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Volunteers rock!
By Linda Brehaut, International President
How can a month, only short by a couple of days, seem so short?
By now you have received your copy of the Strategic Plan. If by chance you have misplaced that email, please take the opportunity to check out our website – go to the members only tab and click on Harmony. Stronger. All the associated documents are there. Thank you for the encouraging and appreciative comments some of you have already sent.
Speaking of the website – I appreciate all the work that goes into keeping a website up to date. Huge thank you to our team, led by Web Manager Pam Ringo, for the work they have done. If you have something that you want added to the calendar or the website, please use the HAR-132 form so the proper people are informed.
I know our Convention Manager will be sharing the updates on the positions related to the Convention Team, but I, also, want to express our thanks to Marie Ross, Deborah Wilson, and Rita Sherman for volunteering to fill three of the four positions on the team.
As well, I am excited to share that Debbie Glenn has accepted the position of Volunteer Coordinator. Thank you, Debbie. Harmony is stronger because of our volunteers - we couldn’t do what we do without them! Perhaps you’d like to participate on smaller, short term committees/task forces or serve in a larger capacity for the organization. Our volunteer coordinator will be instrumental in making this happen.
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| Patterson's Sponsor New Quartet Award |
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New Award – Young At Heart
By Diane and David Patterson, Award Sponsors
We are proud and pleased to be sponsoring a new award for Harmony, Inc. We have both been long-time judges and have seen the journey of many quartets from their beginnings. Some quartets are together for a few years and some a lot longer. Some quartet members are in one quartet and others in more quartets, gaining experience all along the way.
All quartets are exciting adventures, but the quartets comprised of our most-experienced members and their love of music and performing are inspirational. Thinking about these members (and the efforts they have put in to expand their skills) made it easy to decide to establish an award for the Highest-Scoring Seniors Quartet at IC&C.
To be eligible for this award, each member of a quartet must be age 55 or older and the sum of accumulated ages of the quartet members must equal or exceed 230 years. These requirements must be met on the basis of birthdays reached on or before the day of the International Quartet Semi-Finals Contest.
As Harmony, Inc. continues to celebrate additional anniversaries, our membership is also getting more mature. At this time, approximately 67% of our current Harmony, Inc. membership would fall into the senior's category. As we celebrate and acknowledge other Quartet Awards, we are excited to sponsor an award to recognize the talent and efforts of our wise, experienced, mature members as well.
This is a traveling award with a photo album to keep track of the recipients. We will also be presenting each quartet member with a special pin to commemorate receiving this award. We look forward to the first presentation of this award at IC&C 2023.
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ON AIR - Sue Kember (tenor), Heather MacIntyre (bass), Jill Reid (lead), Leanne Dharmaratnam (bari)
Next up: On Air quartet
By Jess Leigh, HI Quartet Development Coordinator
Summer 2021 fired up this Area 1 group to form On Air. "Three ScotianAires decided to come together to sing for fun and personal growth,” shares Heather, On Air’s bass-who-normally-sings-baritone. "Jill and Leanne lured in quartet-savvy Sue to sing tenor – for the first time!" says Heather.
Between schedules and pandemic restrictions, the foursome found no window of opportunity to connect and mesh their sound. Fast-forward to winter of 2023, a new bass stepped in when the original opted out, and they finally found time to rehearse as a full quartet. Continuing the original goal of singing toward growth and with a focus on tunes made popular “on air” (aka, radio), On Air is looking forward to making music together and sharing their songs at performances and gatherings.
In addition to singing lead in her first ever quartet, Jill is the ScotianAires Performance Chair and is a Performance Judge. Heather has been an HI member since 2019 and also sings baritone in Lady Lyrix quartet. Leanne is a retired music teacher, the ScotianAires Assistant Director and Music Chair, and has been an HI member since 2016. Sue is the Director of ScotianAires, a Singing Judge, piano and voice teacher, member of many past quartets, and current baritone with enJOY! quartet.
