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BLACK CANYON BARBERSHOP CHORUS
www.blackcanyonchorus.org !
CC
MONTROSE COLORADO
Singing every Thursday at 7:00 PM, Community
United Methodist Church of Olathe
anyon
hords
Visit us at our official web site:
http:/barbershopsingingmontrose.yolasite.com/
July 2013
Vol. 29 Number 7
SHOW TIME
It was 7:00 pm, lights dimmed, our excellent emcee
Jim Kerschner told a joke, and the curtains opened
thanks to Marty Rathburn. Then, WOW, there were
people, lots of people in the audience. We were
happily surprised, based on the depressing Friday preshow ticket sales report from Rex, our money guy,
and the doom and gloom predictions about a June
performance. Based on the lagging pre-sales, and
historical data, a decision was made in a fit of
frugality to limit the number of expensive programs
to 300 (costs about $1 each to print) rather than
throw a couple of hundred in the trash. Guess what?
We ran out of programs!
The guys sang their hearts out for MaryAnn and
music came together (words too) to provide a very
entertaining first half for our audience. Three
quartets, two from our chorus and one from DelRose
chapter, gave a needed variety of performance. Tom
Chamberlain, Show Chairman, did an excellent job of
stage organization by moving backdrops and placing
mics to provide the very best acoustics. We couldn’t
have sounded better. The sound in the very back of
the auditorium was simply perfect. Big thanks to the
Pavilion sound guys for making it happen.
The second half reinforced the decision to have the
DelRose chapter perform with us, and to secure
BLUE STEELE as our guest quartet. It was a knockyour-socks off evening, followed by a knock-your-
socks off Afterglow. We have had many excellent
guest quartets over the years but none are more
entertaining and crowd engaging as BLUE STEELE,
previously THE SUMMIT. This it the third time we
have booked them and hopefully will not be the last.
They are just great. Shawn Mondragon, the lead and
really funny guy was either on a roll at the Afterglow
or had made too many trips to the bar. His
description of the quartet traveling the trio of passes
between Durango and Montrose in the middle of the
night kept the audience in stitches. Not only are
they funny, they can SING.
The Afterglow provided another surprise. Again we
anticipated maybe 100 but at this point I don’t have a
count. But I can tell you that we ran out of food and
poor suffering Carol Morrell somehow obtained some
more grub for the hungry. Most of you know there
were some detail glitches in the Afterglow, caused
mainly by the unexpected length of recovery by Larry
W and required care-giving by his wife, Sally. Extra
special kudos and deeply felt thank yous are extended
to Carol, Larry Cooper, and Dennis Olmstead for
picking up the ball and making it happen.
Now, after a sigh of relief that it is over, it is time to
start planning for 2014. Who will be the Chairman?
Your chance for fame and ... well just fame. Maybe.
Page 1 of 8 pages
BLACK CANYON BARBERSHOP CHORUS
CANYON CHORDS is the official
monthly publication of the Black
Canyon Barbershop Chorus known as
the Montrose, Colorado, chapter of
the Barbershop Harmony Society.
Opinions stated in this bulletin are not
necessarily those of the Chapter, the
Editor, or possibly even the stated
author.
2013 CHAPTER OFFICERS
(Term expires 12/31 in year shown
after position)
PRESIDENT (2013)
! Larry Wilkinson!
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
! John Taylor
SECRETARY (2014)
! Chuck Frush!
TREASURER (2014)
! Rex Pierson!
PROGRAM VP (2013)
! Larry Cooper
MEMBERSHIP VP (2014)
! Del Dyck
PUBLIC RELATIONS VP (2013)
! Dennis Olmstead!
MUSIC VP (2013)
! David Stannard!
COMMUNICATIONS VP (???)
! Bill Sutton!
MEMBERS-AT-LARGE (1 year terms)
! Bob Brethouwer !
