Local singers help set Guinness record

(Nov. 27, 2009) Sweet Adelines International set the Guinness World Record for "Largest Singing Lesson" at the 63rd annual International Convention and Competition held at the Sommet Center in Nashville, Tenn.

Members of the Delmarva Chorus joined other chapters in achieving the record. Local members participating in the massive sing were Carol Ludwig, Charlene Vanvick and Marjorie Bushong.

Music professional and past Sweet Adelines International Quartet Champion Peggy Gram led the lesson by demonstrating techniques for integrating the voice into the art form. The venue was filled with immense sound as 6,651 singers practiced the demonstrated techniques and sang simultaneously for the duration of the 10-minute lesson.

Guinness World Records official adjudicator Danny Girton Jr. presided over the certificate ceremony to validate the record and to confirm that the event met the world record criteria.

Gram called the experience of teaching the largest singing lesson "exhilarating."

"It was inspiring to demonstrate our unique style of music to thousands of singers from around the globe. While obtaining the world record is terrific, what's even more important is that it allowed us the opportunity to show how rewarding it is to sing barbershop harmony," she said.

The Delmarva Chorus members hold weekly rehearsals at 7 p.m. on Mondays at the Ocean Pines Community Center. To learn more about Sweet Adelines International and how to become a member of Delmarva, visit www.delmarvachorus. com or contact Jean Beatty at 410- 208-4149. More information is also available at www.sweetadelineintl.org.

Sweet Adelines International is a musical force in the United States and throughout the world. This nonprofit music education association is headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., where it was founded in 1945. It is one of the world's largest singing organizations for women, committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performance.