Page 27 - PowerPoint Presentation

Tags and Swipes, Winter 2022

Royal River Chorus (continued)

Two women who had seen our event listing on Meetup, drove around the community until they found us,
parked their car and joined in the fun. We were a bit distracted by one house with a grand gnome named
Murray decked out for Christmas on their front porch. As we left their home, we headed up the street
singing, “We Wish You a Murray Christmas”!

I’ll need to take a bit of tangent here to tell you about one of the Christmas events closest to my heart. It
shows the truly special and unique nature of the Sweet Adelines community. About a decade ago, my
dear friend, Sherry, who lived in my same town, found out she had ovarian cancer. Within a short period
of time, not knowing exactly what the future held for her, Sherry and her husband moved across the
country to Portland, Oregon, to be near to her younger son and his family. She was fortunate to become
involved with OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and their work with leading-edge clinical trials. Through
their amazing care and her own exceptional strength and resilience, Sherry lived through four rounds of
chemotherapy and other treatments. A few months ago, she learned that her cancer had once again
returned, and the thought of a fifth battle with this dreadful disease was almost more than she could bear.
We’ve always exchanged Christmas gifts, and as the holiday drew near, my husband and I struggled with
what we might give her that could raise her spirits. One night he said to me, “Aren’t you a member of a
big singing organization? Don’t you know someone who could Christmas carol at Sherry’s house?” Well,
that was the start of something big!

Royal River Chorus is made up of women from towns in the general vicinity of Portland, Maine. I had
already been following the SAI Pride of Portland Chorus in Portland, Oregon, on Instagram since Sherry
moved west, so I asked my director if she would contact their director to see if someone in their chorus
could carol at Sherry’s. With the time zone differences and emails going into spam, we thought perhaps
we wouldn’t pull it off. But with a little detective work, I finally connected with a member of Pride of
Portland’s Moonglow Quartet, and they readily agreed to sing for Sherry.

Coaching with Karen Sweeters
Harmony on the Sound Chorus

(continued on next page)
27

North Atlantic Region 1 Sweet Adelines