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Contents Welcome to Harmony Fusion Chorus !! ......................................................................................... 3 Board of Directors........................................................................................................................... 4 Bylaws............................................................................................................................................. 5 Director/Chorus Contract ................................................................................................................ 6 Membership .................................................................................................................................... 7

Rehearsals & Business Meetings .................................................................................................... 8 Rehearsal Courtesies ..................................................................................................................... 10 Qualifying/Tape Checking ............................................................................................................ 11 Dues .............................................................................................................................................. 12

Angel Fund.................................................................................................................................... 12 Fundraising ................................................................................................................................... 13

Financial Considerations ............................................................................................................... 14 Paying your Expenses ............................................................................................................... 14

Chorus Dues .............................................................................................................................. 14 Escrow Account ........................................................................................................................ 14 Per Capita Fee (International Re-Charter) ................................................................................ 14 Regional Assessment ................................................................................................................ 14 Costumes and Makeup .............................................................................................................. 14 Events – General Information ................................................................................................... 15

Event – Sweet Adelines Regional Convention (Contest) ......................................................... 15 Event – Sweet Adelines International Convention ................................................................... 15

Events – Fall and Winter Regional Weekends ......................................................................... 15

Costumes ....................................................................................................................................... 16

Unified Style ............................................................................................................................. 16 Performance Readiness Checking ............................................................................................. 16

Make-up & Hair ............................................................................................................................ 17 Regional Convention - Contest ..................................................................................................... 18 Performances................................................................................................................................. 19

Communications ........................................................................................................................... 21 Noteworthy News ..................................................................................................................... 21

Business Meeting ...................................................................................................................... 21 Asking Questions ...................................................................................................................... 21 Mail, E-Mail and E-Mail Buddies ............................................................................................ 21

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Welcome to Harmony Fusion Chorus !!

Chapter # _____________

Within these pages you will find the information you need to get the most out of

your adventures with Harmony Fusion.

If you have questions that are NOT answered within this document, please contact

your Member Services Director.

This handbook belongs to:

Name:_________________________________

ID # __________________________________

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Board of Directors

Director

Director’s Liaison

Team Coordinator

Secretary

Finance Director

Member Services Director

Logistics Director

Events Director

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Bylaws

Insert Bylaws here

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Director/Chorus Contract

Insert Director/Chorus Contract

here

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Membership All membership issues should be addressed to the Member Services Director.

There are different levels of membership. Be sure to select your level carefully. Consult with the

Finance Director to verify costs.

For up-to-date information regarding your membership options, please review the Sweet Adelines

International website at http://www.sweetadelineintl.org

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Rehearsals & Business Meetings

PLACE:

TIME:

7:15 p.m. – 9:30/9:45 p.m.

Business Meeting immediately following

Standard Rehearsal Structure:

Physical Warm-up

Vocal Skill Builders

Apply vocal skills to current repertoire (sing!)

Business Meeting (includes announcements)

Closing Song

Pre-competition Rehearsal Structure (January through Contest – late March or early April)

Physical Warm-up

Vocal Skill Building

Rehearse Competition package (vocal production and visual plan)

Business Meeting (includes announcements)

Attendance:

Every effort should be made to attend every rehearsal. If you are unable to attend rehearsal,

please advise your section leader of your absence and planned return. Late arrival or early

departure is acceptable as needed. Please be sure your section leader is aware of your

circumstances. If arriving late or departing early, please do so quietly.

If you will be away from chorus for 3 weeks or more, please advise the Member Services

Director so you can be placed on Leave of Absence. Members on Leave of Absence are still

required to pay monthly dues during their absence.

Please notify the Member Services Director (for attendance recording) and the Finance Director to

arrange dues payment during your absence.

Please refer to the current HFC By-laws for more details.

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Tips for Learning Choreography –

Try it! Start by working to move in the same direction as the people on either side of you.

We were all newcomers once so we know how awkward you might feel.

Try to attend extra choreography practice (especially prior to competition or our annual

show).

