Sweet Adelines International is a highly respected worldwide organisation that elevates singers worldwide through education, performance and competition in barbershop harmony and a cappella music. All Sweet Adelines Australia choruses are chapters of this organisation.
The international membership of nearly 21,000 singers includes choruses in most of the fifty United States as well as in Australia, New Zealand Canada, England, Finland, Germany, Japan, Scotland, Sweden, Wales and the Netherlands.
The organisation encompasses more than 1,200 registered quartets and 500 choruses.
Visit the Sweet Adelines International website for more information.
Check out the Sweet Adelines International YouTube channel for some amazing performance videos from choruses and quartets. Subscribe to get notifications about the latest videos as they appear!
Each year, the top chorus and quartet from each region, plus top scoring wild cards, are invited to compete in the international competition. They compete with two songs in the semi-finals and the top ten winners from the semi-finals then compete with a package of songs in the finals. The international convention also includes the Harmony Classic - a competition for small and medium-sized choruses.
In addition to the international convention, the Rising Star Quartet Contest is held each year for youth quartets (all members aged 25 and under, and the Diamond Division Quartet Contest is for quartets with members aged 55 years and above, with a combined age of 240 at the date of contest.
History was made in 2015 when the 2014 Region 34 champions, Endeavour Harmony Chorus, was named as a finalist in the International Chorus contest at the convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. They came 10th in the world after presenting a refreshing finals package with a distinctly Australian flavour. You can watch Endeavour Harmony Chorus's semifinals set and finals package on YouTube.
Find out more about international convention and other events by visiting the international website.
If you want to read about all the chorus scores and comparisons to previous years, see the Wikipedia page on this subject
30 October to 4 November 2023, Lousiville, Kentucky, USA
Each year, the top 10 small and midsize choruses worldwide (from the regional contest the previous year) compete in the the Harmony Classic. They perform in 12-15 minute performance packages held on the first night of competition at the annual International Convention.
In 2017, Brindabella Chorus achieved our region's first International gold medal in the Division AA Harmony Classic in Las Vegas, and were also named 'Most Entertaining' chorus. Watch their performance here!
Then in 2018 in St Louis, Circular Keys Chorus was awarded third place in the Division AA Harmony Classic for their hilarious "Come To Australia" package. You can check it out on YouTube here!
Winners of the Harmony Classic Contest are featured in the Pitch Pipe magazine, listed on the official Sweet Adelines International website, and displayed at the international headquarters.