White Sails A Cappella Chorus is made up of a small group of women+ singers. Our current focus is on becoming more visible in our community, updating our repertoire, and growing into a bigger chorus. We are working on doing all of those things while still keeping the feel and strength of our close-knit, supportive little musical family that we've built. 

White Sails A Cappella Chorus (WSAC) is a part of the Sweet Adelines International  (SAI) world. We are the only all-Canadian region, with choruses from BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan. 

We sing in the Barbershop style. The barbershop world was originally just men (who would stand around after going to the barber, and sing together). They were a group of 4 men, singing 4 different voice parts, to make some amazing harmonies. The barbershop world has grown and expanded over the last 90ish years. We still have many quartets, but we also have many choruses. SAI Choruses range in size from 12 singers all the way up to 150 singers. No matter how many are in your chorus, the goal is the same: sing together in harmony and make those chords ring. The bonus is the lifelong friendships that come with singing together. 

The voice parts in barbershop harmony are not what you'd see or hear in SATB or SSAA vocal styles. For those that are familiar with the SATB/SSAA styles, you know that the melody is usually in the highest voice part, which is the First Sopranos. We do things differently in barbershop! Our voice parts have different names and functions than they would in SATB/SSAA. Also, we are completely a cappella. We do not have instrumental accompaniment at all. Every sound is coming from the singers on the risers as we create chords in 4 part harmony throughout every song. 

"The LEAD voice generally sings the melody and is below the TENOR harmony; the Tenor part sings the highest note in the chord; the BARITONE part fills in the all-important missing note in a chord that may be above or below the melody; the BASS part supplies the harmonic foundation (root or fifth) of the chord." - Barbershop 101, SAI.

One of the amazing things about this organization is the amount of education available. "Education is the passion and purpose of Sweet Adelines, helping each other grow as singers and spread the joy of music to others." -SAI. Our White Sails chorus is constantly learning. We don't just learn new music, but we also learn healthy vocal production, vocal techniques, music theory, barbershop history, ear training, leadership skills, management skills, choreography, visual communication, and so much more. 

We are an auditioned chorus that sings in the treble voice range. We hold ourselves and each other accountable to know our music, and are committed to learn, grow, and succeed as we continue moving forward. We are constantly working and growing to find the best way to represent ourselves, our chorus, our community, and our organization. We strive to be a chorus that celebrates our differences, knowing that they can only make us stronger. Sweet Adelines International is committed to addressing and condemning racism, discrimination, and other forms of inequity not only with our words but with our actions. White Sails is actively working to make ALL of our singers feel welcome, while we build and maintain an inclusive environment with singers from all types of backgrounds. 

We sing throughout the entire year, with recurring events at similar times each year. The Summers are more relaxed rehearsals as many singers go away on holidays or are busy hosting guests. In the Fall, we often have a Guest Night or Membership Drive where we ask prospective members come to check us out, and see if we are the right fit for each other. In the Fall, we are also working hard on getting ready for the Christmas performance season. Once Winter hits, we are in performance mode! We perform at Craft Fairs, Christmas Markets, Winter Carnivals in schools/neighbourhoods, Christmas parties, seniors homes, assisted living centers, and more. We also take part in larger performances with many groups, and often do our own Winter-themed shows. Once January hits, we are in Contest mode!  But first, we have one little exciting event in February that cannot be overlooked. People can book us for a fun, exciting, original Valentine experience as we present a Singing Valentine to your person at a location of your choice, such as their business, lunch-break, a date, at school, and more. We have been booked to sing to partners, children, parents, grandparents, friends, your boss, colleagues, besties, in a dental office, in the waiting room, etc. We love sharing the love. After the Valentine's gigs, we're right back to Contest mode, as our Regional Convention/Contest is in the Spring. We travel to places such as Saskatoon, Surrey, and Edmonton for a weekend when we get to proudly share our performance package with other choruses/quartets and the public. This is an adjudicated event, and we love seeing the accomplishments we make year over year.