Fall 2007

• Region 11 News
• Messages from
Your Regional
Mangement Team
• Chorus Clips
• Quartet Quips
• Calendar of Events

• Home
• Region 11 News
• Messages from
Your Regional
Mangement Team
• Chorus Clips
• Quartet Quips
• Calendar of Events

• Home
• Region 11 News
• Messages from
Your Regional
Mangement Team
• Chorus Clips
• Quartet Quips
• Calendar of Events
Every year, our Regional representatives to the International stage make Region 11 members so proud,
and this year more than ever because we were able to live every moment with you whether we were
actually there or not! Being there is best, but the webcast was so exciting for those who were unable to
attend!
The membership of this Region knows and appreciates the hard work, dedication and personal
commitment it takes to step out at that level and from the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank
CELEBRITY CITY CHORUS, RIO and SHIMMER! for your efforts in Calgary this year. Not only was it
great to see you all onstage, but there were some webcast breakout stars, which was awesome!
And, for the first time in many years, one of our very own quartets finished in the TOP TEN!! A special
'shout out' to Patty, Missy, Mary and Judy – we are so happy for you. The Region 11 Management Team
is truly humbled by all of our members participating at International 2007 – thank you. And to our new
International Champion Chorus sisters, HARBORLITES CHORUS, and the dual members of Region 11 –
YOU ROCK!!
Enjoy your Fall Festival experience as we learn, love and SING together.
Carole Sundeen
Events Coordinator
seeess@roadrunner.com
As usual, the weekend
promises to be wonderful. With
faculty like Kathy Carmody
and Bonnie McKibbon, how
could we go wrong? The
classes will be varied and
have something for everyone.
Also, don’t forget the
celebration dinner/reception for
our fabulous International competitors …
CELEBRITY CITY CHORUS, RIO and
SHIMMER! While I didn’t get to go to Calgary, I
did watch the webcast. The Region 11 quality
comes through even after going through the air
and through computers. CELEBRITY CITY and
RIO, we were very proud of your outstanding
performances. And … congratulations to the
Region 11 dual members who now have a huge,
shiny medal around your necks after singing with
HARBORLITES. Last, but not least, SHIMMER!
Wow, I am so excited for you! 9th place
International quartet!! These things don’t happen
by accident – I know that, besides being 4 very
talented ladies, you worked hard and smart.
Hooray for you!!!!
This is my last Fall Festival as your Events
Coordinator. It has been a great ride and I am
sorry to see it going, but it is time to bring in
some “new blood”. We are currently taking
applications for Events Coordinator so if you are
interested, contact me or Erin Lunn, who is the
Nominating Committee Chair. Have a great
weekend. – Carole
Linda Kelly
Education Coordinator
walkstallwoman2000@yahoo.com
Welcome to the fantastic Fall
Festival of 2007 and welcome
from Calgary to all of our
International Competitors! It
was an awesome week with
some steep competition. A
special shout out to
SHIMMER! who broke into the
Top 10 quartets! Congrats to
RIO and CELEBRITY CITY for their fine showing.
And we have several dual members from our
Region who sing with HARBORLITES and we
want to especially congratulate them for bring
home the HEAVY MEDAL. Gold is grand, eh?
We are so excited that, in addition to our
fabulous guest faculty duo of Kathy and Bonnie,
we are hosting a special YWIH Festival/Contest
this weekend. Take a moment to say hello to
these special young women throughout the
weekend to let them know how supportive we are
of YWIH. This is definitely a wonderful
organization that recognizes the POWER of the
youth. Thanks, Dede NIbler, our YWIH
Coordinator, for making all of this possible. If
you'd like to get more involved with the YWIH
program in your area, please see her this
weekend.
Have a great time this weekend as we listen to
our super double quartets and learn from two of
the finest faculty in our organization! Thanks for
coming! – Linda
Monica Tautkus

Cathy Lee
Communications Coordinator
voiceslee@aol.com
As I settle into my new job as
Communications Coordinator for
Region 11, I’ve been trying to
decide what I can contribute to
the position and the region.
There are a couple areas I’d like
to explore.
I would love to have a “members
only” page on our website where we could
publish our regional roster and share information
for our members. I know that many of our
members would prefer to have our regional roster
available in this format. We may still want to print
a hard copy of the roster for those who like that
format, but we could considerably cut printing
costs and save many trees by offering the
information on the website. We would need to
have a secure site so that our personal
information is protected but the International
website offers this kind of information so I don’t
know why we couldn’t do the same on a regional
level.
I’ve also been thinking about all our regional
positions and the difficulty we have filling some of
the positions. Sometimes I think the fear of being
under qualified for a position makes people
hesitant to step into a position for which they may
be a perfect fit. In an attempt to make our job
transitions easier, I would like to consider
adopting a body of computer programs that we,
in Region 11, use to run the region. I think if we
all were to use common programs it would be
easier to share information. It would also serve to
make transitions easier from person to person.
We might also offer classes at our seminars to
teach our members how to use these programs. I
understand that there will be some challenges
caused by the Mac vs. the PC, but I think we
should be able to overcome this issue.
If you would like to be a part of either of these
projects, please come and see me I’d love to
hear your opinions and ideas.
Have a wonderful seminar weekend!! – Cathy
Linda Wong
Finance Coordinator
lmwong@bak.rr.com
Welcome to Fall Festival!
Congratulations to our
wonderfully talented
International competitors –
RIO, CELEBRITY CITY and
SHIMMER! You did us proud
in so many ways. Thank you
for your commitment and
dedication to our great hobby.
We are well into our 2007-2008 fiscal year and I
would ask that chorus Management Teams and
Boards of Directors please take time in your
meetings to assess and evaluate your annual
budget at this half way point. It will serve your
chorus well if you take a good look at your
current income and expense items and make
Directors' Coordinator
gtasing2@aol.com
So what's new with our
Directors you ask?
Well, did you realize Region 11
had a total of 6 directors
competing on the International
stage this year in Calgary?!
Wow! How many regions can
say that?
Jim Halvorson – CELEBRITY CITY
Dani Avalos-Prigge (CENTRAL COAST
CELEBRATION) – singing with RIO
Lee Hays (SOUTH VALLEY SOUND) and
Monica Tautkus (AGOURA HILL
HARMONY) singing with HARBORLITES
Judy Ashmore (CHANNELAIRE) and
Mary Ashford (SOUTH VALLEY SOUND)
singing in SHIMMER!
More exciting news to share: we have 2 new
directors, 2 new CO-directors, and a new
Certified Director among us! Maybe you caught
the announcements out on the R11NG? FYI –
that now makes 6 sets of co-directors for R11!
The first new co-director is Erin Lunn, joining
Dede Nibler as co-director of VOICES
UNLIMITED! Big Congratulations to Erin and to
VU! The newest exciting announcement is
Adrienne Cluff joining Cheryl Tobin &
CALIFORNIA HEARTLAND as a co-director!
Welcome back, Adrienne! Hooray for CHC!
And we have 2 new directors as well. Honestly?
They're not really new at all ... just to their new
choruses! Linda Kelly, one of our Region's
Master Directors is now directing GOLDEN
SANDS CHORUS, and Monica Tautkus is again
directing AGOURA HILLS HARMONY CHORUS.
Congrats to everyone!
And finally, kudos to Jim Halvorson – director of
CELEBRITY CITY CHORUS – on achieving the
status of "Certified Director" after completing the
Director Certification Program (DCP) recently!
On Friday of Fall Festival, your directors are
gathering once again for a full day of Front Line
Director Only (FLDO) educational classes with
our guest International faculty. This new program
has turned out to be a "mini-directors seminar"
each time we gather in Bakersfield. As always,
make sure your chorus does whatever they can
to help your director(s) attend this highly
productive, battery-charging day!
So as I land again in what I always call "the best
seat in the house", I am reminded of how vital
and important YOUR input and random (or
planned?) acts of kindness are to the life-blood of
our directors. Having been there and back again,
I’m planning to develop a class on how a chorus
can help their director avoid burnout. There are
so many little things you can do at any time, on
any week, to help keep your director "happy" –
because we all agree with what they say don't
we? “If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!”

