The Rich-Tone Chorus

The Rich-Tone Chorus
Background information
Origin Dallas Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Genres a cappella
Years active 1968–present
Website www.richtones.org

The Rich-Tone Chorus is an all-female, barbershop chorus, located in northern Texas in the United States. The group was founded in 1968 in the city of Richardson. The current musical director is Dale Syverson who has held that position since 1976.

The Rich-Tone Chorus is a chapter, located in Northern Texas, of a worldwide non-profit organization known as Sweet Adelines International. This is a group of over 30,000 women committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performance.

The members of the Rich-Tone Chorus range in age from 17 to 75 and come from all over the North Texas area. The membership is drawn from a cross-section of society, including accountants, doctors, engineers, homemakers, nurses and teachers.

The Rich-Tones' musical repertoire includes contemporary hits, big band, Broadway and American classics.

International recognition

Internationally, the Rich-Tone Chorus aim to compete by displaying an innovative entertainment style that pushes the limits of barbershop music. Each year, Sweet Adelines choruses throughout the world compete at an annual competition – the Olympics of barbershop. Twenty-six regional championship choruses compete for the gold medal title of International Chorus Champions. The Rich-Tone Chorus is the first in its five-state region to earn the world's championship titles and will return to International Competition again in the future.

The Rich-Tone Chorus have developed a progressive entertainment style as well as a strong barbershop sound, and have been judged the "best in the world" five times: in 1992,[1] 1995,[2] 1998,[3] 2006,[4] and 2009.[5] They are the first chorus in the history of the Sweet Adelines International to win three consecutive first place medals. The Rich-Tone Chorus was also the first chorus in the organization to achieve a score of 700 for a single performance in 1992, giving their director the first 'Master Director 700' title.[6]

In 2012 Rich-Tones were honored to win 2nd place and the first ever Celebrity Award, presented by celebrity judge Cynthia Hessin, executive producer Rocky Mountain PBS and given to the chorus most likely to appeal to a non-barbershop audience.[7]

History

International Competition Year Location Placement Songs Score
1983 Detroit, MI 12th Deed I Do, Forgive Me 1048
1985 Kansas City, KS 6th I'm Alone Because I Love You, Sweet Georgia Brown. Mic Testers: All That Jazz, Let's Hear It For the Boy 1150
1987 Honolulu, HI 3rd I'm Alone Because I Love You, Broadway Star Medley, Sweet Georgia Brown, Broadway Medley, Rhythm of the Night, Music and the Mirror 2617
1989 Miami Beach, FL 2nd I Never Knew Medley, I'm Alone Because I Love You, Broadway Ballad, Broadway Star Medley, Music and the Mirror, Great Day 2654
1992 Baltimore, MD 1st[8] Swanee, (I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over, Mistakes, Sweet Georgia Brown, I've Got the Music in Me, Stuff Like That There, Conga 2884
1995 New Orleans, LA 1st[8] Liar Medley, Beside an Open Fire Place, Alexander's Ragtime Band, Why Haven't I Heard from You, Proud Mary 2809
1998 Nashville, TN 1st[8] You're Breaking in a New Heart, Swanee, Pal of My Cradle Days, Rock-a-bye Your Baby, Hit That Jive Jack, Turn the Beat Around 2805
2001 Portland, OR 2nd Rock-a-bye Your Baby, Pal of My Cradle Days, Please Don't Talk About Me, For All We Know, Straighten Up and Fly Right, Survivor, Magic Medley 2878
2003 Phoenix, AZ 3rd (I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over, Mardi Gras March, Please Don't Talk About Me, Berkeley Square, My Strongest Suit 2840
2006 Las Vegas, NV 1st[8] Berkeley Square, Nobody's Sweetheart Now, Yes Sir That's My Baby, I'm Alone Because I Love You, New Attitude, Man of La Mancha 2942
2009 Nashville, TN 1st[8] I'll Never Stop Loving You, Smile Medley, Yes Sir That's My Baby, Berkeley Square, High School Musical, Rich-Tone Evolution of Dance 3054
2012 Denver, CO 2nd[9] All The Way, Hot Town Strutter's Ball, Let Yourself Go, Berkeley Square, The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, Born This Way 3049
2014 Baltimore, MD 2nd[10] Berkeley Square, Hot Town Strutter's Ball, Motown Medley (Dancing in the Street/Get Ready), I'll Be Easy to Find, Let Yourself Go, Michael Jackson Medley (Beat It/Bad ) 3085

Professional support

As a performing and competing Sweet Adeline chorus, the Rich-Tones are involved in all aspects of barbershop life. There are highly trained and talented arrangers, choreographers, and technicians in the Rich-Tone chorus. These professionals have helped define the Rich-Tones' keenly etched identity as a cohesive group that enthusiastically embraces an American art form and transfuses it with their individual character.

Musical direction

Dale Syverson has been the musical director of the Rich-Tone Chorus since 1976, during which time the chorus has grown from 18 members to over 150. She is the daughter of a barbershopper, and has been a part of the Sweet Adelines organization since she was a child, gaining qualification as a Certified Expression Judge. She is the recipient of the 2004 SAI "President's Lifetime Achievement Award", an honor which has been awarded annually by the President of Sweet Adelines International since 1998 to a member whose contributions to and achievements within the organization are truly exceptional. Dale is a certified judge in both Expression and Sound Categories. She is a two-time "Queen of Harmony", winning an international quartet gold medal singing with the Tiffanys in 1973[11] and Rumors in 1998.[11]

External links

Discography

The Rich-Tone Chorus has produced 10 albums (CDs) for sale on their website and through popular online music sites, such as iTunes, Rhapsody, Spotify and Amazon MP3.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 25, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.