Use your face! We strive for an energized, alert, happy look most of the time. Once you

feel like you look a little foolish, you‟re probably projecting enough facial expression.

Keep your eyes on the director unless specifically told otherwise. At those times when she

is facing away from the chorus, or moves aside to let the chorus dance, you will be

instructed where to focus your eyes.

Performance Ready Choreography – You are considered performance ready in choreography when

you demonstrate that you can do the correct moves at the correct time, while standing in your place

on the risers. Choreography is checked as a group by one or more members of the choreography

team. The choreography team will work with individuals to ensure that corrections are made.

Tips for Performing Choreography –

Remember that you are one of a group. The idea is to blend in with the unit. Here are some things

to consider while performing choreography:

Do not take your eyes off the director (unless told otherwise) – it is very

obvious/distracting to the audience.

Animate your face - express emotions appropriate to the song – it‟s the most important

aspect of your performance. A deadpan or worried face is very obvious and distracting to

the audience.

If you miss a move, let it go. It is better to leave the move out than to do it late or to

“sneak into it”. Moving to correct your mistake when everyone else is standing still will only

draw more attention to it.

If you forget a move or make a wrong move do not act embarrassed or try to “recover”, just

act cool and pretend you did the right thing. If you act embarrassed, the audience will feel

embarrassed for you, and that will make them uncomfortable – the last thing we want to do

to our audience!

Have fun with it!! Choreography is designed to enhance the story of the song, not to get in

the way. Just as we do with the music, we practice our choreography until it projects just

the image we want.

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Rehearsal Courtesies In a group our size, and working toward excellence in musical performance, it is important that we

each understand what is expected of us and to demonstrate the common courtesies that make our

rehearsals more successful. Please read and observe the following guidelines:

Learning Music – We announce several weeks in advance when we are going to learn a new

song, so everyone can be there if possible. The song is taught by a quartet that has worked

with the director in advance. A learning tape is available that night (or shortly thereafter).

Music is distributed and members are encouraged to follow along while the song is taught,

even if they don‟t read music. Although we sing the song frequently in rehearsals for a few

weeks, members are expected to work on the song between rehearsals, and to be “off the

paper” (able to sing without the music) within a few weeks.

While you are on the risers (as a guest or as a member) please refrain from talking or asking

questions of the Director. Talking while on the risers is disruptive to others and prevents

you and those near you from hearing important information.

Please avoid using scented cosmetics or fragrances on the day of a Chorus function.

These do cause serious allergic reactions among some Chorus members.

If you are not feeling well please stay off the risers so you don‟t spread your germs. If you

feel able to attend but cannot sing, please sit at the end of the risers facing the Director

or else become pat of our audience for the evening.

Music purchased by the Chorus is the property of the Chorus and shall be used only by

Chorus members and guests during rehearsal. Guests should return Guest Music Books to

the Membership Representative at the end of each rehearsal. Guest music can be taken

home for a refundable deposit of $5.00. When the book is returned OR the guest becomes

a member, the $5.00 will be refunded.

Smoking during rehearsal is not permitted except outside the rehearsal hall during breaks.

Children should not attend rehearsal unless they are prospective members and intend to

apply for membership within the following four months.

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Qualifying/Tape Checking

To help ensure the best vocal product possible, each member is required to qualify on each song of

the repertoire before they can be performed at public performances. All members participating in

Regional Contest must be qualified on the competition songs PRIOR to competition. Qualification is

most commonly done by recording your voice during rehearsal and turning the tape into your section

leader for review.

In some cases qualification can be done by singing with a qualified quartet.

Taping and Tape-checking – to verify that everyone has learned the music correctly, we go through

a process of making tapes and having them checked. The process consists of

1. Singing into a tape recorder during rehearsal, without using sheet music.

2. Having the recording checked by a designated Tape Checker (usually the section leader).

3. Listening to your tape when it is returned, along with any comments noted by the Tape

Checker.

4. Re-taping as often as needed to correct the problems found by the Tape checker (if

any).

