Jana
Brown, tenor
Susan Ives, lead
Sheila Martinez,
baritone
Donna Kready, bass
From:
Topeka, Kansas
Convention City:
Salt Lake City,
Utah
Classic
Edition's journey
to the championship
began seven years
before their win,
in the same city.
The foursome organized
with its current
personnel just nine
months prior to
the 1990 Sweet Adelines
competition in Salt
Lake City, winning
their regional competition
and making them
eligible to compete
on the international
stage in Salt Lake
that same year.
Although
each member had
extensive experience
singing with other
quartets as well
as one another,
their performance
at the 1990 international
contest was disappointing.
Gaining confidence
with each succeeding
contest, and following
their coach's advice,
the quartet qualified
again for international
competition. They
placed ninth in
1991 and sixth at
each international
contest from 1992
through 1995.
Perceived
as restrained by
many judges, the
foursome finally
learned to let their
hair down at the
1996 contest and
earned second place
medals. "We
finally found the
spark that lit our
flame," says
lead Susan Ives.
And after finally
attaining the top
prize in 1997, the
quartet says that
preparation is the
key to success.
Tenor
Jana Brown works
as a critical care
nurse. She is associated
with the Sunflower
Harmony Chorus in
Topeka, Kansas,
where her daughter
is also a member.
Lead Susan Ives,
who as a youngster
played trumpet in
the brass bands
of the Salvation
Army, now is an
elementary school
music teacher. She
directs the Sunflower
Harmony Chorus.
Baritone
Sheila Martinez
holds a doctorate
degree in education
and has taught at
the Universities
of Kansas and Alabama.
She and her husband
own a consulting
firm. She is a member
of the Kansas City
(Kansas) Chorus.
Bass Donna Dready
is a part of a large
barbershop family
whose male and female
members boast a
number of quartet
and chorus championships
and accomplishments.
She hold a master's
degree in secondary
school counseling
and works with middle
school students
in Topeka, where
she is a member
of Sunflower Harmony
Chorus.
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