Greater Cleveland Chorus

And now…a message from our new President, Karen Lynn:

This evening we will recognize and thank the prior board and install the new board for the upcoming year.  Our 2009-2010 board consists of:

GCC Board members

Pres.  Karen Lynn

V. Pres.  Bonnie Vaidean

Recording Secretary  Carol Baldi

Treasurer  Barb Tame

Corresponding Secretary  Terry Senn **

Renee Blau **

Linda Gaydosh **

Dawn Livingstone

Joannae Steinfurth **

Linda Tricarichi **

Jane Weiland

Theresa Zurzolo **

** New members to the board this year

Yea!   We have a full board and a super team!  I’m getting excited…how about you?  It’s the year of the champions and it will be a busy time getting ready for our International Competition in Seattle.

Thanks in advance for your dedication and hard work,

Karen Lynn

President

GCC

Please mark your calendars:

GCC Board Meeting Schedule

2009 - 2010

JUNE 1   7:15 PM

JUNE 29  7:15 PM

JULY 20  7:15 PM

AUGUST 17  7:15 PM

SEPTEMBER 21  7:15 PM

OCTOBER 26  7:15 PM

NOVEMBER 16  7:15 PM

2010

JANUARY 18  7:15 PM

FEBRUARY 15  7:15 PM

MARCH  15  7:15 PM

APRIL 19  7:15 PM

Summer Sizzle Fashion Fling and Bling Luncheon, Silent Auction & Show

Saturday, June 27, 2009 at 11 AM

The Greater Cleveland Chorus
presents
A fun-filled afternoon planned for you.
A salad luncheon, fun items to bid on,
a fashion show with fashions by
FASHION BUG® AND FASHION BUG PLUS®
and a performance by the 2009 Region 17 Championship Chorus,
The Greater Cleveland Chorus
Doors open at 11:00 AM – Lunch served at 11:30 AM
Independence Civic Center,
White Oak Room
6363 Selig Drive, Independence, OH 44131
Seating is limited. Tickets - $15.00 each or table of 8 - $120.00
No tickets will be sold at the door.
For tickets, call: 216/346-9920
Click Here for an Order Form

Chords were ringing as we took the stage Saturday, May 17th.  We began with our “first uptune,” Forgive Me.  Singing with intensity, energy and great joy - our newly added choreo provided just the needed something extra to catch the judge’s and audience member’s attention.  We sent our final chord into the clouds before snapping to attention, acknowledging the screaming audience and bouncing into our second uptune, “How Many Hearts Have You Broken?”

Our faces and voices were filled with joy and our Master Director, Jean Flinn let us know with her expression that we NAILED IT!  We raced to the audience to cheer on the remaining choruses.  When Pride of Toledo took the stage we sat forward knowing they would (and did) sing the snot out of their two numbers.  They sounded incredible and one audience member leaned back to me and said “too close to call.”  Damn - they were amazing.

After a quick stretch break we listened carefully as awards were handed out to best small and mid-sized choruses and then the top five choruses over all.  We held our breath as they announced Second Place:  Pride of Toledo.  We couldn’t believe it - does that mean we won?

We held hands with the chorus members around us and when they said First Place goes to Greater Cleveland Chorus we jumped to our feet, screaming, hugging and this novice will admit to crying, with joy.  All our hard work paid off!  We are going to Seattle, October 2010. 

We headed for the stage to accept our first place medals and took the risers to perform an oncore of How Many Hearts.  Our hearts were bursting with joy! 

Now the fun begins - beginning the 18 month preparation for taking the stage at Internationals.  It is not too late to join us.  We rehearse on Tuesdays from 7-10pm.  Come join the five time Regional champs as we prepare for our next competition!

click here for complete press release.

As quartets from around the region prepare for the upcoming competition in Cleveland, Ohio on May 15, each take their turn performing for the GCC Chorus.  Flipside recently sang for the chorus and were WILDLY received!!!

Flipside consists of two members from the GCC Chorus, Vicki Van Gorder (bari) and JoAnn Wilson (tenor).  Rounding out this fun loving quartet is the lead - Peggy Sue Henshey and Nancie Jaicks, bass. 

This powerful quartet has been together for a short nine months and confesses to loving to play board games and munching on FlipSide Crackers.  Never heard of them, guys, but sounds like fun!

Interested in contacting this quartet for a gig?  Contact Nancie Jaicks at jaickster@yahoo.com 

Break a lip, ladies!

At our most recent rehearsal, our new president Karen Lynn (on the far right having fun at the recent International Sweet Adelines Competition in Hawaii), addressed the chorus for the first time.  Karen and the entire new board will be installed at the upcoming dinner May 26 at which we’ll recognize the hard work of out-going president Karen Parsons and her team.

Thank you to the past board for all of their hard work and inspirational leadership.  We wish Karen Lynn and the new board great success - we are with you all the way!

New Board Members:

This past weekend while we coached with Jean Barford, our own Shannon Underwood competed in Syracuse, NY with her Region 16 quartet FLAIR!  Finishing with a score of 577, they finished in Fourth Place - earning a medal.  FLAIR! consists of: 

Lead: Shannon Underwood
Bass: Beth Riegle
Tenor: Molly Rowland
Bari: Sue Melvin

CONGRATULATIONS to the members of FLAIR and to all the competing quartets and choruses of Region 16.

What an amazing weekend.  Jean Barford arrived with our wonderful Master Director, Jean Flinn (on the right), on Friday evening to face a gung-ho, warmed up chorus.  We were ready to learn and boy did we ever!

Our two contest songs:  “How Many Hearts Have you Broken” and “Forgive Me” were dissected, massaged and tweeked to within an inch of their musical lives.  Every rest, vowel sound and texture were perfected until the end results sent chills down everyone’s arms.  Yes, Sonia, by the end we’d all cried with joy at least once!

By the end of Saturday’s full day rehearsal we were all ready for a cold beverage and a bucket into which we’d soak our feet, but we had smiles on our faces.  A job well done. 

We listened closely as Jean helped us reprocess what we learned over the weekend:

Smile
Change your facial expression with every breath
Keep the energy of the song as high as the pitch
Show your confidence from the minute you enter the stage
Smile; Let the audience see how much fun you are having and wish they could be singing with you!
Basses set the pace and Bass/Baritone manage the dynamics
Basses rule (oh, did I say that out loud - could it be that I’m a bass???)
Leads may represent 30-40% of the chorus but only have responsibility for 25% of the sound
Lots of unnecessary movement affects the sound
Did I say smile?

 Thanks to Jean Barford for her wisdom, humor and dedication to our chorus.

We have been International finalists in the past and intend to be in the very near future - as long as we turn those diphthongs, sing the notes high, spin our sound, focus and keep the energy high.  Whew - even with all that, the dedicated singers in GCC look to learn even more.

This weekend, Jean Barford, renown coach, Sweet Adeline Master Director and past Queen in 1974 with the Sounds of Music, will spend the weekend coaching, encouraging and teaching us how to perform at our very best level.  Jean is a Master Director of the Gem City Chorus out of Dayton, Ohio.  Gem City has won the International championship a record FIVE TIME!

As we prepare for the upcoming Regional Competition, May 15-17, we are perfecting the sites and sounds of our two competition songs:  Forgive Me and How Many Hearts Have You Broken.  We’ve recently added a new opening to Forgive Me and look forward to Jean’s take on our delivery.

Plus - which song should we sing first?  In the past we’ve sung How Many Hearts first - will Jean have a different opinion?