From Maiden Vermont

[edit] Maiden Vermont - Central Vermont's Women's Barbershop Group

Maiden Vermont began in January 2004, with about 20 women's voices. We're up to about 50 voices, but we'd love even more!

Maiden Vermont members: Log in using the link in the upper right, and then click here: Maiden Vermont members' pages.

If you love to sing, can sing on pitch, and can hold a part, join us! We don't limit ourselves to standard barbershop -- you'll be singing doo-wop, swing, Broadway show tunes, spirituals, the Blues and other great tight-harmony pieces.

Performance Schedule

• December 6, Project Independence, Middlebury, 11:00 full chorus
• December 6, Bixby Library, Vergennes Holiday Stroll, 1:00 full chorus
• December 10, Addison County Humane Society Festival of Lights fundraiser, Middlebury, 6:00 small group
• December 11, Ripton Holiday Concert, Ripton Elementary School, Full chorus, 6:30
• December 19, Maiden Vermont and Friends Holiday Concert, Town Hall Theater, Middlebury Vt, Full chorus, 7:30
• December 21, Mendon Caroling, Mendon Vermont, small group
• December 21, Private Christmas party, Middlebury, small group

Our chorus, or small groups from our chorus, sings regularly in schools, at naturalization ceremonies, and fundraisers for non-profit groups.

If you would like a particular song sung for your special occasion, and you don't see it on our repertoire, just ask us about it! If the music is available to us, with enough advance notice, it may be possible for a quartet to learn it for your event.

You can hire Maiden Vermont for parties or events; just e-mail the director, Lindi Bortney, at lindibortney@gmail.com or call 388-1012 for further information.

Our Repertoire

Our repertoire includes over an hour of memorized barbershop, doo-wop, swing, Broadway tunes, and other a capella music. Many of the numbers include choreography. Our repertoire includes:

• "Star Spangled Banner"
• "O Canada"
• "Let There Be Peace on Earth"
• "My Romance"
• "I Don't Know Why I Love You Like I Do"
• "I've Got A Crush On You"
• "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"
• "I Can't Give You Anything But Love"
• "I Love You Truly"
• "Sh-Boom"
• "Eyes Of Love"
• "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
• "Swing Down Chariot"
• "Rise Again"
• "Climb Every Mountain"
• "Java Jive"
• "Mr. Sandman"
• "Long Ago Lady", by Jon Gailmor
• "Basin Street Blues"
• "One Fine Day"
• "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"/"The Band Played On"
• "Crazy"
• "When Will I Be Loved"
• "Aba Daba Honeymoon"
• "Mister Sandman"
• "Blue Skies"
• "Love Is Here To Stay"
• "I Feel A Song Comin' On"
• "It's A Small World"
• "Hallelujah Get Happy"
• "One More Song"
• "Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor"

• Quartets:
• "Ain't Misbehavin'"
• "Mood Indigo"
• "Dream A Little Dream Of Me"
• "Moments To Remember"
• "Dedicated To The One I Love"
• "Second Hand Man"

Letters of Recommendation

• Town Hall Theater
• Salisbury Summer Series

Lindi Bortney, Music Director

Lindi taught music and directed school choruses on Long Island for over 30 years, and we are lucky that she and her husband, Jerry Shedd, chose to retire in Addison County. Lindi travels around the country coaching Sweet Adeline choruses and teaching music educators about barbershop singing. Most recently, Lindi was the music director for "Swingtime Canteen" in Bristol, VT (October 2007), "Forever Plaid" in Middlebury, Vergennes, Randolph and Burlington, VT (July 2006), "Little Shop of Horrors" in Middlebury VT (June 2005) and "Of Thee I Sing" in Rochester VT (April-May 2004)

Rehearsal Schedule

We rehearse every Thursday from 7 to 9:15 p.m. During the school year we rehearse at the Bingham School in Cornwall, VT, on Route 30. (From Middlebury, drive south on Route 30 until you get to School Road on your left. The school is at the end. If you reach the intersection with Route 74, you've missed School Road.) Starting June 19th, our rehearsals will be held at the Ripton Elementary School, for the summer months. When the Middlebury Town Hall Theater renovations are complete, we will have a permanent "home" there for rehearsals. Call Lindi Bortney at 388-1012 to let her know that you are coming.

How to Join

Here's how to apply to join the group. This sounds very formal, but it's really not. We're fun and friendly, so don't get scared off. We just need to ensure that all our members can sing on pitch and can hold their own part when surrounded by women singing other parts. You can do it!

1. A singer can come to a rehearsal and listen for as long as she wants. She can borrow a folder of music for the evening so she can follow along with what we are rehearsing, but she gives the folder back at the end of the rehearsal.
2. At the point that she wants to apply for membership, usually after attending two or three rehearsals as a guest, she gets to take home the music to two songs, "I Don't Know Why I Love You Like I Do" and "Star Spangled Banner" to learn them for her audition. She also gets a CD of these two songs to help her learn them. There is a $10 fee at this time.
3. After about three weeks, the applicant asks Lindi for an audition, and Lindi arranges for the Section Leader quartet to sing with her, singing these two songs from memory. (We usually do this at the end of a rehearsal.)
4. If she passes the audition, she receives a folder which contains the chorus repertoire and accompanying CDs. If she doesn't pass, or if she decides not to try to audition, she returns the audition sheet music and CD, her $10 audition fee is returned to her, and we wish her well.
5. We charge dues of $7/month for women and $4/month for girls. (If payment is a problem, dues can be waived.)

Maiden Vermont, c/o Lindi Bortney, P.O. Box 178, Ripton, VT 05766. Contact lindibortney@gmail.com for information