With 128 competing members and a contingent of more than 370 friends and family to cheer them on, Bay Area Showcase Chorus (Bay Area Showcase Chorus) represented the Bay Area and Northern California in the 55th annual Sweet Adelines International Chorus Competition on October 13 in Portland, Oregon, when Bay Area Showcase Chorus earned a spot in the finals, competed with 9 choruses from around the world, and earned 5th Place International Medals. To qualify for the finals, Bay Area Showcase Chorus had to compete in the semi-finals with 29 other top Sweet Adelines choruses for one of the ten positions in the finals round.

Bay Area Showcase Chorus qualified to represent the Bay Area and Northern California in the international contest when the chorus won the regional Sweet Adelines Chorus Competition in April 2000. During the past 18 months, preparation for competition included many rehearsal hours working on the musical and visual package the chorus performed in Portland. Coaching sessions helped the chorus improve vocal skills, music, choreography, and showmanship. Work in these areas paid off and helped the chorus increase its contest scores. To enhance the visual image and the overall presentation of its semifinals performance, Bay Area Showcase Chorus wore royal blue sequined costumes, sewn by American Music Theater. In the finals, the chorus dressed in black and white striped prisoner outfits, and Director Pat LeVezu wore a prison guard uniform.

Bay Area Showcase Chorus has been performing in the Greater Bay Area since 1956. This year the chorus is celebrating its 45th Anniversary. Bay Area Showcase Chorus has a reputation for musical excellence, as evidenced by six first place medals won in regional competitions. These wins earned the chorus the honor of competing in six international competitions. With more than 600 choruses in the international organization, Bay Area Showcase Chorus consistently ranks as one of the top choruses in the world. Because Bay Area Showcase Chorus is a high caliber performing group, 135 members commute from 15 counties and more than 50 communities - from Hollister to San Francisco and east to Modesto and Sacramento - to sing with the chorus.

Bay Area Showcase Chorus is a chapter of Sweet Adelines International, a non-profit educational music organization for women who sing barbershop harmony in choruses world-wide. Bay Area Showcase Chorus enjoys sharing its music with audiences and strives to bring outstanding musical entertainment to the community as it works to preserve this uniquely American music form for future generations.

Bay Area Showcase Chorus will compete in its next regional competition in April 2002. Women who like to sing and perform are invited to join the chorus and experience the excitement and camaraderie of singing and performing. Bay Area Showcase Chorus rehearses weekly at the SES Hall at 1375 Lafayette in Santa Clara. Membership in the chorus is open to women age 14 and older. For information, call the chorus hotline at 408.973.1555 or visit the chorus web site at www.singharmony.org.