A Brief History of the Spirit of Spokane Chorus
The Spirit of Spokane Chorus has been providing moving musical experiences for appreciative audiences in the Greater Spokane, WA area since January 12, 1989 when the chorus first registered as an official chapter of Sweet Adelines International – a worldwide organization committed to elevating women singers through education, performance, and competition in barbershop harmony and a cappella music.
A HISTORY OF MUSICAL EXCELLENCE
The Spirit of Spokane Chorus is a high-achieving chorus with a reputation for excellence. The chorus has never placed lower than 5th place in their many years of regional competitions. In their first year of competition in North by Northwest Region 13, the chorus (called Spokane Falls Chorus at that time) won the regional Small Chorus Championship with only 20 members onstage.
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Since that time, the chorus has maintained a commitment to excellence and has grown in the number of singers and experience. With expert coaching and several years of gifted, charismatic direction by Mike Elliott, the chorus exploded into the winners' circle for the first time on April 4, 1998, with a performance that brought the Spokane Opera House audience to its feet, even before the last note was sung. This entitled us to compete at Sweet Adelines International competition in Atlanta, Georgia in fall 1999, where we placed in the top 20 in the world.
In 2000, we repeated the regional win, scoring high enough to be one of the top five mid-sized choruses in the world! This gained the chorus an invitation to the Harmony Classic competition in San Antonio, Texas in July 2001 where we placed second.
The women of Spirit of Spokane Chorus have proven that these awards were not a flash in the pan with three more regional championships in 2002, 2004, and 2006. Below is our international appearance in Detraoit 2005 where we placed 28th in the world!
We enjoyed our journey to Sweet Adelines International competition in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in October 2007 with nearly double the number of members on stage.
Because of the high score the chorus achieved at regional contest in 2019, SOS has been invited to compete on the Sweet Adelines International contest stage once again! We will be in Phoenix, AZ at the 74th Annual Sweet Adelines International Convention September 2022, representing Region 13. Our joyful musical journey continues!
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Unforgettable Annual Shows
We aren't all about competition, though -- we perform for community events and produce entertaining original stage shows annually. In October of 2019 we celebrated our 30th anniversary with a huge show with all five barbershop choruses in the area onstage with us!!!
The Spokesman-Review published this article about us!
The Era of Covid-19
Even during this challenging time of Covid-19, while adhering to all safety protocols, the chorus produced a wonderful 2021 Christmas show, "Miracle at the Toy Emporium" and continues to make plans for future performances.
2023 SoS Promo Video
