Ladies
and Gentlemen: SWINGLISH MIX!
By
Fred Farrell, 1989 International Champion, SECOND EDITION and longtime
friend of SWINGLISH MIX
The onstage accomplishments
of SWINGLISH MIX, the newly crowned Sweet Adelines International
Champion Quartet, speak for themselves. As a perennial medalist
quartet since its inception, starting with a fourth place finish
in Salt Lake City in 1997, and culminating in an International Championship
in November, they have displayed their talents for the world to
see. But what makes this story really intriguing is how they do
what they do.
The four members of SWINGLISH
MIX did at one time all live in Louisville, Ky., three of them as
members of Pride of Kentucky Chorus, and this is where they got
their start as a quartet. Today, tenor Eleanor Hawkins is the only
member of the quartet that still lives in Louisville. Bass Naima
Meyer lives in Ft. Myers, Fla., lead Suzanne Harrington is now back
in her native Rönninge, Sweden, while baritone Patty Hawley
resides in Woodland Hills, Calif. But the individual and collective
talents of these four women, along with their strong friendship
and love for one another, fuel their passion and keep them going
strong.
Weeks of planning precede a
typical SWINGLISH MIX rehearsal. Suzanne and her husband Doug, also
a champion quartet singer and the quartet’s primary coach,
map out a musical plan for the quartet and make four-part learning
tapes complete with interpretation … always subject to change
of course!
Everyone does her homework ahead
of time, while continually corresponding via e-mail and phone.
Typically, the first few hours
of a rehearsal weekend are spent catching up, laughing, and simply
enjoying each other’s company. After all, each rehearsal also
doubles as a mini-reunion. When it’s time to get to work, they
work … and work … and work!
For example, just a month prior
to their winning performance in Nashville, SWINGLISH MIX performed
at the annual Labor Day Jamboree at the Innisbrook Resort in Florida.
After their afterglow performance in the wee hours of Monday morning
it was finally time to relax and enjoy the party. WRONG! At 3:00
a.m. on Monday morning, I stopped by their room only to find them
sitting around the table, tape recorders in one hand, chips and
salsa in the other, putting finishing touches on their learning
tapes for the Garth Brooks show package closer, It’s Your Song.
The more serious work over, the giggles and guffaws gave forth for
a rough and tumble rendition of that classic country hit, Don’t
Worry, Be Happy. Now that, let me tell you, was an earful!
One built-in advantage that
SWINGLISH MIX inherited when they formed was the fact that Suzanne
and Naima had already been singing together since they were 11-years-old.
As lead and bass of the 1989 Quartet Champion, GROWING GIRLS, they
literally grew up onstage together. This is why Patty and Eleanor
refer to themselves as “the bookends.” But anyone who
has witnessed a SWINGLISH MIX performance can easily see that the
“bookends” can hold their own.
The
Swinglish Girls
Lead Suzanne Harrington lives
in Rönninge, Sweden, with her husband Doug and their young
son Jack. Lead of the THE GROWING GIRLS, Suzanne is also a long-time
member of the Rönninge Show Chorus. Husband Doug sang baritone
with SECOND EDITION, the 1989 SPEBSQSA champions.
Suzanne and Doug met just a
few days after THE GROWING GIRLS won in November of 1989. The two
quartets had planned to stage a concert together in Louisville in
conjunction with THE GROWING GIRLS’ trip to the U.S. This collaboration
would eventually spawn several concerts, a recording project, two
marriages and four children! Suzanne works as a travel consultant,
which comes in quite handy when you have to travel 8,000 miles to
a quartet rehearsal! Suzanne also finds time to sing with an all-female
pop quintet in Sweden called High 5 along with GROWING GIRLS tenor
Malin Palmqvist.
Baritone Patty Hawley currently
calls southern California home, where she is an active member of
the Verdugo Hills Showtime Chorus. She is engaged to a great guy
named David Pennycook who doesn’t sing, but serves as the official
purveyor of fine vintages for all quartet gatherings. Patty is a
native of Louisville, and grew up hanging around Thoroughbred Hall
listening to (and singing with) quartets such as the CITATIONS,
the BLUEGRASS STUDENT UNION, the HARRINGTON BROTHERS and SECOND
EDITION. Previously best known for playing the flute and piccolo
in the University of Kentucky marching band, Patty is now a marketing
manager for Gameworks. Patty credits her late father, Charlie Hawley,
a great barbershopper and long-time member of the Thoroughbreds,
for introducing her to barbershop. Her mom, sisters and David all
made the trip to Nashville to cheer her on to victory — a very
special occasion for the Hawley family, indeed!
Tenor Eleanor Hawkins got hooked
on barbershop during high school while working at summer camps with
long-time friend Patty. Patty, through her Thoroughbred connections,
would manage to get the Harrington Brothers to perform occasionally
at summer camp. This is all Eleanor needed to hear. It wasn’t
until after college however, that she joined Sweet Adelines International
as a member of the Arlington, Mass., Liberty Belles Chorus. After
moving back to her hometown of Louisville, she was reunited with
Patty, where they sang together in the Derby City and Pride of Kentucky
Choruses. About this time, Naima and Suzanne both relocated to Louisville
and SWINGLISH MIX got their start after some serious tag singing
one night after a local show. Eleanor is an elementary school teacher
in Louisville, and she and her husband, Peter, (another gift from
summer camp) are the parents of three beautiful children, Spencer,
Delaney, and newest arrival Carter, born January 16, 2003.
Bass Naima Meyer, the other
half of the dynamic Swedish duo, now has her second crown, having
previously won with Suzanne in 1989 as a member of the GROWING GIRLS.
Considered to be one of the finest bass singers in all of barbershop,
Naima currently resides in Ft. Myers, Fla., with her husband, Jamie,
and children Adam and Selma. Singing has provided Naima with at
least a tiny bit of comfort and solace, as Naima and Jamie tragically
lost their five-month-old son, Alex, in an auto accident in 1999,
shortly after moving to Florida. Naima first met Jamie, bass of
the SECOND EDITION, at a British Barbershop Convention in the spring
of 1989, at which time the idea of a joint concert between the two
quartets was born. Both quartets went on to win their respective
International competitions that year, and upon arriving in Louisville
just days after winning her first crown, Naima and Jamie became
an item. (About the same time as Doug and Suzanne, coincidentally.)
Today, Naima has her own Web design business and she and Jamie own
and manage vacation properties on Ft. Myers Beach. She is also active
with Spirit of the Gulf Chorus, where she serves as associate director
and bass section leader.
*
* *
The members
of SWINGLISH MIX would like to thank their coaches, Doug Harrington
and Britt-Heléne Bonnedahl, for their invaluable direction
and support. Other teachers who guided them along the way include
Jim Casey, Betty Lou Coleman, and Cindy Hansen. Their families,
friends, and the members of the Pride of Kentucky (Region 4), Rönninge
Show Chorus (Region 32), Spirit of the Gulf Chorus (Region 9) and
the Verdugo Hills Showtime Chorus (Region 11) also have their deepest
gratitude.
For booking inquiries, please
contact For show bookings and information, please contact:
Naima Meyer
9393 Scarlette Oak Ave.
Fort Myers, FL 33912, USA
Phone: 239-267-7659
E-mail: naima@meyerfam.com
or visit www.swinglishmix.com.
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