! Tim Davis
! John Reick
! John Taylor
MUSICAL DIRECTOR:
! MaryAnn Rathburn
! Tom Chamberlain, Emeritus
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
! Carol Morrell
SERGEANT AT ARMS
! Bob Brethouwer
SUNSHINE GUY (appointed)
! Rex Pierson
CHAPTER HISTORIAN (appointed)
! Tom Chamberlain
What ever happened to our
desires for a turn-key afterglow
when no members would have to
physically help with set up, serve,
and clean up? It happened at the
Bridges. Will it happen at the
Pavilion?
www.blackcanyonchorus.org !
MONTROSE COLORADO
Splinters from the Board
Newly appointed Executive Vice
President John Taylor chaired the
meeting this month as we
anticipate the fully recovery of
President Larry Wilkinson. Darn
good job as John dealt with a host
of things that needed to be
discussed and decided.
Enough AfterGlow detail glitches
to choke a baritone were
discussed in order to assure they
won’t happen again next year.
Most of them can be attributed
to the unexpected health
problems of our President and
extra care giving burdens
imposed on his wife Sally.
There are not
enough thanks
to heap on
Carol, Larry C,
potentially
Dennis, and Sally W for turning a
.
cess
suc
big
a
disastrous afterglow into
Another glitch that should never
happen was a confusing and poorly
written contract with Blue Steele that
led to last minute and unapproved fee
increases to the quartet and decrease
of chapter profit. After the afterglow
is not the perfect time to force the
Treasurer to negotiate the previously
accepted contract and payment.
The meeting started with
Treasurer Rex trying to
untangle and make sense of
three separate accounting
nightmares which
contribute to the final show
numbers. These are: show
expense/income; afterglow
expense/income; and
supporter donations/
expense. Some traction was
gained to seriously consider
to lump the show and
afterglow into one event
and revise supporter
donations to an annual task.
This would made
accountability much simpler
and make Rex’s job much
easier.
Special KUDOs were given to the
excellent help and work from the
Pavilion sound guy. His expertise and
wiling to work with Tom helped us
sound better than we deserve. He will
receive a thank-you card and gift card
from the chapter.
how it
Discussions about the reestablished registration fee for Silverton and
should be handled ended with a Motion to poll all members about their
on
commitment to Silverton, and whether/if the $15 fee will have any effect
will
r
Coope
VP
m
their attendance. Post poll, Exec. VP Taylor and Progra
or will
make a determination if registration fees will be paid by the chapter
you
be a personal expense. So, be prepared to let John and Larry know how
feel.
Rex has sent ‘thank you’ cards to
It goes without saying that we missed the
all of our wonderful supporters.
wise council of President Larry and
especially the wonderful brownies from
The date for 2014 show was
Sally.
discussed but no decision can be
Next board meeting July 9
made until availability of dates is obtained from the
at Timberline Bank
Pavilion. Dennis has agreed to find out and brief us at
the next meeting.
Page 2 of 8 pages
BLACK CANYON BARBERSHOP CHORUS
www.blackcanyonchorus.org !
MONTROSE COLORADO
The Chorus owes a very special THANK YOU to
Del and Joni Dyck for the wonderful and plentiful
AND HEALTHY snacks they provide for our
enjoyment every week. Without them our breaks
would be just a boring way to spend 15 minutes.
THANK YOU JONI AND DEL
4 old guys on a bench
Dennis Olmstead!
Don Barnett!
Larry Wilkinson!
Del Dyck!
June 19
June 23
June 28
July 8
We don’t stop singing because we get old,
we get old because we stop singing.
Chapter Quartets
FOURMATA
Contact: Bill Sutton 874-9280
Warming up
at Ridgway
Women will never be equal to men until they
can walk down the street with a bald head
and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
Page 3 of 8 pages
ROCKY ROAD
Contact: Vern Dockter
970 -210 - 1793
n
e
n
,
s
e
e
e
and deep within my breast
I thrill to see Old Glory paint the breeze.
BLACK CANYON BARBERSHOP CHORUS
www.blackcanyonchorus.org !
MONTROSE COLORADO
ill, I
w
's a
e
r
he
t
it.
e
n
r
i
“We
can’t convince him
he doesn’t look
e
e Sam.”
