THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 22, 1994 TAG: 9410220064
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KEITH MONROE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 161 lines
MAYBE YOU SAW a newspaper ad in early September offering women six free singing lessons and a chance to audition for a chorus that sings four-part harmony, the Sweet Adelines.
Cathy Urich saw the ad and showed up. Sweet Adelines was nothing new to her. She's lived in Hampton Roads for 17 years, but she grew up in Oregon and learned about the group there.
``My mother sang barbershop for many, many years but I never sang it myself. But as I watched her and her friends sing, I always wanted to learn because I love it.'' So when Urich saw the ad in the paper, ``I just took a chance. I said, `Oh, I've always wanted to do that. Let's see if I can do it.' ''
Kim Meyer didn't see the ad. She saw the chorus itself. ``I saw them sing the national anthem at the ballpark and I approached some of them at the concession stand.'' The group has run a stand at Harbor Park in the past two years to raise funds and is proud to have had the top money-earning concession.
Meyer learned the group was having a fall recruitment drive. She decided to give it a try, too. Chapter president Cathy Allen says of the new recruits, ``The majority of them have never sung barbershop, but we had about 12 that have been exposed to it in their lifetime, like their family members were singers.''
That describes Urich. Meyer was much more experienced. ``I sang in a barbershop chorus in high school and I sang in a barbershop quartet in high school and college.''
It's sometimes said that jazz is America's only home-grown art form, but surely barbershop singing belongs in the running, too. The Adelines are an international organization of barbershop singing for women. The first chapter was organized in Tulsa, Okla., in 1945 and now 30,000 women who have decided men shouldn't have all the fun are members.
The Virginia Coast Chorus numbers 38 singers, and it hopes to grow to 50 or 60 in time for the big Blue Ridge Regional Competition in April in Winston-Salem, N.C. The free lesson idea had been tried successfully by groups in Canada and Anchorage, Alaska, so the local chapter ran the ad.
On the first night, more than 60 newcomers showed up and had their vocal range tested by musical Director Robin Blythe. She assigned each to one of four parts - bass, baritone, lead or tenor. Urich was designated a lead and Meyer a baritone. Then, the first lesson began.
It could easily have been mistaken for an introduction to yoga because it concentrated so much on breathing and posture. Scarcely a note was sung for the first hour, and some of the neophytes seemed to be wondering if they'd taken a wrong turn somewhere.
But after all the breathing exercises, the would-be barbershoppers finally got a chance to try a little singing. The leads learned a phrase. Then the basses got their part. Baritones were added next, and finally tenors chimed in. Little by little, a chord was created that had the authentic barbershop feel to it.
``When you hit it right, you get a harmonic that makes the hair on your arms stand up,'' Robin Blythe says. And it was easy to see that this first bit of barbershop magic was easing a lot of doubts. The sound that filled the sanctuary of the Heritage United Methodist Church, where the chorus rehearses, was heavenly.
To end the evening, the chorus performed a little concert for their guests. It was intended as a further inducement to join. Blythe insists on verve. She wants every song sold with maximum enthusiasm and the chorus obliged. The posture of the members was admirable. Their breathing was controlled. Their smiles were of the thousand-watt variety. And the sound they produced was hair-raising - in the best possible sense.
An old barbershop number says, ``We love to hear those minor chords and good close harmony.'' And when a chord as sour as a sucked lemon suddenly modulates into something as sweet as, well, Sweet Adeline, that's barbershop.
For the guests, the chorus sang ``I Feel a Song Comin' On.'' The singers held hands as they performed ``That's What Friends are For'' and continued with ``The Battle Hymn of the Republic,'' ``Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'' and ``We're On Top.''
Four weeks and four lessons later, 20 of the newcomers had fallen by the wayside, but 43 were still attending lessons and many were interested in joining the group. If most do, the chorus would double in size.
Some had already begun trying to pass the needed audition. Cathy Urich was one of the first to get in line. So was Kim Meyers. To prepare for the audition, they were given tapes or sheet music to take home to help them learn their parts to two songs.
``I was nervous all day,'' said Urich, after her audition was over. ``I had to learn `We're on Top' and `Harmonize the World.' We only had to sing one, but I sang both - without music.'' To pass, she had to know her part and sing it with a quartet drawn from the chorus. She had to stick to her part and avoid meandering. She succeeded with ease and is now welcome to become a member of the chorus. ``I'm delighted,'' she said.
Of course, it turns out that the auditioning isn't over. In a sense, it never ends. Each time the chorus adds a new song to its repertoire, every member has to sing it into a tape recorder during a rehearsal. The section leader can then play it back to make sure the song's been learned. When a member has demonstrated mastery of a song, a colored star goes on a large chart next to her name. Until every member has a star, the song isn't ready for performance.
Meyer also passed her audition on the first try. But as an old barbershop hand, that may be no surprise. She came here five years ago from Massachusetts to attend Virginia Wesleyan as a music major. She's now a receptionist with a local firm, but says her dream job would be doing marketing for a symphony orchestra. In the meantime, she'll be singing barbershop with the Sweet Adelines.
The new members of the chorus will join a group of women whose ages range from 20-something to Marion Geitz. She cheerfully announces she's the eldest member at 79. ``I've been singing forever. And my family was musical.''
But no one can beat chapter Vice President Pat Korscher's record of Sweet Adelines experience. She's originally from St. Louis and joined her first Sweet Adelines group there in 1947, just two years after the organization was born. She's been here since 1977 and is still singing strong. Both of her parents were avid barbershoppers, and she calls it ``just nice, plain, American music.''
She and her fellow chorus members meet every Monday to sing that nice, plain American music. In addition to learning songs and showmanship, donning costumes complete with gold shoes, they share a camaraderie that's as nice as the music. When asked where the menfolk are, they say: at home. Taking care of the kids. Washing the dishes. Watching ``Monday Night Football.''
But the women of the Virginia Coast Chorus are up on the risers, loosening up their muscles to a tape of ``Cheeseburger in Paradise.'' Then loosening up their vocal chords by humming ME-MAY-MY-MOE-MOOO. Soon, they are giving out with those minor chords and good, close harmony. What a sound.
The first time Blythe hears 60 voices instead of the regular 35 hit a chord, she swivels around, grins broadly and says, ``This is really fun with this many people.'' ILLUSTRATION: CONCERT
What: The Virginia Coast Chorus of the Sweet Adelines will perform
today at the Pavilion Theater in Virginia Beach. For more details,
See E7.
[Color Photo]
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Cathy Urich is a new recruit for the Sweet Adelines female
barbershop chorus.
CHRISTOPHER REDDICK/Staff
Kim Meyer joined the Sweet Adelines after hearing them at a Tides
game.
Adelines director Robin Blyth insists on verve and enthusiasm.
CONCERT FACTS
What: The Virginia Coast Chorus of the Sweet Adelines will
perform a show with a baseball theme: ``The World Series of
Harmony.'' When they planned the concert, it was meant to coincide
with the actual sporting event. But now the singers are the only
game in town.
Songs will include ``Take Me Out to the Ballgame,'' ``The Star
Spangled Banner,'' ``New York, New York,'' and Irving Berlin's
``Play a Simple Melody.''
Special Guests: Chicago Fire, a second-place international
medalist quartet. Featured Guests: The Commodore Chorus, the men's
chorus of Norfolk's SPEBSQSA chapter.
When: Today at 3 and 8 p.m.
Where: Pavilion Theater, Virginia Beach Convention Center.
Tickets: Matinee: $6. Evening: $10 advance and $15 at the door.
To rerserve tickets, call 340-7678.
by CNB