Once you‟ve demonstrated that you know all the notes, words and breaths, the Tape Checker

“passes” you on that song and the master tracker sheet will be updated to reflect that you are

performance ready on that song.

Don‟t be afraid to tape - do it as soon as you feel comfortable with the song. Keep in mind that the

small tape recorders we use will not truly represent your voice quality. The Tape Checkers job is to

verify that the notes, words and breaths are accurate.

Please verify current qualification requirements with your section leader.

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Dues

Dues should be paid by check or cash at the beginning of each month or you may choose to pay for

multiple months at one time.

When submitting your payment, please complete the payment record and place your payment in the

cash box (available at each rehearsal) on the Member Services Table. Be sure to record your

payment on the sheet next to the cash box.

- Checks should be written to Harmony Fusion, unless directed otherwise.

- Write in your check memo what the check is for.

Full Member dues are $30/month + $5.00 costume rental = $35.00/month

Youth Member dues are $15/month + $5.00 costume rental = $20.00/month

Dues include regional and international fees.

Angel Fund The angel fund is available to ANYONE in financial need. Submit your request to the Angel Fund

Coordinator (Coni Donnelly). All requests are confidential.

If you are blessed with EXTRA money, please feel free to make an anonymous donation to the angel

fund. You cannot deduct this donation from your taxes.

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Fundraising Fundraising events will be held throughout the year. Participating in fundraising activities is

optional but encouraged. Common fundraisers are

- Greens Sales (wreaths, garland, etc) at Christmas time

- Garage Sale in the spring, etc.

- Items to be raffled at a show

The money from these fundraising activities goes toward the payment of chorus expenditures such

as director fees, purchasing music, coaching, educational events, Young Woman In Harmony, etc.

For a complete list of chorus expenses please contact the chapter treasurer or plan to attend one

of the monthly board meetings.

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Financial Considerations Paying your Expenses Ever effort will be made to announce upcoming expenses well in advance of the due date. The

chorus operates on a “pay-as-you-go” basis meaning that payment is expected at the time that you

sign up for an activity or item. Checks should be made payable to “Harmony Fusion Chorus”. Please

be sure to indicate on the check exactly what items or events you are paying for, especially if you

are combining several in one check. In addition, you will find a payment log near the cash box on

which you will note your name, whether paying cash or check (check #) and a description of

payment.

Chorus Dues The dues for belonging to the Harmony Fusion Chorus are $30 per month. These dues are to be

paid at the beginning of each month. Your first month‟s dues must be submitted with your

application. You may prepay any number of months. Note that dues are to be paid as long as you

are a member, regardless of whether you are actively attending rehearsals or not. Dues finance our

chorus operations (facilities, risers, director, music) and are an important component of the chorus

budget. (Note: if you are 25 or under, you pay 50% of the amounts listed above.)

Escrow Account In order to help members spread ongoing expenses through the year, the chorus Treasurer will set

up an escrow account for you. The escrow account accumulates the $110 needed annually ($80) to

re-charter with Sweet Adelines after your first year of membership and ($30) for regional

assessment.

Per Capita Fee (International Re-Charter) The fee for belonging to Sweet Adelines International (also called the „Re-charter fee‟) is $80 per

year. It is payable upon first joining Sweet Adelines, and annually thereafter during your

anniversary month. Notice of renewal is sent by Sweet Adelines International to the chorus, and

our Treasurer pay this fee, from your escrow account, to International headquarters. (Note: if you

are 25 or under, you pay 50% of the amount listed above).

Regional Assessment Harmony Fusion Chorus is part of Sweet Adelines Region 12, which is the geographical area covering

Northern California and Northern Nevada. The Region 12 management Team provides support for

choruses, quartets, and members in our region, including a number of educational opportunities. The

annual fee to support Region 12 is $30 per member. You will be notified when this fee is due.

Costumes and Makeup Chorus members pay a costume rental fee of $5.00 per month. The chorus owns the costumes and

as a new member your costumes will be given to you on a rental basis. You do not need to acquire

costumes immediately, but you will need the appropriate costume before you can perform with the

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chorus. Details about costumes will be given to you as soon as you become a member. Shoes and

makeup are purchased by each member and not owned by the chorus.

