Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 3, 1990 TAG: 9003092332
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Roberta Green special to the Roanoke Times & world-News
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They are the Wilderness Road Chorus.
These residents of Giles County, Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Radford and Dublin constitute the local chapter of the international non-profit organization, Sweet Adelines Inc.
They will give a concert March 10 at Blacksburg High School, starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door.
"We sing four-part harmony, a cappella, barbershop style," said Pat Arnn, the group's director. The members also dance and wear matching costumes, right down to the shoes and jewelry.
"We do it for fun, but it's also a learning experience," Arnn said. "Currently we're working on show tunes - `All that Jazz,' `Everything Old is New,' `New York, New York' - for our first public show."
The Wilderness Road Chorus performs for civic organizations and fund raisers about a dozen times a year. Recently it was in Christiansburg's Hometown Hollywood and performed in the New Virginians' fund raiser for the Christmas Store. It also takes part in annual competition.
"The Sweet Adeline geography is divided into regions," Arnn said. "We're in Region 14, which includes 25 choruses in Virginia, western Tennessee, southern Maryland."
Sweet Adeline was started in 1947 in Tulsa, Okla., when the wives, sisters and mothers of barbershop singers decided they could sing, too, Arnn said. Now the organization has 33,000 members in the United States and seven other countries.
Arnn remembers when she became aware of the organization.
"I was in a hurricane in Victoria, Texas, in 1961. I found myself with a husband and wife who were both singers. She was a Sweet Adeline and he sang with a barbershop quartet," she said. "We spent the whole night singing until the storm passed, and I told God that if I lived I would continue singing. And, well, here I am. I've been singing ever since."
"We're all hams," said Dorothy Covey, who has been a member of the chorus for three years. "It's a fascinating group of women, and we all get along and have a wonderful time."
Recalling how she first got involved, Covey said, "I had seen the blurb in the Roanoke Times about the practices and decided sometime I'd just have to go listen. I was made to feel so welcome that I kept going back every Tuesday night . . . I've learned a great deal and formed some real friendships."
Joenne Burroughs, who has been a member since November 1988, joined after hearing the group perform.
"I sang in high school and for church choirs, but I never considered really performing," she said. "Then it just happened that I heard them when they performed at a church I was attending. I remember thinking I would love to join that group."
Burroughs is quick to admit it's hard work as well as fun.
"We're trying to perfect ourselves, and that takes time. However, when we perform, we're dressed up to the max," she said.
"Some of us are musicians, and some of us can't read music," Covey said. "Almost everyone works outside the home, and virtually all of us have other obligations. What makes it worthwhile is that it's just great fun."
An article in Saturday Current March 3 incorrectly listed the time of the Sweet Adelines concert Saturday at Blacksburg High School. The concert will be at 8 p.m.
***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on March 8, 1990\ CORRECTION An article in Saturday Current March 3 incorrectly listed the time of the Sweet Adelines concert Saturday at Blacksburg High School. The concert will be at 8 p.m.
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Memo: CORRECTION