Valerie Cassity
Special to the Sun

The Kern Valley Sweet Adelines performed for a crowd of at least 100 barbershop harmony fans last Thursday at the Senior Center in Lake Isabella. The entertaining show, a dress rehearsal for their regional competition in Bakersfield this weekend, also afforded the ladies an opportunity to provide free entertainment and fun for the community.

The performance opened with the Kern Valley quartet, Sierra Sound, comprised of Cheryl Borthick (lead), Debbie Fieber (bass), Kay Gregory (tenor), and Francine Stirling (baritone).  The group performed the lively “Tuxedo Junction” and romantic “That’s All” as opening numbers before delivering their contest package of heart-wrenching “The Lonesomest Girl” and the playful “You Made Me Love You,” delivered perfectly and with great emotion.  The four ladies looked lovely in their sparkling ensemble of dark blue, nearly black evening gowns with pink floral sparkly designs, and look forward to delivering a knockout performance at the Rabobank Arena before the official judges on Friday evening.

The Sweet Adelines, donning their pirate themed attire, entertain the audience at last Thursday’s performance at the Senior Center.

After a brief intermission, allowing the quartet to change into their costumes, the entire chorus took to the risers in their pirate garb to perform a sampling of their repertoire, including “You Ain’t Been Blue,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If it Ain’t got that Swing),” and “Fit as a Fiddle.”  They ended the evening with the two songs they will perform at the contest this Saturday; “I Don’t Want to Get Married,” and “Get me to the Church on Time.” The chorus sounded wonderful, but even more, their performance package was a huge hit with the audience.  The 20 chorus members came in row by row as pirates, each group performing a vignette before taking their places on the risers, and delivered great choreography that enhanced the songs and made the whole performance a true joy to watch.

Chorus member Sandy Johnstone, who choreographed the performance, explained that the story was about pirate girls who never want to get married and keep having fun exploring the high seas, but meet the man of their dreams and end up marrying him.  Johnstone said that the idea was inspired by one of the coaches who came to work with the chorus, who mentioned Disney’s Adventureland as a possible theme and Pirates of the Carribean immediately clicked with her, spurring her creative and fun dance moves.  “This shows that every girl can have a change of heart, but she’s still a pirate with a pirate wedding at the end,” said Johnstone. “The chorus makes it easy since they’re willing to do anything we throw at them.”

Sweet Adelines is an international organization of female choruses that perform in the barbershop style.  They sing everything from big band to gospel to modern country songs, and women of all ages are welcome and encouraged to join.  They are always recruiting, and love to bring new faces and voices into the group.  If you are interested in joining the Sweet Adelines, come to the Senior Center any Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. and they will fit you into a perfect spot in the chorus.