My name is Melissa and I am a proud member of the Canadian Showtime Chorus (CSC). I am an 11-year member in Region 2 with the “Festival Sounds Chorus” out of Stratford, Ontario, and now a 1-year Region 16 member!

Singing with CSC has been a joy and a delight! One of the best decisions I have ever made! During the COVID-19 pandemic I found CSC when they offered an experience of a life time - a Christmas Virtual Greeting card. Sweet Adelines and others from all over the world tuned in to learn from Joe Connelly and sing with the CSC chorus. I fell in LOVE with chorus and when their new member program opened up a month later I anxiously sent in my audition track. I have been a Sweet Adeline in my home chapter for 10 years, but something about auditioning for a new chorus causes anxiety! Well I passed the first round of auditions and was invited to join the new members program. I was given a song to learn and a visual plan! I work on them for a few weeks (learning a visual plan via YouTube videos is certainly much more difficult than learning it in person). Then came the final audition … first I was put in a room with the FAB4 and Joe for the vocal audition where I sang in quartet with Tim Warwick (a recording of course), then I was zoomed to another room where I performed the visual plan that I worked so hard to learn! Then I joined in on the regular rehearsal where I waited anxiously all evening to find out if I passed my audition. I was the last to be announced and I was elated when they called my name and welcomed me into the fold!

I continue to attend all the zoom rehearsals until we took a short summer break and then finally, when we resumed rehearsals in August we were able to meet safely outside IN PERSON! I packed up my car and drove 6.5 hours to my first in-person rehearsal with CSC. There was no turning back. For 3 weeks I made the 6.5 trek to sing in person! Then work started and I had to resume virtually. This hasn’t stopped me as each week I join rehearsal via Facebook Live and continue to drive to Ottawa from Stratford for rehearsals and coaching whenever I can!

Joining CSC has provided me with so many amazing opportunities. I have learned from our FAB4 and Joe each and every week. Plus I have had 2 virtual PVIs with Tim Warwick and 1 PVP with Erin Howden. I have proven to myself that I can in fact drive on the 401 all the way to Ottawa and I have made some amazing new friends! I have also made history with CSC when we recorded and submitted our video recording for regional contest and we won first place Division AA and first place over all.

I love that technology allows me to be a part of the CSC family!!! Although I wish that I could be there each week in person, I’m just so glad that I have a way to tune in each week so that I can have my bucket filled. I can’t wait to go to Kentucky in 2023!

by Melissa Wright