The Barbershop Journey of Jim Civarra
April 18, 2023
Caroling! Caroling! An A Cappella Christmas!
October 25, 2023
The calendar says spring is here, the weather says – well, almost. While the weather outside remains cold for April, the work we have been doing is definitely warming US up!
The first Youth Festival came off great, due to the efforts of our members. Bill Hickman put together a hugely successful event. Donny and Amy Rose and the men of InVoice gave a marvelous introduction to the Barbershop style and the groups loved it. Donny and InVoice taught tags during the workshop and hung around in the lobby afterward to further the experience. The volunteer support from the membership was great, with about 30 people available throughout the day for James Williams to call on. While the turnout was not what we were hoping for due to conflicts in the school schedules, we learned a bunch: next year we will be scheduling the event at a better time and announcing it sooner. For more, check out this Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/MusicManPotter/videos/1139137754150707.
If you know someone who wants to sing, we are beginning our springtime educational event known as Sing-sing-sing on April 26th. We will be teaching basic singing and Barbershop style for 6 weeks every Wednesday evening at the Northwest Sound rehearsals, and we welcome anyone who wants to join us. The singers who complete the program are invited to join us on stage at our 2 big shows in June.
With the spring we also shift into high gear around performances, and there are a bunch! On April 22nd, Northwest Sound and Northwest Mix will be in Tacoma for the Evergreen District Preliminaries and Chorus Festival, hosted by Tacoma Vocal Standard Chorus. The event is Stadium High School, 111 N. E St, Tacoma, WA 98403, which is a great venue, and the chorus festival starts at 10 am. Our 2 primary quartets, Under the Radar and Vocal Vintage, have been visiting retirement homes and high schools in the area, and have upcoming gigs all over. Vocal Vintage is the Kirkland Urban Mall (4/19) and Holiday Cascadian Retirement Home (4/26). Under the Radar will be at Ashley Point Retirement Home (4/19), the Kirkland Urban Mall (5/13), Sammamish High School (5/11) and Snohomish High School (5/18). We have 2 other pop-up concerts at Kirkland Urban Mall – Northwest Mix (4/30), and Northwest Sound (5/6).
These all lead up to our big shows, The Magic of Love at the Kirkland Performance Center on June 2nd and 3rd. Northwest Sound, Northwest Mix, our favorite quartets, and the Sing-sing-sing grads will craft a musical program designed for lovers, young and old. Bring your main squeeze & the whole family to some of the very best a cappella music on the Eastside as we celebrate spring with The Magic of Love. This performance will feature the music of magic and love, ranging from the pop charts to Broadway and the movies. Tickets are available now – and we would love to see you there!
I want to thank everyone who supports the members of our choruses & quartets. Without the help of our families, we would not be able to participate in this hobby we love so much. I look forward to seeing all of you at our upcoming events!
J. Keith Bankston
President, A Cappella Northwest