Submitted by Kathleen Ware on
‘It was like all the colours of the rainbow had come together in the most shimmering, electrifying sound’. That was how one audience member described our rendition of ‘Don’t rain on my parade’ at the close of this year’s Sweet Adelines Australia competition.
And why wouldn’t we have sung this big, fabulous song with all the exuberance and attitude of Barbara Streisand as she steams across New York Harbour with total conviction in her purpose? That was us on Saturday night in the Parade of Champions. We came – we sang – we competed. And we rocked after our second place in the AA division, and second overall position in Australia!
Congratulations to everyone from CKC who played a part in getting us to Fremantle, Western Australia, from organising logistics to sewing costumes to handling the countless details that help make the wheels turn smoothly.
Congratulations to the 33 performers who have been preparing, practising and polishing their routines for months. What an effort, and what an exhilarating feeling it is when everything comes together on stage in front of a hushed audience of peers, fellow competitors, well wishers, and of course, the all important judges. A standing ovation is always a sensational high.
Congratulations to Vicki Dwyer, our master director and leader. Your vision, musicality and boundless energy are the wind in our sails. Your refusal to accept anything less than the absolute best that we’re capable of is what makes us such a united team, and a tour de force on stage!
A huge thank you to Di Huber, from the River Blenders in Missouri, who helped us fine tune our performance skills in Sydney and accompanied us to Fremantle to lend expert support and be our chief cheer leader.
Well done to the Sweet Adelines Australia RMT organisers for achieving a seamless and commendable competition.
Here’s a brief summary of what we collectively achieved at the 2024 Region 34 Competition.
CKC took second place overall in the Chorus competition with a score of 611. We were just beaten by an outstanding performance from Redland Rhapsody with a winning score of 621.
Alouette (Vicki, Diane, Crystal and Kaitlyn) took second place in the Quartet division, with apersonal best score of 640. Just ahead of them were Skylark, with a score of 648.
Of all the choruses, CKC lead the competition with the largest number of members involved in quartets – where individuals of each of the four voice parts come together with amazing resonance and sound. Three other competing quartets did us proud – Kephi (Rachel, Anne, Betty and Jane) sang beautifully, Tango (Michelle, Linda, Jenny and Inese) were superb and Coutney contributed her lead voice to the dazzling Allegra. All quartets achieved their highest scores so far in Region 34 competitions.
Diane Jenkins received the Marian Reinsch Award, which is given every second year to the most outstanding graduate from the Director Certification Program. Well done Diane – we’re thrilled on your behalf and honoured to have such an esteemed team on our CKC directorship.
To everyone who came to Fremantle, you may now take a bow and put a red and green kangaroo paw bouquet (WA’s floral emblem!) in your kitchen vase. Then you may collapse on the lounge, slowly exhale, and do 10 minutes of Farinelli breathing. You have earned all the kudos and medals that come with being a member of one of the most dynamic choruses in Australia.
Photo courtesy of Kirsten Graham.
