When unexpected things hit you, you can choose to panic and fall into hopelessness or you can harness the opportunity to make a great life even greater! Pause before you act, plan for everything to turn out well and trust in your ability to be okay! 

One week after spring contest 2023, Canadian Showtime Chorus’ world took a flip when our chorus director announced his resignation following the guidance of his physicians. After suffering double mal seizures in early March and being diagnosed with epilepsy, something had to give, and the recommendation was the weekly commute to Ottawa to direct CSC. It was with a heavy heart that Joe submitted his resignation and that we accepted it.

We had 5 great years with Joe and during that time, he focused on growing the inhouse talent. He encouraged and inspired leaders within our chorus, sharing the workload, tasking and believing in the outcomes and empowering individuals to become successful by encouraging us all to lead from where we stood! Part of his success was forming his assistant directorship team. How fortunate that CSC ended up with an associate director and 3 assistant directors in house! 

Pivot! The Management Team quickly gathered to discuss next steps. Being so close to our AGM, we decided to postpone it – Pause before you act – in order to discuss an interim directorship gig with our associate director, revisit the chorus program and budget for the following fiscal year and plan a strategy to communicate with and engage the membership. 

We were thrilled that Julie Sykes, former Associate Director, accepted to take the lead and direct us on an interim basis. We had a fireside chat and the management team laid out all outcomes of discussions with our coaching team and plans to get us through the next several months. We canvassed the chorus to determine interest in competing in Louisville in October and the response was a resounding yes!    Julie signed a Director Agreement at the AGM and will take us to the big stage. We will postpone a director search until the fall as to not upset the applecart between now and international convention. Plan for everything to turn out well!

We are delighted to have support and guidance from our friend extraordinaire, Erin Howden! She immediately reached out and said “I will help in any way you need me!” and agreed to work with us monthly until Louisville.  We just had the most AMAZING two nights with her and she not only provided her usual gems for the singers but also helped Julie find her hands and mentored her in the very fine art of directing.   

The energy in the room the last couple of months has been infectious and we are in such capable hands with Julie at the helm! She is growing and developing by the minute! Every individual singer is stepping up and committing to the team and the journey ahead, trusting in their ability to be okay!

We miss Joe and we wish him well and thank him for helping develop such a healthy and courageous village. We are in this together and we can’t wait to show you where we go from here! We aim to be true to ourselves and make you all proud as we represent you at International in Louisville in November!    We are Lake Ontario Region 16 – We are Sweet Adelines!!

JD Crowe
CSC Team Coordinator