2010 4Q Serenader
Transcription
2010 4Q Serenader
February 28, 2010 Volume 58, Issue 3 Nov-Dec 2010 Founded September 14, 1952 Gentlemen, - FROM OUR DIRECTOR - Doug Arrington We are now well into the last third of 2010 and hard at work on music for our annual Christmas concert. We had a great summer, which included several outstanding outings at local churches. I thought this year’s singing was some of the best we've done lately, and your good participation was a big factor. We also were part of the first New Mexico Men's Chorus Showcase which allowed us to sing with a very big group of men and to sing some different music. After a shaky beginning, this project was a very positive experience for all. We concluded the summer with a weekend retreat in Socorro with Gary Bolles as our coach. Once again, he proved to be an excellent choice. I thought everyone came away from the weekend as a better singer (director, included). Please reserve the same weekend on your calendar for next year so you don't miss another opportunity to improve your singing. While we all thought we were singing better this year, our contest scores didn't show it. However, I was very encouraged by the comments at our evaluation and look forward to next year when we will most likely sing the same two songs. Hopefully, we will have most of the 15 members who were unable to attend this year with us. With everything else being equal, a chorus of 45 will score a lot higher than one of 30. This is another weekend to put on your calendar. The contest in 2011 will be in Colorado Springs, a much more convenient location. I encourage all of you to attend as many rehearsals as you can, as we approach the Christmas show. Everyone, individually, and the chorus in general, will perform better if we can rehearse the entire chorus more often. It's hard to know what we will sound like if we rehearse a different group of men each week. Never think that your voice is not important - you are ALL important to the chorus and you are all needed. Doug Serenader - Page 2 -- November-December 2010 New Members as of this Issue BRAD CLEMENT Brad’s story began with his Mom, Audrey Clement, who was an avid Sweet Adeline from 1956 through the 1980’s. She sang in quartets with Lois Twyeffort. And the “moment” came, when, in the 1970’s, Bill Biffle directed the Yucca women’s chorus and often came over to Brad’s house to coach his Mom’s quartet. Currently, his mom now has dementia, but he brought her to the men’s Spring 2010 show with her Sweet Adeline friend, Freddie Martin. With Bill Biffle in the lobby after the show, the rest was obvious. Brad re-introduced Bill to his Mom and Bill, as ever, was quick to seize the opportunity and recruit Brad as a member of The New MexiChords. Brad’s parents moved here from Nebraska in the great engineering migration, in the ‘50’s, to Sandia Labs and Brad was born and raised, here, in Albuquerque. He attended Sandia High School and UNM and earned degrees in Fine Arts with minors in Music and German. He worked at Grandma’s Music as their first employee in the early ‘80s, and got his brother a job there. His brother has now been their upper echelon keyboard and audio manager for the past 20 years. However, Brad went on to be a starving artist, doing a house painting gig and teaching electronic keyboard playing and programming. Some of his childhood (fond) memories, include riding tricycles in their backyard with other “Adeline kids” while their moms rehearsed in the kitchen, invariably breaking into laughter every time they hit a sour note. And he remembers a particular moment around the Cuban Missile Crisis: His family was living temporarily in Kansas City, but his Mom brought the kids back to Albuquerque so she could participate in an Adeline competition. Lois Twyeffort picked us up at the train station late at night and drove us back to our house in the heights. In the dark of night, Ihe could see his neighbors’ house across the street with a gigantic mound of dirt in front, lit up by dozens of round black smudge pots. At the time he didn’t know what all the earthmoving was for, but later found out these neighbors were building a bomb shelter under their driveway! Brad’s music background includes having played keyboards in rock and roll bands for 30 years. He currently plays tin pan alley songs on the piano with his mom, and a lot of ragtime on his own. He hopes someday to be good enough to play out with it. Brad has a god-daughter who was adopted from China, who is now 12 years old and very athletic! His family recently vacationed this summer at Disneyland in Anaheim and the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. They ride bikes and play tennis together, and his god-daughter can now out-run him! He has been a member of the Strawberry Zots, a throw-back 1960’s mod/psychedelic rock band for the past 20 years. He collects old high school and college yearbooks, and is reading the complete Chester Gould Dick Tracy. He is now up to 1945 with the episodes about “Itchy Oliver” and “Diet Smith.” The New MexiChords is Brad’s first Barbershop chapter, and although he has not yet sung with a quartet, he would like to give it a try. He sings baritone, so his prospects