Our hearts are full as we head back to Virginia (and surrounding states!) from a wildly successful Area 3 Contest!

We worked so hard to get our Small Fry package off the ground in time for contest. We completed Round 1 (of 5…insert evil laugh) of our choreography plan and we donned our snazzy new outfits! Little Girl is so fun to sing and we know there is tons of potential with this package. We can’t wait to get working on the fantastic feedback from the judging panel.

We are proud of our second place finish…and a big shout out to newbies Nancy, Amanda, Sandy, and Martha!

Stay tuned!! In the meantime, here are some fun pics!

A huge thanks to all the volunteers who make the Area 3 events so special and memorable. Congrats to our sister chorus, NFCA, for a well deserved win and Lip Service for being such graceful and talented quartet champs!

We are very, VERY proud of all our quartets for representing Bella so well. And we owe a huge thanks to our talented director, Richard!

We were so excited to host Halo today during rehearsal so they could share with us the groundbreaking outreach efforts they’re making to have meaningful conversations about race. Through the medium of barbershop harmony, these ambassadors are encouraging community conversations about race, even when the they’re difficult conversations to have.

Shana and Niambi suggested that, like an unresolved chord progression, tension in conversations about race is a necessary part of the process. Only when the chords resolve in a barbershop arrangement do we make progress or feel satisfaction. Similarly, Halo is encouraging the use of barbershop harmony to guide conversations that can be challenging, leaning on the process of making music to offer the release and progress we have yet to accomplish in addressing racism.

This is some seriously cool stuff. Please take some time visit Halo’s website. We promise it’ll be enlightening and entertaining.

Thank you for all you do, Halo. We’re so proud of you.

Once again, we were thrilled to share a stage with our brothers in harmony, the Fairfax Jubil-Aires. The annual show in Centreville was nearly a full house and we loved performing for such a warm audience.

Here are a few of our favorite shots of the day! We’ll add more as we get them.

We know that a lot of work happens behind the scenes to keep our chapter running smoothly. The Bellas listed below have stepped up to run as Board members for 2018-19 and we are so grateful for their service. In addition to being wonderful singers and performers, these women will give selflessly of their time and expertise to keep the wheels turning, and we are so grateful to them. Please join us in congratulating the newly elected leaders!

We love you, Bella board. We are here to support you!

We’re so excited about our pending transition to a new rehearsal site! Starting with our August 10th rehearsal, we will now meet in Leesburg, Va., at the United Methodist Church. We’re grateful to have on-site rehearsal risers, and we’re adjusting our start time to 1pm. We will rehearse until 4pm, and our Board meetings will be held immediately following the second rehearsal of the month.

We want to take a moment to share our deepest appreciation to Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Herndon. Our first “home” will always hold a very special place in our hearts. They opened their facility to us with open arms long before we even had a chapter charter. We are so blessed to have had the support of this world-class church community. Our many, many thanks to Jeremy and the entire Holy Cross Lutheran organization.

Also worth a shout-out… starting August 10th, Bella Nova will launch its youth development program. Designed especially for the younger members of Bella Nova, the youth development pull-out program will take place during regularly scheduled rehearsals and will focus on musical development, proper singing techniques for  young performers, and much, much more! Our youth will learn from best-in-class musical leaders–launching them on a lifetime of performance success!

As we take a few steps down the path leading straight to our FIRST international competition, we are pulling out all the stops to do our personal best! After some fantastic feedback from the judging evaluations at the Southern Divisional contest of the Mid-Atlantic District (thanks, guys, for letting us crash the party for a test run!), we are taking our performance skills to the next level.

The one and only Sean Devine coached us to within an inch of our lives… and we loved every second of it. He challenged us to stretch far beyond our comfort zone and we are READY!

In return for all his hard work and dedication, we presented Sean with is very own sparkle pony. With this, we are bonded for life. Thanks, Sean!

When we formed in the fall of 2013, there’s no WAY we would have dreamed of participating in a chapter show this soon. Thanks entirely to our brothers in the Fairfax, Va., chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society (the Fairfax Jubil-Aires), we had the supreme honor to participate in our first full-fledged public performance.

The guys wrote us right into their show script, and we had a ton of fun playing out the sorority to complement their fraternity. We also featured our founding quartet, Epic, to round out the storyline and add a bit of a female flair to a male show. We truly had a blast, and we think this is a partnership that could last a very long time!

A huge thanks to the Fairfax barbershoppers. You’re a class act!

After all this time, we are so thrilled to say that Bella Nova Chorus had it’s first rehearsal today!

And talk about PROUD. Here’s the very first tag we EVER sang together. The very first noises we ever made as a chorus. Truly the beginning of something special. XOXOXO!

Hello Bella Nova Babes!

We are very much looking forward to getting everyone together for what is sure to be a very exciting event. We know many of you have received access to the chorus management site, BNCenter, but if we have any lurkers out there, be sure to reach out! Logging on to BNCenter (even if you decide later on that Bella Nova is not a good fit for you) will give you access to the music we’ll be singing on Sunday.

To prep, feel free to do the following:

• Relax and come prepared to have a good time. This is not an audition. It’s not a strict rehearsal. We’re going to get to know each other and tell you a little bit more about what we have in mind for Bella Nova.
• If you haven’t already, log on to BNCenter to download to your iPad or print out a copy of the Harmony, Inc. theme songs we’ll sing.
• Wear comfy clothes and shoes and bring water. It’s important to stay really hydrated when you sing, as many of you know.
• We’ll be having some snacks and treats during the event, and you’ll be learning a lot more about Harmony Inc. and our emerging chapter. Bring your questions and we’ll do our best to get them all answered.
• Bring a friend, spouse, family member, co-worker! All Bella Nova rehearsals are open to all. While the chorus is a female chorus, guys are welcome to watch 🙂

And that’s it! Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! And spread the word…. there are probably a lot of women in your universe who can sing, so bring them along for a good time.

See you at 2 p.m. Sunday at Holy Cross Lutheran Church on Sterling Road in Herndon!

If you’re planning to be a member of Bella Nova Chorus, be sure to check your email for your personal log-in information for our chorus management site, BNCenter! BNCenter will be your one-stop-shop for learning tracks and sheet music, rehearsal information, event details and much, much more! If you didn’t receive an invite for BNCenter (also known behind the scenes as Groupanizer), please email bellanovachorus @ gmail. com (remove spaces) and you will be added. Can’t wait to see you all on the 25th of August!