Events – General Information On an ongoing basis, you will have expenses for events other than chorus rehearsals. Although

these are optional, you will most likely want to participate in the events, and thus you should budget

for these expenses. Most of these events require payment in advance (sometimes as much as a

year in advance). The money is collected by the chorus and forwarded as required by the event. If

you wish to participate in the event, you must pay in advance. The chorus does not “loan” money for

these purposes. The major events are described below.

Event – Sweet Adelines Regional Convention (Contest) The convention is held every spring and the chorus always attends. Registration is typically paid in

January and is approximately $80 per person. The conventions are currently held in Sacramento

(beginning in 2010 the conventional will be held in Reno, NV), so you will also have hotel expenses

(varying from $50/night to $75 per night for 2 or 3 nights) and meals.

Event – Sweet Adelines International Convention This convention is held every fall. This is not regularly attended by Harmony Fusion Chorus but all

members are welcome and encouraged to attend and get to see and hear the “best of the best”.

Events – Fall and Winter Regional Weekends Sweet Adelines Region 12 sponsors educational weekends in August/September and January in

which talented faculty give classes relating to our craft. These are currently held at a hotel in San

Ramon. Registration for the event is $20 if paid in advance, $25 on site. If you attend a Regional

Weekend within your first year of membership, the chorus will pay this fee for you. This is our way

of letting you know that these events are important. Hotel and meal expenses will be up to you (you

are not required to stay at the hotel).

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Costumes Unified Style

The goal of Sweet Adelines performances is to provide polished, wholesome, total entertainment in

a unified style that adheres to the barbershop tradition. Just as we work toward unity in blending

our voices and lock 4-part chords, we must strive for unity in the appearance of the chorus when

performing. The eyes of the audience should not be distracted by the one person who looks

dramatically different from those around her. To achieve our “unit look” we are wear the same

style of costume, hair, and makeup for performances. An overview of our unit style is listed below.

Costumes – are designed with the interest in presenting the most flattering image of the chorus as

a whole. Not everyone will look their very best in every costume, however if the chorus as a whole

is successful – that‟s what really counts.

Performance Readiness Checking

Performance readiness in costumes, makeup, and hairstyles involves individual checking by various

committees.

When you first acquire a costume, it will be individually checked and fitted to you. There will be

periodic rechecks, sometimes individual, sometimes as a group, as members‟ sizes may change over

time, or costumes become damaged or soiled. Costume checks are announced in advance, and

members are expected to present themselves, in costume, at the appropriate time.

There will be a brief check of your costume, hairstyle and makeup before any performance. We

want ever6ything to be right before we go on stage.

A costume rental fee is included in your monthly dues. If you leave the chorus you will be required

to return the costume to the costume coordinator.

Our current costume ensemble consists of the following:

Traveling Costume Stage Costume

NO PERSONAL JEWELRY OTHER THAN A WEDDING RING.

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Make-up & Hair

Your “performance hairstyle” will be checked individually, in advance, and you will be

expected to create that hairstyle for every performance. If you decide later to change

this, you must request a new check from the Hairstyle Committee.

Makeup – Chorus shows and competitions are typically in large auditoriums or arenas with

white stage lighting. To avoid looking “washed out”, performers must use heavy amounts of

vivid stage makeup. The chorus Makeup/Hair Committee has a list of required makeup items

and is happy to work with new members to explain what needs to be done, and to help them

with their first few attempts at getting just the right “look” for the stage.

Hairstyle – Acceptable hairstyles require fullness of the hair at the top and sides of the

face, some curls, bangs or other softness at the forehead. Hair should not obscure or

shadow eyes or eyebrows and should not drape over shoulders. You are free to choose your

own way to attain this hairstyle, either by working with your own hair or using a hairpiece or

wig, but all members must have their hairstyles approved before they can perform with the

chorus.

