Sweet Adeline’s are running a “global open house” event at the start of the year, and as part of that, Surrey Harmony are opening their rehearsal doors to potential new members every Wednesday in January.  We’ve been delighted to welcome 3 new singers onto the risers recently; Lorna, Andrea and Natalie.  So if you’ve made it your New Year’s resolution to find time for yourself, pop along to our next rehearsal, details of which can be found on our join us page.

January is always a great time to join the chorus, as we begin our build-up to regional competitions in May.  It gives you plenty of time to learn the two competition songs and be ready to join us on stage in Birmingham.

An important part of our preparation is our coaching weekend in March and this year’s looks to be a corker.  Surrey Harmony are delighted to welcome back Jim Arns as the coach who will whip us into shape.  In October 2011, Jim led his chorus, the Melodeers, to their 6th international gold medal in Houston, Texas.  The Melodeers are the only chorus to win gold 6 times and we think this qualifies Jim as possibly the best Director in the world!  We can’t wait for March, when Jim sprinkles some of that Chicago magic dust in Coulsdon.

Surrey Harmony are also proud to be supporting some great local charities this year with performances that will dazzle!   The Chorus are very excited to be taking part in a picnic concert at Loseley House on the 18th August, in support of Shooting Star CHASE.  The charity runs two hospices in Hampton Court and Guildford, and provides care and support for over 500 children, teenagers and their families living in much of London, Surrey and West Sussex.   Surrey Harmony will also be performing a show in Warlingham in aid of St Catherine’s Hospice on the 14th September.  St Catherine’s provides end of life care and support for local people and their families from Surrey and Mid-Sussex. Many of us know someone whose life has been touched by St Catherine’s, which is why Surrey Harmony are thrilled to be supporting them once again.

We’ll have details of how to get tickets to these fantastic singouts, plus news of a Caterham performance that may just fool you this April, in the coming weeks.

Surrey Harmony are also proud that Sheila Doherty has been appointed as the RMT Team Coordinator for Sweet Adeline’s in the UK and Netherlands.  We wish her all the best in her new role which she takes over in February.

Surrey Harmony will be carolling at the Whitgift Shopping Centre in Croydon on Sunday 11th December from 3pm to 4.30pm.  We are delighted to be singing and raising funds for the Royal Marsden Hospital,  so please pop along while you fill your stockings and join in with some festive fun.

And once all the festivities are over for another year, and you turn your attention to 2012, why not think about starting that new hobby or finding some ‘me’ time in your busy life?  We’re always on the lookout for new members, and   January 2012 is scheduled as the Sweet Adelines International Global Open House event.  What better time to drop-in   to one of our rehearsals on a Wednesday evening in Coulsdon and join in the fun of being in Surrey Harmony Chorus!

Rehearsals start again on Wednesday 4th January.  If your New Years resolution is to find some “me time” see the website ‘Join Us’ section for more information.

With a couple of months’ planning behind us, a fantastically fun evening ensued with a blend of vocal and physical warm-ups followed by some quick-fire learning of three of our repertoire songs; Sisters are doing it for themselves, Hallelujah and I feel the Earth move.

Our Lead section swelled for the evening to include all those who had joined us for a taste of singing acapella barbershop-style – and they did a grand job!  Never content to go for the easy life on the risers, our ‘newbies’ were also introduced to the fine art of facial emoting, lifted palates and, of course, a smidgen of choreography.  With over one hundred on the risers this was easier said than done, but no lives were lost and everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience!

We’re excited to have played host to so many keen visitors and were very proud to polish the evening off with a performance of two of our competition songs for them; If you love me and Dixieland Onestep. We’re so looking forward to welcoming visitors back to further rehearsals and, hopefully, to them joining us as we start working towards regional competition in Birmingham, in May 2012.

If you couldn’t make our Open Evening, remember we’re always on the lookout for fabulous new members – check out our Join Us page to find out more about where and when we rehearse, and for details of who to contact if you want to know more before you drop-in to see us.  We hope to see you soon!

It’s all taking place at the Purley United Reform Church, 906 Brighton Rd, Purley, Surrey. CR8 2LN

You are stuck in traffic and a catchy song comes onto the radio do you?
a.  Turn it up loud so you can join in, it’s Abba and who can resist singing along to that.
b. Sing along, adding your own harmonies and echos.
c. Sing along, with the male in the group… your great deep voice always matches the boy’s part.
d. Turn it up loud so you can sing along, your friends think you are tone deaf, but who cares as long as you are having fun.

You’re sitting watching Britain’s Got Talent (don’t worry, we won’t tell) and a choir comes on; what are you thinking?
a. That looks like fun, I’d love to join but I can’t read music.
b. They’re OK, but I could do better.
c. I’d love to sing in a choir, but I’d have to join the men’s section, my voice is so low
d. I wonder what Ant and Dec are doing?

You see a poster in your local coffee shop advertising a Women’s Barbershop Chorus, you are tempted because?
a. You love a good sing and are looking for something to do that isn’t work / kids / housework
b. You’ve been having singing lessons, but want a chance to perform and have fun with friends
c. Traditional choirs are off limit to you as your voice is too low for Alto.
d. The choreography looks fun and you love a good sing, even if your voice is a bit wobbly.

