The
End of the Rainbow
By Scottsdale Chorus
Scottsdale Chorus is still basking in the pure joy and excitement
of winning the Sweet Adelines International Chorus Competition in
Detroit! The entire week was truly magical, from our rehearsals
onsite, to the excitement of being on the stage, to the exhilaration
of hearing our name called as the 2006 International Chorus Champion.
We are so grateful to the Board of Directors and the staff at Sweet
Adelines headquarters for the monumental dedication it took to relocate
this year’s convention. Our hearts continue to be with our
members, their families and their neighbors who still struggle daily
with recovery from the natural disasters that lead to the change
of venue.
Our chorus membership in Detroit included members who had never
been to an International Competition, long time Sweet Adeline members
who had not sung with Scottsdale on the International stage, and
a number of seasoned members who have been on that stage with the
chorus many times. Scottsdale has a long history of competitive
success, never placing lower than third in the thirteen International
contests we have entered since 1976.
Although we had won two International gold medals in the past under
the direction of Bev Sellers, this was our first International Championship
with Lori Lyford as our director. Lori has been an inspiring and
motivating leader, truly our life force, in her twelve years with
us. Her energy and commitment to musical excellence is boundless
and we are so fortunate to have her as our director. Detroit will
always hold a very special place in all of our hearts. Those of
us who have been in the chorus many years realized that it is possible
to win a gold medal for the first time … all over again!
As we began our preparations for this international, Lori challenged
us to think about what we would say if we were charged with the
responsibility of writing this article for The Pitch Pipe
as the new champion. What would we as individuals want you to know
about our chorus and its journey? What made this time different
from all the others? Why were we able to succeed when we had been
so close so many times before without realizing the dream of gold?
After we returned from Detroit, we compared our stories and found
these
common threads.
We chose to prepare in new ways.
To our kick-off retreat in June of 2004, our incomparable coach
of body and mind, Erin Howden, brought the movie, Miracle,
the story of the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team. From the movie, the
mantra “Again!” became our watchword at rehearsal. We
began to focus on performance in every repetition that invited our
audience (or the walls of the rehearsal hall) to our onstage party!
The repetitions built the stamina we needed to sing with freedom
and passion. After all, there are no do-overs in barbershop! By
the time we had reached our “Go for the Gold” show in
September of 2005, we were able to make every first performance
the best performance.
Since Nashville in 1998 when we did our ’40s set, we had concentrated
on the performance/theatre aspect of the Saturday Finals package.
We love creating characters and weaving songs together in a story.
It was quite a departure from the past few competitions for us to
focus more on the music than the story for our package this year
and it felt a little bit risky. Would our audience be disappointed?
We decided to choose excellent music and let the package reveal
itself. For many of our singers, the ability to concentrate more
completely on the music made a difference this year.
Our preparation in unit sound took a different turn with the addition
of Joni Bescos to our coaching team. At her suggestion, we added
section duet rehearsals throughout the summer of 2005. The extra
time together required our members to demonstrate extraordinary
commitment to the goal and to each other. The end result bonded
more than our vowels and vocal production into a unit.
Our tag-team of coaches was relentless in their follow-through with
the chorus. Add to Joni and Erin the energy, skill and drive of
Tony de Rosa and the consummate teacher of all things barbershop,
Dale Syverson. What one coach produced in a session was expected
to be in place by the next coach because they communicated with
each other. They never let us up! Tony threatened to be able to
hear a certain key change in Florida if we ever missed it again,
and the truth was, he did hear about it from the team. Our coaches’
expectations were high, and we became inspired by our ability to
meet their expectations. We knew we were on our way when Tony jumped
up and down, or Dale turned to wipe away tears. No coach can make
a difference, however, without a director who is devoted to doing
what it takes to “keep the ball in the air.” Lori’s
greatest strength as a teacher is her eagerness and willingness
to be a student first.
We chose to believe.
It was Joni who asked us to visualize winning. During a session
in the spring of 2005, she called off a possible countdown that
lead to our chorus being named champion. The tears flowed freely
as we finally acknowledged out loud to each other and ourselves
that we wanted to win! We wanted our names to be called at the end
of that list of fabulous competitors. Our friend and therapist,
Erin, had asked us to recognize the disappointments we had felt
in the past. Realizing that our fear of another disappointment was
our greatest obstacle allowed us to break free and risk all with
all of our hearts.
From that point through what we laughingly call “the long,
hot summer,” the camaraderie, laughter, and intensity built.
From retreat with Tony and Erin in June to our final retreat with
Dale in September we were all about vocal freedom. To complete the
transformation, we even upgraded our undergarments, and we all became
“thong birds!” One of our long-time members and spiritual
leaders, Sue Shuckhart, created a wonderful visualization to transport
us as we imagined what a perfect week at competition in Detroit
might be. At our final Tuesday rehearsal before Detroit, Lori shared
the DVD of her performance for Maureen McGovern in Dallas. As we
held the lyrics in our hands, we listened to her wish for us in
the words of the song, Anything Can Happen.
Some things you trust, but can’t explain
Like finding rainbows after the rain…
Don’t be afraid to take a chance
Don’t look down each time that you dance
Trust your heart, and believe, come what may
Then anything can happen, if you let it happen,
Anything can happen today!
Starting with our first rehearsal on Tuesday night in Detroit, we
could feel a new kind of energy and excitement. Every rehearsal
was filled with family and fans, and we fed off their response to
our music. We can’t say enough about Dale Syverson’s
presence with us in Detroit. As Lori mentioned from the stage at
the end of the competition, “Dale was our heartbeat.”
As Lori, Dale, Tony and Erin continued to add layers and polish
to our performances, we began to feel the power of believing. For
the first time in many years, we knew that if we shared our music
with the confidence that preparation brings and the desire to touch
our audience, we could never fail.
Our week in Detroit was filled with countless memorable experiences.
One of the most moving was going backstage after we received our
medals to be greeted by the members of our Region 21 friends in
the Harborlites Chorus, who sang Tonight to us. What a
thrill! As the buses pulled away from Cobo Arena to take us back
to the hotel for our celebration dinner and party on Saturday, we
were treated to the sight of a brightly colored rainbow arcing across
the sky. And yes … there was definitely gold at the end of
that rainbow!
