InCider Press, May 2004, page 10

The Charades' Activities
By Leonard Purvis, bass

The Charades have been fairly busy in April and May this year. In addition to the chorus show on the 24th of April, there were performances at the Holidome on April 16 for a Feed Milling conference, the afterglow on the 24th at the Blue Hills room, and a banquet for Farm Bureau retirees on the 30th, again in the Blue Hills room. We were able to sing before the live band started next door at that function, however.

April also provided the quartet with the unique opportunity to join Jim Eickman in song during his wedding to Jolene on the 25th as well as singing a few numbers at the reception while eating lots of wedding cake (that doesn't necessarily work too well but sure tasted good.) We wish them many years of happiness together.

In May we only have two performances scheduled. On the 12th we surprised Sharon Purvis with a few songs as she celebrated her retirement this spring with friends and Northview staff. She certainly seemed to enjoy the afternoon but we're not sure if it was the singing or the retiring that prompted all the smiles. Good luck Sharon, as you enter a new phase in your life.

The quartet plans to close out the month by singing for the St. George Alumni Banquet on 29 May. This performance is once again scheduled for the Blue Hills Room. The Blue Hills Room seems to have become our second home for these two months.

The summer always is a difficult time to schedule performances and even rehearsals due to vacations and such, so the next report may be a few months away. We hope everyone has a great summer and keeps on singing.

Time has flown by for the Manhattan Music Machine this Spring. We had scheduled a regular menu of rehearsals with the hopes of learning a new song for the show afterglow, as well as perfecting our cameo in the show. The schedule of rehearsals began to dwindle in number as Bari Jim Lindquist experienced problems with spring allergies as do many others. We sometimes would meet for only one half or one third of our scheduled time, sensitive to the care of the ailing voice, and not wanting to inflict any permanent damage, as can happen.

While we were all four involved in the chorus preparations for the show, our learning of the new piece fell to the wayside with limited rehearsals. The plan was altered to sing at least a couple of our "chestnuts" on the afterglow. Of course, lack of rehearsal time didn't affect our social time, and we had a very enjoyable octet for dinner at Harry's Uptown on Holy Saturday evening.

As we neared the show time, we were not able to

increase our rehearsals due to the lack of a "singable" bari but yet planned on at least one song for the afterglow. We had also committed to singing at the opening ceremonies of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials 3-day conference on May 12th.

While extra effort got Jim enough sound that we didn't have to cancel the show cameo, he simply had nothing available for an afterglow. Of course our concern was confirmed when Jim announced that his doctor advised at least 90 days of vocal inactivity (to the extent possible) at our rehearsal following the show weekend.

With the doctor's permission, we were able to keep the May 12th performance, but have now "hung up our pitch pipe" for the summer. Jim is undergoing vocal rest with the hope that we can again experience his rich contribution to our sound when he is released by the medical professionals.

(Continued from page 11) Just another phone call

performance as we rehearsed in the hour and a half prior to the funeral. We didn't overwork, but worked at each repetition of the two selections until we felt comfortable with the music and with each other. We took the time to discuss various parts of the pieces

with the attitude of how each could make our part better contribute to the production. At this point, we felt confident that we would not fail, and even eager at the possibility that we had become a true barbershop quartet.

(Continued on page 6)