It’s contest weekend!! As the 2018 Regional Champions, it is our honour and privilege to sing away the ‘trophy’ and hand the title over to another deserving chorus of Lake Ontario Region 16! All this happens on Saturday, April 6, 2019, at the Crouse Hinds Theatre in Syracuse, New York! Shameless plug …. check us out on webcast at www.region16webcast.com if you can’t be here in person!!
Last night (Dec 4th) was our last gathering of 2018. Our chorus party! It was a lively, boisterous affair with great food, laughter and friendship! It was a night for reflection on this incredible journey we’ve been on with the awesome and mighty Joe Connelly, Master Director Extraordinaire of Canadian Showtime Chorus (CSC).
It’s all about Team play! It’s all about growth, development and fine tuning of the skills we’ve acquired over the years under the expert direction of our former master director 700! It’s about adopting the A level singer’s mentality and pushing the envelope to achieve our goals. It’s about re-energizing and adopting new rehearsal practices that encourages – and yes, demands - personal accountability and commitment. It’s all about Team play!!
Our last blog reported on our final success at Regional Contest with our master director 700 and talked about a transition team that would guide us through the winding waterways to port where we would meet up with our new captain, Joe Connelly! This deck scrubber is excited to report that although we may have set sail with some trepidation, some self-doubt and perhaps a wee bit of fear of the unknown, the journey was clear sailing and all survived! In fact, we picked up a few new singers along the way – some who had drifted away from us for a while; and some singers who are brand new to us but not to barbershop and Sweet Adelines! Loads of room on our singing barge, so they climbed aboard!
… and eventually, all journeys must come to an end! Lake Ontario Region 16 contest April 19 to 22, 2018 marked the end of Canadian Showtime Chorus’s journey with founding director Sandie Nason. What a parting gift for her – we won gold and will represent Region 16 at International Competition in New Orleans in September 2019. We could not be more thrilled!!
Two years in the making – the final journey with our founding Master Director 700 Sandra Nason!!
Canadian Showtime Chorus has had many lasts in the past 12 months leading up to Sandie’s retirement! Our last appearance on the International Stage (Vegas III) with her; our final coaching sessions with the amazing Erin Howden and Joe Connolly with Sandie in the room; our last show at Centerpointe Theatre – For Sentimental Reasons; and finally our last coaching session with Sandie – our family time – for the final stretch of our journey to the regional stage!!
Our home city Ottawa celebrated Canada’s 150th anniversary with style this year and kicked off the celebrations with a fine display of fireworks! Canadian Showtime Chorus entered 2017 knowing it was our last complete year with our founding director Sandie Nason and we set out to celebrate her successes!
It is here!! What the last 18 months have been about – since that moment 2 regional contests ago when we came second and qualified as a wildcard for Vegas III!
Truth be known, however, this journey started 35 years ago when Canadian Showtime Chorus chartered! Our founding director, master director 700 Sandie Nason, had vision – and the talent – to bring us to this stage and I couldn’t be more proud to be part of this formidable team!
What a night! In so many ways, not so very different from any other rehearsal as we followed our usual pattern of physical warm up, vocal warm up, starts and stops, intros and tags, reps with choreo, reps without. Down to the fine-tuning that will get you across the finish line! It’s all there! Nothing can stop you and only YOU can get in your way!! Time to shut the brain down, free the emotions and let your heart soar.
