S O U N D I N G S

Thanks are due the many key personnel and volunteers for the rave notices received by this first cooperative venture. Darin Drown and Bobby Gray, Jr., the directors; George Davidson, producer; Allen Gaspar, MC; Mile Hi Belles for staffing the front-of-the -house crew, and the ticket sellers (Bob Anderson, chairman; Andy Aisenbrey, Dick Stark, Frank De Bello, and Claude Barnes). Also the technical staff and the Loretto Heights folks.

It appears we will exceed expectations with the number of quartets fielded this year (15 minimum). If you are not in one of these foursomes (or planning to be in one soon), there may still be volunteer openings for dispatchers and communicators (6 needed); eight to twelve volunteer sales reps to contact realtors and stock brokers with customized flyers and instructions; a Polaroid-equipped photographer or two (or more) and other opportunities. Contact Russ MacCachran (russmac@creativeconsulting.com).

Individually, make use of the packets distributed January 4 to post flyers in churches, businesses, your offices, and elsewhere; and articles useful for your company or organization newsletter and/or bulletin board. And:/TD>

Articles on the Singing Valentine program of the Chapter for February 14, 2001 have appeared in "Soundings" recently. Plans are well under way and numerous quartets have been formed and are getting ready to serenade sweethearts. However: This program is for all chapter members, not only for those who are active, but also for those who haven't been involved for a while. For those who can't for any reason be on a full?time basis in the chorus, singing in a Singing Valentine quartet is a wonderful chance to get back into a chapter activity on a short-term basis. Who knows? You might even get hooked enough ringing those chords that being with the Sound of the Rockies more regularly can become a favorite priority.

In any event, know that you are welcome - and needed! contact Dennis Cook (cookbari@aol.com) who is forming the S/V?2001 quartets.

Make it a greater-than-ever Valentines singout!

Bob Hartwig, President; Bill Lahti, IPP; Dick Stark, Secretary; Ralph Nafziger, Treasurer; Michael Nogrady, VP Membership; Bob De Groot, VP Marketing; Jason Mork, VP Public Relations; Jerry O'Halloran and Adam Nafziger, Members at Large.

Two additions to the lead section, introduced in the November 2000 issue, are ID'd here for you

Ben
Jason
Ben Miller was a member of the Highpoint Harmonizers in New Jersey (also sings tenor),
and Jason Mork formerly sang with the Arizona Prescottones.

I resolve to treat rehearsal time seriously. I will be on time, if not early, to every rehearsal. I will be in my riser position at the first "blow of the pipe." I will refrain from leaving early. I will not talk while on the risers. Darin's time is precious and every minute that I waste will not only hurt me, but in the long run will hurt the chorus. Our musical leadership team has lofty goals for SoR, but these goals are attainable with DEDICATION.

I resolve to practice at home. I will sing at least thirty minutes each day. I will commit words, notes and interpretation to memory before every deadline. I will rehearse the vocal techniques that Darin is teaching. I will turn in qualification tapes early. I will practice choreography on my own time. I will warm up my voice in the car on the way to rehearsal each week. With preparation comes CONSISTENCY.

I resolve to have fun and to make the Mile High Chapter enjoyable for others. I will sing with anyone who asks. I will be the last guy to "holster my pitchpipe" at every afterglow. I will welcome every guest at every rehearsal. I will sing a tag with every willing member or guest. I will volunteer for Valentines and Mother's Day quartets. I will help out anyone who has trouble learning music. I will volunteer to carpool to rehearsals. These are the types of activities that develop CAMARADERIE.

The resolution process is an excellent goal?setting tool for the coming year. I highly recommend that each of you do the same. SoR could make some great strides in 2001 if every member would make a written list of commitments and revisit them periodically throughout the year. Just today heard a statistic that over 80% of New Year's resolutions that are written down are actually kept! It is easy to sit back and say, "What can the chorus do for me?" But the question you should really be asking is, "What can I do to help the chorus?" You all know what I'm going to be working on; now it's your turn!

Roger A. Olson
Vice?President Music & Performance

Fellow Sound of the Rockies Members:

As you all know I've been encouraging a team effort in my past columns. We have done much to come together, and we all recognize there is still a long way to go. We currently have a big decision facing the chapter and it may be decided by the time you read this. That would involve a decision to move to a different facility (the Mennonite Church on East Alameda).

For me the journey to and from rehearsal totals around 2 hours. For many it is shorter and for a few it is longer. The same will be true at any location we choose. Hopefully we are all willing to make that kind of commitment in order to sing with Sound of the Rockies. Take a look at what we have accomplished in a very short time and then decide for yourself how big a travel commitment you would make to sing with a group that is at ourlevel of quality. My guess is that most of us would drive 2 hours each way to sing with such a group as this one.

Regardless of the final outcome of this decision I hope that we will all remember to focus on our mission. The chapter's leadership wants Sound of the Rockies to be THE class act of the Rocky Mountain District. Whether it be singing quality, presentation, musicality, or just plain being a great bunch of guys to hang out with, we need to keep focused on being a class act. I believe that our members are committed to that mission as well, as evidenced by our performance both on and off the risers in Rapid City, and at our recent Christmas Show.

