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Women's Chorus Wins Area Competition

Harmony Inc's Area 4 Contest and Convention (AC&C) was held the weekend of June 12-14, in Brownsburg, IN (a suburb of Indianapolis). The Glen Ellyn-based chorus, the Village Vocal Chords (VVC), came away with top honors, and earned the right to compete at the organization's international convention this fall. The contest was attended by choruses from Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Their "sister" chorus, the Misty River Music Makers (MRMM), based in the Fox Valley area, also qualified to compete at the international level.

This year's contest was set to the theme of "Start Your Engines", with quartets competing on the evening of June 12th, and choruses competing on the afternoon of June 13th. The VVCs were also well represented in the quartet competition by two of their quartets, with their own "Four Eyes" earning second place honors, and "The Karamels" earning third place. In all, four quartets qualified to compete at the international level. They will have the opportunity to travel to Verona, NY, in November to compete with other qualifying quartets and choruses from across the US and Canada.

The VVCs had two new members competing in this contest, both of whom had similar reactions to the event. Leslie Knopoff, a resident of South Elgin, became a member of the chorus last August. She enjoyed socializing with members of the other choruses, but especially enjoyed being part of the performance, "AC&C was a blast…to actually hear us perform in competition from inside the chorus was an experience I don't think I'll ever be able to duplicate".

Lisa Bower, of LaGrange, had been a chorus member previously, but had to leave the chorus due to work commitments in 2009. After missing the singing and comradery, she returned to the chorus this past December. She agreed with Leslie that a high point of the competition was receiving feedback from the various judges after the contest, "It's exciting to hear our immediate improvement based on their feedback and imagine how we will deliver on stage come November."

As her most memorable moment, however, Leslie had the following to say, "Getting to sing at our afterglow party was probably the most memorable moment. You would think it would be winning my first AC&C and getting the first ever Area 4 first place medals, but it wasn't, it was getting to stand up in front of everyone after the contest was over and sing "Thank You For The Music". Looking out at all the other members of Area 4 and watching as some teared up, that was my most memorable moment."

The Village Vocal Chords chorus is the Glen Ellyn-based chapter of Harmony, Inc., an international, nonprofit, and educational organization for women barbershop singers. They rehearse on Tuesday evenings, 7:00 pm, at the St. Thomas United Methodist Church, 2S 511 Route 53, with members coming from all over the Chicagoland area. The chorus is always interested in expanding its membership, so, if you are a woman who loves to sing, they will help you "find your voice".

For additional information on the chorus or to see their calendar of performances and events, visit their website, www.villagevocalchords.com.

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