Local Sweet Adelines Make Good

Congratulations to the Sacramento area's two outstanding Sweet Adelines choruses!  The Region 12 competition (Northern California, Northern Nevada, Southern Oregon and Hawaii) was held at Reno this past weekend and both the Sacramento Valley Chorus and Sierra Gold came home with honors.

Sierra Gold was recognized as the "most improved" and placed third in the Division AA category (31 to 60 singers on stage).  The Sacramento Valley Chorus not only repeated their overall second-place showing, but did so scoring their best-ever 640 points.

You can get information on this year's competition from the Region 12 website, www.sairegion12.org.  And starting April 29 (until May 13), you can view performances online by buying a pass code for $20.

One more thing.  You can see both of these fine choruses perform at the Sacramento Choral Festival, June13-15 (www.sacsings.org).

Way to go, ladies!  And special kudos to the two dynamic directors, Lynne Ericson of the Sacramento Valley Chorus and Ron Black of Sierra Gold.

#CollegeChoir Choral Workshop

The San Joaquin Delta College, Delta Singers and their music director German Aguilar will be working along the side of the Sacramento City College #CollegeChoir in a public choral workshop/ choir exchange. The evening will offer you the opportunity to watch and learn while these two ensembles work on their choral excellence through collaborative coachings, exercises, discussions, teaching demonstrations, and the general sharing of music and ideas. All interested students, educators, future teachers, high school or college musicians and choral singers would benefit from this exchange. This workshop is free, is open to the general public, and will be held in the Performing Arts Center Theater (PAC 150). For more information or to make reservations visit our eventbrite event site. http://sccchoralworkshop1.eventbrite.com.

New Children's Choir in Auburn

A new children’s choir has been formed. It is the Auburn Youth Chorus, and it has been founded and is directed by Lyndsay Barham. The Auburn Youth Chorus is intended for children in grades 3 through 6, and the program includes ear training, music theory, vocal care and sight singing. Sessions have just begun on Wednesdays from 3:45 to 5:00 p.m. at Auburn Grace Community Church, 3126 Olympic Way in Auburn. The cost is $100 per semester or $200 per year.

Miss Barham has a B.A. in Music Education and Vocal Performance from William Jessup University, and she is a recent recipient of an M.M. in Choral Conducting from California State University, Sacramento. She is also the Director of Music at Forest Lake Christian High School in Auburn where she directs 3 high school choirs, a contemporary band, and a junior high school choir.

For more information, check the Auburn Youth Chorus website at http://auburnyouthchorus.vpweb.com.

Voices of California Honored as "Chapter of the Year"

The Far Western District of the Barbershop Harmony Society includes 76 choruses in the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii.  At its convention this past weekend in Riverside, Sacramento's Voices of California (VoCal) was named "Chapter of the Year."  With many outstanding choruses in the Far Western District, this is a significant honor, one that VoCal has now won twice in only 4 years of its existence.  You can see them in action in their May 3 show at the Performing Arts Center at Sacramento City College (visit www.voicesofcalifornia.org for information) or at SacSings! - The Sacramento Choral Festival, June 13-15 at the Harris Center for the Performing Arts at Folsom Lake College (visit www.SacSings.org for more information).

Join a Chorus - See the World

Last year saw numerous local choruses on summer overseas tours – mostly to Italy.  This year, there are even more planned:

• Vocal Art Ensemble - May 7-12 - Scotland and England
• River City Chorale - June 1-8 - Holland, Germany, France & Switzerland
• Sacramento Master Singers - June 19-27, 2015 - Scotland
• Placer Pops Chorale -  July 12-20 - Barcelona

It's too late to join these groups as a singer, but there may still be time to tag along as a non-singer.  Check their websites for details.

Capital Public Radio Highlights Choral Works

On March 7, Capital Radio News reporter Jeff Hudson did a rundown of three major upcoming choral events:  concerts by the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra, UC Davis Symphony and Chorus, and the Sacramento Master Singers.  The 3-minute piece included interviews and sample of the music to be performed, and you can hear a recording at this link.

SCSO on Radio and TV

It's always great to see choral music covered in local media.  The Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra (SCSO) is an organization that always garners excellent publicity.  The latest is an interview of Music Director Donald Kendrick and SCSO President James McCormick on March 3 by Beth Ruyak, host of Captital Public Radio's "Insight" program.  They discussed their upcoming European Masterworks concert and last summer's trip to Italy, which included a performance at the Vatican.  You can still hear the interview at this link.  You can also still access the excellent half-hour program in KVIE's "ViewFinder" series that profiled SCSC.  The program is online at this link.

Mary Poppins Sing-Along

Here's a creative idea for a chorus fundraiser.  The Placer Pops Chorale will host two screenings of the newly re-released, Mary Poppins movie.  And while the characters are singing those very famous songs, the words will be displayed above the screen so that the audience can sing along.

This will all take place at the State Theater at 985 Lincoln Way in Auburn at 2:00 and 7:00 on Saturday, April 5.  Tickets are $10 and can be reserved by calling 916/543-8797.  Get more information at www.placerpops.org.

Chorus for Those with Parkinson's Disease

Colla Voce of the Sierra, in collaboration with McConnell Music Therapy, has organized a community chorus for people affected by Parkinson's Disease and their caregivers and families.  "This is a non-performance chorus, led by board certified Music Therapist, Kathleen Humphries, MA, MT-BC. No musical experience is needed. This program is supported in part by Sutter Medical Group and Colla Voce of the Sierra. The goal of this group is to provide support for people and families while engaging in singing exercises that help to sustain vocal abilities."  The 10-week program began February 12 and is held at Pioneer United Methodist Church in Auburn.  For information, contact Tara McConnell at 916/996-1589 or tara.mmts@gmail.com.

You Can Be a Soloist

A short solo is part of every Christian Science church service, and local churches are frequently looking for regular and substitute soloists.  The church in Carmichael will be holding auditions for substitute soloist ($100 per service) on Saturday morning, March 8 at 10:00 a.m. and Monday evening, March 10 at 7:00 p.m.  The church is located at 4949 Kenneth Ave., Carmichael.  To register for an audition, contact Lonnie Best-Jarvis at laserlynn@sbcglobal.net or call 916/468-9294.  Register by March 1.

Welcome: Meadowlark Ensemble

There is a new chorus in town. Meadowlark Ensemble is a new chamber choir, "consisting of young vocal professionals in the Sacramento area." Directed by Andrew Hudson, the group has announced its inaugural concert centered on Dufay's "Missa L'Homme Armé." The concert will be held Saturday evening, February 15 at the Davis United Methodist Church. Click here for more details in the Sacramento Choral Calendar.

The Benefits of Singing with Others

The book, published late last year, is called Imperfect Harmony:  Finding Happiness Singing with Others, and in it, author Stacy Horn describes how she, as a so-so singer, learned the thrill of singing in a chorus, and especially singing major choral works.  She tells of her experience with the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York, and the book has received a lot of favorable notice in recent months.

Now, if you want to sample her ideas before tackling the book, you can view her TEDx Montclair talk, recorded November 9, 2013.  Here's a link to the 13-minute talk on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBbj2wtjLpE.