sure you are staying on point. As operating
expenses in our every day world continue to rise,
the Regional Management Team works hard at
keeping expenses in line with the current budget
and making sure they are being fiscally
responsible to you, the member.
I wish you a great weekend with the fun-filled,
educational and exciting classes with Kathy
Carmody and Bonnie McKibben. Let’s not miss
a minute of it! – Linda
Erin Lunn
Marketing Coordinator
lunnone@bak.rr.com
What a contest! What a year!
What a Region!
Each and every year brings
new and exciting changes to
our lives. Some are so exciting
… like having CELEBRITY
CITY, RIO and SHIMMER!
represent us so admirably at
International this year. And how exciting for us to
have our dual members onstage bringing home
the gold with HARBORLITES – that “Phantom”
number sent chills up my spine.
For me, Fall Festival 2007 is bittersweet in that it
is my last as an RMT member, but I'm excited
about my next challenge with the organization as
co-director of VOICES UNLIMITED and can't wait
to attend classes without worrying about whether
the air conditioning is on or the sound system is
just so! Serving this region has brought me such
joy and getting to know many of you on a
personal level has been the topping on the cake
– I hope that doesn't stop. I just can't imagine a
time that I'll be able to stop tooting this Region's
horn – we are truly a tremendous group of ladies.
With that said, I encourage each and every one
of you to step forward and become a part of the
leadership of this region – in this case, the old
adage, “many hands make light work” absolutely
holds true. If you have a heartfelt desire and a bit
of determination (and often, patience!) you will
find your volunteer contributions rewarded by a
deep sense of personal satisfaction while
propelling your region to the next level by your
involvement.
Enjoy your weekend, enjoy the music and
education and enjoy each other, I can’t wait to
ring a chord (or two) this weekend! – Erin
Cathy Tautkus
Team Coordinator
cdm291918@aol.com
A huge congratulations to all of
our Region 11 dual members
who now proudly wear "the
gold"!!! HARBORLITES
CHORUS did a "phantomastic"
job! SHIMMER! – way to
go!! Finishing in the Top 10 at
International – how many of us
can only dream that! We are
so proud of CELEBRITY CITY CHORUS and
RIO for their accomplishment in reaching
Did you know that YOU personally could make a
difference in your chorus in a very subtle,
behind-the-scene way? It could have a very
LARGE impact on the overall chorus and it's
journey! So … under that title … here's a
beautiful, small act of kindness I saw a few
weeks ago that was so amazing! At the end of
rehearsal, when your director is wiped out and
sweating, make sure someone in the chorus has
an ice cold bottle of water and a cold, damp, face
cloth for your director(s) to cool off with. This
singer brought the cold water and face cloth in a
small, insolated lunchbox. I hear she does it
every week. Little things mean a lot. – Monica
Lisa Miller
Membership Coordinator
MorganRDH@aol.com
It's great to be back together
again in Bakersfield for Fall
Festival!! Calgary was
wonderful and all of our
International competitors
represented Region 11 in an
amazing way! Congratulations
to CELEBRITY CITY
CHORUS, RIO and
SHIMMER! It was so exciting to see SHIMMER!
make it into the finals round (loved your patter!!!)
and we are so proud of your 9th place finish!!! It
will be so exciting to see all of your DVDs this
weekend and relive it all over again!!
This weekend, the Presidents & Team
Coordinators will be joined be the Membership
Chair from each chorus as we network,
brainstorm and share ideas regarding member
retention!! We will also be revisiting the great
ideas that were shared at Summer Sizzler
regarding new member recruitment! Our last
gathering was great and I'm confident that we will
continue to build relationships as we continue to
share ideas!!
We are also going to be offering an exciting
opportunity for all of our Presidents & Team
Coordinators this weekend!!! Bea Knaapen will
be available, with a laptop at the ready, to help
those TCs and Presidents who are having
difficulty with the Yahoo Group!!! It will be a
hands-on chance for those that are not able to
get signed on, have challenges sending
messages or any other issues you may have with
the R11NG!!
Our faculty this weekend, Kathy Carmody and
Bonnie McKibben are great!! The Double
Quartet Contest is always a blast, the Dinner &
Reception for our International competitors is
sure to be lovely, and the YWIH Contest is
always inspiring!!! It should be a great weekend
for everyone!! – Lisa