should be good. Let’s welcome Brad to the fold and help him get further involved. Serenader - Page 3 -- November-December 2010 Our Contest in Layton UT in September 2010. As we rehearsed and prepared to go on in the competition. And of course we had two quartets, too. Thanks to Celia Cable for this photo before we went on. After School Bill Biffle, Hal Ratcliff, Steve Cooper, Stew Bush Rio Bravo George Franklin, Jerry Qunitana, Rol Blauwkamp, Les Elmer Serenader - Page 4 -- November-December 2010 Here comes the PIANO TUNER----- A alias, Note about the quartet John Elving - MC for the Quartet photos. I took them, myself, results in Layton Utah. without flash....and without charge. The New MexiChords travelled to Layton, Utah for the RMD competition. Now, “they say” that getting there is half the fun, but in this case - well - we did have fun on the way. Some drove to get there in one day...others to take a leisurely 2 days. But in either case, there was plenty to see along the way. Except for those who took to the air. But then they made it in speedy time. From the photos you can see that we were in excellent spirits for our jaunt and we did our best. We even felt good about most of what we did on stage! But when it came to the judges’ comments, it seemed like more like last year (to those who were here last year) - and then,,,,,we seemed to have slightly better music scores than last year....and that is certainly something to jump and scream about! So we came, had fun and were humbled a bit. All in all we had a great time, heard some superb singing and felt that we learned a lot along the way. So enjoy the photos and let’s keep singing! Gary and Celia Cable, catching a moment of rest during the tiring ride. Below: Richard Grady during a quiet moment. And to the left, we see a ghostly image of the famous Shiprock was it really there? Serenader - Page 5 -- November-December 2010 Meet me at the Fair........ Two of our quartets wandered main street at the ABQ Fair in September, 2010, singing as they went. After School Steve Cooper, Bill Biffle, Stew Bush and Hal Ratcliff “After School”, with an adoring audience typical of their jaunt through the ABQ Fair. And as they wandered up and down Main Street of the Fair, they attracted the attention of the audiences they came upon. And lo and behold, The Delivery Kats came to the rescue as well! The Delivery Kats (Deliverymen and Harmonikats) Gil Whalen, Nick Maxwell, Ron Randall , Barney Brumley Serenader - Page 6 -- November-December 2010 At a recent rehearsal, we had a brief visit from Dick White and his lovely wife, Pat. He was one of our Frank Thorne members. And for those who are not familiar with the Frank Thorne membership, it is basically a member at large. They pay no local dues, only District and International dues. This was originally established for guys that wanted to only sing with a quartet and compete, but did not take part in chorus activities. One of our basses, John Taylor (lower left--he's the one on the right!), belongs to the New Mexico Steam Locomotive and Railroad Historical Society. This group is restoring the locomotive that sat in Coronado Park for nearly fifty years and is now mostly disassembled at the organization's World Headquarters at 8th and Haines in Albuquerque. These photos are from a recent open house at the restoration site. JohnTaylor and friend, Sugar, at the head of their train. For those who are further interested in the train project, please have a look at: www.nmslrhs.org Serenader - Page 7 --November-December 2010 From the Election on October 12, 2010 for the 2011 Board of Directors of the New MexiChords We have: President – Carl Pennington Treasurer – Arlo Nelson Secretary – Gil Whalen Performance VP – Mike Taylor Music VP – Ron Randall Marketing VP – John Taylor Membership VP – Keith Pederson Program VP – Hal Ratcliff Members-at-Large – J.D. Lucas, Paul Rowe, Richard Grady, and Bill Eyler. The New Mexichords SERENADER The Serenader is published periodically and is distributed to members free of charge. Editorial comments, articles, photos, donations and address corrections may be sent to the editor: Arnold Cohen 1508 Escalante Avenue, SW Albuquerque, New Mexico [email protected] Serenader - Page 8 -- November-December 2010 The New MexiChords Place Postage Here 1508 Escalante SW Albuquerque, NM 87104 To Barbershop Harmony Fan: New MexiChords Mission Statement The members of the Albuquerque Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society dedicate themselves to: - Continually seek the joy to be found in singing well in the barbershop style. - Promote the benefits of our hobby at every available Vision Statement It is the vision of our chapter to achieve continuous improvement in our music, presentation, and singing, and to achieve a high level of performance. opportunity If you would like to view this newsletter in color, visit our website at www.newmexichords.com and click on the link: “Serenader” and find 2010 3Q SAVE THE DATE ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CONCERT Saturday, December 11, at 2 and 7 pm and Sunday, December 12, at 3 pm . For more information call 505-323-6435
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