COVID -19 and Spring Convention!

Your Sunshine District leadership and event team are closely monitoring the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) and considering the impact it may have on our Spring Convention and Contest and other district and Society sponsored events.

Please be aware that the 2020 Sunshine District Spring Convention will take place as planned March 13 – 15, 2020.

We, along with other district leadership, are seeking guidance from Society headquarters and professional health care organizations. Our goal is to develop an appropriate response to the situation that both preserves our opportunities to sing together with as little disruption as possible while protecting your health, safety and well-being.

Top in public tips to avoid getting flu or COVID-19 by using common sense:

  • Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available. Here are some songs to sing while washing your hands People Share 53 Songs To Sing Instead Of “Happy Birthday” While Washing Your Hands To Scare Away The Coronavirus
  • Try not to shake hands, if you do use hand sanitizer afterwards.
  • Don’t share pitch pipes or water bottles!
  • If you do not feel well please stay home!
  • Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that people frequently touch.
  • There will be hand sanitizer available in public areas and backstage, but bring your own hand sanitizer, please! Remember it needs to be at least 60% alcohol based. Many options are available in sprays, gels, or wipes.
  • According to the Centers for Diseases Control (CDC), The World Health Organization (WHO), John Hopkins, The Department of State and State Departments of Health:For most of the American public, who are unlikely to be exposed to this virus at this time, the immediate health risk from COVID-19 is considered low.

  • People in communities where ongoing community spread with the virus that causes COVID-19 has been reported are at elevated, though still relatively low risk of exposure.
  • It’s currently flu and respiratory disease season and CDC recommends getting a flu vaccine.
  • The CDC does not recommend wearing masks or respirators for the general public.
  • People can help protect themselves from respiratory illness with everyday preventive actions:Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
  • Stay home when you are sick. 
  • Make sure you, and the people around you, follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then dispose of the used tissue immediately.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces. Hydrogen peroxide based cleaners www.amazon.com/slp/hydrogen-peroxide-cleaner/dw3k52uvbbmn363
  • Maintain at least 3 feet distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.
We look forward to seeing you this weekend!!
Sunshine District President

Sunshine Statesmen Senior Chorus!

We have a great opportunity this year to represent our District at the Midwinter festival with the Sunshine Statesmen Seniors Chorus! As you know, Midwinter will be in Jacksonville this year, so we will have no better opportunity to showcase our talents. We are hoping to have over 60 men join us on stage, and we need your help!
 
The Seniors Chorus will be a Sunshine District wide group of men 55 years or older. We have enlisted a great director, Jack Slamka of Power Play, as well as some talented folks to assist him in making this the best seniors chorus possible!
We will meet twice more with the whole chorus under Jack’s direction: November 16th and December 14th, both in Sebring.
 
The songs will be:
The Sunshine Of Your Smile (Tom Gentry)
Taking A Chance On Love (Jay Giallombardo)
Charts and Tracks will be made available to anyone who is interested.
 
 
Here is an mp3 file of Power Play’s performance of the two songs.
NOTE:This is the ONLY learning media to be used. This is the exact interp of how this package will be performed/sung. You can also watch a YouTube video of the performance below.
What: Sunshine Seniors Chorus, directed by Jack Slamka
Who: Any Sunshine District man over 55. This includes members of Frank Thorne and snowbird members! You can join after you arrive for the winter or after Fall Contest as long as you are off paper and ready to sing!
When: Midwinter Festival in January
Where: Midwinter Festival in Jacksonville.
How much: Midwinter registrations. We are also asking a $10/man additional registration fee.
Why: To offset the cost of arrangement fees and learning materials.
 
Rehearsal schedule:
 
 
November 16th & December 14th :
Church of the Brethren
700 S Pine St
Sebring, FL 11am-3pm
 
What to do next: Get back to me (VP of Events, Bruce Checca  events@sunshinedistrict.org) and I will distribute to you the learning materials and keep you posted about rehearsal schedules. If you have any further questions, please let me know.
 
Harmoniously,
VP of Events
Sunshine District

Sunshine District takes 3 of 5 Medals in International Quartet competition!

Sunshine District took 3 of the top 5 medals in International quartet competition this year in Salt Lake City, Utah. Signature brought home the 1st place Gold Medal with a total score of 8439, an average of 93.8%. Throwback took 2nd place Silver Medals with a total score of 8369, an average of 93.0%.  Rooftop Records made their first entry into the top 5 capturing a 4th place Bronze Medal with a total score of 8165, an average of 90.7%.

