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| Back in October we were tremendously honoured to be invited to Province House, the home of our Provincial government, by our Premier, the Hon. Tim Houston. This was as a send-off to our International Convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At that time we did a 25 minute performance on the beautiful, wide staircase at the interior entrance to Province House, which was received with a great deal of warmth and excitement. After lunch, 10 of us from the chorus were invited to attend the Assembly as special guests. At that time, our local MLA, Hon. Becky Druhan, introduced us with this Statement which is pictured below. Last week Becky visited us at our rehearsal to officially read the Statement to our members and present us with this beautiful official copy of it, in a leather bound folder. I especially love the closing paragraph - "Speaker, please join me in celebrating this incredible group of women, who unite and inspire each other through music and song. Seaside A Cappella is a found family of soul sisters who deliver joy, optimism, and harmony to our community and beyond." Following that October event Becky attended several rehearsals as well as ourAnnual show, and is definitely a 'wanna-be' member of our chorus. |
| The schedule for the weekend and the contest patterns are now available. Members can now log in and see what the weekend has in store! | |
| For more information, see: | www.harmonyarea1.ca/dbpage.php?pg=acc |
| Time is running out to register for Sing into Spring! | |||
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| For more information, see: | www.harmonyarea1.ca/SIS24 | ||
| Congratulations to our Area 1 - 3rd place winners quartet - Wired 4 Sound Convention & Contest was held in Sackville, NB June 2023 |
| Please spread the word to share the HarmonySite to any group that would benefit from having a website that is user friendly. It could be any of the following:
A centralized group management tool A website to promote your group/choir/chorus A communications hub for the members Check out the link https://www.harmonysite.com to find out about pricing and their referral program. | |
| For more information, see: | https://www.harmonysite.com/ |
Each year, the members of Sea Belles vote on who should receive the "Barbershopper of the Year" award. It goes to someone who makes everyone feel welcome, is kind and helpful, and offers their skills to the chorus by taking on a leadership role. This year, the winner is Bernice Blake-Dibblee!!! Bernice worked tirelessly as the Sea Belles President throughout COVID to keep us going during difficult times. She has given the chorus countless hours of her time over the past 3 years, all with a positive attitude and willingness to help! Her dedication to Sea Belles is unmatched, and we are endlessly grateful for all she does. Congratulations, Bernice!!!! |
 Island A Cappella has been invited by the City of Charlottetown to perform at The Opening Ceremony for Canada Day! A huge thanks to Area 1 Education Co-ordinator and Island A Cappella's Baritone Kelly Mullaly for setting this up. Come out and celebrate Canada Day with us! |
| Seaside A Cappella is immensely proud of Music Director Judy Comeau who was honoured as a Special Citizen by the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg. The honour recognizes Judy's dedication as a volunteer. Here's what the organizers had to say: Each year the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg recognizes volunteers from across MODL that work to make their communities a better place to live through their volunteer efforts. From the overall list an individual is chosen to represent all the volunteers of MODL at a provincial volunteer recognition event in Halifax. At the MODL Council meeting of April 12th, an individual was chosen to be the MODL representative and that person is Ms. Judith A. Comeau, of Pleasantville. Ms. Comeau established a show chorus called Seaside A Cappella representing the Town of Bridgewater as members of Harmony, Inc., an international organization of women singers. She volunteers 5-8 hours per week, with many more hours dedicated to preparing for performances. Her combination of energy, enthusiasm, experience, and skill are what set her apart as an inspiring director. Although she works with a Music Team and a Board of Directors, Judy leads the chorus with a vision based on over 50 years in barbershop organizations, directing and coaching several award-winning choruses across Canada. Her goal is "ordinary women coming together to make extraordinary music". She emphasizes the educational aspect of the organization, teaching singers to produce the exact same sound at the same time, focusing on producing correct vowel sounds and using proper vocal techniques. Ms. Comeau has racked up an impressive list of honours in various competitions through the years, including International Championships in 2008-2009, and again in 2012-2013, silver medal showings at the National Musical Festival put on by CBC Radio, and at the World Choir Games, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Comeau's passion has taken her as far away as St. Petersburg, Russia, with her previous chorus for a seven day concert tour, at the invitation of the Russian Ministry of Culture." Congratulations to Judy Comeau on this newest award to her resume. | |||
