Jersey Harmony Chorus
A competitive, 4-part harmony, a cappella, women's chorus
"I love being part of of the Jersey Harmony Chorus community and find that no matter how tired I feel, singing with friends who feel like family energizes me." Caryn Speizer, Bass
Our Chorus Family Continues to Grow!
We welcome another new member, Audrey Wells! She is standing to the right along with our Membership Team Leader, Carole Auletta, to the left and our Director, Kat Britt, in the middle. She brings a lot of singing experience with her and will be joining the Tenor section. Her daughter, Robin Lillianthal, sings with us too. They are our second mother daughter singing duo!
Are you interested in singing with us? Contact Carole Auletta at 732-236-6803 or jhc.membership@gmail.com.
Welcome to 6 New Members!
We are so excited to welcome 6 new members to our Jersey Harmony Chorus family! They are Catherine Cummings (Bass), Sarah Waterbury (Baritone), Gillian Schwert (Baritone), Michaela Finan (Bass), Gulnara Latypova (Lead), and Magdalena Montoya (Lead - Not Shown). We are looking forward to singing with them all in the years to come!
Are you interested in singing with us? Contact Carole Auletta at 732-236-6803 or jhc.membership@gmail.com.
Singing for the Senior Community and Griggstown Reformed Church
We enjoy performing at various venues throughout the year. During the summer this year, we sang at Harbor Chase, an assisted living facility; Hillsborough Chapter A Senior Center; and the Harvest Home Festival organized by Griggstown Reformed Church. We sang songs from our regular repertoire which included pop and show tunes.
Performing in Albany, NY at Our
Regional Competition
Our competition songs were Consider Yourself and As Long As He Needs Me from Oliver. Everyone loved our costumes because they represented the theme of our songs well and were a welcome contrast to the often fancy and sparkly outfits worn by many other choruses.
We did extremely well singing too with audience members commenting on how full and unified our sound was. It was clear from the judges' comments that we had made major progress in our singing technique compared to the previous competition year.
An Outing to See the Documentary "The Drive to Sing"
A group of Jersey Harmony Chorus members planned an outing to see the documentary The Drive to Sing, an uplifting film about making music together even during the pandemic by creating "car choirs".
It's not unusual for members of the chorus to get together socially for some fun outside of rehearsals. While learning and growing as a singer is important, the chorus is also a place that fosters friendships and a sense of community.
Bringing Holiday Cheer to All!
This year, Jersey Harmony Chorus sang a varied selection of holiday songs while strolling at such places as Palmer Square in Princeton and downtown Somerville during the holiday shopping season. We also visited a couple of senior living facilities to bring holiday cheer to the senior community.
One of our strolling gigs happened during the rain, but it didn't stop us from singing! We wore see through plastic ponchos with hoods and went out to sing anyway. Amazingly, quite a few people stopped to listen with umbrellas in hand.
For our holiday show at Stonebridge Senior Living in Montgomery, we sang our entire holiday repertoire to an audience of over 50 people. See us pictured in red in front of a Christmas tree.
While caroling around downtown Somerville during their Holiday Jubilee, a restaurant invited us in to sing to their guests. We crowded around their Christmas Tree to sing in our coats, hats and scarves.
Our "Fall in Love Again" Annual Show Was a Hit!
The Byron Barn in Plainsboro, NJ was a wonderful place to perform. The acoustics were good and the rustic, romantic atmosphere of the barn was ideal for a fall performance about the show's theme of love.
We received lots of positive feedback. The audience enjoyed the song introductions, variety, and delivery.
Afterwards, the audience and performers joined together to socialize in a quaint downstairs gathering spot where everyone talked, had a bite to eat and drink, and got the chance to hear a bit more singing.
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Our Yearly Installation Dinner
Once a year our chorus gathers to celebrate the installation of the Board Members. This year, we had our dinner at our Director Kat Britt's lovely home. Her garden patio created a magical ambiance for the party.
Each member brought something to eat - drinks, appetizers, main courses, salads, and desserts. It was a tasty feast. We sang, socialized, and had a tour of Kat's gardens and the doll houses she designs when she is not singing or directing.
During this event, Sarah Ringer received both the Sweet Adeline of the Year and Director's Choice awards for her over-the-top contributions to the chorus, and Devshri Desai received the Rookie of the Year award for her constant willingness to help especially in the role of chorus photographer even though she hasn't been with the chorus long.
Welcome to Our Newest Member!
We are very excited to welcome Robin Lillianthal to Jersey Harmony Chorus! Robin passed her audition singing Lead in a quartet with flying colors. We look forward to hearing her lovely voice blend in with the rest of the chorus and hope she has fun singing with us.
Performing 2 Oliver Songs for Evaluation
Most years, our chorus attends a regional competition in Albany, NY where all the Sweet Adelines Region 15 choruses and quartets gather to perform and be evaluated by a group of accomplished judges. It is an amazing experience listening to so many talented singers and to perform in front of an always appreciative audience.
This year, however, our chorus opted to perform remotely and send a video of our performance to the judges for evaluation. The two songs we sang were from Oliver - Consider Yourself and As Long as He Needs Me.
We were happy with the feedback from the judges because we received high marks for a number of things we spent a lot of time practicing. It was nice that what we practiced actually translated into our performance and was recognized by the judges. We also received a number of tips to help us to improve going forward.
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A Choral Coaching Intensive with Scott Brannon
Every year we schedule time with an outside coach who has years of experience coaching singers to excel at barbershop and 4-part harmony, a cappella music. This year Jersey Harmony Chorus invited Scott Brannon to help us improve our skill.
Scott has 40+ years of barbershop experience. He is highly recognized as a director, quartet singer, and coach. It was wonderful having an outside perspective to help us improve our vocal quality and expression. He also created a supportive, fun learning environment for all who attended.
A Beautiful Day for a Strolling Gig
We were invited once again to sing at Peddler's Village during their Apple Festival. It was a beautiful, sunny, fall day. There were crowds of people milling around and stopping by to hear us sing. They were very enthusiastic. They sang along, clapped, and hooted. It was a fun event.