Wh t tolikebUncle
wan
HOW TO PRESERVE YOUR VOICE FOR YOUR
SENIOR YEARS
by Jim DeBusman from Harmony Local and lifted from the May issue of The Voice of Rushmore
There are many senior singers out there asking some very important questions such as; “I
recently noted my 72nd birthday and am finding in the past few years that both my lung
capacity and also my range (esp. low notes) are not what they used to be. Are there things
I should know to help me combat the inevitable con- sequences of aging?”
Some of the answers to these questions are that the older we get, the more important it is
to remember that we must spend more time on practicing our breathing every day. Any
deep breathing exercises like warm air, hissing, nasal or back breathing exercises will do
the trick.
We must also keep physically active. Go swimming, ride a bike, play golf, go bowling, walk,
but do some kind of physical activity every day. As your body matures, you just can’t just sit
on your favorite chair and watch TV. Do something that stimulates your muscles and your
mind.
Here are some reasons why you need to do this. It is understood that muscles become
tired as you become older. This causes an increasing stiffness of the vocal fold tissue. You
need to keep the vocal muscle as flexible as possible and that is why singing a little bit
everyday will make a difference as you grow older. Make certain you sing correctly. As you
grow older, your voice will not be as strong as it once was and you probably won’t have the
range you once had, but you still can sing in good quality if you take good care of your
vocal instrument. Don’t expect to sing only once a week and be the quality singer you once
were.
Singing is the stuff that keeps us full of life for a long time. It has the power to heal us and
stimulate our minds and bodies. Singing will continue to build your skills and the discipline
in your life as long as you wish it too. When you perform in your chorus and/or quartet, it
requires fantastic coordination of your body and mind. Continuing to sing throughout your
life, all your life, will keep you younger and healthier longer than you could have ever hoped
for.
Page 4 of 8 pages
BLACK CANYON BARBERSHOP CHORUS
www.blackcanyonchorus.org !
MONTROSE COLORADO
Fourmata singing Little Girl
Some are singing, some are texting
Rocky Road singing Moonlight Bay
Final warm-up before the Show
Hi Dennis,
ote
n
ice om
n
y
er nis fr
v
A
n
De teele
o
t eS
Blu
If you could send us a program, that would be awesome. We really enjoyed being
with you guys and sharing such a wonderful show. Your entire group was so
congenial and appreciative! We have done a lot of shows and this was among the
top of the most fun groups to sing for and with.
Thanks again, and we'll see you guys in Cheyenne. Keep us on your list for
somewhere down the road and we'll be back - hopefully with our new CD. We
could easily get in the habit of coming to Montrose. You all are the poster children
for the joy of Barbershop.
Thanks again, and keep up the great work in encouraging Barbershopping and
keeping it alive and well.
Tim
Page 5 of 8 pages
BLACK CANYON BARBERSHOP CHORUS
www.blackcanyonchorus.org !
MONTROSE COLORADO
From the
prevents electricity leaks, much like the
insulation on a copper wire does, and so
the more myelin there is around a neuron,
the faster and more efficiently that neuron
will fire.
The Director’s Turf by Drew
Wheaton
How do you practice?
Practicing is an important part of
anything that we do in life. We learn how
to do something and we practice it to get
it better. When we’ve learned to do
something correctly, we repeat the action
numerous times to get it engrained in our
brains. We all fundamentally understand
this process. However, most of us do not
really know how to practice to be as
efficient as possible and achieve the most
lasting results. To really understand that it
is important to understand a little bit
about how the brain works and, more
specifically, learns and improves upon
new knowledge and skills.
The brain is made up of neurons, which
are not connected to each other but are
close enough that electricity can shoot
from one to the next. Any time we make
an action or a thought, many of those
neurons fire. Each time a neuron has an
electrical signal pass through it, the brain
creates a layer of myelin around it. That
layer acts as insulation, much like the
insulation on a copper wire. The myelin
Knowing that, it is understandable that as
we repeat correct actions they become
easier to do correctly and more quickly
each time. However, negative behavior is
equally engrained into us if it is repeated
endlessly. Here is the rub: If, during
practice, a mistake is made but
recognized by the individual and
corrected the brain reinforces the positive
behavior AND becomes better at
preventing the negative one.