How did you answer?

mostly a’s
You could be a Lead!  In a Barbershop chorus the Leads sing the melody.  All parts learn their music from teach tapes so you don’t need to be able to read music to be part of Surrey Harmony.  Why not pop along to one of our Wednesday night rehearsals to find out which part you would fit into?

mostly b’s
You could be a Baritone!  The Baritones sing all the other notes that nobody else wants, but are crucial to make that barbershop chord ring!  Why not pop along to one of our Wednesday night rehearsals to find out more?

mostly c’s
You sound like a Bass!  Basses sing the lowest part of the barbershop chord.  How low can you go?  Why not pop along to to one of our Wednesday night rehearsals to find out more?

mostly d’s
We have no idea which part you could be!  But you have just the spirit and energy that makes a great member of Surrey Harmony.  Why not pop along to one of our Wednesday night rehearsals to find out if there could be a place for you on our risers!

Our rehearsals kick off Wednesday nights at 7.30pm in the Church Hall round the back of Coulsdon Methodist Church, Brighton Road, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 2BE.  There is plenty of free parking on site.
We’d love to see you next week!

We’ll have lots of songs and activities for you to take part in, it promises to be a great night. So whether your singing has previously been confined to the shower, or you have been in a traditional choir and want to try a new challenge…. why not come along and see if Surrey Harmony is the place for you?!

We’d love to see you!

Our open evening kicks off at 7.30pmwith tea and coffee and a chat with some of our members, then at 8 it’s up onto the risers for vocal and physical warm ups.  You’ll then spend most of the rest of the evening (until 10.15pm) on the risers singing and learning choreography to some of our favourite songs.  You’ll really get a feel for the Surround Sound that a barbershop chorus creates.  Drop in anytime, or stay for the whole evening, whichever suits you.  We hope you’ll have fun.

You’ll find us in the Church Hall at the back of Coulsdon Methodist Church, Brighton Road, Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5 2BE.  There is plenty of free parking on site.

Enjoy a wonderful, colourful, fun, vibrant and exciting musical evening.

Tickets £10 (including a glass of wine or soft drink in the interval) from Margaret Deards (Caterham 380104) or Jill Caudle (Caterham 344031), or any COAT committee member.

Surrey Harmony gave a sterling performance of their favourite ballad “If you love me” and thoroughly enjoyed giving the first airing of their new up-tune “Honeys Loving Arms”.

While the judges’ scores may not have been what we would have hoped for going into the competition, we certainly had fun and will take home lots of brilliant memories and experiences to build on.

But the week is not yet over.  Today we are off to cheer on “Finesse”, region 31′s entry in the quartet competition who are in the finals.  They are the first ever quartet from the UK to make it into the top 10 and we are so proud of them!

And on Saturday, it’s the turn of the top 10 choruses to compete for the title of International Chorus Champion 2012.  Surrey Harmony are proud to have two past coaches in the finals, Jim Arns of the Melodeers and Sandy Marron of Lionsgate.  Both are vying for the top spot and, judging by their performances yesterday, it’s going to be a close run race!  We can’t wait!

Don’t forget you can watch our performance in the semi finals, live on the Sweet Adeline’s Webcast. We are contestant 28 and due on stage at 6.15pm (Houston time). If you are watching from the UK, it’ll be just after midnight tonight. To catch a piece of the action, visit: http://sweetadswebcast.com/

Congratulations must go to Region 31′s entry in the Quartet competition “Finesse”, as they have done what no other UK competitor has done before and made it into the top 10 finals!  We’ll be cheering you on tomorrow girls…. Good luck and Whoop Whoop!!

We are here to compete in the Sweet Adelines International Finals on Thursday afternoon and we’ll be keeping you updated on our exploits throughout the week.  Don’t forget you can watch our performance in the semi finals, live on the Sweet Adeline’s Webcast. We are contestant 28 and due on stage at 6.15pm (Houston time) on Thursday 20th October. If you are watching from the UK, it’ll be just after midnight on Thursday night, going into Friday morning. To catch a piece of the action, visit: http://sweetadswebcast.com/ . In the meantime, we’ll be keeping you updated daily here at SurreyHarmony.com

After arriving on Sunday, we barely had time to check into our hotel, when we had to head out again to perform at the Worldwide Region Show.   What a fantastic evening!  We performed alongside Ronninge from Sweden, New Zealand’s Christchurch City, Perth Harmony and the UK’s very own Milltown Sound and Lace City.  The Quartets were well represented too, by Salt, Finesse and Even Tide amongst others.  Surrey Harmony gave a great performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” causing some members of the audience to shed a few tears.

Monday and it’s tourist time.  After a brief meeting to welcome everyone, members of the chorus dispersed in the direction of the Galleria Mall, NASA Space Center and Downtown Houston itself.  But everyone was back and ready for our first state-side rehearsal at 5pm!  Now the hard work really starts.

After rehearsal, the chorus hit the town for an evening at The House of Blues, some fine food and great atmosphere, and just a touch of Sweet Adelines singing.

Tuesday arrived and it was time for our first rehearsal on the international risers at the convention center.  Resplendant in our new red T-shirts we gave it our all and made a great sound in such a huge empty space.  We were thrilled to see two of Surrey Harmony’s favourite coaches at the rehearsal, Diane Porsch and Carole Kirkpatrick.  Diane will be hosting the webcast of the competition on Thursday, don’t forget to tune in.  It was also fantastic to see Ex-Surrey Harmony member Lisa Mark who popped by with some very encouraging feedback.

The day ended with another rehearsal, but not before we’d had a chance to see the UK’s Milltown Sound and Sweden’s Alba Show Chorus compete in the Harmony Classic competition.  It was a fantastic evening with impressive performances from both small choruses!  Congratulations to Alba Chorus who were the Division A winners, and to Metro Nashville who were the Division AA winners.