30 Years for Nan

Type of post:	Chorus news item
Sub-type:	No sub-type
Posted By:	Kathi Khuen-Kryk
Status:	Current
Date Posted:	Sun, 27 Dec 2020

Congratulations to our very own Nan who has been with PHC for over 30 years! Here is her story:

For 30 years I have been a Perth Harmony member. My first exposure to Perth Harmony was in 1989 at a concert at Perth Modern School. I loved the sound, but it took me a year to gather the courage to go to a rehearsal. Little did I know that it would be a life changing decision.

Being an introvert, I took a back seat for about three weeks until I was asked to become a pitch piper. That small step meant that some members saw me as a person who is willing to help out. After six months, I was elected to the Board of Directors and I became the Membership Coordinator. Two years later, I was elected President! There was no stopping me. Training for administration staff opened my eyes to what was possible and, since then, I have been the Baritone section leader, Team Coordinator (when we moved to a Management Team), Communication Coordinator and Events Coordinator. Taking on these roles has impacted me in my professional life as well, giving me the confidence to speak in front of large groups, and a much improved understanding of how to listen and interact with different people.

Through the years, the singing has always been important to me. I never tire of learning about my voice. The willingness of the leadership of Perth Harmony to soak up the education from Sweet Adeliines International and coach us means that we are continually discovering something new to improve our sound. Over the years, I have found my head and chest voices, learned to sing with expanded ribs to hold up an imaginary barrel, found my resonating spaces, lost my waistline, learned about singing in the mask, learned to sing up and out, discovered diphthongs and how to turn them, and how to do choreography in the floor team and on the risers. I have been lucky to win medals and to travel around Australia and to the USA on many occasions. The medals are wonderful, but the journey to the competition is even better.

Finally some musings and thoughts about my time with PHC:

I now suffer from AD-OS: Attention Deficit...Oh Shiny! (those sequins really get to you over time, don't they?)

People associated with Perth Harmony have come into my life for a season, a reason and a lifetime.

I have stayed because Perth Harmony Chorus fills my bucket.

I am Sweet Adeline.

Nan

#actbelongcommit