Each year the number of Singing Valentines delivered gets larger with no end in sight. And each year the number of participating quartets grows. A record 180 deliveries were made in 2016 and a goal of 300 is within reach. The uniqueness of the idea and the enjoyment had by all, giving and receiving, is what makes the Singing Valentine an easy ‘sell’. If you’re not part of a Singing Valentine quartet you need to join one because until you do you won’t know what it’s like to bring so much joy to people. And if you’ve witnessed the singing of two love songs to an unsuspecting recipient you know what it’s like to see so many happy people sharing an emotional moment. Orders are taken online at .www.valentinequartet.com Deliveries are made at home, at work, at a restaurant, in a park, or anywhere. Say “I Love You” with a song and you’ll have created a memory that outlasts all other gifts.
The Denver MountainAires chorus along with the Sound of the Rockies chorus has been sponsoring the High School Quartet Contest since 1999 and Feb. 20th, 2017 marked 19 years. Prior to that the Mile Hi Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society (formerly the SPEBSQSA) had been conducting the contest having started in 1981. Heritage H.S. student, Mike Farr, constructed the traveling trophy in 1985 as a woodshop project and it’s still in use.
In 2016 there were five contestants, one men’s quartet, one women’s and one mixed with ages ranging from 14 to 18. Four schools were represented with a few students coming from the Colorado Children’s Chorale in Colorado Springs. For several years we’ve had Arvada High School to thank for the contest venue. Judges and guest quartet coaches are supplied by the two sponsoring choruses with special thanks to our most recent judges Rod Sgrignoli, Paige Sgrignoli, John Coffin, Priscilla Rahn, and Dr. Steven Taylor, Dean of Music at Colorado Christian University and to quartets FASTLANE and THE PINE.
Every contestant receives a 50% scholarship to Summer Harmony Camp in Estes Park with 1st place quartets receiving 100% scholarships and a permanent plaque that goes to their school. The large traveling trophy resides for one year in the school of the winning quartet.
For information regarding the Denver Area High School Quartet Contest click HERE.
Sound of the Rockies, an internationally recognized men’s barbershop a cappella chorus, hosted its first guest night of 2017 on Thursday, Jan 26. Men of all ages and experience levels, from none to accomplished, were invited to attend.
There was a formal program starting with the Sound of the Rockies singing for our guests, then guests were invited to add their voices to the group for more singing The evening finished with refreshments and lots of impromptu singing. Information about our audition process for those who might like to pursue becoming a member was made available and any questions about what it’s like to be a member (costs, time commitments, uniforms, learning techniques, travel, etc.) were answered. For complete information regarding membership visit http://soundoftherockies.com/visit-us/
There’s No Time Like The Present:
This is a perfect time to become a new member of Sound of the Rockies as the award-winning chorus prepares for another exciting year of shows and competitions: Competing on July 7, 2017 (Las Vegas), and on October 7 (Midway, Utah). We’re sure you’ll be excited to discover a chorus that is dedicated to excellence in everything it does, from its singing to its showmanship, entertainment value and its award-winning management. And the wonderful camaraderie is what puts Sound of the Rockies in a class by itself.
Sound of the Rockies is an exciting internationally-ranked chorus with over 60 years of performance and competition history. The chorus has recently performed at MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and has also performed at Sports Authority Field, Coors Field, the Colorado Convention Center, the Broadmoor Hotel as well as in Loveland as a guest of the Loveland Performing Arts Association and at the historical Chautauqua Theater in Boulder. It has three annual performances (March, June, Dec.) at the Denver University Newman Center for the Performing Arts, and has been traveling to international chorus competitions around the country since the 70s. While most of its members are not professional musicians, the chorus takes pride in its high standards of performance and musical excellence.
For more information contact Membership VP Mark Palmer:
720-837-2066 or membershipvp@soundoftherockies.com
For more information, click HERE
And check out our Facebook page HERE
Once again our protégé chorus, 52eighty, did Sound of the Rockies and themselves proud by receiving an ‘Outstanding’ rating at the Society’s Midwinter convention in San Antonio, Jan 19-22, 2017. In its ninth consecutive appearance at the Youth Festival the always enthusiastic ensemble received its ninth Outstanding rating. Again co-directed by Johnny Bugarin and Keith Waldheim the young men sang I’m Alone Because I Love You and Between You & the Birds & the Bees & Cupid for their barbershop-style offerings. Allowed one non-barbershop song they sang for their required third song, I Heard You Singing, a ballad. So, as the Sound of the Rockies chorus continues to be in the Top Echelon of the Barbershop Harmony Society, so too does our Youth Chorus, 52eighty. Take a bow men.