In “The Talent Code,” Daniel Coyle refers
to this kind of practice as “deep practice.”
It is very focused and diligent practice. It
is not simply repetition for repetition’s
sake. It is so much more than that.
Here is an example of applying it to
practicing your part in a barbershop song.
Let’s assume that you have a new song in
front of you. You listen to it two or three
times, getting an overall idea of the
melody, of the form (for example, Verse –
Chorus – Chorus – Tag) and now you’re
ready to start learning your part. You
Page 6 of 8 pages
BLACK CANYON BARBERSHOP CHORUS
www.blackcanyonchorus.org !
listen to the first four measures of the
song. AND YOU STOP. You listen to the
first four measures again, staring intently
at the music. AND YOU STOP. You focus
on each interval as you listen to the first
four measures one more time. AND YOU
STOP. You then sing the first three notes,
but you got the third note wrong, but you
keep on singing. WRONG! YOU STOP.
You sing the first three notes, til they are
right. You sing the first six notes, and
make a mistake, AND YOU STOP. Do
you go back to the beginning? No, you
sing the fifth and sixth note back and
forth, getting that interval right, then the
fourth, fifth and sixth. THEN you start
back at the beginning.
But wait, you just missed that pesky third
note again. STOP. Fix it. Start again.
Move forward. Don’t just make mistakes
and move on. Make mistakes and fix
them. Every time you attempt something,
miss it, fix it, attempt it again and get it
right, you build a complex matrix of
MONTROSE COLORADO
myelinated neurons that lead you to
further success later. Sounds long?
Grueling? It is. And it will save you even
longer hours of fixing any of the mistakes
you teach yourself by not doing it right in
the first place.
So here is my plea to the members of this
chorus, and anyone else trying to learn
new music. Take the time to sit down and
focus intently on the music and only the
music. Do not try to learn the music while
driving your car when you are distracted
and incapable of analyzing your own
performance. Ten minutes of focused
deep practice will far outperform an hour
of distracted repetition, every time. We
are all capable of doing great things, and
as a chorus even more so, but we all need
to do our part to focus on doing it right,
every time. This is how I practice. This is
how I rehearse. It will get us where we
want to be.
A married man should forget his
mistakes. There's no use in two
people remembering the same
thing!
Page 7 of 8 pages
BLACK CANYON BARBERSHOP CHORUS
gettin
these
www.blackcanyonchorus.org !
MONTROSE COLORADOin ad
What a challenge! He knew what he wanted to have in
mem
his software system, but had no idea of how to develop a
outnu
program allowing him to do what he wanted to do. So,
if
Stamp tinue
you can believe this, he worked with Apple to develop a
I
here
new program. They suggested he buy a software program
Prisc
called "Numbers," and told them they would help him modchoru
ify it to create a software system that would allow Lee to
good
do what he wanted to do. So he worked with the Apple
tinue
program people and ended up with a software program
audie
that would allow him to develop a system that he exto do
plained to us on the Board last week.
churc
Lee had to actually develop a Quicken program for his
new MAC.
Teach the Children
to Sing
If any of you might be interested in learning what he
did, just call him. He loved doing it, and continues to imMountain Talk Page 13 Julyprove
2012 it, and LOVES to talk about it. And not because he
1943
Spring
Drive
CHAPTER MISSION STATEMENT
wants to brag about it, he was just very excited about what
"Flourishing and growing as individuals, as a
Delta, CO 81416
he was exactly able to do, on his own. He will be able to
April 26-27
chorus, and as a
chapter
by singing in an
separate revenues and expenses
Chapter Quartets
RMD
NEWS
Rocky Mountain Harmony College
REQUESTED
(T,RETURN
L, Br, Bs)
atmosphere of
musical
excellence
and
by
for all
of our paid activities, annual
SPRING
CONVENTION
For Every Member
Int’l
Quartet
Prelims
shows,
Harmony Showcases
promoting harmony in our lives, our
Fastlane
September 28-29
Red
Lion
Inn
(Stapleton)
(with
Denver
Mile
High)
Singing
Valentines,
Elk programs,
relationships, and
our
community."
