Rhythm of the Rockies’ wish for you is good health, happiness, and lots of music!
We return to regular rehearsals on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. If you are thinking about joining a choir, come check us out!
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Blogs
We were so happy to celebrate Mary’s retirement along with our 20th Anniversary. Truth be told, we planned to honour her back in 2020, but you know what happened that year...
Rhythm of the Rockies just celebrated their 20th anniversary! Hard to believe it has been that long because we've been having so much fun! The "little chorus that could" became a formal, charter chorus with Sweet Adelines International back in April of 2002 under the direction of Mary. And on Nov 5th, we celebrated this milestone and the retirement of our founding director in style at the lovely Silver Springs Golf and Country Club here in Calgary. Even though many roads were treacherous, and the snowfall was heavy, almost 100 guests joined in the festivities.
Please check out our newest video: https://vimeo.com/722834747
With war in Ukraine still raging on, our chorus wanted to do something to show our love and support for the people whose lives have been so adversely affected. A small group of members got together to learn and sing an A cappella arrangement of the Ukrainian National Anthem.
Rhythm of the Rockies’ Director, Jo-Anne Killips, as well as our video producer, Donna Stefura, are first-generation Ukrainian Canadian descendants. Additionally, there are many others of us who have ties to Ukraine. The majority of us have never read, sung or spoken Ukrainian, so our pronunciation may not be accurate but our efforts were heartfelt.
We are thrilled to announce that Rhythm of the Rockies achieved 1st place standing in Division A in western Canada this past May! With a score of 588, we also placed 3rd overall against all competing choruses. What a fantastic feeling!
We are delighted to announce that the incredibly talented, Jo-Anne Killips, has accepted the role as our front-line Director! Please join us in welcoming this wonderful woman to the role of Music Director for Rhythm of the Rockies!
Well, okay, Joey wasn't physically in our house but she was educating us this evening over Zoom! She was in each of our homes tonight! How enjoyable! She has visited us as our "keynote" coach a number of times over the years and tonight we are doing a music study on the songs Moondance (Van Morrison) and As Long as I'm Singing (Bobby Darin). In our chorus, we love studying the technical details, the style, the nuances of a cappella songs so our hearts and minds are wonderfully full tonight. Thank you Joey!
Did you know that Rhythm of the Rockies offers bursaries to students attending music programs at the University of Calgary?
Each year since 2007, ROTR has awarded a University of Calgary music student a scholarship worth hundreds of dollars. Applications for this bursary are accepted annually. If you know someone who is in 2nd, 3rd or 4th year of a music program, the application due date is August 1st each year. This bursary is not limited to women; gender is not a qualifier for this bursary. If you would like information on this bursary, please check this out: https://www.ucalgary.ca/registrar/awards/rhythm-rockies-chorus-bursary
If there is ever a time to let out a "squeee", this is it! We are so thrilled that the fabulous Deke Sharon joined Rhythm of the Rockies and guests this evening. For those of you who don't yet know Deke, he is most famous as the Musical Director for the popular movie series, Pitch Perfect, and producer of the TV show competition, The Sing Off . This singer, arranger, composer, producer, writer, and teacher has been referred to as "the father of contemporary a cappella music".
We are profoundly heartbroken to share the news that our beautiful Peggy Hart passed away January 19, 2021 after a brief but painful illness.
Peggy joined Rhythm of the Rockies in 2014 and will remain a treasured member in spirit. Peggy was intelligent, witty, sophisticated, grounded and kind. She was a dedicated member and sang bass with our chorus. She was a bass section assistant and was our "gratitude" spokesperson for our visiting regional and international vocal coaches. During her years with us, she was always there to help. She organized some of our social functions and even had her loving husband cook us a pork roast for our BBQ! She just had to give him that smile and he would do anything.
