Vegas road trip! Mark your calendars!

[YANXWIN]

Oh the love of mother-in-laws. How can the women we love be so much different than their mothers? I am grateful for that.

[BRWombat]

Well, Disney meets VM again -- or VM meets Disney, depending on your perspective. I've mentioned before an extremely talented guy we've brought in to coach us, Tony DeRosa... He is, among many other things, a 3-time quartet champion (his most recent gold medal being with a quartet called Max Q, along with our current director Greg Clancy and previous director Jeff Oxley), a first-call studio singer, director of three different choruses in Florida, and -- oh, yeah -- director of a couple of other groups you might have heard of: WDW's Dapper Dans and the Voices of Liberty! (He is also competing in the quartet contest with his newest group, Main Street, which is made up of four Dapper Dans; they've placed in the top 5 the last three years and may just take the gold this year!)

Anyway, Tony was back to coach us again last Thursday night, and the VM put out this video this morning, finally making public some news I've known about for a while but have been sitting on:

[video][/video]

That's another behind-the-scenes video of our preparations for the Vegas contest -- less than a month away now -- but in case you don't or can't watch the video right now, here's the news: Tony is not only coaching us, he will be performing with us! Yep, we've got him a tux and a spot on the risers (about halfway between center and far stage left, row 4), and he will be with us in Vegas! This getting exciting!

[hhsrat]

Will the Han Choir be making an appearance?

[BRWombat]

UPDATE - possibly the final one before Vegas. I now have some details to pass along:

If you are considering coming to Vegas, here's the Vocal Majority's rehearsal/performance schedule. All rehearsals will be in Room 310 in the MGM Grand Convention Center, and all are free and open to the public. All stage performances will be in the MGM Grand Arena, and require a ticket (either a day pass or a convention registration).

• Wed July 2, 9 pm - 12 am- First rehearsal in Vegas
• Thurs July 3, 10 am - Noon- Rehearsal
• Thurs July 3, 2 pm - 4 pm - Rehearsal
• Fri July 4, 10 am - 2:30 pm - First session of chorus contest
• Fri July 4, 4 pm - 9 pm - Second session of chorus contest - VM performs #20 overall, at approx. 4:45 pm.
• Sat July 5, 5:45 pm - 6:45 pm - "Saturday Spectacular" before the quartet finals - if VM wins on Friday, we perform here.
• Sat July 5, 11 pm - ??? - "Afterglow" co-hosted by VM, the Masters of Harmony, and Zero8. In Room 310, free and open to the public!

Other events are on the BHS convention schedule at http://barbershopconvention.com/vegas. If you think you can be there at any time, PM me!

If you cannot come to Vegas, there is a webcast available at http://www.bhswebcast.com/. New this year: Educators & students (with a .edu or .k12.---.us email address) can get lower-bandwidth access to the webcast for FREE!

It's always a thrill for me to be able to meet (and sing for!) SGT'ers in person. Just ask Purpura, DragonFox, and NearPhilly -- they've all come to previous VM appearances at the international conventions! Hope some (or all) of you can make it!

[Main Streeter]

Good luck to all VM members! We are very proud of our own BR Wombat

[BRWombat]

Good luck to all VM members! We are very proud of our own BR Wombat

Thanks MS! So good to know we've got you pulling for us!

Hey, there are two more (free & easy) options for keeping track of what happens at the convention. First, if you're on Facebook and haven't friended me yet, I'm at fb.com/brwombat. I'll be posting as I travel, but with privacy set so that only friends (& no opportunistic burglars) see the posts and pictures. Second, without having to sign up or pay anything, the Barbershop Harmony Society is posting an official daily video recap of convention events on YouTube here: Vegas Daily Wrap Up. Just check in on that playlist for results and performance clips. Friday 7/4 is the main day you should watch if you only watch one -- that's the chorus contest day.

[BRWombat]

[video][/video]

Why We Sing -- probably the last "behind the scenes" video before we head to Vegas next week! I'm at 2:41.

[Main Streeter]

Hey, there are two more (free & easy) options for keeping track of what happens at the convention. First, if you're on Facebook and haven't friended me yet, I'm at fb.com/brwombat. I'll be posting as I travel, but with privacy set so that only friends (& no opportunistic burglars) see the posts and pictures.

I had a chance to go to Vegas later today with members of my favorite Orange County Band. Kelly Rae Band will be playing at Gilley's July 4th and 5th. Didn't think about the fact I could have seen you and heard The V M too. I really blew a great time. Just didn't do 2 + 2 math correctly. Darn!!! I have always known how to find you on fb. I just might ask for an add. Pretty sure you know my fb name, as we do have a mutual friend.

[DisneyMom]

Almost Didn't Happen, but Hubby and I got to go to Vegas!!!
When I asked Hubby to ask for this weekend, Hubby said, "Forget it, they never give anyone off, don't ask" so I was just about to write a sending my regrets post. Hubby then checked his schedule which by some miracle gave him off the 3rd thru the 5th. YAY! We booked Travelocity, then Hubby's boss put him back on the 5th. We were able to cancel Travelocity plans thankfully, re-book arriving late the 2nd and leaving the 4th, so after arriving ,eating and crashing the 2nd at the lovely MGM Signature Towers, we woke up to hectic schedule of hitting the Lazy River at the MGM, then making it to the Vocal Majority's Afternoon Rehearsal! We were absolutely amazed at their performances that included choreography as well as the most pure and beautiful notes. WOW!!!! We were able to say hi to Wombat and his lovely Mrs. Wombat
before they went off to a much-deserved break at the pool (hope it was peaceful, the party rages on at the Lazy River later in the afternoon!).
We spent the rest of the evening visiting with Hubby's old school friend, then in the morning did a quick visit to the conference center and the Strip to buy souvenirs . Sadly couldn't stay for the Competition, but ECSTATIC that our very own SGTer's group TOOK THE GOLD!!!!

[BRWombat]

Though you all might enjoy one last video about the VM's Vegas adventure! Titled "On That Day," it's an amazing behind-the-scenes look at what contest day is like for the VM, with tons of heart and harmony thrown in. The title comes from our uptune: "The love and friendship on that day ... ever in our hearts will stay...," and this 36-minute documentary captures it perfectly.

[video][/video]

Thanks for all the wonderful support you've all shown in the run-up to this contest -- and especially to DisneyMom & her hubby for timing their Vegas vacation so they could drop in on us!