In the Next Generation Varsity Quartet competition, Sunshine District representative On Point took 8th place honors with a total score of 1334, an average of 74.1%.

Score sheets for International Quartet contests are below:

In the Chorus competition, Sunshine representative Heralds of Harmony from Tampa took 8th place with a total score of 2590, an average of 86.3%.

Score sheet for the International Chorus contest is below:

Well done, all Sunshine District competitors!

Please help support our 2019 International Competitors if you are able!

Hello Sunshine District!
Hopefully you will be either attending or watching the webcast of the BHS International Convention in early July, held this year in Salt Lake City. That’s a long way away from Florida. Some of you may not know that Sunshine is one of only a handful of Districts that give monetary support to our International and Midwinter competitors – both quartets and choruses competing under the SUN Banner…but it’s never enough.
 
Once again, our talent-rich District is sending three quartets to International, and we are blessed that they are all Top 10 groups (#2, #3, and #10 last year!). We could not be more proud of each and every one!
 
I know that Signature, Throwback, and Rooftop Records would greatly appreciate any money to help them offset the travel costs associated with representing our District for an entire week.
 
Any amount you choose to give will be distributed among these great quartets as a supplement to what the District will be able to give them. Just think – if every single member of this District donated $5.00, we’d have $6,000 to disperse! That would cover airfare for all three quartets…and have some left over for hotels and meals.
 
Click on the “Donate” button at the bottom of this page, and you’ll be whisked away to PayPal where you can EASILY enter a donation by debit or credit card (without signing up for PayPal).
 
The link will also be on our web page from now until just after international in July.
 
Please – Help these gentlemen on their journey as they try to bring some more hardware and shiny things home to Sunshine!
 
On behalf of the SUN District Board,
Chuck Steiner III
Sunshine District President
 
P.S. Our Choruses need some love, too! Tampa is representing SUN, while Jacksonville is combining with a chorus from NSC (Carolinas District) and will be singing under their banner. To help choruses out, please contact them directly via their Treasurers:
 
Tampa Bay Heralds of Harmony: hoht@tampabay.rr.com
Tampa also has a GoFundMe site setup for the influx of younger members that have joined; https://www.gofundme.com/help-our-young-members-go-to-international-contest
 
Jacksonville Big Orange Chorus: Secretary@bigorangechorus.com
 
Please: When you donate using the button below, include a note in the memo section that indicates the donation is for: SLC Quartet Donation.
 

SUN Qualifies 3 Quartets for 2019 International Competition

Sunshine District qualified 3 quartets for 2019 International Quartet competition in a typically fantastic Sunshine Spring Convention. There were 15 quartets in the Friday evening competition including Senior Quartet Champion contenders, Youth Championship contenders and Mixed Quartets singing for scores/eval only.

In Chorus competition, Orlando Harmony took the 2019 Chorus Championship with a score of 890 points or a 74.2% average. We also crowned our first ever Mixed Chorus Champions Florida Suncoast Chorus with a score of 829 points or a 69.1% average.

We also chose Byron Poore as our 2018 B.O.T.Y (Barbershopper of the Year) for his many years of service to Sunshine District.

Signature was the top qualifier for 2019 International Quartet Competition in Salt Lake City, UT in July with a score of 2203 or an average of 91.8%.

Throwback was the second qualifier for 2019 International Quartet Competition in Salt Lake City, UT in July with a score of 2176 or an average of 90.7%.

Rooftop Records was the third qualifier for 2019 International Quartet Competition in Salt Lake City, UT in July with a score of 2156 or an average of 89.8%.

TBQ was crowned 2019 Senior Quartet Champions with a score of 807 or an average of 67.3%.

Cleftomaniacs was crowned 2019 Youth Quartet Champions with a score of 1625 or an average of 67.7%.

Spring 2019 Convention Registration and Hotel Reservation Links are up!

Links to book your hotel room at the Marriott, as well as other Convention information (including all Competitor loops, when available) can be found on the District Web Page www.sunshinedistrict.org

We’re glad you are planning to join us for a wonderful weekend of song and fellowship at the Orlando Airport Marriott, March 8th and 9th, 2019 as only the Sunshine District can host!

ALL COMPETITORS MUST HAVE AN ALL EVENTS PASS TO BE ON STAGE- NO EXCEPTIONS

NO REFUNDS – TICKETS MAY BE TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER ATTENDEE.

