Kawartha Music Company brings home the hardware
The Kawartha Music Company (KMC) chorus has done it again.
They have returned home with medals from their division after attending the 48th Regional Convention for Sweet Adelines Region 16 that took place in St. Catharines at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre April 5-6.
The chorus placed third out of eight small choruses and were only two points behind the Oshawa choir that placed second. And they were scored much higher overall than they were last year when they also took third place.
"A passionate, energized, uplifting performance on stage! Chorus members shared beautiful musical stories with the audience,” said Cynthia Bennett-Awe, KMC’s award-winning Musical Director, when asked what her highlight was from this year’s performance. “They shone brightly with their musical interpretation, tight harmonies and authentic visual expressions. I’m so proud of them!”
Prior to leaving for the St. Catharines convention, the group held a send-off concert March 25 featuring their contest package. They also performed these two songs for the April 12 Peterborough’s Got Talent fundraiser at Market Hall when they returned.
Also, this year at the convention, the chorus had a first-time competing quartet: Otonabee Riverblend. This quartet consists of one voice part each, including Marcia Steele (lead), Donna Haug (bass), Taz Znajewski (baritone) and Geri Loukes (tenor). Although they didn’t win medals, these women were thrilled to compete this year. They started the quartet competition last year as mic testers, but this year were in the lineup of performers on April 5.
“Many women compete year after year in the quartet competition and don’t do as well as Riverblend did their first time competing,” explained Cynthia Bennett-Awe.
KMC is an all-female chorus who sing four-part a cappella harmony in the barbershop style. They are registered with Sweet Adelines International, a global organization celebrating barbershop harmonies via the musical education and performance of amateur female singers worldwide.
The chorus is always looking for new members who are prepared to attend regular Monday night rehearsals and who are interested in joining the chorus as they perform in the community as well as at the Regional Convention.
The chorus welcomes women of all ages and walks of life, from the age of 13 and up. Rehearsals are Monday evenings from 6:45 until 9:15 p.m. at The Village on Argyle, 780 Argyle St. If you’re interested, you can sit and watch and listen or even join in a song or two your first time.
“We are a friendly, easygoing group of ladies who like to have fun, to sing and to make those barbershop chords ring. And … we always have chocolate,” reads a call for new members on the chorus’s website.
For more information visit kawarthamusiccompany.com or email KMC.ptbo@gmail.com. You can also check out the group on Facebook.
PA Day Camps
TRACKS Youth Program is offering two P.A. Day Camps June 7 and June 28 at the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre, Trent University and nearby nature areas. The camps run from 8:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. An additional 30 minutes of care before and after camp can also be requested. The camps are open to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth ages 6-12 years.
TRACKS (Trent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge and Science) facilitates dynamic, land-based youth programming that braids multiple scientific approaches by centring indigenous ways of knowing and being.
The cost is a sliding scale of $10$40 per camper per day. For further information and to register, email camps@tracksprogram.ca. Make sure you read the registration policies before signing up.
Adult swim lessons
Adult Beginner Swim Lessons and Adult Fitness Swim Lessons, for ages 17 years and up, start May 11 at the Allan Marshall Pool, at the Trent Athletic Centre. Each session runs Saturdays for seven weeks. The beginner lessons take place from noon until 12:30 p.m., and the fitness lessons from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
The classes incorporate Lifesaving Society WaterSmart education at both levels. For complete information and to register, visit trentu.ca/athletics/aquatics/swimming-lessons.