International and for doing such a great job
representing Region 11! Now that International
Competition in Calgary is over, I bet a lot of us
are already making plans to attend next year in
Hawaii!
I am really looking forward to seeing everyone at
Fall Festival. It was just a few months ago that
we were together for Summer Sizzler, but I just
can't seem to get enough of this exciting hobby
and the wonderful women who feel the same way
I do. The poet and author, Berthold Auerbach,
said it so well – "Music washes away from the
soul the dust of everyday life." And, with Region
11 being soooooo creative, I can hardly wait to
see all the double quartets compete on Friday
night! On Saturday, after our special dinner
together, YWIH will have their competition. I can
only wish that I had heard about barbershop
when I was in high school. A big thank you to
Dede Nibler for taking this program under her
very capable wing! She has some great things
planned for our YWIH attendees. We all know
that these young women are the future of our
organization (trite, but oh so true), so let's make
an extra special effort to show them our love,
interest, and support this weekend. – Cathy

• Home
• Region 11 News
• Messages from
Your Regional
Mangement Team
• AGOURA HILLS HARMONY
• CALIFORNIA HEARTLAND
• CELEBRITY CITY
• CENTRAL COAST CELEBRATION
• CHANNELAIRE
• GOLDEN SANDS
• HARMONY SHOWCASE
• HARMONY VALLEY
• HIGH SIERRA
• KERN VALLEY
• L.A. SOUTH TOWNS SHOW
• PACIFIC HORIZON
• RIVEROAKS
• SANTA MONICA
• SOUTH VALLEY SOUND
• TRI CITY SOUND
• VERDUGO HILLS
• VOICES UNLIMITED
• Chorus Clips
• Quartet Quips
• Calendar of Events
AGOURA HILLS HARMONY
www.ahhchorus.com
First off,
CONGRATULATIONS
to Monica Tautkus
and the other Region
11 dual members for
their part in the
wonderful victory in
Calgary as part of HARBORLITES. What a
performance! Also, big congratulations to
SHIMMER! for doing the region proud in the
quartet international contest.
Kudos to the lovely RIO for their first performance
on the International stage, and to our sisters in
CELEBRITY CITY CHORUS. After hassling flight,
after flight, after flight difficulties they got TO
Canada and gave a performance worthy of the
Las Vegas Showgirls they are – oh yeah, and Jim
too! We had twelve AHH! ladies up there proudly
cheering you on and many more glued to the
webcast.
AHH! just completed a fun 15th Anniversary
Show that marked the debut of Monica as our
new director. Thanks to all the friendly faces from
Region 11 we saw in the audience. It was
wonderful to hear NATURALLY sing together at
the afterglow.
As a chorus we are excited to see what Monica
has in store for us. We know she will hit the
ground running and has already picked out some
new music and scheduled coaching sessions.
And first on the books was the talented Judy
Ashmore, who spent this past Tuesday with us
doing riser placement and coaching. If you’ve
never had this gifted lady stack your chorus,
you’re really missing out!
Besides the show the chorus had a busy fall
season with a successful garage sale. We also
had a lovely retirement gala for Anne Casey. We
wish her all the best in her new endeavors.
Now bring on all those fun double quartets at Fall
Festival! – Kim Toth-Tevel
Back to Top
CALIFORNIA HEARTLAND
www.caheartland.org
For several years, Cheryl
Tobin has been serving
http://www.macoriginal.com/sng104/chorus.html as the Interim Director
and then Director of
CALIFORNIA
HEARTLAND CHORUS.
There are no words to
L.A. SOUTH TOWNS SHOW
www.lasouthtowns.org
The L.A.
SOUTH
TOWNS SHOW
CHORUS has
been busy
since Summer Sizzler! We sang at the SOUTH
BAY COASTLINER’S 60th anniversary party on
the “Lane Victory” ship in San Pedro. There were
many choruses and quartets performing at this
wonderful celebration. We had the privilege of
singing two songs with the GOLDEN SANDS
CHORUS. It was quite a gathering of hundreds
of singers!
We also sang at the Lomita Fair (a fundraising
event for St. Margaret Mary’s Church). It was a
busy event with games and rides along with the
delicious aroma of barbeque all around us. A
highlight of the last few months was when we all
gathered on the bluff overlooking the beautiful
Pacific Ocean. As the sun set, we sang, “Beyond
the Reef.” It was a very special experience for all
of us.
In October we were part of the Manhattan Beach
Hometown Fair as we prepared and sold tacos
as a fundraiser for our chorus. We also had a
huge garage sale to help our group. It is always
quite a sight to see all the things we gather for
this enormous sale. The danger is that we
become shoppers as well as sellers! Also during
this month we had our open house where family
and friends came to hear us sing. It’s a pleasure
to sing for a smaller gathering where we are
close to our audience.
We are looking forward to our annual show in
December. We are learning some fun songs with
a gypsy theme for that performance. Perhaps we
will see some of you there.
Our chorus would like to welcome Susan Miller
and Janet Sieffert as our newest members
(leads). We continue to grow and welcome
wonderful new members to our singing family.
Congratulations to all our Region 11 ladies who
competed in Calgary! We also send good wishes
to all of you who are participating in the Fall
Festival. It is sure to be a memorable and
educational experience for all. – Marta Bailey
Back to Top
PACIFIC HORIZON
www.slonet.org/~slophc
PACIFIC HORIZON CHORUS has been busy
doing a variety of interesting performances. Most
notably is the September 11 Remembrance
Page 1 of 7