HOTEL BOOKING LINK CAN BE FOUND AT www.SUNSHINEDISTRICT.org

Early Bird registration will run through February 22nd.

Tentative Schedule (start times subject to change slightly)

Friday March 8th

10:00am- SUN District Board of Directors Meeting

11:30am-1:30pm– Everyone In Harmony “Road Show”, hosted by Harmony Hall- Capri Room (ALL WELCOME!)

11:00 REGISTRATION DESK OPENS

2:00pm SUN House of Delegates Meeting- Capri Room

7:00pm 2019 BHS International Quartet Quarterfinals and Mixed Quartet Contest

Tentative Schedule (start times subject to change slightly)

Saturday March 9th

11:00amSUN District Chorus Championship, and (our very first!) Mixed Chorus Contest

*The Jacksonville Big Orange Chorus will sing off their 2018 Chorus trophy immediately following the chorus contest/prior to results.

*2018 Sunshine District Barbershopper of the Year Award presented following chorus competitions.

4:30pm Pre-Semifinal Cocktail Hour hosted by The President’s CouncilReception (Capri)- ALL ARE INVITED! (Cash Bar)

7:00pm2017 BHS International Quartet Preliminary Round- Qualifying to compete at BHS INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION, SALT LAKE CITY- July 2019!s

After a short break, the Sunshine Show of Champions featuring our Mixed Quartet winners, SUN BHS quartet qualifiers, and our newly crowned SUN Chorus Champions.

*SUNGLOW Afterglow following in Capri Ballroom– donations needed, accepted, and appreciated! You may choose an Afterglow donation amount at checkout. ALL CHORUSES AND QUARTETS ARE ENCOURAGED TO SING at the Afterglow- We wanna hear what ya got!

2019 LeadAC and HU Deadline Extended!

The deadline for signup for LeadAc/Harmony College was the 21st..but I have extended the sign up on Eventbrite and form turn in for chapter registration till 8pm January 3rd.

If you haven’t signed up, please do as we have a large turn out coming this year and want everyone who wants to grow as a chapter and musician to sign up!

Happy Holidays!
Matt
VP-CSLT

2019 LeadAC & Harmony College

Hey, Sunshine District do you know what time it is……………….?

It is time to sign up for the new, revamped, exciting, and educational Sunshine District Leadership Academy and  INTRODUCING OUR VERY OWN Harmony College.  We have an exciting line up for everyone this year as we continue to try to grow our chapters, give our singers skills and knowledge to use on and off the risers, and be the society that truly has “Everyone in Harmony.”  If that isn’t exciting enough we have also moved to The Rosen Plaza on International Drive in Orlando, FL and are offering the ability to sign up using Eventbrite.  We hope to have a large turnout of excited, enthusiastic, energized members join us this year.  If you have any questions, please reach out to me and let me help you and your chapter get engaged.

 

In Harmony,
Matt Crisostomo
VP District Education/CSLT

Fall Convention Competitor Draw is here!

The competition order draw has been completed and there are 19 Quartets and 6 choruses set to sing for the various contests. We will be crowning the District Quartet Champion and the District Mixed Harmony Quartet Champions. In the quartet competition, we will also be selecting our International Seniors Preliminary Quartet Qualifier as well as awarding the Sunshine District Gene Cokeroft Most-Improved Quartet Award.

In the Chorus contest, we will be selecting our International Preliminary Chorus Representative, as well as the choruses will be competing for the Most Improved Chorus Award and Chorus Grade Level Improvement Awards.

It is going to be a great contest, so come and support your District competitors!

Quartet Draw
1 On Point SUN
2 Orange Avenue SUN
3 Back Street 4 SUN
4 Slice! SUN
5 Dewey, Singum, and Howe SUN
6 Rare Blend MBHA
7 Easy Street SUN
8 Old Gold NEXT
9 Facts Only SUN
10 Harmony Grits NSC
11 Bourbon Brothers SUN
12 Lock and Ring MISC(Mixed)
13 Wee Small Hours SUN
14 Headline SUN
15 In-A-Chord SUN
16 Rolling Tones SUN
17 4 for 4 SUN
18 Baytowners SUN
19 Bioluminescent SUN
Chorus Draw
1 Heralds of Harmony
2 Orange Blossom Chorus
3 Emerald Coast Chorus
4 Orlando Harmony
5 THX
6 Capital Chordsmen