-The Downeasters Soundings Weekly is a weekly email newsletter of the Downeasters Barbershop Harmony Chorus. -Please send any Barbershopping news, Chorus news and show dates, Quartet news and appearances, Notes of Interest- including Chorus Shows and other Public Entertainment dates from around New England, requests to be removed from, or added to, the distribution list, etc. to soundings.ed@gmail.com. -Deadline for submission of articles of interest to the chorus is 5:00pm Thursdays. -This, and all Soundings are available online at: http://www.issuu.com/downeasters And away we go…

Downeasters Chorus Rehearsal Agenda for

Christmas Performance - Woods at Canco

Monday, December 19, 2011 Dec. 19 (Mon) What: Christmas Performance - Woods at Canco Where: 257 Canco Road, Portland, ME Time: 5:30pm – 9:00pm Greetings, Thank you all for a great performance this past Saturday!! What follows are the details regarding our upcoming performance at the Woods at Canco, Monday evening at 7:00 pm: Location: Woods at Canco 257 Canco Road, Portland, ME Link to Google maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=257%20Canco%20Road%2C%20Portland%2C%20ME Arrival: Please plan to arrive by 5:30 as we need to be ready to warm-up at 6:00 pm for a 7:00 pm performance. Attire: Tux White tux shirt with regular collar Red vest Red bow tie Red ribbon achieved at District Convention Black shoes, not patent leather Parking: We are welcome to use the parking lot or anywhere along the side of the road that surrounds the facility. Show Program: Chorus: > SECRET OF CHRISTMAS > FELIZ NAVIDAD > HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS > JINGLE-BELL ROCK > Quartet-Port City Sound, 2 songs > chorus: > DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR > CHRISTMAS CHOPSTICKS > COVENTRY CAROL > Sing-a-long: Fred- 2 or 3 songs > Quartet- Back Bay Four, 2 songs > Chorus:

> LOST IN THE STARS > SILENT NIGHT > WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS > END. > Christmas After-Glow: Bruno's Restaurant, 33 Allen Ave., Portland We are looking forward to a fantastic evening of Barbershop music and holiday spirit. Please let me know if you have any questions and I wish you all a great week. See you on Monday!! Respectfully, Ryan Norfleet * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * NEW MUSIC SCHEDULE 1. WHEN I FALL IN LOVE - The music has been presented- off the music November 7th. 2. JUST IN TIME - " " " " " " - " " " December 12th. 3. LOVE ME - The music will be presented on December 12th - off the music January 9th. 4. FROM THIS MOMENT ON- " " " " " " " January 9th. - off the music February 6th. Make sure you are familiar with the music before the song is presented.

Upcoming Performances…… Dec. 19 (Mon) What: Christmas Performance - Woods at Canco Where: 257 Canco Road, Portland, ME Time: 5:30pm – 9:00pm Notes of Interest …………………… Please send notes of your quartet’s outings, Shows that you have seen, Quartet or Chorus news from around New England to: soundings.ed@gmail.com JOHN NIELSEN REMEMBERED by Dick Wheeler 26 Downeasters sang "The Lord's Prayer" and "Lost In The Stars" before a standing room only congregation at a very moving service for John Nielsen who died at the age of 72 after a long fight with cancer. The service was at the Scarborough Free Baptist Church. Rev. Phil Gage officiated. John was a long time member of the Portland Chapter and during most of that time was a member of the bass section. When the ON THE GO quartet formed in 1999 John converted to tenor. The other original members were Ed Poitras, Dick Loughlin, and Wally Duplessie. Years later Larry Newth and Dave Sweet replaced Ed and Dick. John and Wally sang in the quartet for about a decade until 2009 when illness forced John into retirement. John and Marion did a lot of traveling, much of it by motorcycle. One such trip resulted in an accident, which resulted in serious injuries. A trip to Cambodia was a highlight. Those of us who were in Philadelphia last year were surprised and thrilled when John and Marion showed up to attend the convention. John selected the hymns to be sung at his funeral. The most moving part of the service was a poem read by Marion. Its title was "Should You Go First And I Remain". I believe this poem was selected by John. In honor of his service with the town fire department, the local fire station sounded a "Last Call For Lt. John Nielsen At 2:51 P.M". This was a most emotional moment. Among the worshippers were several young boys who wore John's famous polka dot caps. In one of John's last appearances, he attended the October Old Timers luncheon in Yarmouth. This article was written for THE SOUNDINGS at the request of the editor Thank you, Father Wheeler. Ed. . Silk City Chorus – Manchester, CT Annual Show Hi to all –