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Bees a-buzzin'; there's honey in the HIVE
By Anne Colt, Education Assistant
Spring is just around the corner and The HIVE is abuzz with activity. We have new classes this month and more to follow, and while we welcome back our old friends, we are excited to say “hello” to new instructors.
We are kicking off The HIVE schedule with two classes on growing our chapters and supporting our members. Paul Ellinger will teach a two-part series, A "Now" Perspective on Growth! and Bill Colosimo will present Reaching Out by Reaching In!
As choruses and quartets get ready for a season of performances, Area contests and IC&C, The HIVE will be adding classes that focus on the singing, music, and performance elements of barbershop. In the meantime, you can access our past recordings in the “arc-HIVES” on the Harmony Inc. website.
Here are just a few classes on our must HIVE list:
Bringing a Song to Life – Cindy Hansen
Healthy, Free Vocal Production – Jennifer Cooke
What is the Music Category? – David Wright
Performance Reimagined – Theresa Weatherbee
So You’ve Learned the Song. Now What? – Brian O’Dell
The Voice – How Does It Work? – Sandi Wright
Keep an eye on The HIVE to find out more!
And speaking of new classes…if you have a class you would like to see on The HIVE or at IC&C or would like to teach a class, please contact me, educationcoord@harmonyinc.org.
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Get the best seats in the house at IC&C!
March 15 is the deadline to pre-register
By Allison Thompson, IC&C Manager
By pre-registering you will be guaranteed reserved seating for all contest sessions at IC&C 2023. All persons pre-registering must pay for a Performing Member AEP, and both full payment and an individual name must accompany the request for a seat. For IC&C 2023, the Early-Bird rate for a Performing All Events Pass is $165.00 in U.S. funds or Canadian equivalent.
Click here to register today!
Welcome to our team!
Thank you to everyone who applied for our open positions on the Convention Team. We are thrilled to welcome the following individuals to the team!
Onsite Manager: Marie Ross
ICCOnsiteManager@harmonyinc.org
Marie is a certified ADM judge, has served on the IBOD, on the Area 6 Council, has served on the board of Atlanta Harmony Celebration! chapter, and has years of experience as a project manager. She has a passion for people, a deep-seated love of barbershop, and has been a member of Harmony since 2011.
Project Manager: Rita Sherman
ICCProjectMgr@harmonyinc.org
Rita Sherman, a member of Area 3’s Crystal Chords since 2020 and engineer by trade, has professionally been a project and process improvement manager for many years. She also has been planning events around the globe including Ontario, Canada; London, England; Shanghai, China; and New York, USA. For the past 20 years, Rita has been giving her time and talent to non-profit organizations supporting initiatives (in addition to event planning) such as fundraising development, strategic and business planning, process improvement, accreditation preparation, and board development. Rita lives with her husband in Corning, New York and enjoys singing, dancing, and playing classical piano.
Business Services Manager: Deborah Wilson
ICCBusinessMgr@harmonyinc.org
Deborah is a Business Advisor for the local affiliate of the Small Business Administration and has been a member of Northern Blend Chorus for 11 years as a bass and the treasurer for almost a year. She loves to sing and is so grateful for her Harmony sisters and a husband who supports her (and does "voluntold" well.) She is looking forward to expanding her volunteering with more adventures.
We still have one more open position. Let me know if you are interested!
Marketing Manager
This person will work closely with the Convention Manager and the Communications team to develop a robust communication plan for IC&C to ensure membership is aware of all deadlines and activities surrounding IC&C. They will also be involved in creating the IC&C website content, writing our monthly Hi Note articles, FAQ document, and more!
We are a fun-loving, diverse, and dynamic team and we’d love to have you join us!
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| IMPACT HARMONY: Submit your videos |
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IMPACT HARMONY
By Kim Meechan, Director of Philanthropy
https://www.youtube.com/embed/RcialZdEjOs
The Philanthropy Committee is in the process of building a dynamic video tool, called Harmony Impact, showing how Harmony has made a difference to our members. We know that there are many stories out there about how Harmony, Inc. has made a difference in each of your lives and the Harmony Philanthropy Team would love for you to share them with others. A comprehensive video will be developed and made available through the HI Note, on our website, and in social media.
