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Well, here we are, the moment so many of us have been waiting for.
We saw such wonderful performances during the semi-finals, everyone
is waiting with anticipation to see what the quartet finalists have
up their sleeves this afternoon. I am sure we're going to have our
socks knocked off.

The quartet medals and crowns are over on stage left.

International president Carole Kirkpatrick takes the stage wearing a
black velvet pants suit. She introducers her family. Pat and Donna
(sisters), mother Fern, Pat (sister in law) Chris (son), Shannon
(daughter) and Chuck (son-in-law).

Carole introduces Sally Wallace, President of the Young Singers
Foundation board of Trustees. (Remember folks...if you like these
reports, PLEASE consider making a donation. You can find the address
in any edition of the Pitch Pipe.)

Sally introduces the third place quartet from last summer's Rising
Star Contest, Tone Appetite. They peek around the curtain, wearing
chef caps and aprons. "When I'm Twenty Four". Maybe I'll be like
Madonna, they stop and try to figure out how old she is...man, isn't
like 40? They are 13, 13, 15, and 16. (Big sigh!) Their tenor has
her pitch pipe on the end of a spatula!

Now they sing the songs they sang at IES. "No One Loves You Better
Than Your M-O-Double M-Y." There are adult quartets that don't have
the unit sound these young girls do. WOW. "Smile" Could someone
please give me the confidence that these girls have? Our
organization has a bright future if this is the caliber of girls
we're recruiting. (All four of them sing with O.K. City.) Their
sound is so pure and sweet.

They have rewritten the lyrics to "We Are Family." "We are Hun-gar-y
for Some Mickey Ds." In the pit, Dale Syverson, who's Rumors quartet
popularized this song, is wiping her eyes she's laughing so hard.

"God Bless America." They receive a unanimous and spontaneous
standing ovation from the appreciative crowd.

Carole is back. The "Master Arrangers" designation is explained, and
the four women receiving the award take the stage. Nancy Bergman,
Norma Andersen, Joni, Bescos and Renee Craig all receive a standing
ovation.

Lifetime achievement award. Nancy Bergman joined Sweet Adelines in
1951. She has achieved nearly every level of distinction this
organization has to offer: Queen of Harmony, Master Director, judge
emeritis, Int'l board of Directors, and even a paid employee of the
organization. Today she was one of the first four women to earn the
title Master Arrangement. Nancy comes to the stage, looking so
lovely with her crown and a black shimmery top.



Quartet members are listed tenor, lead, bari, bass.

Key: ** song that is judged for points; Regional Champions (RC), Wild
Cards (WC), Returning Qualifiers (RQ), ## = queen; first region
number listed is the one in which the quartet qualified; @ means a
member of SING who has outed herself


Mic-tester:
.....Act IV (#12, #24) - WC
.....Debi Thomas, Joyce Wheeler, Kathy Davi, Kim Chadwick
.....Pacific Empire, CAL
Stage Attire: Beautiful long black pants suit jumper with a jacket.
Big rhinestone broach on the shoulder.
They open with "Laughing on the Outside, Crying on the Inside." What
a beautifully delivered ballad. They have such tenderness in the way
they sing.
"Sweet Georgia Brown" Sultry. Great bell chords in the middle and
they end strong. Joyce dons a pair of very thick glasses and
announces that they have discovered a new disease "Sweet Adeline
Dysfunction." Do you harmonize with your vacuum cleaner? Do you
find sequins in your meatloaf? They start Georgia again.....Then
launch into "The Perfect Barbershop Song." The song titles of at
least forty songs are listed and they play to each one. What fun.



.1..Night Magic (#19) - RQ
.....Shirley Eckert, Sharon Ehrisman@, Renee Walsh@, Kathy Martin
.....Jersey Sound, Harbor City Music Company, Heart of Maryland
Stage Attire: Purple pants suit with sparkly jacket. "**Honey's
Lovin' Arms," the tempo starts to pick up as soon as they hit the
chorus. "What is a Morris Chair?" they ask. Strong finish. Kathy
comes to the mike and wants to talk Turkey...we've had more leads
than Connie Noble has crowns...we're just trying to spread joy and
harmony throughout the land. It's our own Member's Count Program.
Go to www.nightmagicleadsearch.com! "**We Make Mistakes," The final
lead hanger and bass slide to the resolution of the chord are
magnificent. Kathy introduces the members of the quartet. "It's
Sandman" Renee does a little dance solo then gets sucked back into
the unit. She wanders off again and is totally into it. She's a
great performer! All joking aside, most quartets would not survive
three leads in four years, but Night Magic is always a great quartet.



