a Quartet - A two-hour session on getting a foursome together: voice placement and goals, competition or show. Jim Hall instructor.

All of this for only $65.00 and it covers four meals, lots of singing, and a staff of all stars!! (In past years, the chapter has underwritten the registration fee for members attending this weekend -- check with your executive.)

Campground available for campers & RV's. Cabins, motels, or rooms also available at Sportsman Park.

See any member of the executive for an application form. The Chapter has typically picked up the cost of registration for members in good standing wishing to attend this school so check with any of the executive if you’re interested in attending. This is a very popular event, so register early.

Don't forget to save Campbell labels and UPCs for Jared!

GUEST NIGHT -- Every Monday Night!

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION June 29-July 6, 1997 - Indianapolis, IN

Learning Tapes - Ron Evans

We still have learning tapes for most of our repertoire. Purchase tape 1 and 2 for $1.50 each. If you have an 'old' tape, turn it into Ron and get a new one.

1997 Executive and Committees

President

Dave Pearce

Past President

Lynn Lowes

Music Director

Ken Holzer

Secretary

Wayne Keys

Music & Performance VP

Bill Coulthard

Chapter Development VP

Ron Evans

Treasurer

Rod Schlosser

Member-at-large

Stuart Reiley

Service & Charities Chairman

Jack Boan

Heartspring Labels Chairman

Jared Goertzen

Chorus Manager

Herb Muma

Program Chairman

Bruce Fish

Uniform Chairman

Bill Quick

Bulletin Editor

Bruce Fish

Coffee Chairman

Stuart Reiley

Music Librarian

Wayne Keys

 

 

Learning Tapes

Ron Evans

Recently, the Minnesota Orchestra was performing Beethoven's Ninth under the baton of Milton Katims... Now at this point, you must understand two things:

1. There's a quite long segment in this symphony where the bass violins don't have a thing to do. Not a single note for page after page.

2. There is a nightclub right across the street from the Orchestra Hall, rather favored by local musicians.

It had been decided that during this performance, once the bass players had played their parts in the opening of the Ninth, they would quietly lay down their instruments and leave the stage, rather than sit on their stools staring at each other and feeling dumb for twenty minutes. Well, once they got backstage, someone suggested

that they trot across the street and have a couple brewskis.

After they had downed the first few rounds, one said, "Shouldn't we be getting back? It'd be awfully embarrassing if we were late."

Another, presumably the one who suggested this excursion in the first place, replied, "Oh, I anticipated we could use a little more time, so I tied a string around the last pages of the conductor's score. When he gets down to there, Milton's going to have to slow the tempo way down while he waves the baton with one hand and fumbles with the string with the other."

So they had another round, and finally returned to the Opera house, a little tipsy by now. However, as they came back on stage, one look at their conductor's face told them they were in serious trouble. Katims was furious!

And why not? After all...

It was the bottom of the Ninth,

The basses were loaded,

and the score was tied!

 

 

Tag from Marty’s Tag o’ the Week. Love Me and the World is Mine, as sung by Joker’s Wild.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. Submissions will be credited to the author. Please address any comments, suggestions or submissions to the editor -- Bruce Fish.