Choral Review -SVC Fall Festival Friends and Family Show

Type of post:	News - for public display on Latest News section
Sub-type:	No sub-type
Posted By:	Judi Naill
Status:	Archived
Date Posted:	Wed, Sep 11 2019

Capital Region Performance Gallery

Choral Review
Sacramento Valley Chorus - Sweet Adelines

Fall Festival Friends and Family Show - September 7, 2019

by Dick Frantzreb

The Sacramento Valley Chorus is celebrating its 40th year as a chartered member of Sweet Adelines International, the women’s barbershop organization. And a great way for them to celebrate this anniversary year is by having the opportunity to compete in Sweet Adelines’ 73rd Annual International Convention and Competition coming up September 16-21 (2019) in New Orleans. It was their success in competitions last year that earned the Sacramento Valley Chorus (SVC), under the leadership of Master Director Dede Nibler, the invitation to compete at International this year ? an honor they had in 2015 and 2017, as well.

As you become familiar with barbershop organizations, you quickly learn that barbershop choruses (and quartets, for that matter) are all about competition. Of course, there’s also the joy of singing, the camaraderie, and the thrill of performing. But barbershoppers ? at least at the highest levels where the Sacramento Valley Chorus currently resides ? embrace competition as a way to refine their art and pursue new paths of creativity.

A week or two before major competitions, SVC has put on a “Friends and Family Show.” It’s an opportunity to show off for their biggest fans, most of whom won’t be able to follow them to a distant city for the actual competition. More importantly, though, this special show gives the chorus an opportunity to test themselves against a live audience, and discover last-minute ways to refine their performance.

This time, the “Fall Festival Friends and Family Show” took place on a Saturday afternoon at Sacramento’s Arena Christian Center. Chorus member, Becky Garcia, served as emcee and welcomed the several hundred audience members. She went on to explain a bit about SVC’s history and and let us know that in the presentation of their “package,” we would be getting a “taste of what it would be like to be at International.” As Garcia was speaking, the 84 members of the chorus entered in a single line from stage right in their attractive new costumes (below). Those at the front of the line stopped after filling the stage, facing stage left, and they presented cover for the rest of the chorus as they took to the risers behind them. As I watched these 15 or so ladies, with stage make up, carefully coiffed and with a pose that reflected discipline and confidence, their smiles reminded me of the way synchronized swimmers present themselves before entering the water. To read the full article........

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www.perfcal.com