LIONS GATE CHORUS WINS SILVER AND MOST ENTERTAINING CHORUS AT INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

PRESS RELEASE:

Vancouver, BC - Lions Gate Chorus, a 125-member women's a cappella ensemble, placed 2nd at the Sweet Adelines International (SAI) Competition in Nashville, TN last week.  The audience was so electrified by their performance that they named Lions Gate as Most Entertaining Chorus.

Lions Gate Chorus took the stage, blazing with energy and enthusiasm in a bid for the top spot against 32 women’s choruses from around the world, each having won their own regional competition.  Their performances in the semifinals on October 22nd and the finals on October 24th earned multiple standing ovations from the audience of over 7,000 barbershop singers and fans in Nashville's Sommet Center.  Their finals package, about the similarities between SAI International Competition and the Olympics, included a stunningly hilarious play-by-play version of Red Red Robin, in which the chorus cut in and out seamlessly, even singing (and dancing) in slow-motion, fast-forward and backwards.

"We are elated!" says their director of 18 years, Sandy Robinson Marron.  "The last time we competed at International, our goal was just to get into the top ten, and we came third.  This time, we've improved by 200 points [out of 3280], jumped from 3rd to 2nd, earned the 3rd highest score ever, and thrilled a huge audience of our peers."  In fact, their record-breaking Semi-finals score of 1488 [out of 1600] qualifies their director for the “Master 700 Director” title, one shared by only 7 others worldwide.

Contributors to the chorus’s success last week include choreographer Judy Pozsgay Rimple for her energetic and sexy visual plan, and the “Inner Coach of Barbershop” Jan Carley for her inspiration and encouragement.  Members Aimee Taylor and Evani Goll rounded out the in-house Artistic Team, co-writing the finals script that had the audience screaming with laughter.   The chorus also fielded three quartets this year – Over The Moon placed 35th, Mojo placed 9th, and Martini placed 4th.

In their 55-year history, Lions Gate Chorus has won 10 Western Canadian Regional Championships, the 1998 SAI Harmony Achievement Award (highest-scoring mid-sized chorus) and the CBC Choral 2008 Barbershop category.  They’ve steadily climbed the International rankings from 24th in 1983 to 3rd in 2007.  The chorus has now set their sights on winning the 2011 International competition in Houston, TX.

After 18 months of hard work, including an Olympic-themed individual and group development program, the chorus will take a well-deserved two week break, and re-convene for a party.  Then it's back to regular Tuesday evening rehearsals to prepare for a repeat of their International performance packages at the Gentlemen of Fortune's “Go for the Gold” Show on Dec. 5th at the Michael J. Fox Theatre in Burnaby.  For tickets or information, call 604-526-2212 or visit GOF.groupanizer.com.