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Jamie (she/her/hers) is a performing artist, educator, virtual assistant, and life coach, with a B.A. in music from Smith College and an M.S. in community economic development from Southern New Hampshire University. She spent the past five years travelling, teaching and performing across the U.S. with her husband, Ross Malcolm Boyd, while simultaneously developing online music education and virtual assistant businesses. After spending the early part of her career as a professional musical director, arts educator, and performer, she started her own theatre company in New Hampshire in 2010, and in 2020 she completed a life coaching program to help sensitive, aspiring adventurers get the confidence & tools to bring their own dreams to life. In August of 2021, she and her husband realized another dream: returning to Charlottetown (after a honeymoon visit in 2014), where her husband is studying music at UPEI. She’s delighted to find that barbershop is a place where all of her directing, conducting, creative, and leadership skills are well-utilized, and she couldn’t be happier to be making new friends on the island and joining the community that is Island A Cappella. A few more facts about Jamie? She loves the outdoors and dancing, will drop almost anything for great (gluten-free) ice cream, and she refuses to believe that there is any need to lead a conventional life – unless you want to! Although Jamie's official start date is not until the New Year, she can be contacted now at: director@islandacappella.ca Welcome, Jamie! |
| Check out our hobby members https://youtu.be/O7xbGvbZSIg | |
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| Another wonderful Virtual Harmony Harvest completed. A big thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time for our event. Now, for the winners of the games. They are as follows: 1. Judy McNab - Sing with Tonic! 2. Janet Bernier - PVI with Judy Robichaud 3. Patricia Watson - PVI with Sue Kember 4. Jeannette Cormier - First in line for meal (after judges & head table) at our next ACC event 5. Catherine Evans - Featured on Area Member Celebration of Area 1 website 6. Gillian Nichol - Big Bang Promo Item 7. Judy Comeau - Big Bang Promo Item 8. Jill Reid - Free AEP next ACC event Congratulations to ALL! |
| Check out Area 1 Harmony Inc Virtual Chorus Video 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT3ZLbfu7tA | |
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| While Elsa makes her rainy way through the region, it's a perfect time to snuggle in and watch the recordings from our Virtual Area 1 Convention on June 4th and 5th. Due to some unexpected technical glitches, some events were not recorded BUT you'll find MOST of them in the "Videos" folder in the Member Only section of the Area 1 website. We expect to be sharing the completed Area 1 Virtual Chorus Video very shortly too... Please stand by! |
| Congratulations are going out to Margie Fife, Area 1 Associates Co-ordinator for winning the 2021 award for highest increase by 44.4% with Associate Membership. Margie, you continue to do a fantastic job for the Associates and Area 1. Thank you! |
| Each year a lucky chorus is awarded with a $1000 for the Karen Gordon Scholarship Award that usually is awarded at our Area Contest Convention but due to Covid restrictions and the cancellation of our ACC 2020 this year the ScotianAires have so thoughtfully awarded the scholarship to Area 1 Council to go towards education. It was presented at our Virtual Convention just held June 4-5, 2021. On behalf of Council and Area Members, we would like to thank the ScotianAires for their thoughtfulness and kindness for donating the $1000 so that all members of Area 1 will get to enjoy the education that surely will help us all with our hobby of acapella singing. Harmony Hugs! |
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CONGRATULATIONS
Elaine will be receiving a FREE All Access Pass (AEP) for our next AC&C, compliments of the Area 1 Council.
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It's A Wrap!
The Virtual Area 1 Convention Planning Committee is blown away by the fact that we had 175+ attendees logged on for our kick-off events on Friday night - and the same number again on Saturday for our Education Day! We were thrilled that total includes 51 "Barbershop Buddies" as well.
More than 40 people collaborated to make our event happen. We appreciate your support and enthusiastic participation.
Please complete your Satisfaction Survey we so can receive your feedback and continue to make future Area 1 events relevant and engaging.
And we hope to have the recordings of the events, the individual sessions, Milestone Presentations AND our beautiful Virtual Chorus Video of "It's the Music That Brings Us Together" available in the Member portal of the Area 1 Website shortly. Thanks for your patience.
Thank you to Clay Hine for donating the song to all members of Harmony Inc and to the Presenters Jeanne O'Connor, Jill Rodgers, Jen Cooke, Katie Taylor, Mark Kettner, Liz LeClair, Nathan Ogg, Kim Wonders, Philip Grant, Sandi Wright, Clay Hines, A big thankyou to Sue Kember, Tonic, Harmonix, Nova Quattro, enJOY!, TAMbre, Retake, AtTUNEment, Big Bang Promotion. Thank you to all members who participated in the audio and video production, too many to name. Lastly, thank you to Kelly Mullaly, Tanya Reid, Christy Arseneau, Eleanor Conrad and Paul Grimm for all the work put into the audio and video production.and education. Thank you Sing Canada for your donation towards our convention and to Linda McMaster, Area 1 Director, our fearless leader. |
Do you live in NS, NB, NL or PEI and want to learn more about a cappella singing in the barbershop style?