.2...Razzcals (#12) - RQ
.....Dana Gibbs, Martha Segura, Cheri Jump, Chris Jette
.....Mission Valley, Sacramento Valley, Voice of the Valley
Stage Attire: Long black backless gowns with a halter top and what
appears to be a plunging neckline, but there is a sequined insert.
"**Red Red Robin" They're up to their usual Razzcal's fun, sexy
selves with this delivery...and they nail the tag. "**Bandstand in
Central Park" It is hard to take your eyes of the lead in this
beautifully sung ballad. She sings with such passion. Dana wants to
do an Irish package...nope...how about Elvis...nope. "In the Wee
Small Hours of the Morning" Again, Martha is featured and she revels
in the spotlight. ...Dana switches to wanting to do a New York
package...how about Michael Jackson? "Happy Together" They are such
good performers...Dana hits a really high note and almost deafens
poor Chris. Dana is still trying to figure things out on the way off
stage.



.3...Musicality (#2) - RC
.....Staci Slamka, Diane Catellane, Dodie La Marte, Kathy Green
.....Spirit of Detroit, Shoreline Sound
Stage Attire: Sleeveless silver sequined bodice over a long dark
skirt. "**Bye Bye Baby/Baby Please Come In," They establish a swingy
tempo and finish with a killer big tag! "**I'm Afraid the Masquerade
is Over," They have such a huge sound, but they are also capable of
establishing and maintaining sustained softs. I really like the
over-all sound of this quartet. They made the hair on the back of my
neck stand up on the tag. Wow. "Thank you judges for inviting us to
be on your show tonight!" "Hooked on the Classics" melds together a
lot of classical music...Mozart, Gershwin, (Rhapsody in Blue),
Beethoven (5th...Ode to Joy)...Wm Tell Overture, Romeo and Juliet,
Alleluja, (We're getting near the end)...The lead had a few vocal
problems but worked them into the schtick very well. What an
entertaining package...reminds of a LOT of Showtime! I wonder if
one of them put it together for them. What fun.


.4...Spotlight (#2) - RQ
.....Kendra LaPointe, LeAnn Hazlett##, Sue Snow##, Patti Britz
.....Shoreline Sound, Spirit of Detroit, Water Wonderland, CAL
Stage Attire: Long sapphire blue velvet duster jackets with multi
colored shirts and the same blue pants. "As Long As I'm Singing" The
tenor is featured on a scat. Huge sound. Sue introduces the
quartet. Baritones are supposed to be the glue, but I feel more like
Duct Tape. "**Melancholy Baby," Very tender a well supported. The
tenor is a bbs brat...there is applause when she mentions her Dad's
quartet, The Vagabonds, and her Mother's, Front Office Four..."Oh,
you remember them? You must be really old!" (I saw Syvia Alsbury
laughing over that one!) "**I Didn't Want to Fall" LeAnn dons a
veil and bouquet half way through to indicate that she really WOULD
like to fall in love!



.5...SALT (#32) - RQ
.....Anna Ohman##, Annika Andersson, Anna-Stina Asplund, Susanna Gran
.....Ronninge Show, Stockholm City
Stage Attire: Black pants and shirt with V-line hem. Green lining
in the sleeves. "**Red Red Robin" We're a lean mean singing
machine! All these gals have to do is blink and they get a reaction,
they're so expressive with their bodies, faces, and voices. The bass
gets a little carried away on the tag but then they pull her back and
the crowd loves them. "**Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" Wow. They
had me mesmerized. "It's Not Unusual" The bass is featured while
the others are various instruments. The lead had a baby two months
ago and they weren't sure they would make it here this year - "Over
the Rainbow" They do this with a slow swingy tempo then switch to
more of an upbeat uptune. I have to share that I think SALT is one
of the most entertaining quartets I've heard, they push the envelope,
and we end up wanting them to push even harder! They walk off the
stage like they've been coached by the Ministry of Silly Walks. What
a fun, fun quartet.

INTERMISSION

Presentation of 50 year pins and lifetime membership. Sorry, she
read their names so fast, I didn't get them all, but 7 of the 15
50-year members are here and they get to walk across the stage.

.6...Contagious (#22, #5) - RC
.....Donna Bates##, Maureen Brzinski##, DeAnne Haugen, Cathie Zimmerman@
.....Crosstown Harmony, River City Sound
Stage Attire: Long copper beaded duster over black pants and shirt.
"Let's Sing Again," Their sound is very clean and pure, then they
open up on the tag and ring the heck out of it. "**Little Man,
You've Had a Busy Day" I've not heard this song before, and they are
making me love it. "**Hey World, Here I Am" We all know that Donna
and Maureen have what it takes but this baritone and bass are right
there! I love the masterful way the bari fills next to Maureen's
huge lead. Wow! The quartet traveled to Jamaica and saw a magic
mirror. The mirror recognized liars and Maureen was caught in the
biggest lie of them all. (I'm not giving it away!) "Hot Hot Hot."
They use a couple of percussion instruments. There is a lot of
audience participation. This quartet was the cleanest we've heard
yet today.



