Exhilaration!

2005 Harmony Incorporated International Champions

is our guest coaching quartet.

Shanno Wilson (bass)

Shanno started studying music at age six and never stopped. She began with piano, but found her calling at age eight, when she joined the church choir. After graduating from a performing arts program in high school, she went on to study voice at Bowling Green State University (OH), where she started barbershopping. Though a lyric soprano by day, she sang bass with the Toledo Seaway Chorus (now Pride of Toledo) of Sweet Adelines and competed in her first quartet at 18. She relocated to Boston where she attended the Boston Conservatory of Music, and spent some time away from the barbershop world. In 1993, she re-discovered the joys of harmony as a bass with the Women of Note chorus of Harmony, Inc., and as a bari with two-time International silver medallist quartet, Heartsong. She also sang lead with crowd favourite, Zing! and was last seen as a bass with 2002 International 4th place medallists, Tunetown.

Dianne Theoharous (tenor)

Dianne was bitten by the barbershop bug in 1991, when she joined the Merrimack Valley Chapter of Sweet Adelines as a baritone. She has been singing since the age of seven when she joined the church choir. She studied the viola in her youth and graduated from the University of Massachusetts in Boston with a degree in Music. Over the years, Dianne has sung in many choruses in the Greater Boston area and was selected to perform in the Massachusetts All State Music Festivals in both viola and voice. Dianne is currently in the award-winning Coastline Show Chorus of Sweet Adelines, Boston Jazz Voices, and The New Greeley Singers.

Wendy McCoole (baritone)

Music has always been a mainstay in Wendy’s life. She played guitar, sang and wrote songs all through her young adulthood and although she grew up in a barbershop family and loved going to shows, she didn’t truly catch the bug until she was in her late 20's when she starting singing in quartets, performing on shows and going to competitions. She has been a member of two International Championship quartets in Harmony, Inc. singing with her sister Debbie Borsari in both of those quartets — Heart’s Delight (won in 1989) and Limited Edition (won in 1995) and currently directs Sounds of the Seacoast chorus, also of Harmony, Inc.. Wendy has taught at numerous barbershop schools and coached a number of men’s and women’s quartets through New England and southern Canada.

Terry Finn (lead)

Well, unlike her quartet mates, Terry does not have the extensive Barbershop experience (maybe because she is the youngest?), BUT she does share an unequivocal passion for 'that old Barbershop style'. Prior to her introduction to the barbershop world in 1999 Terry's musical experiences found her 'crooning' love songs, sacred hymns, jazz and Disney tunes to a variety of audiences throughout New England. She is a member of Harmony, Inc. and Sweet Adelines and brings that 'feeling of lively and cheerful joy' back onto the stage with Exhilaration.

Faculty members on hand to coach quartets and choruses will be:

Exhilaration!, [Shanno, Dianne, Terry, Wendy]
2 time BHS Gold Medallist - Jay Hawkins,
2 time BHS Gold Medallist - Kipp Buckner,
Jim Dodge,
Harmony Inc. Queen - Linda Janes,
Steve Janes,
Renee Tramack,
Diane Coates,
2 time Harmony Inc. Queen - Debbie Borsari,
Harmony Inc. Queen - Morgan Lacroix,
2 time Harmony Inc. Queen - Lindsay Chartier

Mike Gabriella: The Singing Sensation ... How it Feels to Sing Correctly

The basics cover identification, usage and awareness of resonance zones and proper placement of major vowel targets. From here, we use simple songs (melodies) to illustrate how these work. The result is an ability to interpret a song without planning the interpretation, but rather, allowing the placement / lyric and melodic line dictate the result.

Denis Laflamme: Vocal Care Through Singing Technique

Denis is the past director of the South Shore Saints and is currently the director of Ottawa’s Capital City Chorus, Ontario District’s 3rd place Chorus. He is working toward becoming a judge in the Singing Category. This class is an interactive class with some one-on-one work. This class is limited to 15 students in the morning and 15 students in the afternoon.

Rick Spencer: Vocal Care Through Singing Technique

As a Music Specialist for the Society Rick, former tenor of NED Champion Road Show, co-ordinates the Society's Youth in Harmony Program. This class is an interactive class with some one on one work. This class is limited to 15 students in the morning and 15 students in the afternoon.

Larry Bean: Theory Every Singer Should Know

Larry is the lead for The Management quartet. He was a high school music educator in Maine and has participated in many youth outreach seminars. He now works in the computer field. This class is geared toward reading music and what all of the markings on a score represent. It will cover keys, scales, intervals and chords.

Jim Coates: Hook ‘Em and Reel ‘Em In

What can you do to hold your audiences’ attention while you’re not singing? How can you and your group give a more polished and professional performance by making effective transitions from one song to the next and by planning an effective performance package? We will also discuss rule-determined differences between a contest and a show.

Eric Ruthenberg: Sight Singing for Everyone

Eric Ruthenberg lives in Newport, NH. He is the Choral Director at Newport Middle High School, and Music Director of the Concord, NH chapter chorus, The Concord Coachmen. Eric is the chairman of the Society Young Men In Harmony Committee, and has spent several years doing youth outreach in the Northeastern District. This class is geared toward singing the music right off the page. It covers the basics and some advanced topics to help everyone at any level to sing the music at first glance.

Theresa Weatherbee: Make the Music Dance

Movement and gesture fall into a four-level structure for which the final level and ultimate goal is Believability. Without achieving believability, the preceding levels will fall short of truly entertaining the audience. This hierarchy can be expressed as follows: 1. Appropriateness (Plan it!); 2.Unity or Precision (Rehearse it!); 3.Naturalness (Make it your own!); 4.Believability (Give it to someone else!) Theresa has been a member of Harmony Inc. for almost 30 years and a certified Presentation Judge for 8. She currently directs the Valley Voices, a Harmony chorus in her home town of Kentville, Nova Scotia.

Steve Tramack: Vocal Production Boot Camp (Full Day course)

Come and learn the basic "blocking and tackling" skills of proper singing in this informative course, developed by Steve Tramack, a district champion baritone and Musical Director of the Granite Statesmen Chorus of Nashua. Steve ran this class at HCNE and it was a huge success. The class will involve short lectures followed by small breakout workshops, which provide individual singing instruction. Steve will be assisted by some members of his specialised team. Space is limited so register early please.

Quartet and Chorus Coaches: How to Coach

If you want to learn how to coach, what better way than to watch great coaches in action? You can sit in and watch and/or participate in coaching sessions. There is only room for 1 or 2 per coach and the quartet being coached reserves the right to have you watch or participate. Either way, you can pick up many great tools for your own coaching.