Young Women in Harmony

It would be difficult to find a chorus in all of Sweet Adelines International with a more active role in the student outreach program known as Young Women in Harmony. For more than a dozen years, members of the chorus have visited schools in Central Indiana to present barbershop harmony programs to the students. The presentation includes a demonstration performance by the group, vocal skills exercises, and lots of opportunity for the students to learn some four-part harmony. The most popular part of the class is always the "tag quartet" segment at the end, when students take turns singing in foursomes..

A group of 16-20 Capital City Chorus members mix and match in quartets and octets to present the programs, and they are called by the very appropriate name Interchangeable Parts. The group averages at least one presentation per week during the school year. The chorus also offers assistance to music teachers who need sheet music or vocal coaching for quartets competing in the annual ISSMA vocal ensemble contests. The chorus has sponsored several A Cappella Music Festivals for students in grades 6 through 12.

During the 2003-2004 school year, several Capital City Chorus members worked with Carmel Junior High School vocal music teacher Karen King to establish a girls' barbershop chorus at the school. This extra-curricular activity has proved to be a popular and valuable addition to the school's fine music program.

The value of the program has been recognized, not only in the enthusiastic endorsements we receive from teachers, but also in funding support from the Young Singers Foundation and the Indiana Arts Commission. Chorus member Jan Meyer was awarded the 1999 Sweet Adelines MENC Award for contributions and service to music education, largely because of the effectiveness of the chorus Young Women in Harmony Program she coordinated at that time.

We are proud of the contribution Capital City Chorus has made in bringing the art of barbershop harmony singing to a new generation. There's nothing more fun than watching young people get excited about the music we love!

Typical Young Women in Harmony presentation by Interchangeable Parts

Students at Carmel Junior High School join their voices in a barbershop chorus.