dedication and service during this time. We think
we have found the perfect person to share the
director responsibilities with Cheryl. CHC is proud
to announce that Adrienne Cluff has accepted
the position as our Co-Director. Adrienne brings
us so much. She has an Associate degree in
vocal performance, has served as Assistant then
Associate Director of VOICES UNLIMITED
CHORUS, and is a true Barbershop Brat! She
was a member of CALIFORNIA HEARTLAND
CHORUS as a teenager...turned on to the hobby
by her mother, Laura Rasmussen. Cheryl and
CALIFORNIA HEARTLAND CHORUS are SO
happy to welcome her back!
Along with this terrific news, we have been
excitedly preparing ourselves to host this years
Fall Festival. As we turn over the weekend
hourglass we will not even notice the sand
passing through as we are entertained by double
quartets, YWIH quartets, and being able to attend
the many educational experiences given by our
guest faculty. Good luck to all who are
competing.
Congratulations to CELEBRITY CITY CHORUS,
SHIMMER!, and RIO, who competed this year in
Calgary. You represented Region 11 in true Diva
style. We are so proud of you.
In September, we started brushing off our
Christmas music inviting guests to join us as we
get ready for caroling and our annual Christmas
show. Also in September, CHECKMATE sang at
PELCO in remembrance of 9/11, and we had a
yard sale fundraiser. On November 2 and 3,
Gerry Papageorge returned to coach us on our
current competition songs. We are always excited
to have Gerry as a coach. She is a great
inspirational coach and we have all learned so
much from her.
We welcome you all to Bakersfield and hope you
have the time of your life. Now, flip those
hourglasses over. – Kathy Dorn
Back to Top
CELEBRITY CITY
www.celebritycitychorus.com
For 21 of our members
and guests – to say
nothing of the weeks-old
Halvorson twins – the Las
Vegas to Phoenix to
Calgary flight turned into
a nail-biting Las Vegas to
Phoenix to Los Angeles to Vancouver to Calgary
trip that only took them two days!!! Did I mention
that our Director Jim Halvorson was in that
group? So, you know that the 60 some of us
who were waiting in Calgary were biting our nails,
too! Well, as the saying goes, "All's well that ends
well", and we were finally reunited! We feel truly
honored to have been among the many choruses
competing in Calgary. The high-powered
performances that we saw and heard made us all
the more aware of how special and wonderful is
the barbershop experience!
Saturday, November 3 was an all-day coaching
session with the wonderful Dale Syverson – all
we can say is, "WOW"!
Congratulations to SHIMMER! on their medal and
http://www.macoriginal.com/sng104/chorus.html
to our fellow competitors, RIO, for their very fine
performance. We'll see you all again in Spring. –
Betty Campbell
Back to Top
Ceremonies at Grover Beach. It was a moving
patriotic moment for all of us, and well covered
by local TV.
We'll never forget that cold, early Saturday
morning at the SLO "Heart Run." What stamina
they have! PHC roused them with the "Star
Spangled Banner" and sent them on their way
around the Cal Poly Campus for a “heartstimulating”
run.
We warmly welcome new member, Debbie
Lazar, who comes to us from Pittsburgh, PA,
where she visited a Sweet Adeline chorus and
caught the singing bug. PHC is delighted she
looked us up when she moved here and brought
her fine baritone voice!
We wowed 'em and scared ‘em on October 27 at
our "Spooktacular” Cabaret Show! Regional
champion quartet, RIO, brought down the house
with their award-winning songs, and our own
quartets and the chorus entertained in a cabaret
setting. A $100 prize was awarded to the best
Halloween costume in the audience.
Ahh!! The “Great American Melodrama” – we're
sooooo pleeeaaased!! Many members of the
Central Coast choruses will be attending the
melodrama as a kickoff for the holiday season.
Chorus members visited virtual Calgary at the
home of director Kim. Goodies, music and trial
judging made for a fun and entertaining way to
observe the International contests, all the while
rooting for our champions, RIO, and Region 11
favorites, SHIMMER! and CELEBRITY CITY. We
were so proud of everyone!
As we go into the holidays warm wishes and
happy hearts to all. – Alison Drake
Back to Top
RIVEROAKS
The RIVEROAKS ongoing
membership drive is starting
to pay off and we have
several fabulous new
members who are going to
be a real asset to us! A big
RIVEROAKS welcome to
Leanna, Rosemary and Teri.
If we don’t watch out, we’ll have to abandon our
small chorus status!
Our annual show this year was themed, “We are
Family”, and it was a blast! We had Harvey the
Magician, the SUNSHINE CHORUS directed by
Janice Kueppers from VERDUGO HILLS
CHORUS, LEADING LADIES, and SERIOUS
TREBLE as our guests, as well as a killer silent
auction. And funny that it should be characterized
as “killer” since we performed at Forest Lawn in
Glendale where the guests are just dying to get
in to see us! We sparkled in black and silver the
first half and then returned in the second half for
our patriotic repertoire in our glitzy red, silver and
blue vests. It’s a wonder that the audience wasn’t
blinded by all the bling.
We’ve been busy little RIVEROAKS beavers in
the last few months what with our community
yard sale, extra rehearsals and various sing outs,
including one at a church festival where the
audience didn’t exactly understand barbershop
and had never heard any of our songs before,
and were talking and eating through our whole
set. A very good lesson in – wait, give me a
moment, I’ll think of something. Oh, yeah, I
Page 2 of 7

