HCMC Goes GOLD

Harbor City Music Company Show Chorus were thrilled to pack into their week-long Sweet Adelines International Convention and Competition with a double whammy, taking the first award of the week as the Audience Favorite Chorus from the Harmony Classic Competition, then taking the overall Gold in the AA (Mid-Sized Chorus) Division.

The chorus took the stage as a box of crayons, accompanied by director Michael Gellert as ‘The Sharpener.’ The 15 minute show package stole the audience’s hearts with a touching story of childhood wonder shared with their special girl Charlotte, who draws orange-colored skies and valentine hearts with her beloved crayons. But ‘as crayons grow smaller, little girls grow taller’ and eventually Charlotte abandons her crayons for a boy named Joey and the crayons are left in their box. Until one glorious day, Charlotte returns and gives the crayons to her little girl, who promptly announces ‘I think I will draw an orange and purple sky.’

HCMC is known for their wildly imaginative show packages, from a group of Orphans in 1998 to 2002′s Stray Cats. The Crayons join an award-winning history of audience favorites.

Never a group to rest on their laurels, HCMC is competing at the 2011 SAI International competition in Houston, where they earned a wild card berth in the overall chorus championships based on their regional scores in April 2010.

HCMC Wins Harmony Achievement Award

Harbor City Music Company Show Chorus wasn’t even supposed to go to the Sweet Adelines International Convention and Competition in Nashville last year. In order to qualify for the contest, a chorus who wins their regional competition in 2008 goes to the International Competition 18 months later,  giving them time to prepare for the big contest. HCMC came in second at the Region 19 competition in April of 2008, but due to a local chorus withdrawing from the competition, HCMC found themselves invited to Nashville as a replacement.

The chorus was in a unique position. They were an  “alternate” entry, with half the usual preparation time. Nobody expected them to do well at the competition. It was enough of an honor to simply be invited. But that’s not the way HCMC thinks. In those few short months, HCMC  “kicked it up a notch’” and went to the competition better prepared and motivated than usual.

The Chorus Semi-Finals Competition was held on Thursday, October 22,2009 at the Somet Center in Nashville. HCMC took the stage with 58 members; only three of the 32 choruses in the competition were smaller. In comparison, Rich Tone Chorus, from Texas, won the contest with 122 singers on stage, more than double the HCMC membership.

Because so many choruses have grown to such massive proportions, and larger choruses do have a richer sound, Sweet Adelines International instituted a special award called the Harmony Achievement Award for the highest scoring Mid-Sized chorus in the competition. The actual number for the cutoff is determined at the convention based on the actual number of voices competing. The cutoff for Nashville was 68 members. Ten of the thirty-two choruses qualified. HCMC easily won the award, scoring nearly 40 points more than their nearest mid-sized competitor. We placed 17th overall, scoring higher than many choruses substantially larger than HCMC.

Many HCMC members either didn’t know about the award or had for gotten about it.

So when our name was announced, in true Sweet Adelines tradition, the members jumped to their feet screaming with delight, many asking “What did we win?” What a wonderful memory!!!  At that same competition, with a final count of 6,651 people, all armed with the new Real Women membership tag, the seats at the Sommet Center exploded with sound as we set a Guiness World Record for the Largest Singing Lesson.

This isn’t HCMC’s first award. First as the Elkridge Chorus, then after the name change to Harbor City Music Company, see our award chronology.