If Harmony, Inc. has made an impact on your life and you are comfortable telling our members how, please provide us with a short video (no longer than 1 minute) by completing the form by April 15, 2023. Through your voice, you can demonstrate the reasons why Harmony, Inc. is worth supporting!
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| SEEKING: Survey Resource Analyst |
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We have a Survey Resource Team . . .
and it needs a Survey Resource Analyst
By Linda McMaster, Strategic Advisor
In the fall of 2021, the Harmony, Inc. Survey Resource Team was created. Under the leadership of the Strategic Advisor, the Survey Resource Team will:
- establish a survey protocol to assist with survey development, analysis, goal setting and the measurement of results;
- limit the number of surveys ensuring relevance and connection to the organization’s strategic outcomes (avoid survey fatigue)
- assist with utilization of data over time
- help establish/communicate our commitment to confidentiality and transparency
The Survey Resource Team usually meets once a month. It is responsible for the Member survey that was distributed in the spring. The responses led to a change in the focus of the work of the IBOD in 2023.
The Survey Resource Team is lacking one significant member. Is it you? We are in search of a Survey Analyst to volunteer to sit on this committee.
The Survey Analyst:
- will be a member of the Survey Resource Team
- will work with the Survey Resource Team to design and conduct surveys that gather information about the opinions, preferences, and behaviors of our members including but not limited to
- developing survey questions
- collecting data from surveys
- identifying issues or problems with past survey methodology that may have affected results
- will lead the analysis of the results of these surveys
- will determine how the results can best be used to inform future decisions
- will identify trends and patterns in opinions or behaviours
- will recommend if or when other forms of surveying members should be considered, such as focus groups or in-depth interviews.
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| Why you might make a good Music judge |
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By Janet Billings, Music Judge
Have you ever wondered if you’re qualified to become a Harmony, Inc. judge in the Music category? If you have music theory skills and the desire to grow and share your knowledge with others, this category could be for you!
When I became an applicant in the program, I truly wondered whether I was qualified to be in the same room with the experts. I had lots of Music theory and teaching experience, but heading down the technical road to becoming a judge was daunting. Along the way, I learned how to listen, how to score performances, how to present an evaluation that will benefit the performers as they grow, and basic arranging skills.
Most importantly, the certified judges, category specialist, and mentor were so kind and patient with me - it wasn’t an easy road. When I doubted myself and my abilities, they reminded me of all I have to offer. They supported me as I learned to speak the language of the category and let go of my amateur status. There was a lot of laughter, some tears, and an abundance of love.
I finally became a certified judge in 2019, shortly before the world as we knew it changed profoundly. I judged two contests, and then suddenly we were online for a couple of years. I’m so thankful that we are back to in person contests. I feel very blessed to be able to coach choruses and quartets to help them have a positive on stage experience.
If you are thinking that maybe, just maybe, you might sorta kinda be interested in hearing more, please reach out to me or any other Music category judge and we will be happy to answer your questions, allay your fears, and help you grow into an even stronger musician than you already are!
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| Celebrating 50 years with Harmony |
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By Taralee Lashway, Director of Membership
What does it mean to achieve GOLD? Ask anyone and they will tell you that it means being special, splendid, amazing, reaching the highest degree of excellence. For Harmony, Inc., this is no exception. The International Board of Directors is so incredibly grateful for the Chapter, Associate, and Affiliate Members who have shown their devotion and dedication to Harmony, Inc. for 50 years or more, and we want to celebrate YOU!
This inspirational milestone, known as Gold Status, affords those individuals not only the ability to retain all the same rights of membership prior to receiving this status, but also to no longer be required to pay corporate (International) dues. You will be celebrated by receiving a Gold Status certificate of honor along with appropriate anniversary certificates, as well as having your name announced during the Opening Ceremony at the International Convention and Contest.
Gold Status Members are the heart of our organization. Currently we have over 20 members who have achieved this monumental anniversary. Their commitment and affection for Harmony, Inc. is second to none, lending to the passionate spirit of our craft. Harmony, Inc. gives our honor, appreciation, admiration, and love to each and every one of you.