The current make-up list and application instructions can be obtained from the

Make-up/Hair committee.

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Regional Convention - Contest

According to Sweet Adelines International, every registered chapter MUST compete at least every

other year.

Individual members are not “required” to compete.

Competition is held in later March or early. A competition preparation package will be supplied to

each member by Member Services.

Competition begins on a Friday afternoon with quartet competition.

Saturday morning begins with a chorus breakfast. We entertain ourselves at breakfast by having

each section (Bass, Lead, Tenor, Baritone, NEWBIES – people who have not competed as a member

of our chorus before) present a skit to the chorus. Saturday is chorus competition. Winners are

announced immediately following the competition – don‟t leave if you want to hear the results live!

There are a variety of other events happening at regional competition. Three to four months prior

to competition you will begin receiving regular bulletins from the regional management team and our

chorus management team.

All chorus members are strongly encouraged to reserve a room at the hosting hotel but some people

choose to stay elsewhere. Any member choosing to stay elsewhere is still responsible for attending

all required meals, rehearsals and costume/hair/make-up checks.

When budgeting for competition, consider the following:

1. Car expenses

2. Parking expenses (at the hotel)

3. Organized breakfast and dinner

4. hotel room

5. tips

6. Boutique shopping

7. Meals other than stated above

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Performances

Various performances are delivered throughout the year. Some of our more standard performances

are:

Valentine‟s Day at the Masonic Lodge in Richmond

Bi-Annual Show (Winter) (Fundraiser)

The Nutcracker (with the Valley Dance Theater) (December)

As a fundraising activity we do perform at different functions throughout the year. Some

performances are “free” for advertisement and potential recruitment of additional singers.

When a performance opportunity is announced, you will be requested to review an event sheet.

Please check Yes or No next to your name (no check mark next to your name will be interpreted as

you have not seen the sheet). The decision whether or not to deliver the performance is based on

the number of people who sign up to participate. PLEASE make every effort to review each event

sign up sheet.

Prior to every performance you will be notified with details for that performance including date,

time, place, driving directions, costume/jewelry requirements, hair & make-up requirements. This

information will also be available on the members only section of the Harmony Fusion Chorus web

site.

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Retreat

Nearly every year, in February or March, Harmony Fusion gathers for a weekend retreat

(rehearsal). We primarily hold the retreat at our rehearsal hall. There is a cost ranging from

$25.00 to $75 (occasionally more) to cover the cost of catering and incidental costs.

We normally begin rehearsing on a Friday night for 2-3 hours.

Saturday we rehearse from 9-5 (with several breaks and a lunch).

As retreat time nears you will be provided with specific information for the current year retreat.

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Communications

Noteworthy News Our director sends a weekly email titled “Noteworthy News”. The message contains

A recap of the previous weeks rehearsal

the plan for the next rehearsal

schedules and locations of coming events

areas to focus on

If you do not have an email address please ask Member Services to provide you with a hard

copy.

Business Meeting Every rehearsal includes a brief business meeting at the end of the evening. Important

announcements and reminders are made at this meeting. We encourage you to stay for the business

meeting each week. We conclude the evening in a circle of song, directed by one of our assistant

directors.

Asking Questions One of the best ways to get information is just to ask someone. The member(s) who greet you each

week at the Membership Table will be happy to talk to you about any questions or concerns you

have.

Mail, E-Mail and E-Mail Buddies As a member of the chorus you have a folder in the chorus “mail box”. The mailbox is displayed on

the stage. You may distribute hard copies of information to other members in the chorus by placing

the information in their mail box. However, over 95% of the chorus members have e-mail, and

increasingly announcements are made electronically. Members‟ e-mail addresses are included in the

chorus roster. The roster is sent electronically but a hardcopy can be requested. You are welcome

to send email to any chorus member. In addition there are several group mailing lists available

(these lists are noted at the beginning of the chorus roster).

Sometimes the best way to communicate between rehearsals is to just pick up the phone and call.

Phone numbers are listed on the chorus roster.