.7...Remix (#32) - RQ
.....Hillevi Martinson, Marie Flink, Camilla Ljung, Inger Bergqvist
.....Ronninge Show, Stockholm City, CAL
Stage Attire: Long purple sheer duster and satin pants, turquoise
shell. "**Taking a Chance on Love/Never Say Never," Cute stuff!
Inger is introduced as a new Int'l board member. Camilla has all
sorts of ideas for her. "**If I Give My Heart to You." Oh so
tender. They're hot. Now Camilla suggests that we have the
international convention in Sweden and they break into a number of
different songs with dialogue interspersed. Then they launch into
"Keep Young and Beautiful" featuring the tenor. She is adorable.



.8...Brava! (#26) - RQ
.....Sandy Robinson@, Lynn Gerard, Elaine Cotton, Shannon Harris@
.....Lions Gate, Green Heart, CAL, Westcoast Harmony
The crowd is going nuts!
Stage Attire: Long black full skirts with long sleeved v-necked tops.
"**Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" They're ringing chords all over
the place, and they display a lot of humor in their interp, complete
with vocal inflection. They are showing that they want this really
badly! They're singing great. "**There's a Tree in the Meadow" Boy
are they singing well. "How Do I Love Thee" features Sandy. This is
a jazzy take on the poem. They end with a killer modern chord. "You
Don't Want Me Anymore," is Lynn's turn to lament the fact that the
quartet seems to want to get rid of her. They even exit of the
opposite side of the stage. An awesome performance from last year's
second place quartet. They may have done it with this performance.


.9...Unplugged (#13, #26) - RQ
.....Teresa McCafferty@, Julie Hagstrom, Anna Chamberlain@, Judy Pozsgay@
.....Pacific Sound, Lions Gate
Stage Attire: Long red duster over black pants and shell. "**Red
Hot" They establish a quick tempo then move into a sultry stomp then
a solid tag. "**Crying Myself to Sleep" This quartet delivers
ballads so well. A lot of it is due to Julie Hagstom's rich lead
voice-I believe her! Oh so beautiful at the tag. They end softly
and tenderly. They found a Genie bottle back stage and the three
harmony parts wish to sing lead "Happy Together" They get their wish
but Julie is stuck singing the other parts, what fun. Teresa even
has to hold her away trying to keep her from the mic! "Gold"...this
is a new Joe Liles arrangement and it's killer. I love when a
quartet is able to do comedy well AND entrance me with their ballads.
Great job, Unplugged.


10...Swinglish Mix (#4, 9, 11, 32) - RQ
.....Eleanor Hawkins, Suzanne Harrington##, Patty Hawley, Naima Meyer##
.....CAL, Ronninge Show, Verdugo Hills, Spirit of the Gulf
Stage Attire: Short black dresses with no sleeves. "**Last Night on
the Back Porch" Eleanor is pregnant (again...I think this is the
third time they've sung at international when at least one of their
members has been pregnant!) and they play to it. "I'm Afraid the
Masquerade is Over" They sing this song wonderfully. They end their
phrases with such energy. "Don't Worry Be Happy" sung C/W style,
complete with cowboy hats! I guess that's what happens when you ask
the Swedish girls to find a C/W song! "It Was Your Song," featuring
Suzanne. Another beautiful ballad telling from where they gather
inspiration.


Marit here... While we wait for the results, we are entertained by
Fanatix, last year's champs. They are dressed as cow"boys" in jeans,
suede jackets, turquoise belt buckles with fringe, and with their
crown adorning the cowboy hats! "I'm Just a Country Girl at Heart"
Connie says they didn't really cut up their crowns to put on the
hats... they reassure the members of the Coronet Club. They have
stretched the paradigm on Sweet Adeline costuming... into the 21st
century. Couldn't come to Nashville without doing a country set...
so they'll go a little "Crazy." Bring out three guys on guitar,
banjo and bass and launch into "Rocky Top." The audience claps along
with the pickin' and gives a cheer. Each quartet member takes the
melody for a few bars and then they four-part the chorus. Is that
all we get? Yes.... the audience is on their feet! Luckily, we'll
be seeing them tonight at the Coronet Club Show.

Carole introduces Joe Giles, who presents the MENC award to Judie
Sharp, from Washington, Michigan, a member of Shoreline Sound Chorus.
Judie asks all of the music teachers to stand - at least 100 people
stand for the applause.

The photo link for this year is:

http://www.sweetadelines.net/files/nashvillesing

--
Laurie O'Brien (and Marti) for the SING Reporting Team
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SweetAdelinesScores/messages
LovejoyMar @ att.net <--remove spaces