Congratulations!
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EDITOR'S NOTE: For this month's spotlight, the Cobequid Fun-Tones contributed a summary of their recent activities and plans. Doesn't this sound a lot like your chapter, as well?
Cobequid Fun-Tones move and grow
By Timble MacDonald, Chapter Member
Since the beginning of the new year, the Fun-Tones have moved to a new practice location after 30-plus years at our old location. The difficult task of packing costumes, music, TV, risers, moving it all down a tall set of stairs, loading trucks, and unloading, unpacking, and setting up was a monumental job. The final heavy moving was done by Rosemary Donkin and Kim Bellliveau and their families.
After the infamous two-year lock-down, we were so excited to perform at a Christmas service at a little country church as part of the local Evening of Christmas Music. Seven of our members also attended Harmony Harvest last October with Jordan Travis.
Five Weeks, Five New Members
In August, we held a five-week Find Your Voice workshop. Director Rosemary Donkin, planned and presented five wonderful evenings for guests interested in our style of singing.
At this time, we have welcomed five new members to the Fun-Tones — a couple who are returning after years away from the group, and three who are brand new. Music Chairman Eleanor Conrad is busily making sure that everyone has all the sheet music and learning tracks that they need, as we are making plans to once again compete at AC&C in June. We also have a coaching session planned for a Saturday in March and several of the Fun-Tones are registering for Sing Into Spring in April.
Remembering
The Fun-Tones fondly remember three former members who have passed away this past year: Kay Deveaux (a founding member), Pat Calder (one of three sisters who were all with us for many years), and Ruth Smith (baritone and go-to member for musical questions).
Sailing On
We saw a recent post of Elizabeth Edwards' iconic comment on resilience, “She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her way, she adjusted her sails.” With a great new practice location and new members swelling our ranks, we are adjusting our sails!
Want to see your chorus featured in the Chapter Spotlight? Send your article and photo(s) to editor@harmonyinc.org.
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Your donations to the For Love of Harmony program enable you to identify individuals or groups to receive special recognition, while at the same time providing a monetary gift to Harmony, Inc.
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| Condolences From The Membership |
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Those we cherish will always live on in memory.
- to the family and friends of the late Sandra Anderson (Classic Blend, Area 5)
- to family and friends of Cheryl Quirk (nee Gardiner), whose sudden death is mourned by her new husband, Gerard Quirk, and her fellow members in Breton Songbirds (Area 1)
- to Scarborough Harmony Chorus (Area 5) on the sudden death of former member Alexa Carroll
Need to post a condolence notice? Please have the information sent to the Corporate Office to be recorded. Thank you.
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15 MARCH 2023 - The first 200 people who pre-register by March 15, 2023 will be guaranteed reserved seating for all contest sessions at IC&C 2023.
1 APRIL - Deadline for membership renewals for all Chapter, Associate, and Affiliate members
15 APRIL - Deadline to submit IMPACT HARMONY videos
30 APRIL - Deadline to apply for Directors First scholarship to Harmony U
1 MAY - Nominations forms for IBOD and Area Directors due to Elections Committee
13 MAY - IBOD Mid-Year meeting, 9 am-5 pm ET, via Zoom
16 AUGUST - IBOD Q3 meeting, 6-10 pm ET, via Zoom.
5-8 NOVEMBER - IBOD Annual Meeting, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Contest entry forms are available online using the links below.
Official Area Chorus Contest Entry Form
Official Area Quartet Contest Entry Form
The next issue of the HI Note comes to your inbox March 20. What would YOU like to read about in that issue? Share your thoughts with editor@harmonyinc.org by March 13.
See you in a couple weeks!
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Copyright © 2023 Harmony, Inc., All rights reserved.
As a member of Harmony, Inc. you are entitled to all communication from Harmony, Inc.
Our mailing address is:
Harmony, Inc.
Corporate Office
9466 Pleasant Level Rd
Mechanicsville, VA 23116
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