Barbershop music, with its ringing chords, is a uniquely American art form. It is sung unaccompanied with four voice parts - Tenor, Lead, Baritone, Bass - this wide range of voice parts offers women with high and low voices a comfortable part to sing.
Sweet Adelines International is a world-wide organization of women singers committed to advancing the art form of barbershop through education and performance. This independent, non-profit music organization has a membership of over 30,000 women, in the United States, England, Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates. The organization has more than 1,200 quartets and 600 choruses.
The Virginia Coast Chorus (VCC) was founded in 1986. We range in age from early-20's to late-70's - we are nurses, teachers, government employees, administrative assistants, homemakers, retirees - everyday women just like you. We have varied music backgrounds from degrees in music to "can't read a note!" VCC provides an opportunity for members to receive extensive training in barbershop harmony while doing what we love best ---- singing and dancing. The music we sing comes from movies, Broadway, the land of jazz and blues, big band era, and modern, popular composers. Our goal is to achieve and experience the joy of singing and the thrill of ringing chords that weave harmony into our lives and the world around us.
Each Spring Sweet Adelines International holds regional competitions where quartets and choruses are judged against standards in Music, Showmanship, Expression, and Sound. Those choruses and quartets skilled enough to win their regions are given the opportunity to compete at the International level. The 2006 International Convention will be in Las Vegas, next year it is in Canada, and the following year it will be Hawaii - so if you love to sing and love to travel - Virginia Coast Coast is the PERFECT combination.