CENTRAL COAST CELEBRATION
www.celebration-chorus.org
http://www.macoriginal.com/sng104/chorus.html CHANNELAIRE
www.channelaire.org
We can hardly believe that our
long-anticipated trip to Calgary
has come and gone! We had a
contingent of 17 attend
International ... pretty impressive
for our small chorus! Heartfelt
congratulations to our
contestants CELEBRITY CITY,
RIO and especially SHIMMER! – we were so
proud of you all representing Region 11! The
competition this year was formidable and what a
fantastic show the audience enjoyed for five
days. Gorgeous costumes, fantastic
choreography and harmonic, beautiful a capella
music – it was a true feast for the senses!
As an aside, it was SO exciting to see the lifesize
poster of our seven "Curves Girls" in the
lobby of the Calgary Saddledome with the caption
underneath, "Real Women, Real Harmony, Real
Fun!" Of course we couldn't resist an assembly
next to it for another “photo shoot”!
CELEBRATION CHORUS continues to welcome
new members and visitors. Our latest addition is
a new baritone; Kaylee Walker, daughter of our
wonderful Stacy. Kaylee is still in high school and
continues to sing in the choir, but loyally
rehearses with us each week learning that
barbershop style! We also have several regular
visitors on Tuesday nights; Evelyn, Gerrie,
Melinda and Shar, whom we’re hoping will catch
the harmony “bug” and join our flock!
Our amazingly talented and dedicated director,
Dani Avalos-Prigge, continues to patiently
enhance our singing skills. Those of us who had
never experienced an International competition
have renewed respect for having a Queen at the
helm. Now we know what work and perseverance
it takes to earn one of those glittering crowns! We
are SO fortunate to have you, Dani!
The esteemed Linda Taylor, instructor
extraordinaire, visited our chorus the weekend of
October 20 for an awesome (albeit strenuous)
coaching session on our contest package. WOW
– how could there still be so much we need to
work on? Thank you so much, Linda. What would
we DO without you?
CELEBRATION CHORUS is gearing up for our
1st annual Christmas show on December 2. It will
be a smaller venue than our “Really Big Show”
but we know so many wonderful seasonal songs,
it would be a shame not to somehow share them!
The holidays are also the perfect time to promote
our superb novice quartets, COASTAL BLEND
and the BE-BOPS, for singing engagements
throughout the community. You go, girls!
We are excited this year to have three double
quartets in the contest – they include almost
every one of us! We’re slowly realizing that being
a Sweet Adeline is what we do for a living ... our
jobs just help us fund it! Until we meet again,
keep those teeth showing and those eyes shining!
– Cindy McBurney
Back to Top
CHANNELAIRE would like
to start out by giving a
remember – having the class to deliver a top
flight show no matter what the audience is doing.
RIVEROAKS congratulates all the Region 11
Calgary competitors and wishes all our marvelous
double quartets the best of luck this weekend!
See you all at Fall Festival! – Katy Theodore
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SANTA MONICA
www.santamonicachorus.com
The falling leaves
drift by my
window... and that,
Region 11, means
it's time for
football, fleece
jackets and (drum roll) Fall Festival!
SANTA MONICA wants to wish the YWIH and
Double Quartet contestants fabulous luck this
weekend. Speaking of contests, how about that
Calgary International? Congratulations to
CELEBRITY CITY, RIO and (please add several
exclamation points) to SHIMMER! taking 9th
place! You made us proud to say, "Yep! We're
from Region 11".
Summer may be over, but our chorus is still
basking in the glow of Summer Sizzler where our
novice quartets won first Place (FRIENDS &
FAMILY) and Fourth Place (COSMOPOLITAN).
We loved being host chorus for our region! We're
planning a Christmas show on December 8 with
the OCEANAIRES, our local Barbershop
brothers. The show features fun stuff for kids and
adults. We'd love to have you attend. We'll also
be selling Holiday greenery: live pine wreaths,
garlands and table decorations. Visit our website:
www.santamonicachorus.com for information.
If you want to buy some holiday gifts right now,
don't miss SANTA MONICA'S table this weekend
at Fall Festival. We're selling wonderful
handcrafted gifts made by our talented members.
Funds from these sales will help finance our July
trip to IES in San Antonio.
Our chorus has already received one early gift:
Breton Aulick, our brand new baritone! Plus,
we've got another gift coming this week – none
other than our incredibly dynamic coach, Erin
Howden.
Happy Fall Festival, Happy Thanksgiving and
Happy Holidays to all of you! – Patti Nugent
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SOUTH VALLEY SOUND
www.sweetadeline.org
SOUTH VALLEY SOUND,
the home of "Shop & Sing",
is floating on Cloud Nine
these days along with our
two directors – Mary
Ashford, bass of the 9th
place International Quartet,
SHIMMER!, and Lee Hays, with her Gold medal
from singing with the 1st place International
Championship HARBORLITES CHORUS. We
are bursting with pride over their successes!
We are delighted to be working with Sound Judge
Judy “ears of a bat” Ashmore, baritone of
SHIMMER! and Patty Cobb Baker, tenor of
SHIMMER! and her musical genius husband, Jeff
Page 3 of 7

huge SHOUT OUT to
SHIMMER! for their
stupendous performance
and placement as 9th Place
Quartet Medalists in
Calgary. All of our buttons
are bustin’ at the seams. Next – another SHOUT
OUT for four of our very own dual members who
competed with HARBORLITES and brought
home the GOLD! Way to go, Debbie Curtis, Lee
Hays, and Terry and Erin Cardin! Kudos also to
RIO and our sisters in CELEBRITY CITY for a
fine performance on that International stage.
Since we last wrote, Diane Porsch has been out
to whip us into shape starting our journey toward
Hawaii. What a dynamo she is! We are so
thrilled that she is continuing on as we “fine-tune”
our skills. Erin Howden and Jeff and Patty
Baker will be working with us in November. We
are so looking forward to those times. And then,
of course, how can you go wrong when you’ve
got Bobbette Gantz and Judy Ashmore as Co-
Directors and in-house coaches. A huge thanks
also to our cheerleader, Lori DeHoog, who keeps
us on track with all of the choreography!
Oh yes … we had our annual show in October
and were privileged to have the WESTMINSTER
CHORUS (men’s 2007 International Chorus
Champions) as our guests. The energy those
guys put out is truly infectious. Also gracing our
stage were our very own CHEERS! and
SHIMMER!, as well as the popular men’s 2007
International Silver Medalists, OC TIMES!
We’ll soon be into the holiday performances and
we are refreshing the Christmas repertoire.
Looking forward to having guests join us when
we share the holiday cheer. And yes – we will
hold our fourth annual holiday boutique at our
rehearsal hall on Tuesday, December 4. Drop by
and shop – we’d love to see you!
Best wishes to all competitors this weekend.
Have a terrific time on that stage! – Linda
Ragsdale
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GOLDEN SANDS
www.myspace.com/goldensandschoruslb
The Beach Girls of
the GOLDEN SANDS
CHORUS are having
a real good time! In
September, we joined
a song sheet full of
choruses and quartets on the USS Lane Victory
for a grand barbershop style celebration of
SOUTH BAY COASTLINERS’ 60th anniversary.
With our sisters from L.A. SOUTH TOWNS, we
were indeed “fit as a fiddle”.
We continue to spread the joy of that good old
harmony as we invite community members to join
us on the risers to “Sing for the Holidays”. With
the response we are getting, our risers are
getting really cozy, but Linda Kelly keeps us in
line and in tune!
Of course, we are totally jazzed by the success of
SHIMMER! – you know we love our home town
girl, Patty Cobb Baker. We would be remiss if
we did not shout out our sheer excitement for our
http://www.macoriginal.com/sng104/chorus.html
friends in HARBORLITES, including dual chorus
members Barbara Hennessy and Kat Shaver,
former member Cindy Robertson and our former
director Lynne Smith! You ring! Congratulations
on bringing home the bling!
Baker, baritone of NIGHTLIFE. Rounding out our
talented cadre of coaches is Marcia Pinvidic,
Expression Judge and Snow Bird from Region
26.
Speaking of Region 26, while in Calgary, Mary
Ashford was interviewed by Diane Porsch and
Kathy Carmody on the webcast about Shop &
Sing. Since then, we've been receiving emails
from around the world wanting to know more
about our out-of-the-box, scathingly brilliant idea
that has proven to be a very successful
membership and retention program. A special
thank you to Stan Ogden for his ongoing
publicity on Shop & Sing sightings.
As we continue to grow in so many ways, we are
excited to welcome three new leads: Susan
Swertfager, Jerry Beatty and Janet DeTamaso
onto our risers.
Thank you, CALIFORNIA HEARTLAND, for
hosting a great weekend featuring the talents of
Kathy Carmody and Bonnie McKibben.
SOUTH VALLEY SOUND is looking forward to
an entertaining and fun Double Quartet contest,
and we wish all of the competitors the very best
of luck! Love and appreciation to everyone! –
Jolene Forzetting
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TRI CITY SOUND
www.tricitysound.org
TRI CITY SOUND is excited
to announce our new
improved website, created
by members, Jennifer Best
and Lyndell Penny. Check
out our new look at
www.tricitysound.org.
Several of our members took the opportunity to
sing in the summer STAR chorus, it was fun to
sing with such a big group, and to learn the
choreography in record time. Thanks, Lynne
Smith and Judy Ashmore. We were also feeling
pretty special to share the stage with all the
winners. What a thrill! We all love performing,
“Good Old A cappella”.
We enjoyed our visit from our Regional
representative, Lisa Miller. It is great to see a
former member holding an office of high esteem,
and naturally we were suitably impressed by what
she had to share with us. Thank you to Linda
Kelly for the coaching and PVIs on October 21.
Although it is hard to believe it is that time
already, plans for our Christmas Chorus are in
the works beginning in November. Our “Friends
and Family” performance will be December 13.
New news is … Cindy Pilios is officially our
assistant director, although we have been
learning from her for a long time now. We are
also happy to welcome Robin Smith as our
newest member to our lead section.
Congratulations to CELEBRITY CITY, RIO and
particularly SHIMMER! for their performances in
Calgary. We are very proud of you. Those of us
who were lucky enough to see the performances
on web cast agree that you all shone like stars. –
Laura Newbre
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VERDUGO HILLS
Page 4 of 7

