New Chordaires Deanna Couture, Loraine Taeja, and Pat Woulf
Linda Ryan
A highlight of November is Veterans Day. The Chordaires will entertain the veterans of Sun Lakes at two celebrations in their honor: Monday, Nov. 11, at the Sun Lakes Country Club Veterans Luncheon and Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the Oakwood Veterans Day Breakfast in the ballroom.
Chordaires President Janet Lewis says, “We love to perform at these events because the music means so much to our former military residents. They are such an enthusiastic audience, it’s exciting.”
When the all-women chorus sings the “Armed Forces Medley,” the men and women who served proudly stand for the anthem of their branch of the military.
The Veterans Day performances are the first events of the season for the chorus. Then the Chordaires new director team, Barb and Kirk Hyder, will lead the chorus in polishing up their songs for a series of private performances starting in early December.
This will be the first holiday season under their direction, and they have changed some of the Chordaires’ arrangements of holiday favorites to make them more interesting and beautiful.
The Hyders stepped in to save the day last spring when the Chordaires director was forced to step down due to health issues right before the show. The members of the chorus liked their ideas so much that they quickly offered them a contract for the upcoming season. Happily for all, they accepted.
Both Kirk and Barb were formally trained singers and directors, and each has 40 years of music experience. In fact, they became acquainted when chosen to perform a duet for a Sweet Adelines show.
“We sang ‘You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,’” Barb recalls. “We surprised the chorus and audience when we finished the song with a kiss on stage. No one knew we had fallen in love while we were rehearsing the song for the show.”
They Hyders have sung in award-winning choruses, and Kirk also directs the East Valley Barbershop Harmonizers. Barb plans to sing some songs with the chorus while Kirk directs.
Three new singers have joined the Chordaires during the summer. Deanna Couture lives in the Providence neighborhood of Maricopa. She is a former Sweet Adeline. Loraine Taeja lives in Chandler and sings in a church choir with one of our current members. Pat Woulf lives in Tempe and enjoys singing songs in all genres.
We’re hoping several more women will join us as a result of our reception, which was held on Oct. 17.
For more information about the Chordaires and our performances, please go to www.chordaires.org.