Here is the first of the brief "Florida Issues" of The Bulletin for 2012. This one is a tad late. The schedule down here is fun but quite busy. I'll try to hit the deadline for Feb.
You know what they say. "Changes in latitude, changes in attitude"
Jeff Garber- 1/1 Curtis Paulette- 1/1 Jim Elliott- 1/11 Jim Wolfe- 1/11 Jack Kunklier- 1/12 Stan Martin- 1/14 Bob Horning- 1/18 Larry Bond- 1/21 Bill Kuntz- 1/22 Doug Husser- 1/24
Note: Phrases appear between the Bulletin articles. See if you can figure out the Christmas song represented by each phrase. ___________________________________
Barbershopper Of The Year Charles (Rip) Wilson
The honor of being BOTY is certainly one that Rip richly deserves. Since joining our Chapter, Rip has been involved in numerous projects, which include the development of the Gospel Chorus, our Singing Valentines program and, most recently, spearheading the production of our 2012 Annual Show. He has always been eager to provide labor, expertise or, on many occcasions, his home to aid in the operation and growth of our Chapter. Congratulations Rip!
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(Oh, member of the round table with missing areas)
On Saturday, December 10th at 8:00am, about 30 Chapter members met at The Salvation Army headquarters on Maple St. in Akron. We were divided into two groups and bused to Acme stores all around the greater Akron area. Once at the stores, we met with the bell ringers and did a short performance to help make shoppers aware of the fund raising efforts of The Salvation Army.
Coffee, Donuts, bottled water and our own supplyof Christmas spirit were more than enough to keep us singing carols until after the noon hour. This was a departure from our usual Salvation Army gigs of recent years, but it certainly allowed us to cover a wide area and get up close and personal with our audience.
Later that evening, we gathered at The Spaghetti Warehouse for the December business meeting/Christmas party. After dinner, we were treated to songs by Chapter quartets and the chorus. As mentioned in the opening article of this Bulletin issue, it was announced at the meeting that the 2011 Barbershopper Of The Year award went to Charles (Rip) Wilson.
Thank you to Dennis Conrad, who did his usual masterful job in coordinating the whole day's events. ________________________________________________
(Do you perceive the same vibrations which stimulate my auditory sense organ?) _______________________________________________________________
Fox 8 In The Morning
On Monday, Dec. 12th, we made our holiday appearance on the Fox 8 Morning Show. We were ready to give it our all because we really hadn't sung much since Saturday. This is always a great gig and, through the Fox 8 webpage, we can promote our Chapter and the Annual Show. A round of cyber-applause to all who participated in our Christmas TV appearance.
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(Sir Lancelot with laryngitis)
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You don't have to be a barbershopper to enjoy the many wonderful sounds of Christmas, but we certainly get a lift from being able to sing the songs ourselves. Let's sample a few right now.
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(Duodecimal enumeration of the passage of the yuletide season)
(Listen, the winged heavenly messengers are proclaiming tunefully)
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Editors Note: Since Sue and I will soon be traveling south to Florida, by way of Cincinnati (for Christmas) and Hendersonville, TN (for another Christmas), this will be the last full edition of The Bulletin until May, 2012. By the way, we already had Christmas in Kent with Mike and Kim. I will post shortened issues each month to recognize birthdays and mention some brief news or entertainment items. Until then, have a Merry Christmas and I'll see you in the new year. Maybe, if I keep up with the show songs online and we do a repeat show in Medina in May, I can actually be in it.
In what is becoming a Derbytown Chorus tradition, we began our Holiday Season by singing at the John S. Knight Center as part of the annual Christmas Tree Festival.
After a little work on some of our Christmas repertoire, we held our Chapter novice quartet contest. As always, this was a fun activity and gave singers a chance to enjoy the quartet experience, whether for the first time or the umpty-millionth time.
Our President, Jim Bishop, recently entertained three business associates at one of our rehearsals. Pictured with Jim, from left to right are: Maksim Marholin (Goodyear), Sandy Schottenheimer (Goodyear) and George Schottenheimer (Bridgestone). Maksim was visiting from Belarus and he must have enjoyed our singing because he came back to more than one additional rehearsal.
We are all familiar with distinctly American forms of music, like jazz and of course barbershop. The world keeps getting smaller all the time and that helps to explain the appearance of American music around the globe. Here are some examples:
If you haven't seen it yet, the website for this 4th place International quartet has been updated. Click on the "A Mighty Wind" link in the upper left of the Bulletin page to check it out. Thanks to Chapter member Mike Sitter for the 411 on this one.
