Volume 12, Issue 21 Changing lives through song June 17, 2018 Frank Glas 2017 Barbershopper of the Year! Carrie s Cues 2-1/2 weeks International Hi Guys, Once again, we had another great week of coaching. How fortunate for us that we had a rehearsal space with mirrors. Cy really took advantage of that and I think many learned a lot from performing in front of a mirror. This is a good practice that you can do at home! In fact, I encourage it! Cy talked about adding honest movements that help you be the narrator of the story, but not movements for the sake of movements. In the intro for example, a move for "I'd be the one you'd choose," or on the word "fly" in "I dreamt I could FLY." He also encouraged everyone to use their knees! What a difference! He reminded us to engage our entire bodies, using our non-verbal communication, EVEN DURING WARM- UPS! One of the most amazing moments was when Cy had the chorus close their eyes and navigate through the slow section of Ten Minutes Ago, proving that you really don't need a director for that section, you just need your ears. It brought the biggest smile to my face. I've said this previously, but I will say it again: we have been given all of the tools, notes, coaching, etc. for our set. We are not adding anything new at this time. All we are asking any of us to do is to give our best performance of the set we have. CALENDAR DATES: I mentioned this on Monday, but in case you missed it, we will NOT be rehearsing this Saturday, June 16th. Please enjoy your Father's Day weekend. MONDAY, June 18- Baritone sectional 6:30-7 p.m. Please arrive warmed-up. FULL CHO- RUS- Monday is pencil and paper night. It would do all of us good to revisit the music, lyrics, etc. There are some fine tuning notes from Steve Tramack that I sent last week. We'll work on those. Then, we will do as many run-throughs as we can. Cy mentioned that we need more reps on our set and I agree. MONDAY, June 25- Rehearsal in full costume. We want to make sure everyone has all of their costume pieces, including pocket squares. We will run the set, including our walk on, picture pose, and walk off. Attendance for this rehearsal is crucial. Also, the last 2 out of 3 before International are mandatory, so there's that, too. (Continued on page 2) Inside this issue: West Towns Family 2 Business Briefs 3 Christmas Songs 3 Joliet Slammers 4 Chicago Dogs 5 Birthdays 5 Calendar 6 Board & Music Team 6 There is a board meeting scheduled for this Thursday, June 21, 7:30 PM at Bob Nicodem s house. Board meetings are open to all members of the chapter but if you wish to come as a guest please let Bob Nicodem know so he can plan accordingly.
Page 2 Carrie s Cues continued (Continued from page 1) Please bring a change of clothes. At some point, we will change out of costumes and continuing reps in street clothes. The consignment space is HOT and we don't need people passing out because they are wearing their tuxes. MONDAY, July 2- I originally said costumes, but someone pointed out that you would all like a chance to clean your costumes before International and that wouldn't give you enough time, so no costumes Monday, July 2nd. Instead, fine tuning and more reps. Is there life after International? Yes, there is. We will have to play "catch up" working on our combined songs for the Three Chorus concerts August 18th and 19th. We have Christmas music to learn, too! Woo hoo! Ain't life grand? Carrie West Towns Family I received the following email this week: Long time former member George W. Collar passed away June 8, 2018. There will be a Memorial Service for him at a future date. Please let the Chapter know. He was a member of Barbershop Harmony Society (SPEBSQSA) for 52 years. He had a special love for West Towns' quality, discipline, showmanship and camaraderie. He also looked forward for his turn to come up to be Santa in the Christmas Show. Messages can be left online at http:// www.cremation-society.com/obituary Thank you, Leslee (Collar) Parish ilovethemtns@sbcglobal.net Bob Nicodem PITCH Editor Bob Nicodem Illinois District BETY winner in 2008, 2009 & 2010 18W109 Claremont Dr. Darien, IL 60561 email: RNicodem@comcast.net Work: (708) 735-8164 Cell: (708) 337-3895 The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Chicagoland West Suburban Chapter aka The West Towns Chorus
Page 3 Business Briefs GUESTS: Kate, Nelleka, Judy RENEWALS: None! UPCOMING EVENTS: Tuesday, 6/12 - BRAT BASH - Legion Hall on Archer 6-10PM ALL are welcome Wednesday 6/13 - Oak Trace - Call time 6PM Sing at 7PM Tuesday 6/19 - Chicago Dogs Anthem - See Frank Glas for Tickets Sunday 6/24 - Joliet Slammers Anthem - Call time 12:15 - Sing at 1PM - Mark B. Directing NOTE: HOT weather, we will wear khaki shorts with green shirts COOLER weather, we will wear black pants with green shirts SPEEDWAY - NASCAR - Thurs (6/28), Fri (6/29) We are now responsible for covering only six slots for June 28 and 29 (Thursday and Friday). See Mark Johnson for who is scheduled. ORLANDO: Bill Bert - Rides to and from the Airport are NOT free. Email from sent from Bill outlining transportation options and costs for you to choose. Competitor T-Shirts - If you did NOT pre order and pay for your t-shirt, you will need to order it online and pay for the