Meet Darica Louie -- Region 11's new Young Voices in Harmony Coordinator
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Hello Region 11, I'm so pleased to share some exciting news with you.? First of all, as you probably know, Region 11 supports its young singers?through an educational program known as the Young Women In Harmony (YWIH) program. .I am announcing today that, effective immediately, the program in Region 11 will be known as Young Voices in Harmony (YVIH). Your Regional Management Team, after consulting with leaders in other regions and with the young singers of Region 11, approved this change in order to align the program name with our values of inclusivity.?Our YVIH program still shares the mission of the International YWIH program -- to introduce young singers to the?barbershop musical art form?and to provide?opportunities for students and our?youngest members to explore?the world of barbershop music through education, festivals, workshops, camps and competitions. This brings me to the second bit of exciting news.? I'm thrilled to introduce Darica Louie, a Youth member of Region 11 and the Santa Monica Chorus since 2017, as the Region's new Coordinator for the YVIH Program. Darica has just turned 26 (Happy birthday, Darica!) and while she is no longer a "youth," she brings to the role all her experience as a young singer and leader in our organization. Darica has already completed a two-year term on Santa Monica's Board and she is currently the Lead Section Leader in the chorus. In addition, she brings experiences as a participant and teacher in student theater and a variety of musical ensembles. Please read Darica's bio below to learn more about her background, her plans for her new role in Region 11, and her thoughts on the program's name change When you see Darica at Summer Sizzler, be sure to say hello and congratulations!? And, when you see those bags being passed around at dinner, do not hesitate to add a dollar or two. The YVIH?program is funded entirely by donations from our members.? Let's show our support for the next generation of barbershop singers!? Best regards, Lora Goodpasture Region 11 Communications Coordinator Hi, I’m Darica Louie (she/her) and I’m so excited to step into the role of Young Voices in Harmony Coordinator. I’ve been a Sweet Adeline in Santa Monica Chorus for the past seven years, since I was a freshman in college! Always a choir kid, I sang in various ensembles from chamber choirs to jazz choirs before stumbling upon a video of GQ and falling in love with the close harmonies of barbershop. It was serendipitous that when I eventually learned that there were barbershop choruses and not just quartets that my nearest chorus was Santa Monica.? I plan on bringing my experiences of producing student theatre, teaching summer theater camps for kids k-12, and being a Sweet Adelines youth member to this position to shape a program that makes Regional 11 a welcoming and fun place to be for young singers.? That brings me to the name change! I have experienced multiple times where I invited friends to form a youth quartet but the fact that we would be competing under the label of Young Women in Harmony was a barrier to them. These friends were trans/nonbinary/genderqueer in ways that calling them “young women“ would immediately make them feel misidentified and excluded so of course I would not expect them to endure that even though they were fine upper voices harmony singers. Renaming the program to Young Voices in Harmony is a simple step to include more people and follows in suit with other regions like Region 5 and Region 16 who have also changed “Women” for more inclusive options. Finally, I want to say I am hoping to channel the kindness, compassion and wisdom of many fantastic educators and mentors in my life. Specifically, I want to thank Laura Pallas Singer and honor Kaitlyn Phillips who held this position when I was just a new youth member finding my way in this Region. Please feel free to contact me at?darica.louie@...?if you have any questions or would like to be involved in the YVIH committee! |