TULSA, OK — June 12, 2002 — The anticipation, excitement and discipline of preparing for a barbershop music contest comes to life as twenty quartets compete for the title of Rising Star Quartet Champion. The quartets, all composed of members aged 25 years and younger hail from New Zealand, China, Canada, California, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
The Rising Star Quartet Contest, sponsored by Sweet Adelines International, encourages young women to develop mastery in their singing technique, and experience the pleasure of singing four-part a cappella harmony in the barbershop style. The 2001 Rising Star Quartet Champion, Backchat, from Christchurch, New Zealand, will relinquish their title to one winning quartet.
The contest is scheduled for Friday, July 19, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. in McAlister Auditorium on the campus of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. It is just one feature of the four-day International Education Symposium (IES) produced by Sweet Adelines International, one of the world's most experienced vocal music education organizations. IES includes curriculum especially suited to young women singers and their vocal music instructors.
The Young Singers Foundation awards cash prizes of $2,000, $1,000 and $500 for first, second and third place winners of the Rising Star Quartet Contest. Winners will also be invited to perform at the Sweet Adelines International Convention the week of November 5-9, 2002 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Sweet Adelines International is a highly respected worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performances. The organization is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma where it was founded in 1945. This nonprofit music education organization is one of the world's largest singing organizations for women encompassing more than 30,000 members, 1,200 registered quartets and 600 choruses in most of the fifty United States, Australia, Canada, England, Finland, Germany, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, Sweden, The Netherlands and Wales.
Tickets are available for $15 each and can be purchased at the Sweet Adelines International headquarters office in the CESC room located in the University Center of Furman University or in the McAlister Auditorium lobby just before the contest. For more information on the Rising Star Quartet Contest or Sweet Adelines International call 800.992.7464, 918.622.1444 or visit http://www.sweetadelineintl.org.
Contact:
Kelly Kirchhoff, Director of Communications or
Stephanie Gregory, Communications Assistant
800.992.7464; Email