We have a LIMITED NUMBER of spots available for women in the Atlantic region to join us for our no-cost online Virtual Area 1 Convention on Friday, June 4th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm (ADT) and/or Saturday, June 5th from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm (ADT). Check out the schedule of events at this link: https://bit.ly/3sOSMB8 then sign up soon as a “Barbershop Buddy” using this simple online form: https://forms.gle/HyzsHFVit5G4tnzT9 and we’ll send you the Zoom login coordinates for the event! Questions? Drop us a line at: area1director@harmonyarea1.ca |
| Chorus member Elaine Blanchard has had an article about her journey with the ScotianAires published in an e-magazine for the insurance company Intact. The story was published just before Christmas and goes out to over 15 000 Intact employees across Canada! In the article, Elaine talks about she came to join the ScotianAires and how being part of this chorus community has helped her cope during the socially isolated days of the pandemic. We have attached the article for your enjoyment! | |||
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| Area 1 was successful in receiving a $250.00 grant from Sing Canada which will help with our Zoom cost for 2021-2022 year. If you're able, please look at placing Sing Canada on your list to donate any funds available. More to come about Sing Canada in your next Area Ensemble. Thank you again Sing Canada!! |
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| Seaside A Cappella was proud to see itself in headlines in a local Lunenburg County publication recently. Views of our virtual chorus video, mentioned in the article, now number more than 6,300 ! | |||
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.jpg "Area 1 Director Linda McMaster installed to the International Board of Directors. Congratulations Linda!")
.jpg "Kim Meechan of the ScotianAires installed to the International Board of Directors. Congratulations Kim!")
| In case you missed it during Harmony Harvest, here's a link to Seaside A Cappella's virtual chorus production of That's Life. We are proud to have more than 4,800 views now. Enjoy! | |
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| Seaside A Cappella is very proud to have Linda Brehaut as an Honorary Member. A dual member with Valley Voices, Linda served as President and later as Past President of Seaside A Cappella since its inception. She was instrumental in laying the foundation and moving us through the gate to charter status in 2018. We first announced Linda's Honorary Membership at our 2020 AGM, however, we were not able to make a presentation at that time because of pandemic restrictions. However, on October 19, Music Director Judy Comeau and Past President Yvonne Rafuse were honoured to be able to meet with Linda in person to finally present her with a framed certificate. We were pleased that Deb Moreau of the Valley Voices accompanied Linda, as she too was a founding member of Seaside A Cappella. Shown: Linda Brehaut, far left, with Yvonne Rafuse and Judy Comeau, standing, and Deb Moreau. |
 Whether you were able to attend or not, your feedback about our virtual Harmony Harvest education event will provide important information for the planing of future events. Please take a few minutes to answer our BRIEF satisfaction survey at this link, with our thanks! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SHZYZLX |
| Seaside A Cappella is one of four finalists for this month’s Awesome South Shore award. Each month, the Awesome Foundation (https://awesomesouthshore.ca/) chooses a worthy South Shore organization to receive a $1,000 grant, no strings attached, just for spreading awesomeness! Here’s how it works: We get to make a “live on ZOOM” four-minute pitch to the Trustees of Awesome on: Wednesday, September 2 7 – 9 pm Atlantic time (tune in a few minutes early) The event is live to the public. We’d love your support. Join in and cheer us on! Pre-register free at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/online-1000-no-strings-attached-giveaway-tickets-112814898398 | |
| For more information, see: | awesomesouthshore.ca |
| Newfound Sound was very proud to receive the Area 1 Membership Award to acknowledge our 28.6% increase in membership for 2019-2020. Seven of our new members joined Harmony with our March 2020 renewal, plus three joined in March 2019, bringing our current membership total to 27. Our chorus worked hard to attract members over the past two years using a free a cappella vocal workshop and lots of PR campaigning, both in person and online. A generous grant from the Bruneau Centre for Excellence in Choral Music at MUN supported our goal to promote and sustain women’s barbershop singing in the province. With our new logo, updated posters, business cards and letters, we hope to continue our efforts to strengthen our membership and take on more performances. President Anna Tapper and Vice President Anita Power Taylor proudly display the certificate. We are looking forward to having a formal presentation with our membership in the future when it is safe to gather in person. Thank you Area 1 for the recognition and continued support! For more information about Newfound Sound or to contact us, please visit us on Facebook Newfound Sound Barbershop Chorus our webpage www.newfoundsound.org or email us newfoundsound@hotmail.com | |||
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