shipping. Illinois District FALL CONTEST RAFFLE TICKETS: See Ron Welch for envelope for your tickets (4 tickets per member) to buy/sell. Christmas Songs Do you know the story of how "The Christmas Song" came to be written? If not, here it is: It was a sweltering hot July afternoon in 1945 when Mel Torme showed up for a writing session at the Toluca Lake house of his lyric partner Bob Wells. Mel let himself in and called out for Bob. No answer. He walked over to the piano, and there, resting on the music board, was a pad of paper with four lines of a verse: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire; Jack Frost nipping at your nose; Yuletide carols being sung by a choir; And folks dressed up like Eskimos. When Wells finally walked in the room, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, Torme asked him about the little poem. "It's so damn hot today, I thought I'd write something to cool myself off," Wells replied. "All I could think of was Christmas and cold weather.." The "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" image was a memory from Wells' childhood in Boston, when there'd be vendors on street corners at Christmas, serving up paper cones full of roasted chestnuts. "I think you might have something here," Torme said. Sitting down at the piano, he flashed on a melody idea for the opening lines. Wells grabbed his pad and pen, and the duo was off and running. As Torme relates in his autobiography, "Improbable though it may sound, 'The Christmas Song' was completed about 45 minutes later." So gentlemen, in the midst of this HOT weather, if you're looking for cooler thoughts, consider thinking about Christ- (Continued on page 4)
Page 4 Christmas Songs continued (Continued from page 3) mas songs! These are the songs from last year that we will be singing again on THIS year's Christmas show. We would like to sing them MEMORIZED!!! While most are on Groupanizer, a few were purchased as paper copies and cannot be posted online. If you'd like to start practicing early, be my guest! Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) Carol of the Bells (arr. Kirby Shaw) The First Noel (Grimmer) The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy (Gentry)- with the same cut as last year Go Tell It On the Mountain Joy to the World (Lisles) Silent Night/Peace, Peace Adeste Fideles Carrie Joliet Slammers Where: When: Uniform: Contact: Joliet Rte. 66 Statium 1 Mayor Art Schultz Dr. Joliet, IL 60432 Sunday, June 24, 1 PM Call time: 12:15 PM Hot weather: Khaki pants, Green West Towns shirt (short sleeve) Cool weather: Black pants, Green West Towns shirt (short sleeve) Bill Haselberger for info / tickets
Page 5 Chicago Dogs National Anthem Where: When: Uniform: Contact: Impact Field 9850 Balmoral Ave. Rosemont, IL 60018 Tuesday, June 19, 7 PM Call time: 6:00 PM Black pants, Green West Towns shirt (short sleeve if you have it), black shoes and socks Frank Glas for information June Birthdays 8: Bob VanderBeek 10: Dick Brown 10: Jim Deegan 14: Jack Roller 19: Rick Anthoney 20: Curt Spencer 27: Don Kaap FREE MONEY sign in to smile.amazon.com and select West Towns Chorus as your charitable recipient.
Visit us on our website: www.westtowns.org Chicagoland West Suburban Chapter Barbershop Harmony Society PO Box 1005 Downers Grove, IL 60515 Changing Lives Through Song Phone: 630-201-5544 E-mail: info@westtowns.org 2018 Board President Jim Brown Music VP Craig Lancaster Development & Daniel Garcia Membership VP Program VP Bill Haselberger Marketing VP Ben Dirks Treasurer Tony Tumea Secretary Bob Nicodem Member-at- Frank Glas Large Past President Ron Welch Email Board@WestTowns.org Sunshine Don Davia Care Person Librarian Bob VanderBeek Uniform Eric Roffelsen Board meetings are scheduled for the third Thursday of each month (except December) 7:30 PM at Bob Nicodem s house. The Music Team meets the second Thursday of each month at Horizon, 7:30 PM. Music Team Director: Carrie Marcotte Asst-directors: Mark Betczynski & Joe Tomecek Music VP: Craig Lancaster Section Leaders Bass: Baritone: Lead: Jim Brown & Will Gertig Mark & Joe Mark Servos Kevin Westburg Tenor: Trenton Ferro, Sid Peterson Email MusicTeam@WestTowns.org Calendar of Events June 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 July 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 August 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 June 6/4 Rehearsal 6/11 Rehearsal 6/12 Brat Bash 6/13 Oak Trace 6 PM call time 6/18 Rehearsal 6/19 Tue Chgo Dogs Rosemont 7pm Call time is 6 PM 6/21 Board Meeting 6/24 Sun Joliet Slammers 6/25 Rehearsal 6/28 6/29 Speedway NASCAR July 7/2 Rehearsal 7/5 Orlando Rehearsal 7/6 International Chorus Contest 7/9 Celebration/wrap-up 7/16 Rehearsal 7/19 Board Meeting 7/22 29 Harmony U 7/23 Rehearsal 7/30 Rehearsal Future 8/18 & 19 Three Chorus events 8/22 Kane County Cougars 8/27 Mon Coaching w/ Steve Tramack 9/17 Coaching session (Mon) Terry Ludwig 9/22 Christmas Blitz 10/6 Fall Contest 12/5 Tech rehearsal (Wed) 12/8 & 9 Christmas Show West Towns rehearses every Monday evening, 7:00 PM at Horizon Community Church in the Meadowbrook Shopping Center, 2129 63rd Street, Downers Grove, IL 60516. We invite men who like to sing to come visit us and join us in song and fellowship.