Starting the New Year

We have a long-standing tradition of celebrating New Years Day at Phillips Inner Harbor with our families. This year we a had a nice turn out and even welcomed a few former members back. Phillips just moved to a new location and the bar is now just off of the entrance where people wait for their tables. We spent a few hours singing, eating, drinking, and just having a good time.

As we were singing, we noticed a small girl peeking over the railing to see what we were up to. She seemed to enjoy the music, so we sang the next song to her. You can never go wrong with kids and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, so that's what we did. Her face lit up and she left, smiling, to eat dinner with her family. A while later, her mom brought her back to drop off a note for the group, thanking us for singing to her. Now it was our turn to smile. How can you start a new year any better than that?

Have a happy and healthy 2012!

Sing in the New Year

The chorus ended our year with a bang last night as we joined the Chorus of the Chesapeake for their Christmas party. There were great performances by both choruses and a star-filled quartet line up that included Maxx Factor, Lustre, and BSQ. Our chapter was represented by two of our quartets: 3 Wise Men and Chairman's Choice. After the party we all moved across the street for an afterglow with singing into the night.

We'll start the new year with a Heart of Maryland tradition. Join us at 1pm on January 1st (that's 1/1/11 at 1) at Phillips Harborplace for songs and a toast or two. This isn't a performance, just a chance to share a drink and a song with friends at the piano bar.

A Few More Christmas Shows To Go

We're almost through the Christmas singing season. We kicked things off at Harborplace for a big crowd at Tuba Christmas. We sang Let It Snow again, but to no effect this year. If it had started to snow this time we might have to drop that song for good.

After a few private performances, we'll finish out the season with two big events this weekend. We don't want to give away too much about the first one, but if you're near Arundel Mills Mall this Sunday, be sure to stop by the food court at 2pm to check out the Sons of the Severn. It's going to be a great show.

From there we'll be zooming up to Baltimore, just in time to catch the Raven's traffic jam, as we sing for the Baltimore Outreach Services. We've been invited to sing at this annual reunion dinner for mothers and children who are no longer homeless. It's a great event and we always enjoy spreading some Christmas cheer.

Christmas Shows

The chorus is ready for December with a full calendar of Christmas shows. We'll kick it off this weekend at Baltimore Harborplace with Tuba Christmas. The chorus will sing at 3:00 and the tuba concert starts at 3:30. We'll all move to the 2nd floor of the Light Street Pavilion if the weather doesn't cooperate.

Coaching with Hal Kraft

Hal Kraft, former director of the Keystone Capital Chorus, Mid-Atlantic district and seniors quartet champion and singing coach extraordinaire, spent an evening helping the chorus prepare for our annual Flag Day performance. Emotional expression and vowel production were his key topics of instruction. He also worked on vocal preparation for That Old Quartet of Mine and Darkness on the Delta in anticipation of this coming Tuesday's rehearsal with presentation coach Gary Plaag.

Gary is a member of the Alexandria Harmonizers and is also a a coach and instructor active within the Barbershop Harmony Society. We're looking forward a great evening with Gary and strongly encourage all members to attend this first presentation coaching session we've had in many years.

Coaching and Guest Directors

We had a very productive coaching session last night with guest director Glenn Phillips. Glenn worked with us on getting a taller sound and The results were impressive. We'll put this all to good use at our Flag Day performance this year.

Last night also brought a special treat in the form of the PDQ Quartet, who stopped by to sings a few songs for us between gigs. They are the hardest working quartet in show business.

Send a Singing Valentine

Valentine's Day doesn't wait for the snow to clear - it's coming whether you're ready or not. Still haven't done your shopping? No problem. Give the gift of music with a Singing Valentine from the Heart of Maryland Chorus. We'll send a quartet to your home, business, restaurant or wherever to serenade your sweetheart. Order now to reserve yours.