FALL
CONVENTION
Denver, Colorado
Paul Dover 303 471-2225
etc,
and
do
the
same
with all of
Albuquerque
[email protected]
activities, our
Doyle Cline, Paulour
Dover “overhead”
For those of us who do not live in the
GrayCOMPLIMENTARY
Jackson, Gian
Porro
CHORDS
Rocky Mountain Harmony College will
beautifulTHE
state CANYON
of New Mexico,
I strongly
chapter
share of yearly BHS dues,
NOT be in Estes Park in February 2013.
suggest
that you EDITOR/PUBLISHER
bring your wife and visit
BULLETIN
Grace
Notes
director
It will be held in conjunction with the
Old Town Albuquerque, and Santa Fe as
COPYfees, coffee revenues,
Jerry Hooper 303 278-1762
Spring Convention in April.
Bi!if Sutton
well
you have the time (spend an extra
church rental expenses, etc.
[email protected]
day or two if you can).
1943 Spring Drive
We’ll crown a new District Quartet
Delta CO
Champion,
our81416
choruses will compete for
the
opportunity to874-9280
represent the RMD in
Phone/FAX
Toronto, and the convention will be full of
fun
and educational
opportunities to sing
e-mail:
[email protected]
throughout the weekend.
Registration forms are on the District
website <www.RMDsing.org> as well as
links to the headquarters hotel lodging
reservation process and Kiva Auditorium
information.
As a gentle reminder, the RMD has
negotiated the best room rate possible for
a block of hotel sleeping rooms, and
when you use these rooms, our Association of Chapters benefits with low-cost or
no-cost space for chorus rehearsal ballrooms, classrooms, and meeting room
space, etc.
Please do not think of lodging outside
of the RMD room block. Doing so might
save you $5 - $10 per night, and then
costs the District hundred of dollars in
rental of meeting room space for our
events. That’s YOUR District dollars being wasted unnecessarily. Thanks for
lodging together as a District family
(where you can enjoy the
fellowship),
and saving ourselves a boatload of
money.
With the retirement of Dr. Dan Clark,
RMD BOTY, last year, Jeff Click has
returned to the office of Music and Performance VP for the RMD, and is planning another outstanding Rocky Mountain
Harmony College. It will be full of the
classes and coaching we have come to
expect with the intensive learning experience of Rocky Mountain Harmony College, and will have the additional appeal
of a high powered Saturday night show
with the International Quartet Prelim
qualifiers added to the performance
lineup. EVERYONE will want to attend
this show of champions!
SUMMER FESTIVALS
The RMD has three fabulous festivals every summer, and every barbershopper should get to at least one of
them.
July 20-21
Silverton
www.barbershopsingingmontrose.yolasite.com
Aug 17-18
Harmony Happening in the Hills
at Mt. Rushmore
www.shrineofdemocracychorus.org
Sunday, Aug 26
Boulder Chautauqua
www.harmonize.com/timberliners
Page 8 of 8 pages
tende
get th
A
Boar
chap
find w
Del Miller, Joe Gibson
Bob Dickman, Jerry Hooper
Ignition!
(with Denver Mile High)
Curtis Terry 303 364-5800
[email protected]
Dan Testa, Curtis Terry
Ryan Wilson, Denny Malone
Rocky Mountain Magic
Dick Cable 303 973-9217
[email protected]
Jim Darling, Doug Kulesa, Nelson
McNulty, Ralph Fennell, Dick Cable
Joyful Noise
Tony Pranaitis 303 233-6234
[email protected]
Al and Bunny Klinger
Tony and Nancy Pranaitis
UltraSoniX
Damian Berger 720 962-6527
[email protected]
Dave Myers, Ted Cluett
Tony Pranaitis, Damian Berger
Mountain Talk
Page 5