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v- cr r 1 y sst 53 e economist sun stouffville tribune iv bvo s by amy west staff writer j the year was 1945 the second world war was drawing to an end and woihenarourid the world were j looking ahead to brighter days in america s they found comfort and solidarity in music the womenof tulsa okla had caught on to what the men had been singing the four- part vocal harmony known as barbershop- and following the anything they can do we can do too philosophy these womenstart- eel the first chapter of sweet adelines v international today sweet adelines international is a worldwide organization comprised of more than 30000 women their motto is- harmonize the world member countries include canada theunited states australia england finland germany japan mexico- new zealand scotland sweden and the netherlands barbershop finally made its way toyork region in 1970 under the direction of dave mccaffrey the york highlands chorus chap ter of sweet adelines international rehearsed out of the factorytheatre in aurora then five years ago the town of newmarket offered the old fire hall on main street as a permanent home for the singers of the york highlands chorus it was more than just a sound it was a feeling the chorusis madcup of women from all walk of life v ii we have veterinariansv teachers nurses and hqmemakers says current director carol appleton we are all very different but we all share a common love of music v appleton who studied piano at the royal conservatory of music has been a member of the york highlands chorus for 21 years and its director for the past 1 v she heard about the chorus from a friend who heard her singing at a corn roast she told me that i should go and listen v to these women sing and when i did the sound just overwhelmed me for appleton thechorus became an important part of her life j- v i had cancer attrie time and being a part of the chorus helped methrough it by giving me something to focus on i dontthink i would have made it through otherwise members come to the chorus in a variety of ways and from a variety of musical back- t grounds fran lurishof who sang in youth choirs asa teenager responded to an ad in the newspaper cheryl yaciuk saw thetho- ruson aurora cable and attended an audi tion r i x barbershop was not my first choice explains yaciuk my background is in opera but when i heard the chorus sing it just floored me it was more than just a sound it was a feeling that feeling drew yaciuk and many other women to join the chorus which now numbers 108- four of whom are charter members who have been with the chorus since its inception the group practises for three hours every t tuesday night study- ing everything from- voice training to choreography guest speakers such as inter nationally renowned chore- ographer erin howden and vocal coach jim casey from texas are brought in to lend their skills to the singers education is a big part of what we do explains carol appleton we hold a music school in the fall for t members quartet workshops in the summer and all year longwe workon vocal and performance techniques l in addition the sweet adelines international organization offers certifi cation irichoral directing music arranging judging and teaching through their young women in harmon program sweet adeline members share their joy of music with women in junior high through to col- lege by developing programs with school music staff once a year the regional champions rep resenting sweet adelines international cho- ruses and quartets from around the world gatherfor the international convention apart from providing an opportunity to develop andshowcasemembers talent the york highlands chorus gives the wdrhen a chance to be active in the commumty they perform 12 to 14 concerts a year for local charities and service clubsaisingmoney for organizations such as the auroraand newmarket food banks the yellow brick house the heart stroke foundation and the childrens wish foundation next cft t- public appear ance for the york highlands chorus will be sepf 5 during their open house at the old fire house at 140 main st the public areinvited to come out and hear the chorus sing a selection of tunes frorrigdspel to contemporary t the purpose of the open house is to raise community awareness says yaciuk we just want peoplelto kriowwhb we are arid we always welcome new members i becoming a member of the york v highlands chofusreqiiires ah audition processthat spans about four weeks sheet imusic and practice tapes will beavailable at the open houseafter mentoring with a sec- tionleader from the chorus potential mem- bers are invited to audition with a quartet as the size of the chorus grows so does the calibre of music at last years interna- tional convention the york highlands chorus placed second in their division this year they are hoping for top honours weve been working on improving the quality of the product says member nancy j elliott and were also trying to get more competing quartets n newmarketcurrently has two quartets at the competitive level moonlight express are novice quartet winners and hearts on fire are ranked in the top 10 there will he many chances- overthe next few months to hear js the harmonious soundsofthe york z highlands chorus on dec 2 and 3 they will be performing at st andrews college in aurora with proceeds going to area food banks on jan 13 at the newmarket theatre the chorus presents just jiving an evening v of 50s music v whether youve had professional train ing or just like to sing in the shower get acquainted with the york highlands chorus enjoythe sound of choral music arranged in t fourrpart harmony arid join 30000 other wprrien in harmonizing the world t youd like information on how to becomea member of the york highlands chorus of would like to book a performance you cari call the old fire hall at 905 898- 3326 lois gilbert left pat scougall centre front linda labine back and nancy elliott make up the aura lights quartet they areuhe of six quartets that perform with the york highlands chorus 4 i fc tittiyilrtaitz3xs