Happy Tuesday 1/2014 - Singing makes me happy!

Welcome to the first Happy Tuesday of 2014!

I want to share with you one of the greatest joys in my life:  Singing!   I've loved singing since I was a little girl.  I grew up in a musical family, my mom was the church organist, and my three sisters and I were always in the church choir.  My mom would play the piano, and our family would stand behind her and have sing along time.   Singing was just something I took for granted, assumed that everyone could sing and loved to sing.  I didn't realize until much later how special it is to have the gift of music in my life.


When I went to college, I stopped singing in church choir, and for a long time my only singing venues were in the shower or in the car.  I lived another 15 years before I found another outlet for singing in an organized way.  And then I found Sweet Adelines International (SAI).

Wow.

Can I tell you, I've never been so immediately and thoroughly captivated in all my life?

Ten years ago I joined a Sweet Adelines chorus - the Harbor City Music Company Show Chorus in Baltimore, MD.   This chorus has become my family, my friends base, my creative outlet, my community.   I've learned so much as a Sweet Adeline  - about singing, yes, but also about team work and commitment and goal setting and lots of other things.  I can't say enough good things about singing in an SAI chorus - I recommend that EVERYONE go out and find your local chapter of Sweet Adelines and check them out - it's such a wonderful thing!

Soon after joining the chorus,  I joined a quartet.  We are called Lustre, and since we've been together, we've gone from a bottom-of-the-pack, newbie, novice quartet in our local region to being most recently ranked as the 5th Place International Medalist quartet.  Yep, 5th place in the world.  The world!  I still can't believe it!  I mean, there are something like 700+ registered Sweet Adelines quartets!  After family, Lustre is the thing in my life of which I am most proud, in which I'm most invested, and for which I'm most motivated.   We've been through all kinds of life's ups and downs, we've learned and grown as singers, as performers, and as friends.

Here's a video of our recent competition performance which earned us our 5th place title.  (That's me, second from the right.)

(Shameless plug - I'd love it if you follow us on our Facebook page.  And we made a CD too!!!)

What is Sweet Adelines International, you ask? It's an international organization of women who sing four-part a cappella harmony in the barbershop style.  We sing in quartets and in full choruses.  SAI's mission is to educate its members and provide opportunities for growth, and have a lot of fun doing it.

Sometimes people think barbershop music is old fashioned and out of style.  Old fashioned, yes, it is, in that we do try to preserve and promote singing in the style that was popular in the old days (like, 1890-1940).  But out of style?   Nope!   We sing the old songs, of course, but we also sing music from every decade up to now.

SAI exists to give its members opportunities.   If you love to sing, and would like to try singing in a  group setting, I want you to know that SAI is the place for you!   There are chapters in every state in the US, and in many countries around the world.   There are large choruses (over 150 members) and there are small choruses (15 members) and everything in between.   Every major city in the US has at least one SAI chapter, often more than one, and so you will likely be able to find a group that fits you.  In fact, when I moved to North Carolina last summer, I found a local chorus called Carolina Harmony Chorus, where I also now sing (in addition to my continued membership in Lustre and Harbor City).  They're a great chorus, and I'm so happy to be here.

And so now that I've introduced my "other life" into this blog, I'll be posting more about my SAI happenings here.   Thanks for letting me gush.  ;-)

Now, on to our Happy Tuesday link party.  What makes YOU happy?   What brings a smile, lights up your eyes, makes your heart go pitter-patter?    Please join the link party to share your little slice of happy today.  I'm really looking forward to visiting!   The party starts at 9pm Eastern tonight!

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