Posts Tagged ‘Music’

SingStrong – High School Competition

SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media

SingStrong has so many ties to the local music education scene in northern Virginia. All of the weekend performances and workshops are held in South Lakes High School in Reston, VA. They have been very generous to allow the festival to take over the many rooms in their art wing for practice rooms, coaching spaces, and some larger rooms where workshops and large group rehearsals can take place.

South Lakes High School

SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong DC 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

The main stage is the auditorium where the SingStrong team transforms the stage into an amazing place to perform a cappella music. It is a lot for both the eyes and ears to take in from the multicolor stage lights, and the professional sound setup. The High School Competition on Saturday afternoon gives the many high school students a chance to use this professional setup. They perform for their family and friends on the big stage as the featured performance at this time.

SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong DC 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

They receive feedback from judges, and the audience gets to weigh in with their votes for their favorite group. For this competition, I listen from backstage. These groups that get coaching over the weekend, really put their newly gained knowledge to the test sometimes with some great results! Directly after their performances, I have them for a few minutes to get a group photo backstage. They are so relieved after finishing their set, and they are excited about how well they performed.

SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong DC 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

All these photos are a really nice memento from a weekend that they have dedicated to improving their singing and stage presence. For a lot of the groups, some members cannot make the trip due to other commitments. I think they have missed out on a unique experience in their music education. Nothing brings a group together like going through a competition together. I hope they take the photos, and enjoy looking back at this time when group singing was such a big part of their lives.

SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong DC 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

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703-864-8208

Twitter – SingStrong

Ten performs at SingStrong DC 2014 - ©TimeLine Media

I am taking a break from the blog today! Yesterday, there was quite a lot of activity on my Twitter account. Follow me @rassigborneo to see some of the postings from last weekend’s SingStrong a cappella music festival. I have started posting some of my favorite photos on my Twitter feed to show to the performers. There were so many great performances, and the lighting setup on the stage really helped to make some dynamic photos. I’ll post more on the blog here in the coming week. Have a nice rest of the weekend!

Ten performs at SingStrong DC 2014 - posted to my twitter account  ©TimeLine Media
Ten performs at SingStrong DC 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

Overall, I really enjoy sharing my images on the blog. It is my own space on the web, but undoubtedly social media has a lot of reach. At this time, I realized how much after this music festival. Especially with the enthusiastic fans getting such close access to their favorite musicians, these photos were shared many times! Being that I am new to the Twitter game, please send me along some tips. I enjoy the interaction with fans and other photographers. Moreover, I also find other similar photographers as people tag their favorites along with mine! It is an amazing way to make new connections.

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

SingStrong 2014 – First post

SingStrong 2014 - ©TimeLine Media

This is the 5th year that I have covered this annual a cappella music festival. In college, I sang in a group and their scheduled performance at this festival 5 years ago spurred me to ask the organizers if I could get access. Now, I volunteer to cover it every year just because it rekindles my love of all-vocal performances. SingStrong donates all proceeds from ticket sales, merchandise, and the silent auction to the Alzheimer’s Association. Singers from across the region, and even farther will travel to attend workshops, and perform in the shows over the weekend.

SingStrong 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

It is so nice to cover singers that are sharing the passion for their art with similar minds. The styles that all-vocal groups can take is widely varied. Groups can be choral, or barbershop, they can specialize in covering pop songs, or all original music, and some take advantage of technology to loop voices or use microphone technique to emphasize percussive mouth drumming, or beat boxing. Whatever brings you to a cappella, you will be able to listen to leaders in the genre at SingStrong. I have been introduced to many different groups, and have enjoyed seeing what they come up with every year.

SingStrong 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

Here are just a few of the photos from the weekend! I will be finishing up the edit soon. If you were in a group, or are looking for a specific section of photos, please let me know, and I will pass along the link to those when they are ready. It was just another great weekend overall for charity, and for singing. In future posts, I feature other photos either on stage, or behind the scenes. Enjoy!

SingStrong 2014 - ©TimeLine Media
SingStrong 2014 – ©TimeLine Media

TimeLine Media – www.timelinedc.com
703-864-8208

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