My favorite recent BHS champion is Crossroads. They will be in Manchester on January 14th -- two shows -- afternoon and evening. They don't get much closer than this -- they are in high demand and only do two shows a month. I'm attaching a flyer in case you're interested. You can purchase tickets right off the chapter's website. It will be a terrific show. Curt Link: http://www.silkcitychorus.org/annualshow/index.html

Leadership Academy - Jan 7th is coming! Happy Holidays everyone. It’s not too late to Register! The special $40 tuition rate is good through 12/30/11. It goes up to $50 thereafter. If you have unused Chapter assessment coupons, please use them! Check with your Chapter Treasurer to see if there are any available. Some great Full day courses: President- Roger Menard Secretary- Dick Shea Treasurer- Dick Newton Director’s Workshop- Steve Tramack and Joe Cerutti Half-day courses: YIH- Joe Hudson

Marketing & PR- Steve Salamin Social media for Barbershoppers- Mike Klein, David Eng Music & Performance- Ed Fritzen Running a Successful Show/Cabaret- Ron Menard 1 ½ hour courses: Operation Harold Hill- Paul Wietlisbach and David Cole Community Service programs for the Chapter- Guy Haas Fundraising techniques- Steve Isherwood Getting Chapter and Quartet gigs- Steve Isherwood Groupanizer (software for Chapter organization/marketing)- Tom Metzger See the Course descriptions on the NED website at: http://www.nedistrict.org/index.cfm?page_id=197 Register at: http://nedleadership2012.eventbrite.com Any questions? Please feel free to call me at 603-707-9990. See you there! Guy Haas NED VP CSLT (Chapter Support and Leadership Training) Dean- Leadership Academy 2012 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Future Events: Dec. 19 (Mon) What: Christmas Performance - Woods at Canco Where: 257 Canco Road, Portland, ME Time: 5:30pm – 9:00pm Jan. 7 (Sat) What: 2012 NED Leadership Academy Where: Worcester State University Time: All Day Downeasters Leadership for 2011

Director

Jack Baggs (JBaggs1@roadrunner.com)

(207) 892-5192 (home)

President

Bill Peterlein (bpeterlein@summitgeoeng.com)

(207) 576-3313 (cell) (207) 926-3054 (home)

Webmaster

Larry Bean (Larry@TheNexxtLevel.biz)

(888) 678-9866

VP - Music and Performance

Walt Dowling (GBandWD@gwi.net)

(207) 934-5857 (home)

VP - Chap. Dvlpmnt, Mktg & PR

Secretary

Dave Marstaller (DMars49@comcast.net)

(207) 865-3731 (home) (207) 751-1339 (cell)

Treasurer

Larry Bean (Larry@TheNexxtLevel.biz)

(888) 678-9866

Chorus Manager

Ryan Norfleet (rcfleet1@yahoo.com)

(207) 510-1444 (home) (207) 253-9433 (cell)

Librarian

Dwight Pensiero (DPSings@roadrunner.com)

(207) 353-3244 (home)

NED Rep for Maine

Dave Cole (DCole003@maine.rr.com)

(207) 797-9618 (home) (207) 671-4730 (cell)

Board Member at Large

David Brown

(207) 650-2454

Board Member at Large

Marshall Wagner (emwagner31@aol.com)

(207) 657-6406(home) (207) 232-1543 (cell)

"Soundings" Newsletter Editor

Bruce Sturgis (BStur1@gmail.com)

(207) 784-1510 (home) (207) 312-3423 (cell)

Past President

Ted Tracy (TandETracy@roadrunner.com)

(207) 882-9795 (home) (207) 744-5109 (cell) -- Bruce Sturgis Soundings Editor email: soundings.ed@gmail.com Downeasters Barbershop Chorus www.downeasters.org