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Page 6 InCider Press November 2007 |
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The lights on the stage were bright Friday evening, and the crowd was growing restless as another round of old jokes was being rattled off by the emcee. Then, a soft clapping started and grew in intensity. My heart started quickening and thudding against my chest and rose in intensity along with the clapping. Then, the announcer took a deep breath and announced…”And now from Manhattan Kansas… ” The first steps onto the stage were amazing. The crowd cheered and the lights were blinding. As I looked up, all I could see was the bright lights outlining a black shadow. As the pitch was blown, I took a deep breath to try and calm my racing heart and prepare for the first note. Then we’re off to a nervous start. Once we settle down, the song goes smoothly to the end. After the first song, the applause was amazing. Then, we took the pitch and began “Wink and A Smile”. At this point, the nerves were under control and the heart was returning to its normal rate. The applause was amazing when we were finished and we took our bows and exited the stage and exhaled a deep exhaustive breath. Then, we smiled and congratulated each other As we entered the auditorium, we were greeted with a vast collection of supporters congratulating us. We then sat back and enjoyed the rest of the evening’s performances . Our quartet arrived early in the afternoon on Friday, and we entered the stage to have a look around. We even helped move the risers around (we didn’t get any brownie points for that, though). We had a chance to sing on the stage in a relaxed atmosphere and we felt pretty good. Then, we went downstairs and rang a few chords into “the dome”. That was amazing. Then after lunch, we sat down to watch the afternoon’s performances. We were very relaxed all afternoon and we didn’t feel the anticipation we would feel later. After the last of the afternoon quartets sang, we |
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walked back to the hotel to prepare for the evening‘s performance. At 7:30 we met our host All in all, the weekend was a huge success. It may not seem that way in the numbers, but we learned a great deal by watching other quartets and choruses perform. Also, the comments by the judges gave us a lot to think about as far as improving and becoming better. Late Night Edition would like to thank all who attended and gave us such wonderful support. We would also like to acknowledge “Button Beth” who made 500 buttons with “Late Night Edition” on them. Saturday was actually a breeze. The chorus has improved a lot. It could be seen in the fact that we were into the songs more than we have been before. After looking at the numbers (and it is very, very hard to look at numbers and give a specific performance a number) they showed that we made very good improvements, and the judges’ comments were really positive in some of the interpretations we had. We really need to thank Ken for leading us through and pushing the interpretation. Also, we need to thank the board for bringing in coaches to help us out. I think the coaches helped us understand how we can improve with both our emotions in the song and our sound in general. I hope everyone had a wonderful time and enjoyed listening and watching the other choruses. I was amazed at the sound coming from the Ambassadors of Harmony and I hope everyone noticed the volume difference by that chorus. The softs were soft and the louds were there but not too overpowering. I think we can see the difference in a chorus that sings on a 1-9 level. ♪ |
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First time on a CSD stage as a quartet By Travis Troyer |
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One of the upcoming dates that most of the chapter can enjoy will be the annual Christmas Caroling and Installation Banquet. This years date is December 13th. Tom Fish will have a sign up for all members that can attend, so we can sing carols at some of the retirement centers in Manhattan. We will once again divide into VLQ's and ask our wives to join us as we sing, and for the banquet. Because we performed for Veterans Day at the Legion we will hold the banquet there. This is always one of the fun evenings as we sing our favorite carols and fellowship together as the incoming officers are asked to accept their duties for the next year,♪ |
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Christmas caroling and banquet By Terry Nanninga |