The Huron Expositor, 1995-11-01, Page 8S -hill * ON 1110101111TOM, ISSN
Feature
A SONG IN THEIR HEARTS - More than 1,000 people are expected
to attend an all -women's international convention and barbershop
singing competition in London next week, hosted by Seaforth's
Harmony Hi-Lites, and called "Harmony Upon The Thames". The local
group has been together since about 1983 and has about 30 members,
approximately 15 of them originals. Jan DelVecchio of Egmondville is
Bringing
harmony
BY GREGOR CAMPBELL
Expositor Staff
Singing can make you feel
good and it doesn't cost much.
Doing it together 'might not
change the world, but it may
make your small corner of it
just a little bit brighter.
Listen to the lobbies in some
London hotels and restaurants
next week and these simple
truths may ring clear.
It's the 36th annual inter-
national convention and com-
petition of an all -women's
barbershop harmony or-
ganization. More than 1,000
singers and guests from around
the world are expected, and
Seaforth's Harmony Hi-Lites
are not only performing - they
are hosting it!
It is no small chore. The
. local barbershoppers are
responsible for, among other
things, booking facilities, hotel
rooms, transportation, meals,
the programmes, staging,
lighting and sound.
Jan DelVecchio of the Hi-
Lites, who lives in Eg-
mondville, is Chair of the
international, non-profit event
next Wednesday through Satur-
day at the Radisson Hotel and
London Convention Centre.
She has been with the Hi-
Lites since they first started
meeting in 1983, and she says
singing can "energize" you just
like exercise can make some
people feel better.
"Harmony, Upon the Thames"
is the theme of next week's
get-together.
"Since no one can be unhap-
py or angry while singing,
putting a song in the heart of
every person on earth just
might be the key to harmony in
international affairs," notes a
press release from Harmony,
Inc, the official name of this
women's barbershop or-
ganization, one of the largest
such all -female singing or-
ganizations in the world. "Me-
mbers are charged with the
goal of world harmony through
song. Thanks to the outreach
efforts of all barbershop or-
ganizations, more than 70,000
people around the world are
active in the barbershop
movement today."
They feel they might have
the key to peace in our time.
A DOZEN YEARS
Marg Whitmore is the
musical director of the Har-
mony Hi-Lites, who in its
dozen years has competed in
many events in places as far
afield as St. John, Halifax,
Ottawa (twice), Toronto,
Chicago and Rochester. The
Hi-Lites started as a spinoff for
wives of Seaforth's men's
barbershop group, the Harmony
Kings. The Hi-Lites now have
approximately 30 members,
about 15 of whom have been
with them since the beginning:
DelVecchio says their ages
range from 21 to retired, some
have musical backgrounds but
many don't and can't read
music. Various walks of life
are represented - from teachers
(as she is), to nurses, to
secretaries, to businesswomen
and domestic engineers.
They practise year round on
Tuesday nights at Seaforth
Public School. Like the other
24 competing choruses next
week will take about six
minutes singing two songs -
Irish Lullaby and I've Got
Rhythm.
Four of the Hi-Lites will also
once again compete as a quar-
tet, called "Carousel", against
24 other foursomes: Whitmore,
Katie Teall, Debbie Campbell
and Audrey McLlwain.
The songs the Hi-Lites sing
each year arc chosen by the
group's musical committee.
The chorus certainly catches
your eye, with green jackets
and snazzy, black satin skirts.
Last year the annual Har-
mony, Inc. convention was
held in Providence, Rhode
Island. The organization sup-
ports the National Societies for
Autistic Citizens as an official
charity, because "music, as
communication, seems to be an
important tool in establishing
some kind of contact with the
autistically disabled," states one
their news releases.
UNIQUE ARTFORM
Four-part barbershop close -
harmony is a uniquely
American art form, dating back
to New York's Tin Pan Alley
and th m' 1 hows of the
JAMES GRANT
Has left the practice of law
effective OCTOBER 13, 1995.
CHRIS LITTLE
CHERYL MASSON
and
DAVID REID
will continue to serve his clients and
will carry on the practice under the name
LITTLE & ASSOCIATES
LAWYERS
71 Main Street, N.,
Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S3
235-0670
Fa x# 235-1603
GREGOR CAMPBELL PHOTO
Chair of the upcoming event at the Raddisson Hotel and London
Convention Centre. Marg Whitmore is musical director of the non-profit
group. A local quartet, called Carousel, comprised of Whitmore, Katie
Teal!, Debbie Campbell and Audrey McLlwain is also competing. The
chorus has been in many international events in the past dozen years.
to the world
late 1880s. After a men's bar-
bershop organization
(SPEBSQSA) in 1938, the
women got involved in the
1940s. Unrest over structure
and policies and procedures led
to a schism in Sweet Adelines,
Inc. Five chapters, led by
Providence, R.I., left to form
Harmony, Inc. One of the
founding chapters was located
around Barrie and Orillia,
Ontario.
Harmony, Inc. now has more
than 2,600 members in North
America. A sister organization
in Great Britain numbers more
than 1,800. The World Har-
mony Council is made up of
more the 70,000 aficionados of
barbershop -style harmony in
the various organizations.
The three North American
barbershop organizations are
wholly separate entities. An
international convention for
women's singing organizations
is slated for Cardiff, Wales
next year.
LONDON EVENTS
Before the festivities at next
week's convention in London,
the international board of direc-
tors, assistants and advisors
will spend four days in policy
meetings, » finishing with an
"Olde English Garden party"
for early attendees. Games of
court whist, indoor croquet and.
archery aim to put convention -
goers in the swing of things.
Active past champion quar-
tets will have a "Sing With
The Champs" event, with
proceeds going to autistic
children.
Thursday's activities include
meetings around barbershop
activities and craft classes
geared to improving singing
skills and administrative techni-
ques. That evening's entertain-
ment, the Parade of Cham-
pions, features active quartette
champions from as far back as
1977, performances by last
year's championship chorus
and quartet champs, and two
songs by the combined quartet
champs' chorus.
The international quartet
contest starts Friday at 1 p.m..
Entrants qualified by competing
in the spring at six area con-
ventions. The top 10 wilt per-
form in Friday evening's finals.
More than 600 women take
to the stage Saturday, starting
at 12:45 p.m., for the inter-
national chorus contest.
Women from as far away as
Florida, Indiana and Illinois
will vie for top spot.
Convention activities end that
night with a championship
showcase at 8:30 p.m.,
featuring the top four choruses
and quartettes from the com-
petitions.
Sunday morning -London will
seem like a quiet place.
Three Cheers For The
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MPP urges volunteers
Huron -Perth MPP Helen
Johns is big on volunteerism.
"We cannot continue to ex-
pect government to do
everything," she states in last
Friday's press release. `There
must be a new partnership.
Setting new directions for
fiscal responsibility means
there will be more emphasis
placed on individual respon-
sibility."
The Progressive Conservative
added "the mandate given this
government represents a rejec-
tion of institutionalized 'big
government' and a return to the
belief that we all can be more
self-reliant and accept more
personal responsibility" in the
press release.
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