The Beach Girls are singing every Wednesday
night in Long Beach. Life is good! – Margaret
Brewer
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HARMONY SHOWCASE
HSC is still on
cloud nine over
SHIMMER!’s
medal-winning
performance in
Calgary. They were
AWESOME! – an
often overused word that certainly fits this time.
RIO and CELEBRITY CITY did an outstanding
job representing our Region superbly. Good job,
ladies!!
HSC has been working hard on our competition
numbers under an energetic and enthusiastic
director, Kira Wagner. We had a very productive
coaching session with Charla Esser, tenor of
International Quartet Champions, RUMORS.
What a talent she is! We all enjoyed her
approach and immense knowledge.
We are also enmeshed in brushing up our
Christmas songs and filling our holiday
schedules. The new year will see us bearing
down on the competition numbers with another
coaching session with Charla in January.
Lynne Smith has also been working with us on
characterization techniques and choreo, – always
a fun time with this dynamo. We will also be
filling out the bones of our show to be presented
May 31. You will be hearing more about this
soon.
Everyone have fun this weekend and we wish
good luck to all the competing quartets. – Ann
Layton
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HARMONY VALLEY
www.harmonyvalleychorus.org
Our regular Tuesday rehearsal is listed as an A
Cappella Harmony Chorus under the Merced
College no fee/non credit department. We plan to
continue this affiliation for the 2008 Spring
Semester, and hope this will result in
membership growth. Our director search is
ongoing!
On October 6, we participated in Merced's Big
Valley Arts and Culture Festival. Using the “Shop
and Sing'” concept, we sang several songs
around our information table and handed out
information flyers as folks stopped to listen. This
worked really well!
On November 3 we had our Holiday Affaire
Luncheon and Silent Auction. Members set tables
of 8 in a holiday theme of their choice. The menu
included homemade chicken soup, Cap'n Billy's
Chili, accompanied by salad, rolls, dessert and
beverage. The chorus entertained with a medley
of songs.
Now, it's time to get ready for holiday singing. –
http://www.macoriginal.com/sng104/chorus.html Nancy Weidenmiller
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www.verdugoshowtimechorus.org
Have we been busy
or what! Our
September calendar
got off to a warm
start with our summer
party held at the
home of Bill and
Patti Loitz. Our musical Ice Cream Social
brought in new guest singers, and Alumnae
Evening marked the end of an exciting month. On
September 26, the alumnae party celebrated
VERDUGO HILLS members, both past and
present. It was great fun seeing over 30 friends
browsing through history books, listening to a
preview of the new contest songs, and hearing
one of our newest quartets. The highlight of the
evening was a special presentation to Ferne
Hogan in celebration of her 50th anniversary in
Sweet Adelines International. Ferne received her
official 50-year pin and recognition on stage in
Calgary this past October. Nineteen VHSC
members were in attendance to share this
International honor with our long-time friend and
member. Special thanks go to Mary Ann O'Neil,
Pat Kahmann, and Jeanette Fitzgerald for
organizing this special event, and of course, to
the many gals who lent helping hands.
We've just had amazing coaching sessions with
Dale Syverson and Renee Porzel who brought
our Regional Contest package to a new level.
Congratulations to SHIMMER! on their 9th Place
International Medals! And kudos to RIO and
CELEBRITY CITY CHORUS who did a terrific job
representing Region 11. We're so proud of
Marcia Bosma, Susan Huntzinger, Lorna Katz
and Kim Scott, our dual members with the new
International Chorus Champions,
HARBORLITES. We'd also like to recognize
Marilyn Conlan – she once again did a fantastic
job producing the Coronet Club Show, which is
always a highlight of the Convention.
Also, break a leg to our double quartets ALL
WASHED UP, OVER EIGHT, and
TAPEWORMS!
Come join us for Holiday Harmony – December
16 at 2:00 pm at the Arcadia Community Center,
356 Campus Drive, Arcadia, CA. Contact Pat
Kahmann (818-363-9748, antepat@socal.rr.com)
or Valarie Lees (626-963-8331, vstar4@aol.com)
for more information. Or check our website
www.verdugoshowtimechorus.org.
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VOICES UNLIMITED
VOICES UNLIMITED has
a new co-director: the
fabulous Erin Lunn! She
and Dede make a
wonderful team and we’re
very grateful to have them leading our chorus as
we prepare for HAWAII. We are so honored to be
able to represent Region 11 on the International
stage in 2008.
Speaking of International competition, how cool
was it to hear SHIMMER! sing their finals
package? Some of us got to go to Calgary and
some of us stayed behind and watched the
webcast, but we were all so proud of SHIMMER!,
RIO and CELEBRITY CITY. You really
represented!
We have added some new members to our VU
Page 5 of 7

