Press Information

Greater Kingston Chorus (GKC) is located on the north-eastern shore of Lake Ontario, in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The Chorus is part of Region 16, Sweet Adeline International's largest region. The Region spans between Northern New York State and Southern Ontario, from Georgian Bay, ON to Buffalo, NY & from Albany, NY to Ottawa, ON.

Leading the chorus are Co-Directors Paula Allen and Nancy Watson. They are assisted by Assistant Director & Head Choreographer, Sue Marriott; and JoAnne Vincent, President, and her intrepid Board of Directors.

GKC is comprised of a dynamic group of women joined in the love of music and singing in the Barbershop Style. There are between 60 and 70 members of varying ages (from Generation X’s to Baby Boomers to seniors). Their backgrounds are equally diverse ... nurses, students, teachers, work-at-home moms, government employees, retirees, entrepreneurs, etc. The music they sing is equally diverse from light rock, inspirational, show-tunes to country, pop music, etc. Some of the chorus repertoire has been arranged by the former director Elaine Gain, who is now adding her bass voice to the chorus.

GKC performs many times throughout the year at charity events, fundraisers, & musical events throughout Kingston & the surrounding area.

This award-winning chorus is part of a first-class global organization Sweet Adelines International. This organization has nearly 600 choruses and 30,000 women from countries around the world. Each spring, GKC competes at the regional level in Syracuse, New York with approximately 30 choruses from southern Ontario and northern New York State.

Over the past 29 years, GKC has placed consistently in the top 3 at the Regional Competitions. As the 1st place Regional Champion Chorus in 1994, they were one of only two Canadian choruses competing at the 1995 Sweet Adelines International 50th Anniversary Competition at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This was followed, in 2000, by another 1st place Regional Championship which qualified GKC to again compete at the international level with choruses from around the world. That international contest took place in Portland, Oregon in 2001 and GKC placed 16th world-wide!

GKC’s high score as the second-place chorus at the 2006 regional contest placed them in the top 5 second-place choruses in the world! This placement qualified them to compete at the 2007 international competition. This took place at the Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta in October 2007, where they were one of only two Canadian choruses competing in this world championship event.

In May of 2009, GKC earned the right to compete in Seattle WA, in Oct 2010, by winning first place in the midsize division at regional in Syracuse NY. They competed in the Harmony Classic as one of the top 5 midsize choruses in the world.

GKC also performed in the first Barbershop Festival ever held, in Vienna, Austria in 2005. They performed at several functions in Vienna & then went on to sing again in Salzburg.

GKC considers itself an extended family, where members have formed life-long friendships and care for each other as sisters would. The chorus is extremely grateful to its charter members for their efforts in initiating this wonderful chorus. Both past and current members have committed much time and talent over the years resulting in a flourishing membership. It is a rewarding and fun-filled hobby!

Last year, 2010 was GKC's 50th Anniversary & they celebrated by winning 2 Gold Medals in Region 16's annual competition. They won first place again in the midsize division. They also took first place overall out of 24 choruses competing that year. This earned them a berth in the International Competition again in Houston, TX in Oct 2011.

This year promises to be just as exciting. New members are always welcomed with open arms.