Click HERE to download 52eighty Scoresheet
“Welcome Christmas” Show Puts Final Star Atop The SOR 2016 Tree.
As the piece de resistance of a successful year of performances the Sound of the Rockies filled the Gates Concert Hall at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts with Christmas cheer by presenting “Welcome Christmas” which included a one-act play depicting a boy’s dream of being visited by some of the toys from the Island Of Misfit Toys.
With an unprecedented explosion of colorful costumes Santa’s elves, some misfit toys, Mr. Grinch, the Heat Miser and the Snow Miser, the Chipmonks and even a cameo appearance by Charlie Brown, combined to teach our young dreamer that it’s okay to be different.
And as it wouldn’t be Christmas without traditional carols they were presented sequentially in storybook narrative fashion by emcee Rick Crandall as he read the Story of Christmas to a group of children.
Sound of the Rockies was honored to be invited to sing in Loveland, Colorado by their Performing Arts Association, a concert which was held on April 2, 2016 and which was enthusiastically received. The chorus reprised its spring concert “Come On, Get Happy” and so impressed the leaders of the association that they were quick to accept a suggestion that we perform our “Welcome Christmas” show also, another well attended concert that took place on December 4, 2016. This makes two years in a row that SOR has had out-of-town concerts, one in December of 2015 in Colo. Spgs. and two in 2016, an ‘outreach’ that we’d like to continue.
It started in 1874 at lake Chautauqua in western New York State and swept the country, spreading in all directions. It started as a summer opportunity to train Sunday School teachers and developed into a ‘movement’ that brought culture to rural America in the form of nature studies, music, oration and the arts. The Boulder Chautauqua started in 1898 and it’s one of the few remaining sites that has preserved its original buildings. With the coming of the automobile, radio and movies the popularity of the Chautauqua Movement waned and the original sites around the country were erased. However Boulder managed to hold on and today it’s recognized as the Colorado Chautauqua National Historic Landmark, the only “Chautauqua” west of the Mississippi that has been in continuous operation since its founding with its original structures still intact and used for their original purposes.
Front Range chapters of the Barbershop Harmony Society have been gathering for decades each August to present a combined concert in the historic wood structure with its original wood benches and see-through plank walls. Choruses from Boulder, Lakewood, Northglenn, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Longmont and even Rapid City, South Dakota gather to sing as part of the Colorado Chautauqua Association’s summer concert series. The 2016 event took place on August 20 and was directed by Sound of the Rockies director, Mark Hale.
The weekend of June 10-12, 2016 Copper Mountain Resort once again was the venue for the Sound of the Rockies’ R & R, 2016, but that’s not the Rest and Recuperation one might think. For those who strive for excellence R & R means Repertoire and Rigor or perhaps Review and Repeat, maybe even Refine and Regale.
It amounts to intense rehearsing with special attention to how our two contest songs project visually. With constant fine tuning by our choreography coach, Erin Howden, from Toronto, we perfect our moves, timing, finesse and general showmanship. It’s also a time to assemble, wire, paint, and decorate our stage props whose appearance, positioning, quiet movement, and dependability are crucial to a flawless performance.
For a glimpse of the final product here’s a short clip from our uptune performance one month later in Nashville:
May 3, 2016, SOR once again hosted the highly regarded choreography coach, Erin Howden, from Toronto, to fine tune its competition songs package. Working principally with the front row but also with the full chorus Ms. Howden gets each man to move energetically, fluidly and in sync with everyone else. Remaining consistently in the Top Five in international competition over the past ten years is a result of hard work and attention to detail and that work ethic is instilled by a coach with a history of success.
Erin Howden
Erin has gained international renown in the barbershop world for her innovative and clever choreography. She first came to the spotlight as a member of the North Metro Chorus in Toronto where her choreography helped launch that chorus to three gold medals. A member of North Metro since she was 13, Howden learned barbershop under the leadership of her mother, North Metro Director June Dale. She also serves as a faculty member of Sweet Adelines International and teaches at music schools throughout Canada and the United States.
It’s all about fun!! March 19, 2016 saw the Sound of the Rockies stir up some musical memories by recalling iconic groups such as TV’s Partridge Family. Their show’s theme, “Come On, Get Happy” opened our show followed by old favorites like Spanky And Our Gang’s “Lazy Day” and of course we paid homage to our own John Denver with a medley of his songs.
Click on the image below to download the show program
