PRIDE OF KENTUCKY CHORUS, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
We were invited to participate in a How To Festival at the Louisville Public Library. This teaching event allowed participants to learn how to do 50 different things in one day. Betty Lou Coleman taught the class “How to Sing in Harmony” using the chorus for demonstration. Participants learned parts of a tag and a few were brave enough to step up and perform. Several of the women have come to visit our rehearsals in the subsequent weeks! In May, Ohio Northern University Singers visited the chorus while on a cross-country tour. After a joint warm-up led by Dr. Ben Ayling, the choruses entertained each other with songs showcasing our different styles of singing. Dr. Ayling was the bass of the 1991 Barbershop Harmony Society champion quartet, The Ritz. Members from the BHS Thoroughbred Chorus also attended and two of their quartets performed for us. Posing here with our new Chorus Champion Trophy, Betty Lou Coleman received a surprise 70’s themed disco party this June, complete with an imitation dance floor to transform our rehearsal space. Members, dressed in “groovy” costumes, greeted a shocked Betty Lou, and Jamie Kamin lead the physical warm-ups that night with classic disco moves to the Bee Gees You Should Be Dancing, closely followed by a Dancing Queen parody sung to Betty by the chorus. After enjoying multiple cupcakes, everyone settled in for some intense practice to work off those calories. Jamie also emceed our Board of Directors installation this year, choosing a pirate theme. Clothed in full pirate regalia, Jamie presented appropriate Letters of Marque and pirate gifts to each board member, piping them aboard “the Brigantine POKY, Booty Bound for Baltimore.” Debbie Hite added to the evening by giving some inspirational messages about the journey to Baltimore while everyone enjoyed a Sweet Adelines style potluck dinner. Not only do we sing, we can really cook! Summer also means it’s time for Pride of Kentucky’s annual, two-day garage sale extravaganza! Chorus members shopped on preview day, a big advantage to working the sale. The sale was a big success thanks to everyone’s hard work, especially Judy Rentschler, who organized and displayed the jewelry so that it sold like hotcakes. A special congratulations to Pride member, Kris Wheaton, who qualified with her quartet for the Harmony Inc. International Competition. Spot On qualified with an amazing score of 887 points for their rendition of What’ll I Do and Shaking The Blues Away. Spot On also earned the Kaleidoscope Entertainment Award for the most entertaining performance. Congratulations also to Kris’ husband, Drew, for winning a 5th place medal with Forefront in the 2013 BHS International Quartet Contest. Pride has big plans for fundraising this summer. Did I mention we are going to Baltimore? Trivia Buffs can sign up for Trivia Night on July 20th or join us for Bowling for Barbershop a little later this summer.
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It’s Busy Summer Days for Pride of Kentucky!