The FULL #GatewayGirl Experience
Fall & Holiday Editions!
Want to see what it’s like singing barbershop with some of the nicest and most talented people you’ll ever meet? Who doesn’t, right? At Gateway Chorus, we love singing, traveling, experiencing barbershop together, and also wearing really beautiful costumes when we perform! That’s why we created the Gateway Girl Experience for those who might not be ready to join or who just want a great way to meet new friends.
Recently, we hosted our fall Gateway Girl Experience. Wonderful ladies from around Edmonton and beyond joined in on our rehearsals and also performed in our fall concert. The immersive experience gave participants a front-row seat to what it’s like to be a full-fledged member of Gateway Chorus.
Over the course of 6 weeks, participants learned from our coaches and other members while also practicing at home and preparing for a live performance. We were so impressed with all our participants’ dedication to the experience that by the night of our concert, no one would have guessed the experience participants weren’t full members!
Gateway Girl Experience and Beyond
With the Experience, participants are not obligated or expected to join and we welcome anyone who has an interest in barbershop and chorus. However, we are so excited when an Experience participant decides to take the next steps to be a full member. From our fall Experience alone, we have several soon-to-be members working their way through the membership process and participating in the Holiday edition of the Experience!
Our Fast and Simple Signup
Along with our successful Experience participation and new memberships, we are also excited to announce that our signup process is now fully online! With just a few clicks, those who are interested in the Gateway Girl Experience can sign up and get access to a special section of our “members only” website:
Here, participants can view a video created by the musical leadership of the chorus that shows a brand-new singer finding the part her voice is best suited to. Participants also get helpful hints and resources to understand singing barbershop.
Rehearsal Makes Perfect
As part of this Experience, participants went through a similar rehearsal schedule as our regular members. Throughout the 6 weeks, our new singers would engage in practice from 7-8:30 at night. While they were free to go at this point, many stayed for the remainder of the rehearsal - not wanting to leave the excitement of singing in a group and also getting the opportunity to work directly with our professional coaches!
The Gateway Girl Experience also includes practice materials and learning tracks that participants are highly encouraged to use for solo practice at-home. We were truly impressed with our wonderful participants and how well-rehearsed they were before we even had our first rehearsal session in September!
Thrilling Live Performance
After 6 weeks of rehearsals, coaching, and hours practicing at home, our participants were stunning in their fall costumes as the emcee for the evening highlighted the journey that the group had taken to get to concert night.
As they took the stage to sing with our chorus for the last two songs of the evening, their voices blended beautifully and enriched the performance. Achieving this level of skill in just a month and a half was not easy but the results were more than worth it!
Many of the participants could be heard saying “that was SO FUN” and “when do we get to sing again?!” as they found their way backstage. The bustling excitement and chaos of a performance night thrilling everyone who participated.
Within just a few weeks after this, we began our Holiday edition of the Gateway Girl Experience and many of the participants returned more excited than ever for an encore!