Change is a true test of dedication, togetherness, teamwork, etc. We have been through a lot of change in the past 14 or 15 months and if we want a facility we can count on every week, we'll need to go through a little more change either soon or in the next few months. One final change will come later when we build and move into our own facility.

Our teamwork may or may not be tested by new surroundings, but it will definitely be tested by our collective efforts over the next several months. I am asking each of you to spend time working on our repertoire, especially during this hectic holiday season. It's very easy to be distracted at this time of year and forget about

I know that both Darin and I would be very grateful if you would take the time to become both mentally and musically prepared during both this Christmas season and into the New Year. With more challenging music in front of us I can assure you that I'll be working the notes now instead of later. Our efforts at this time of year will pay off many times over in the months ahead.

Sincerely,

Bob Hartwig, President
Denver Mile High Chapter SPEBSQSA
Sound of the Rockies Barbershop Chorus

Lahr quotes our old lyricist friend E. Y. Harburg, crafter of both "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" and "Over the Rainbow" (along with the rest of the Wizard of Oz lyrics): "Words make you think thoughts. Music makes you feel a feeling. But a song makes you feel a thought."

Gentlemen,

What a year! I wanted to take an opportunity to look back to the point from which we have come, where we stand, and the exciting possibilities the new year brings for the Mile High chapter/Sound of the Rockies chorus.

First, let me say what a wonderful experience this first year has been from out in front of you all. Your support, encouragement, and gentle nudging have certainly been appreciated and openly accepted from this rather new guy to the front line position in the barbershop chorus world. You have taught me more as a director than perhaps you yourself learned this year, and I cannot thank you enough for the efforts you put forth for this wonderful hobby of ours.

As I look back, I remember that chorus on January 6th, 2000. We were all excited, a bit anxious, and ready to show every man around us just exactly how well we could sing. As the year progressed, we began to form into much more of a cohesive unit. The singers in you were learning probably faster than it seemed you could. The musicians in you were beginning to experience the magic of a chord, and sometimes even a phrase sung in tune with musical shape in a large chorus.

First came a wonderful show which, more than anything, showed our public what was to come with some pretty good singing, great energy, and an entertaining show and script. Next, we headed toward the Cabaret, Chautauqua, and Littleton performances. Again, we gained ground on better and better singing and performance, all the time gaining new fans in the region. Then came that wonder of the drive to our first chorus contest together. Just remember how you felt after that performance and the response of the audience! There is so much more of that to come. And we took yet another step forward with the COTS performance, Arapahoe Philharmonic performance and our own Christmas shows.

I am also excited about the development of the administrative team of our chorus. Taking on a new chorus, especially one that has formed from a merger, is extremely difficult and time consuming. We certainly have had a few road bumps, but I see improvement weekly in the cohesion and focus of the administrative team, and I am extremely excited about our new board and their ideas, starting with this incredible drive towards a wonderful Singing Valentines program.

Now as to the future. I am so excited! We are singing better and better, and these last two performances have led me to believe we are about to break into a whole new level of singing. Your learning and hard work throughout the year is beginning to show. As we continue to learn, and the new habits forming our foundation as singers and performers become more firm, I predict the chorus is about to explode into a whole new level. And to top it off, we have some wonderful new singers moving into the area, not to mention the fact that we really have not even tried to recruit new singers actively as of yet.

I really believe we will continue to sing better, become more administratively strong, grow with new talent, become more financially solvent, and continue to develop our friendships and camaraderie throughout 2001. I am excited by the prospects of having one rehearsal hall (and building towards our own place), booking new and better performances for groups in the Denver area, winning the district contest, and preparing for International competition together, and continue to improve in production and singing of our regular annual and Christmas shows.

Well, we need two big things from you. You must continue to learn your music and moves at an even faster pace than you have in the past. And we need you to take on some responsibility for the good of the chapter. We will be so much stronger as a group if every man contributes.

I will not lie to you. As the level of performance climbs to new heights, so will the requirements as individuals. Attendance will continue to be of the utmost importance. We will continue to tape and those requirements will become stiffer. We will be implementing choreography requirements as well, along with individual help for any and all interested. Understand, this is not meant to scare people off but rather encourage each and every man to improve. The chorus will only get to where we want to go if each and every man puts in the effort and actually improves!

I know that I must also improve. That means more time for me in practicing directing, less singing and more listening, communicating my thoughts more clearly, and keeping better track of the learning processes of each member.

Lastly, I hope you all know how much you mean to me. Please, please don't assume things about my plan, and become upset about something in the chorus without talking directly to me. I will be happy to talk to you about where I think we are going as a group and about how I think we will get there. And I would be happy to accept your comments and advice. We need to keep our communication open to achieve the goals which I think we can.

Here's to a wonderful beginning and a better sophomore year in 2001!