Potomac Harmony Chorus (PHC), a chapter of Sweet Adelines International, traveled to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to participate in Blue Ridge Region 14's chorus competition April 16- 17, 2004. We competed with 17 other choruses, from North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Tennessee. In our Mardi Gras sequins over black pantsuits, PHC took the stage and sang our competition numbers "Pal of My Cradle Days" and "The Original Dixieland One-Step." Eighty-five PHC members took their place on stage, and then lights! camera! action! the stage lights came up, the audience roared, the video cameras were rolling, and the four judges were all ears and eyes. We earned 615 points and were awarded a first-place medal! This is the highest score PHC has ever received in competition, since we became a chorus in 1976. This is the fourth time we have won a regional chorus championship under the direction of Master Director Ozzi Mask, who has been the director of PHC since its beginning. As Regional Chorus Champions for 2004, we will have the honor of representing Virginia and the Blue Ridge Region at International Competition in Detroit, Michigan, in October 2005, singing and competing with Sweet Adelines choruses from all over the world. Click here to see our 2004 Regional Competition Photo.
On Saturday evening of competition weekend, PHC participated in the Show of Champions and performed "Shout" and "Come In From the Rain," ending with our traditional closing number, our "Flagwaver" medley of America the Beautiful and God Bless America, with our back-row unfurling nine flags. All of us are so very proud and happy to be members of PHC! What a great contest weekend -- congratulations to all of Region 14's competitors.
PHC's first performance after competition was at Lubber Run Amphitheater in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday June 16, 2004, 8:00 p.m., a part of the "America Celebrates the Greatest Generation," a 100-day salute to World War II in the nation's capital.