ISLAND CITY CHORUS

GREATER MONTREAL CHAPTER

SPEBSQSA Inc.

The Little Chorus that could!

MINI PITCH

Date: April 7, 2003

Well, at least we qualified for District. The tuning was rough, but the emotion was there. We have a great chorus and a great director, so let's start to work now to make the corrections necessary for success at District.

Mountain Division Chorus Competition

1. Pittsfield, MA 1150

2. Saratoga Springs, NY 1143

3. Burlington, VT 1106

5. Springfield, MA 1033

6. Schenectady, NY 960

7. Montreal South Shore, QC 918

On Friday night, we were counting heads to see if we would have enough people to field a chorus, so having 24 on stage was an amazing accomplishment.

Le Dixieband, featured performers for the past several years at the Bolton Landing Barbershop Quartet Festival, are doing a concert in Pointe aux Trembles at the Maison du Culture on April 12th at 8:00 PM. The tickets are free but you have to call the Maison du Culture to reserve. The number is 514-872-2240.

If you like Dixieland music, this one is for you!

As we enter April, you should know that we are wrapping up the final details of Harmony College Northeast for this summer and should be starting registration about the middle of the month. These are the things we can tell you for sure.

THE DATES: August 8-10, 2003

THE PLACE: Fitchburg State College, Fitchburg, MA

OUR GUEST QUARTETS: The Gas House Gang (1993 International Champs), Freestyle (heir-apparent to FRED as our best comedy quartet), and the Four Rascals (NED's first best quartet). We're hoping to have ALL of our active NED Champion quartets on hand also (that's one of the details!) That means Northeast Connection, Road Show, Overdrive, and Prelude might be on staff too!

TUITION: Same as last year, $120 US full tuition.

We have some nice surprises for you but I can't discuss them yet. We do know for certain that we have room for 36 quartets to be coached if we can find enough coaches and we are in the process of signing them up. We also know that we only have room for 288 because two of the dorms are undergoing renovation. There is a remote chance that we can find a few more beds but, if so, not very many.

So set the dates aside and signup will begin in a couple of weeks.

Get your souvenir lapel pin for the 2003 International Convention. They are on sale for $7.50 CDN or $5.00 US. This is going to be a major fundraiser for the Chapter, and Ron Schurman has already sent out letters to the Presidents of all NED Chapters, encouraging them to send in orders. Replies are already coming in.

Get a supply of pins to sell at the Western Regional Convention. Lots of barbershoppers will be looking to get a pin.

If you are interested in having fun while helping a good cause, you may be interested in bowling while raising funds for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the West Island. They are putting on their annual bowl-a-thon, and would appreciate the support of barbershoppers.

Plans are underway for the 6^th Annual "One Step at a Time" Walk of Hope so please mark your calendars now. The Missing Children's Network Canada, in collaboration with CJAD/MIX 96, is proud to announce that its annual Walk of Hope will be held on Saturday, May 31st, 2003 at Centennial Park in Beaconsfield, 288 Beaconsfield Blvd. This is a great opportunity to be seen by the media. Let’s help raise funds for the Missing Children's Network and help raise awareness of barbershopping in general.

The Bell Centre walk through was very helpful in answering a series of questions for Chairmen of the committees directly involved in the Bell Centre. Locations for the webcast, BarberTots room, judges' room, etc. were chosen. Daryl Bornstein, the production manager for the Society attended and met with the local audiovisual supplier, Solotech.

Bob Ebers and Bert Brossoit have pulled off some incredible coups regarding publicity for the convention and barbershopping in general. They have arranged for extensive opportunities for Montrealers to see barbershop at its best in the shopping areas of downtown Montreal, including Les Ailes de la Mode, Eaton Centre, Place Montreal Trust, Place Ville Marie, etc.

We are very pleased that barbershop quartets have been invited to sing on the outdoor stages during the Montreal International Jazz Festival. This is a real coupe for barbershop, since it will introduce our hobby to a whole new audience.

The International Convention is going to take place in a little less than three months. We are accumulating the reserve of volunteers needed to make this a successful convention. Remember that we will need everyone's total commitment the week of the Contest. The email to volunteers asking for their shirt size has been sent and we are in the process of ordering the volunteer shirts for the people who will be helping us with the Convention.

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

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