March 28, 2024

Local A Cappella Chorus Hosts “Open Dress Rehearsal"

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As Harmony Heritage, Trade Secret and Carried Away head for the Area & District competitions, friends, family and others are invited to a “sneak preview”.

Harmony Heritage, the Rhode Island chapter of Harmony, Incorporated, an international organization of female a cappella singers specializing in the barbershop harmony style, will head to Westborough, Massachusetts in April to participate in an area contest that could qualify the local singers for an international competition later this year. In addition to the choral competition, two quartets, Trade Secret from the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) and Carried Away from Sweet Adelines International (SAI) will perform the contest sets for their respective District competitions, as well as popular songs from their repertoires.

In celebration of the upcoming competitions, the chorus is inviting family members, friends and all interested parties to a come to a full dress rehearsal of the performances on Tuesday, April 11th at 7:30 pm. The event will take place at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 50 Park Place in Pawtucket. Parking will be on street and in the municipal lot at the end of the street. Admission is free. Good will donations at the door will benefit St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Harmony Heritage will go head to head with nine other choruses in Harmony, Inc.’s Area 2, which spans all of New England, plus Montreal, Canada. The competition will determine area rankings, and participants earning a score of a certain threshold are qualified to participate in the international competitions of Harmony, Inc. in November.

“The Harmony Heritage chorus rehearses all year to become more masterful at the four-part harmony that characterizes the barbershop style, but preparing for our area contest is one of the most exciting times of our year,” says Anne Diggle, chapter president. “We are excited to have our chorus ready to take the competition stage, and we’re proud to represent the Rhode Island community among choruses from all across this region.”

Harmony, Inc. has hosted area and international conventions for more than 55 years, gathering female singers of all musical backgrounds and experience levels to participate in a series of competitions for quartets and choruses. Participants are adjudicated by a panel of trained judges evaluating categories that encompass what songs the performers elect to sing, the skill with which they sing those songs, and how they perform the songs, which can include emotionally connecting with the audience.

With 24 members, Harmony Heritage is directed by Bob O’Connell of Pawtucket, RI. The chorus will present two songs at the area contest. To learn more about the chorus’s upcoming performance schedule, visit www.harmonyheritage.org 

About Harmony Heritage
Founded in 2001, the Pawtucket, RI chapter of Harmony, Inc., also known as the Harmony Heritage chorus, brings four-part a cappella harmony to the local community through regular performances and educational events. The chorus consists of women representing a wide range of musical backgrounds, from novice to trained professionals, and performs under the direction of Bob O’Connell. Harmony Heritage rehearses at 7:00 PM on Tuesdays at 50 Park Place in Pawtucket, RI). For more information, visit www.harmonyheritage.org

About Harmony, Incorporated:
Harmony, Inc. is an international, non-profit organization whose purpose is to empower all women through education, friendship and a cappella singing in the barbershop style. Since 1959, the organization has expanded from its Eastern roots to include more than 60 chapters in the United States and Canada, from California to Newfoundland, and from Manitoba to Florida. For more information, visit www.HarmonyInc.org

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