What's that you say? You can't make it to Las Vegas to see Northwest Sound on the stage at the Axis Theater? You're in luck, there is another option and it won't cost you nearly so much as airfare to Vegas! The contest is being streamed live at very reasonable rates. Browse to http://live.barbershop.org/17/index.php for more information, to test your video player, and to sign up for Live Stream coverage. We hope to see you there either in person or virtually.
The “Who’s on first?” buttons are in! The buttons promote our appearance at the upcoming International convention and contest in Las Vegas, where we will be the first chorus to compete. You won't want to miss it!
Thanks to the team who originated the idea and provided design guidance and encouragement. In no particular order they were: Bill Hickman, Dan Keating, Rob Mitchell, Joe Hage, John Ludeman, Kendall Williams, Ken Potter, and Ira Allen. Special thanks to Rob Mitchell for locating the original art for the Northwest Sound logo in its 1997 file format and Randy Forgaard for technical and artistic design, being able to create modern files from the obsolete originals, and knowing the best place to get buttons made.
We've had a lot of fun over the years, performing on the main stage at the Bellevue Strawberry Festival (pictured is our 2016 appearance). We've seen lovely sunny days and days so stormy it blew over canopies all over the park. The weather looks ideal this weekend so come and see us perform at 1:30pm on Sunday or just stop by our booth and sing a tag with chorus members and assorted others who might be gathered round enjoying the visitors. At Crossroads park, Saturday 10am-8pm, Sunday 10am-6pm. See the Festival web site for additional information.
Music First! featured guests include the quartet “4.0”, 2015 BHS Evergreen district champion who will be competing in their fourth BHS International contest in July. They are four men with a passion for a cappella harmony who have joined together to form an exceptional quartet, “4.0” (Four-Point-Oh).
Music First! featured guests include the Wink quartet, 2016 Sweet Adelines Region 13 champion and International contestant. Wink’s members include Kay Keating, tenor, Melanie McGuire, lead, who sings with the Olympia Chorus and directs the men's chorus Puget Sounders, Anna Chamberlain, baritone, who sings with the Jet Cities Chorus, has been singing baritone for many years and has won many regional gold medals, and Connie Alward, bass, who also directs the Grand Olympic Chorus. With such talented members, Wink is bound to bring a smile!
See more of what’s happening with Wink at: https://www.facebook.com/WinkQuartet/
Membership VP Isaac Banner leads Spring Sing participants in introducing themselves to the chorus. Spring Sing participants who want to will participate in our upcoming performances, called Music First!, singing the songs that they’ve learned during the program.
The chorus chose the theme “Music First” for our spring show because it will be your first chance to get a glimpse of our new International competition package and because we will celebrate musical firsts throughout the show (including first performance with the chorus for the Spring Singers!). We will be joined with the song stylings of Sweet Adelines quartet Wink, along with Division-winning quartets 4.0 and RipChord. Join us on June 10 at 2:30 or 7 for what’s sure to be another fantastic show!
For the second week of the Spring Sing program, the chorus was joined by the current class of 26 Spring Singers making for about 70 men on the risers. After warmups for the combined chorus, the Spring Singers departed for their group instruction with Seattle Seachordsmen director Ted Chamberlain. An hour later they rejoined the chorus for joint work with Kenny on No More Sorrow, Bye-Bye Blues, and Lost in the Stars as we prepare them for the upcoming Spring Shows on June 10th. The show will feature the Spring Singers as well as guest quartets Wink, Ripchord and 4.0 in a new program we call Music First!
Another former Sing, Sing, Singer is Matt Astle, who participated in the program in the fall of 2011, having heard of the program through a Facebook posting. Matt says, “What I loved immediately was how people treated me. That first night I came home and my wife asked me how it went.
As part of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), Northwest Sound participates in the society’s regular rhythm of competitions. The annual cycle of three levels of competition covers about 15 months, so the cycles overlap. In the spring choruses take part in the local or Division competitions.
Begun in 2010, sing! Sing! SING! (SSS) is Northwest Sound’s program of providing free a capella singing training for men of the community. Participants are given free group music lessons, sheet music and training media, participation in chorus rehearsals, and an opportunity to perform with the chorus in one of its annual shows. In the program, participants learn a variety of singing techniques including basics of supportive breathing, word pronunciation, vocal production, ear training, voice-matching, and finding the message in a song, skills that are developed continually by all chorus members as they progress.
