 | My "Number
One" hobby would have to be singing, specifically a capella singing
and, currently, barbershop singing. As a female musical director of
male chorus I was among the first of a handful of women accepted as directors by the Society
for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in
America (S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A.), a heretofore all-male domain. In 1994, as the
director of the then newly chartered "Oregon Coastalaires,"
I became the first woman to direct a chorus on the contest stage in the
Evergreen District.
As a new director in the district, I had the great good
fortune of benefiting from an Evergreen District
policy that sent new
directors to International Harmony College in St. Joseph, MO. Not only
did I engage in a weeks' worth of the best music education of my life, but, among the 700+ men
attending there, met the love of my life, Jeff.
From there, life has been a whirlwind of adventure for
this Oregon gal...but that's another story. Suffice to say that now
I'm in England and directing another all-male chorus, one of the newest
clubs in the British Association of
Barbershop Singers (B.A.B.S.).
This chorus is based in
Swindon and called "Ridgeway Harmony Chorus. " And as their musical director,
I can chalk up another first here in
England as well: I am officially the first
female full-member of B.A.B.S., yet another bastion of the all-male
club. (Although, in all fairness, it must be noted that there have been several
very talented women involved at the musical-director level here for many
years. I just happened to get my paperwork in first as my chorus was
registering with B.A.B.S. just as female musical directors were being
accepted in their own right. As they say..."Timing is everything.)
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As an off-shoot of this hobby, I've started trying my
hand at arranging music in various a capella voicings and styles.
A couple of my arrangements have even been performed publicly.
Maybe someday I'll even publish!
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Add to all this that, as hinted at before, my husband is
an avid barbershopper. Naturally, I support him (as he does me) in his endeavors which
currently include directing B.A.B.S.' newest chorus, the Royal
Harmonics, as well as singing baritone in one of England's top quartets,
Savannah. The quartet meets here regularly giving me the opportunity
to play "fifth
ear" often. The Harmonics consists primarily of experienced
barbershoppers and, as such, are quickly creating a fine choral organization
- one to be reckoned with, indeed! I attend cheerfully their
rehearsals in Windsor as often as my schedule permits, singing the
occasional tenor as the need arises.
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| A second major area of interest is
really a group: arts and crafts. I cheerfully dabble in all
kinds of artsy stuff, from embroidery, cross stitch and sewing to
water-color and silk-painting. Those are the more current ones but at
other times I have played with oil painting, quilling, calligraphy, tie-dye,
candlemaking, and dough art. It's just whatever catches my fancy at
the time.
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| If the rather domestic sounding genre of
"Homemaking" can be expanded to include such varied
interests as flower and herb gardening, aromatherapy and massage, cooking
and interior decorating then count me in! Someday I may even add a page to
this site to share recipes collected from our travels.
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NOTE: To visit any of the websites for the organizations
mentioned above, just double-click on any of those that are underlined and/or in
colored font.
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