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Quartets
Perth Harmony Chorus will
perform 6th on stage in the Sweet Adelines International competition in
Honolulu in November this year. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ A Change at the Helm of Perth Harmony Chorus Hello to you all from Perth Harmony Chorus. Let me begin
by saying what a thrill it was for us to catch up with all our Sweet Adeline
friends in Brisbane in May after being away from the Region 34 Contest for
two years – we missed you and were very glad to be back. We were of course
also delighted to win the contest and gain the right to compete in Hawaii in
2008. Plans are underway already and we hope to take almost a full chorus
with us and show the world that barbershop is alive and well in Region 34.
As we hope to take as many members as possible to Hawaii and sponsorship is
not easy to find, fundraising has become a huge area of focus for us. We
have had a few good fundraisers so far, but one of the most interesting
‘fundraising’ events was a Quiz Night – or so someone thought!!! Many of you may know by now that our dearest Cathy Rainey has decided it’s time to retire as Director of Perth Harmony Chorus and focus on other areas of her life that she’s neglected over the past 23 years – 23 years of giving her very best and taking this chorus to where we are today. Cathy is a very special lady who has given PHC so much of herself over so many years and we will miss her a lot. ….. now, back to the Quiz Night. After quite a stunned reaction to Cathy’s decision initially, the chorus realized that she deserved to retire after 23 years at the helm and that perhaps she did have another life to lead, apart from Perth Harmony Chorus. We also realized we needed to farewell her in a very special way. So under the guise of a ‘Quiz Night’ to enable us to call meetings, put the date in our diaries and organize our tables etc, a plan was hatched and on the 14th September 2007 a surprise evening in a ‘This is your (Chorus) Life’ format came to fruition. Our rehearsal hall was transformed and filled with past and present members as well as many friends. There was a couch for Cathy to sit and welcome her guests, the hostess with the black folder and from behind the curtain mysterious voices were heard, including that of one of Cathy’s dearest friends Rose McGee, who had flown in from Queensland for the occasion. Many accolades and testimonials both visual and written, were presented to Cathy and they were all very moving and truly deserved. As you can imagine, Cathy was quite overwhelmed. We were very proud of ourselves for the fact that she had no idea what was going on and arrived at the Quiz Night ready for a fun evening. According to Cathy, it certainly turned out to be one of the most memorable nights of her life so far, as it was for everyone who was there. There was much laughter and many tears. You’ll be pleased to know however (as we certainly are), that Cathy is not leaving us entirely. She is now a lifetime member of Perth Harmony Chorus and Sweet Adelines International – PHC’s parting gift to her. As her Director’s tenure doesn’t actually finish until December 2007, she’ll continue co-directing with Carole Macintyre and when not directing, will join us on the risers.
We will miss you out in front Cathy and say a great big thank you for all the work, love, sweat and tears you have given to Perth Harmony Chorus over the past 23 years. Now it’s time to learn those words, practice that
choreography and strut your stuff with the rest of us!!! __________________________________________________________________________________________________
Christmas
Celebrations December 2007 In 2007 Perth Harmony was once again asked to work in conjunction with the City of Perth to promote shopping in the city during the Christmas period. To launch a full week of Christmas carols, Perth Harmony Chorus joined with Men in Harmony to entertain an audience of all ages in Forrest Chase. The wind may have been blowing a gale, but this did not deter either performers or audience from thoroughly enjoying the show.
During the week prior to Christmas, Perth Harmony entertained many people at various locations throughout the city, singing Christmas carols in malls and on street corners. Many people took time out of their hectic working or shopping schedules to stop and listen and enjoy the respite. Appreciation was shown by young and old through smiles, cheers, applause and plenty of singing along. There was certainly a great deal of Christmas spirit being spread around during the roving carols. Once again, another highlight of the Christmas season was when our quartets sang carols on the Santa trains as they made their way into the city. _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Brisbane Competition - May 2007
... and for some more of our favourite pix... click here....!
Perth Harmony won our fifth consecutive, and sixth overall, gold medal at the Sweet Adelines Southern Cross Regional Convention in Brisbane in May 2007. With a B+ score of 624, the chorus has achieved the honour of representing our region in the Sweet Adelines International Convention in Hawaii in November 2008..... read more!
How amazing that out of 27 competing quartets, SEVEN ( more than 25%!) were from our chorus! And they certainly did themselves, and the chorus, proud with amazing results...BlackJaQ 2nd; ESPionage 3rd; our newly formed quartet, Spontaneous 6th; Diva Fever 15th; Catalyst 16th; Wicked Women 23rd and Sorbet 25th! Congratulations to all our quarteters!
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cirque'appella“Grease paint and sawdust, sequins galore……..”, what could it be?...... yes, you guessed it……a group of Sweet Adelines putting on a show, and what a show it was. Saturday 29th July saw Perth Harmony Chorus under the big top,( a.k.a. Winthrop Baptist College auditorium) in their show “Cirque’appella”. It was the culmination of 7 months' intense preparation as the chorus magnificently rose to the challenge and learnt eight new songs , plus the mandatory choreography that goes with them, (two were designed by Fiona Johnson from Queensland) as well as revising some old repertoire. All this under the direction of Carole Macintyre( the Ring Master) with Jessica Bullen assisting, while Cathy Rainey took a well earned break.
Not only did we have the usual learning tapes to submit and extra rehearsals to attend, but some members also learnt circus tricks. Juggling, stilt walking, hula hooping, cartwheels and human pyramids. This was under the instruction of Dr Reg Bolton who sadly passed away two weeks before the show. Reg was involved from the beginning and was so excited to be part of ‘Cirque’appella’. His young team from Cirque-bizirque added that authentic touch with some real juggling, tumbling and slap stick comedy. The first half saw the debut of our brand new ‘blue’ costume …although one member wore the wrong blue costume, didn’t she? This set the story line for the show! Costume and make up were spectacular as were the props and stage sets. There were clowns a plenty, a section of the risers that were‘ audience people’, acrobats, trapeze artists, a bearded lady, ticket sellers, sweepers, a tattooed lady, a lion and a tiger with their tamers and a cheeky monkey to name but a few, and the most unusual horse your ever likely to see. BlackJaQ opened the second act with the ballad ‘Send in the Clowns’, and Diva Fever entertained with ‘Tiger Rag’, whilst the tiger ran amuck, only to be subdued with a box of cat biscuits! So much effort went into the visual look of this show that the Visual & Performance team, under the leadership of Donna Markovic, must be congratulated. So too, all the back stage folk and those that helped in other areas such as music and lyrics. Vocal Evolution was also featured in the show and had the audience in stitches with their rendition of Life of the Party. The Clemetines (past members) never ones to miss out on the fun, joined in as front of house folk, getting into the spirit wearing colorful wigs and red noses, entertaining the crowds in the foyer, and escorting people to their seats. But all good things must come to an end…..the crowds go home, the make up comes off, the Big Top comes down, and the songs fade away………that is until someone says….. "What are we doing for next years show?????!!!!!!" Linda Nuttridge
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One
of Cathy’s passions during her Directorship was the teaching and training of
people, not only in the barbershop artform, but to take on leadership roles
within the chorus. She has done her job well with regard to Carole
Macintyre. Carole has been our wonderful Associate Director for quite a few
years and upon Cathy’s retirement announcement, Carole was endorsed
wholeheartedly by the chorus, as the person we would like to take over from
Cathy as our Director. She is another wonderful lady and we are very happy
to be left in such wonderful caring hands.
