Swiss Singing Choir (Helvetia-Alpengluehn Singing Society) seeks adult singers.
Rehearsals in SW Portland on Monday eve., 7-9pm, beginning February 5th.
Call Shirley @ 503-246-8632 or Duane @
(Wa.)360-574-8066.
New Member Information:
The adult
choir members of the Helvetia Alpengluehn Singing Society are Swiss, or of
Swiss descent, or are interested in the promotion of Swiss music. We welcome
one and all. (Persons under 18 must be accompanied by a “singing”
parent/guardian.)
The purpose of our club is to teach its members the art of singing Swiss folk and yodel music, Swiss history and traditions, and the practice of good fellowship.
Our conductor is Clifford Fairley. Along with a full time job, he is also the Director of Music at the Sunnyside Centenary United Methodist Church in SE Portland.
To become eligible for membership in our club, you must attend three rehearsals and when you want to join, you will be accepted by club vote. Active membership requires that the member attend regular rehearsals, business meetings, public appearances, take an active part in society activities, and is also eligible to vote in club affairs. To sing in a concert, members shall attend at least two-thirds of the rehearsals. If less, the conductor shall determine through audition if the member can participate.
Membership dues is $30.00 per year. If this is a hardship, please talk with the President.
Our club presents two concerts a year, a Springfest in May and a Novemberfest in November. The Springfest includes a catered dinner, bake sale, choir concert, guest artist, and dance. The Novemberfest features our concert and guest artist(s), bake sale, and social time following the concert.
Choir rehearsals begin in February for the Springfest concert; social activities and singing for the Helvetia Days in the summer, and rehearsals again in September for preparation for our Novemberfest. We sing in Swiss, German, Italian, French, & Romansch dialects and have members who know the languages and can teach us how to pronounce the words phonetically.
Every three years the Swiss singing groups from Washington, Utah, Oregon, California, and British Columbia come together for the SANGERFEST. This is a three day festival of singing, yodeling, great food and fellowship, a mass concert and picnic. The next SANGERFEST will be in Portland, Oregon, July 17-20, 2008.
How do we do all of this and pay our director and expenses? We rely on the concert door ticket sales, membership dues, associate membership dues, a bake sale at each concert, and we also produce a program with paid ads that is sent to over 1850 persons in the community for both concerts. With the profit for a series of three year’s concerts, the club pays for the badges for Sangerfest, which are about $200.00 each, and includes all meals and entrance to those activities.
Our singing group is organized and motivated to present the best concert program possible, to promote fellowship amongst ourselves, our concert guests, and to continue our Swiss heritage and traditions. Thank you for considering our Swiss choir.