HIGH SIERRA
HIGH
SIERRA
CHORUS
would, first of
all, like to
congratulate CELEBRITY CITY, SHIMMER!, and
RIO for representing us so wonderfully in
Calgary!!! As a region, we can hold our heads
high and be very proud! We would also like to
wish all of the double quartet contestants
success and a great time on stage.
Our chorus has been very busy during the past
few months. We have been focusing on retaping
our repertoire, learning our contest ballad, and
pursuing several fund-raisers. We sell Christmas
greens and organize a Craft Show at the Fall
Colors Car Show every fall. This year, at the
Craft Show, we had a table and sold "Cookie Mix
in a Jar" (4 types) and "Beer Bread Mix in a
Bag". It may turn out to be our best idea, yet!
family since Summer Sizzler: Marci Suvanto,
Brenda Garanas, Cheryl Montgomery and Mary
Escobar. We are so happy to have them join us
in our “hobby.” We’ve also invited ladies from our
community to come to our rehearsals to learn
Christmas music so they can join us on the risers
at our holiday show on December 2. The show
starts at 2 p.m. and will be held in the Roosevelt
High School Auditorium, so mark your calendars.
We’ll share the stage with the CALIFORNIA
HEARTLAND CHORUS and the Fresno area
men’s group, GOLD NOTE CHORUS. Dede is
directing the GOLD NOTE CHORUS now and
they moved up to 6th place from 17th at their
recent competition. Congratulations, Dede.
VU is looking forward to an exciting Fall Festival
and a fantastic novice double quartet contest.
Good luck to all the competitors. Let’s all have
some fun! – Susan Sanders
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We started our Holiday Harmony Chorus
rehearsals on October 30 and had a good turn
out. We sing at many community events and
perform on the high school's Christmas program.
Two of our favorite performances are the Main
Street tree lighting and Street of Lights on the
first Friday of December. The Main Street
businesses light up their windows and give out
coupons and treats. Besides our singing,
shoppers enjoy Santa and Mrs. Claus, bell
ringers, Mexican dancers, and fire pits for
warmth.
Once the holidays are over, we will be even more
focused on competition and looking forward to
our retreat with Mary Ashford! Happy
Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New
Year to all our Region 11 friends! – Susan
Daughenbaugh
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KERN VALLEY
www.kernvalleychorus.org
Wow!! That’s how we felt after our October 18
meeting with our co-directors’ mentor, Julie
Starr. Cheryl and Francine met Julie this last
summer at IES after the chorus signed up with
International to participate in the directors mentor
program. Julie’s first visit was a real eye-opener
to both directors and mentor. Our chorus
rehearsals will be fast paced and a great learning
experience. One of Julie’s comments was that
the chorus is so warm and friendly like we’re all
family – oh, really!!! On the performance note,
she was very complimentary on our
characterization and how we encompass that
aspect of performance into “just” a rehearsal.
We’ll be meeting with Julie in February just
before Spring Contest for a final evaluation and it
should be great!! We’re have the time of our
lives.
And lending itself to that, is the fact that we just
finished producing our 1st ever CD, called
“Christmas in Kernville”. We recorded 15 songs
right here in our own valley at the First Baptist
Church in Kernville. The photography was done
by husbands and friends, and we happen to have
CDs for sale just in time for the holiday season.
Ask any KERN VALLEY Sweet Adeline and for
http://www.macoriginal.com/sng104/chorus.html only $15 – it’s yours.
Page 6 of 7
Our Diva Drive produced approximately 15 ladies
who will be singing with us for a Christmas
presentation on December 6 in our meeting hall

