Greetings all,

My name is Mark Virtue. I sing Bass in the chorus Sydney Harmony, in
Sydney, Australia, and in the quartet Ignition. I am also a professional
web-developer, specialising in creating database-aware web applications.
Over the last few years I have been developing a highly functional web
application for use in the websites of Barbershop choruses and other singing
groups.

This web application has already been deployed in two sites within
Australia, as well as in the national Australian society (the Australian
equivalent of SPEBSQSA):

* AAMBS (Australian Association of Men Barbershop Singers):
www.aambs.org.au
* Sydney Harmony: www.sydneyharmony.com.au
* The Brisbane River City Clippers: www.rivercityclippers.org.au

In each case, the technology has revolutionized communications within the
membership and cut the administrative workload of the executive by as much
as 50%. I know it's easy to make grandiose claims like this, but I have
some very impressed and delighted chorus and society secretaries who are
prepared to testify to this.

One of the key features of the technology is that it >>> removes the burden
of maintaining the site from away from the webmaster and onto the other
members of the chorus! <<< The webmaster is no longer responsible for
maintaining any of the content of the site. The only remaining job of the
webmaster is to develop new features for the site. This is possible due to
the user-friendly nature of the maintenance of the site.

The site sits on top of an online database, containing:

* The entire membership register
* The chorus repertoire, including sheet music and MP3 versions of all
learning tapes
* The event calendar
* A bulletin board
* Assessment records (who has been assessed on what song)
* Attendance records (which members attended which events/rehearsals/etc,
including graphs of attendances over time)
* Photo Albums
* Quartets
* Merchandise for sale (CDs, T-shirts, etc)
* Sponsors
* Online Suggestion Box
* Visitors' Guestbook

Again, I stress: None of this content is maintained by the webmaster.
Various chorus members are assigned administrative privileges over certain
areas of the system. No technical expertise is required to do any of this
administration.

Another nice feature of the technology is that emails can be sent out to the
entire membership, or individual email addresses, whenever certain parts of
the site are added to or changed.

Naturally, the existing look-and-feel of a chorus's site can be maintained.
This technology can effectively "plug into the back" of any site.

This technology is stable and mature, having been through many iterative
builds. Right now I am looking to take this technology to a broader
audience - thus this email to the group. Full details about this technology
are available on my company's website:

www.virtualcreations.com.au/chorus.htm

I am hoping that some of you will be interested enough in this technology to
allow me to have a chat to your chorus's executive. Naturally I can arrange
a demonstration of this technology, either on an existing site or on a
demonstration site I have created. I can be contacted via
mark@..., or by telephoning +61 411 170517.

My company can also provide very competitively-priced web hosting (see the
website).

Thanks for reading,

Mark.