ISLAND CITY CHORUS

GREATER MONTREAL CHAPTER

SPEBSQSA Inc.

The Little Chorus that could!

MINI PITCH

Date: June 23, 2003 Less than 7 days to go!

We are singing the U.S. and Canadian National Anthems at Olympic Stadium this Monday, June 23, 2003 before the Montreal Expos - Pittsburgh Pirates game.

The time and meeting place are THE ADMINISTRATION ENTRANCE at Olympic Stadium (The Big Owe) at 5:30 PM.

Tickets for our guests and us will be available at that time.

ATTIRE: We are going to wear our green golf shirts, tan pants, brown belt, brown shoes and brown socks.

See you there for a night of fun. Go Expos!

Grandpa John Schneider reports that his daughter has delivered a fine health son/grandson. John Franklin Scarborough V arrived on Thursday, June 19th, 10 days late. He weighed 9 lbs. 4 oz. and is 21-1/2 inches long.

All are doing very well.

Get your souvenir lapel pin for the 2003 International Convention. They are on sale for $7.50 CDN or $5.00 US. If you need a pin, or will be going somewhere that you can sell some of these pins, ask Ron Schurman, Murray Phillips, or Steve Wheaton for some. The money we raise will be very helpful in financing the extras we want to do during the Convention.

The last meeting of the local organising committee will be held this Thursday at 7:00 PM Sharp. The chairmen will be reporting on the final preparations for the convention. The plans are gelling, the registrations are rising and the tours are filling up to the max! The list of action items better be getting very short, since we are literally at the last days. Only 4 days after the meeting, the convention gets into full swing.

We still need more volunteers, so ask your neighbours, friends, enemies, anybody to see if they might give us a hand.

Signs are being produced to help get our guests from one place to another, and we are fortunate to have Bruce Checca bringing a printer that can do 11" x 17" paper signs. For sure we will be making signs minutes before they are needed. Does anyone have access to foamcore or similar materials to firm up the signs? Let Murray Phillips know if you do.

Don't forget, on Tuesday, July 1^st at 4:30-5:30 PM in Le Centre Sheraton, 1201 Boulevard René-Lévesque West, the Northeastern and Ontario Districts are going to hold a Pep Rally for the two districts' competitors. The Hospitality Room will be Saturday, July 5^th at 10:30 PM for our competitors and all of the quartets so we can have another opportunity to hear them and thank them all for a great week. We will have the Granite Statesmen Chorus, Mega-City Chorus, Toronto Northern Lights Chorus, Northeast Connection, Road Show, TKO, Mirage quartets and Men in Black and Vocal Idiom college quartet champions there also.

During convention week, we are recommending that all volunteers, except those needing their cars for the job they are doing, use public transportation. If you or one of your volunteers really needs parking, let Stan Blicker know TODAY!

The set-up for the convention starts at 8:00 AM Sunday, June 29, 2003 at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth. If you can help, your presence will be most appreciated. All of the offices will be set-up, the registration area will be set up the Hospitality, PR, Print Shop, etc.

That is the first day, then Monday, we can use your help to get the tours going. This will require 5 or 6 people from 7:00 AM to 9:30 AM and a few in the afternoon from 12:30 - 1:30 PM.

If you have the time, we can find a place to use you and your talents!

One area that we know needs some volunteer help is the BarberTots Room. This is open during all the events at the Bell Centre, and it entails being there, to make sure parents stay with their children. You don't even have to stay in the room, but it will have closed circuit TV so you won't miss a note, if you don't want to. The room being used is the Visitors' Dressing Room and it has restrooms and lots of room.

Based on my vast skill as a bad gambler, and relatively good judge of barbershop singing, I fearlessly venture into some predictions for the contests in Montreal. I have looked at the tea leaves, sniffed some incense and that funny plant that I found and here they are!

Chorus contest:

1. Vocal Majority
2. Toronto Northern Lights
3. Ambassadors of Harmony
4. Alexandria Harmonizers
5. Midwest Vocal Express

Quartet Contest:

1. Uptown Sound
2. Metropolis
3. Gotcha!
4. Riptide
5. Power Play

Anyone using these ideas for anything more than making fun of me when I am wrong has made a grave error in judgement. I would like to see some of the other fearless predictions, just to see if anyone actually reads this stuff. J

Practice is something we do at home, every day, between rehearsals!

Rehearsal is where we reinforce what we have been practising every day!