for Friends and Family. We are so excited to
welcome these new ladies who are discovering
their inner “DIVA”. We’re hoping they will stay to
enjoy the wonderful harmony and friendship that
Sweet Adelines brings into all of our lives.
Our coaching session with Lynne Smith and
Doreen Philbin, fresh from the 1st place
International stage and HARBORLITES, was a
thrill to all of us. Imagine the fun to wear that
great big GOLD MEDAL around your neck. We
can only imagine. It was a joy to have them work
with the KERN VALLEY CHORUS.
Our 20th annual Candlelight Stroll in Circle Park
in Kernville will be taking place December 7, so if
you find yourself in the beautiful Kern River
Valley, come and stroll through the town with us,
with lighted candles and singing along the shop
entrances and enjoying an old fashioned,
“Christmas in Kernville”. Sounds like it should be
a song. Love to you all this blessed holiday
season.
By the way … SIERRA SOUND IS STILL
LOOKING FOR A TENOR!! Call us!! – Cheryl
Borthick
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• Home
• Region 11 News
• CURTAIN CALL
• OOH LA LA
• RIO
• SERIOUS TREBLE
• SHIMMER!
• Messages from
Your Regional
Mangement Team
• Chorus Clips
• Quartet Quips
• Calendar of Events
CURTAIN CALL
Penny Parisi • Laura Smith • Jan Steese • Jackie
Wheatley
SERIOUS TREBLE
Melissa Hockenberger • Shelly Wilner • Debra
Hockenberger • Jeannie Vercillo
We are so happy to have Graham and Kaley’s
mom singing again. The twins are 5 months old
and absolutely adorable. We performed for the
first time since their arrival at the VERDUGO
HILLS’ Ice Cream Social and then again as part
of a chorus performance in September. We also
sang for the VERDUGO HILLS’ alumnae who
attended the chorus party honoring them on
September 26 and we wowed 150 eighth graders
—introducing many of them to barbershop music
for the very first time (even got an “encore”/
curtain call)!! Jackie won a free voice lesson with
Laura Pallas at Summer Sizzler and what a
great session that was. Jan and Jackie spent 10
fabulous days in Canada sightseeing in Lake
Louise and Banff, and cheering for our Region 11
competitors in Calgary. They all made us proud.
When they returned, CURTAIN CALL got right
back at it learning a new Christmas song and
coaching with Alan Gordon. We wish all the
double quartets the best but especially those
representing VERDUGO HILLS. See you in the
spring.
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OOH LA LA
Barbara Adams • Esther Alva • Jonni Anderson •
Judy Hatch
We are SO proud of our Region 11 quartets, RIO
and SHIMMER! Thank you for all the time and
energy you put into this craft – you inspire us!
Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!
In September, we sang for a civic function in
Santa Monica at an afternoon tea, honoring the
community’s volunteers. And we had a great time
headlining the RIVEROAKS CHORUS show, “We
Are Family” on October 28. Come see us perform
again at the L.A. SOUTH TOWNS SHOW
CHORUS show on December 1.
A follow up to our TV show audition for Nip/Tuck:
We got a “call back” and were 1 of 5 quartets
chosen to sing for the producers at Paramount
Studios. In the end, they chose a male/female
quartet, but we had a lot of fun. The producers
loved the black boas and our rendition of “Santa
Baby”. We’re looking forward to some great
holiday shows: SANTA MONICA on December 8,
and VERDUGO HILLS on December 16. Come
one, come all!
Baby news: Jeannie’s 7th grandchild (Will) was
born in August. Shelly’s girls are now 3 1⁄2 years
and 4 months old, and Melissa’s kids (a.k.a.
Debra’s grandkids) will be 6 and 2 in January!
We’re busy mamas and grandmamas! On a sad
note, Shelly's father-in-law, Daniel Wilner,
passed away October 14. We had the privilege of

singing, "It Is Well With My Soul" at his funeral.
Daniel was our biggest fan, and fan of Sweet
Adelines, in general. He will be very missed.
Congratulations to SANTA MONICA for your IES
invitation. We happen to know (from insiders) that
this package will be even more entertaining than
the Greek package. Is that possible???
Wishing you all the best in 2008!
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Come meet our new Lead La La, Esther (aka Hot
Lips). You'll likely remember her as the baritone
of SWEET SYNERGY. Esther has been singing
since she was 4 years old...a whopping 22 years.
She has been a member of the SANTA MONICA
CHORUS for 4 years and is currently the Lead
Section Leader and Music Librarian.
Esther's pride and joy is her daughter, Jenelle, a
beautiful 5-year old and future baritone. A
design/drafting consultant by day (to pay for
daughter, stilettos and singing weekends), Esther
enjoys volunteering for charities such as the
Habitat for Humanity. Not only is Esther a
talented singer, she paints, hikes, and does wood
working. She's also impulsive, mischievous and
loves chocolate (and wine!) – a true La La. We
are, once again, happy to be a foursome. Don't
hesitate to stop us and ask for a song!
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RIO
Karen Betancourt • Dani Avalos-Prigge • Alisa
Zichterman • Diane McGrath
“Once Upon a Time” (ask someone who was in
Calgary about this), RÍO represented Region 11
in Calgary. We did our best to do you proud. We
were THRILLED to see SHIMMER! make the
finals and place 9th in the world!!! Way to go!!
We came away with constructive comments from
the judges, and will take them to heart as we
continue our journey together.
We had a fabulous time preparing for Calgary –
we’ve become good friends as well as singing
pals, and that is so important. CELEBRATION
CHORUS has been incredibly supportive of us on
this journey – over half our chorus came to watch
us! How wonderful that was! Coach Linda Kelly
came to wish us the best the morning of the
contest. You’ve been a great help to us on this
journey – we love you!!! Thanks to the Region for
the beautiful flowers and support as we came off
stage – we were very touched.
The couple of weeks after Calgary we sang in a
SHIMMER!
Patty Cobb Baker • Missy Pearce • Judy
Ashmore • Mary Ashford
There was the Big Bang … the Industrial
Revolution … SHIMMER! … and then Y2K. After
16 years and 9 Sweet Adeline International
Competitions, SHIMMER! finally hit the TOP 10!
We were very proud to represent Region 11 and
21 as we shared the stage with RIO, SPARX,
ONE VOICE, CELEBRITY CITY and
HARBORLITES. As we stood with Ferne Hogan
behind the white curtain awaiting to take the
stage, we could hear everyone chanting
SSSHHHIIIMMMEEERRR!” It was the most
uplifting way to send us out onto stage. And then
when we came off of the stage, there you were
awaiting us with cheering, clapping, hugs, kisses,
roses and champagne. It was a dream come true
for us and what made it so special was to have
so many of our family and friends, RMT, and
Winners’ Circle there to support us.
We couldn’t have reached our dream of getting
into the TOP 10 without our esteemed line up of
fabulous coaches including Sandy Robinson
Marron, Lynne Smith, Dale Syverson, Betty
Clipman, THE BUZZ and our inhouse musical
genius and coach extraordinaire, Jeff “for-oowuh”
Baker.
It’s been a whirlwind couple of months.
SHIMMER! performed at Region 21’s Summer
Seminar. In September as we ramped up for
Calgary, we were featured on the
HARBORLITES Show. Immediately following
Calgary, we were featured on the
CHANNELAIRE Show along with CHEERS! and
the 2007 BHS International Champion,
WESTMINSTER CHORUS. We love doing
shows! Call us!
Thank you, CALIFORNIA HEARTLAND, for
hosting a fun-filled Fall Festival Weekend
featuring the talents of Kathy Carmody and
Bonnie McKibben. We wish all of the double
quartets the best of luck. We look forward to
seeing everyone at Spring Regional. Happy
Holidays!

arbershop quartet contest in our home county as
part of Colony Days in Atascadero, and sang on
PACIFIC HORIZON’S show. We’ve got holiday
gigs coming up, so we’re busy getting ready for
those.
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Have a blast singing in those double quartets this
weekend in this fabulous region! Peace and
harmony to all. See you again in April!
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