The Pitch Pipe - October 2008 - (Page 22) By Maggie Ryan, Greater Harrisburg Chorus, Region 19 They grow up, you know, these kids, these girls. Right there before our eyes they emerge, step out of the cocoon of youth and unfurl into the light, into the warmth. It is stunning and a little haunting all at once. They see nothing but promise, know nothing but hope as they shower themselves in glitter and gowns. We see innocence and wish them a lifetime of trust. We watched 10 years of Rising Star contestants come and go. We’ve seen family ensembles run through their stock of daughters, swapping costumes as each girl got a little bit older. LUMINOUS, 2007 Rising Star Champion, are wildcard competitors in Honolulu. A Rising Star champion became a Young Singers Foundation scholarship winner. We had champions from New Zealand and participants from China. Mary Segura went from Rising Star champion to competing at international as bass of RAZZCALS, singing alongside her mother, Martha. Heather Mears-Keever gained her quartet chops singing to a fourth-place Rising Star medal. Today, she wears a crown as baritone of 2008 International Champion FOUR BETTYS, where she, too, sings with her mom. Some of our Rising Stars have little starlets of their own. The 2008 Rising Star Contest champion, WHOLE LOTTA HARMONY of suburban Baltimore, Md., represents another facet of the Rising Star Contest – chorus involvement. Region 19’s Dundalk Chorus has placed quartets in every Rising Star since the contest’s inception. Beverly Bruening, Dundalk director Shirley Coffman and other chorus members mentor young women into barbershop music. And every year, the Dundalk Chorus makes the extraordinary financial commitment to WHOLE LOTTA HARMONY, Whole Lotta Fun sponsor entrants in the Rising Star Contest. That takes a lot of faith, but with WHOLE LOTTA HARMONY, the chorus and Sweet Adelines International already are reaping rewards. Barbara Reynolds, Ali Hauger, Rachael Baird and Lauren Ambrosino are a bouncy, fun-loving, astonishingly talented foursome. They are fully immersed in Sweet Adelines as members of Dundalk and are emerging as leaders in their chapter, serving as section leaders, assistant director and on the choreography team. They have re-energized the group, infusing their youthful spark and vitality, and vaulting Dundalk back up the ranks in Region 19. The quartet, which was developed by Beverly nearly four years ago, has climbed steadily through Rising Star competitions and changes in personnel. They placed 16th in 2005, 12th in 2006 and eighth in 2007. Along the way, Ali switched from baritone to lead and Rachael joined the group. They went to San Antonio just hoping to earn a medal. WHOLE LOTTA HARMONY also gained valuable competitive experience at the regional level with three quartet contests under its belt. In 2008, they missed a regional medal by only two points. In San Antonio, there was no doubt WHOLE LOTTA HARMONY would take home a very big medal indeed. Their renditions of Goody, Goody and That Tumble Down Shack In Athlone were breathtaking, and their onstage presence and offstage poise drew admiring nods. In between contestants they giggled, sent text messages on cell phones, and gave standing ovations to their fellow contestants. All along, as new fan after new fan complimented their performance, WHOLE LOTTA HARMONY eyeballed each other with that, “Don’t EVEN go there!” look. As the announcements unfolded, all eyes locked on the young women in bright blue. After they were announced as champions, after they embraced Beverly and Shirley and their two mentors hugged and cried, after the audience sang, WHOLE LOTTA HARMONY sang again, this time by acclamation, borrowing a pitch pipe and 22 October 2008
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