Nacogdoches Heart of the Pines Chorus prepares for regional competition

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) - The Heart of the Pines Chorus is hosting a free show in Nacogdoches Monday night to help the group get ready for their big contest this week.

TJ Reed, the director of The Heart of the Pines Chorus started the group in 2011. The group of 13 women come together to practice and share their love of barbershop style music with each other and the community. The group is hosting a free show tomorrow night to prepare for their trip to Houston to compete in a regional competition.

“We find that it is good to have an audience to rehearse in front of, because that is what we’ll have. Around here, we have small audiences to go to like the rotary or one of the nursing homes or something like that to sing. But this has a little more nerves involved,” Reed said.

The Heart of the Pines Chorus will compete against 14 different choruses across Texas, Louisiana and one team from Alabama.

“Within the region some of the other chorus’ will be small like that, up to 20, 25 but there are larger chorus’, midsize, and even large chorus’ up to 80 members, “Reed said.

EACH GROUP PREPARES AND COMPETES TWO SONGS.

“The first one we are singing is called ‘I Love to Hear That Old Barber Shop Style’, and the second one is a ballad When I Fall in Love,’” Reed said.

The Hearts of the Pines Chorus has been preparing and practicing since December for the competition. Four judges will rate them on their sound, music, expression, and visual communication.

“The competitions are set up on a number scale and a letter scale and basically what it is for is to let us know if we are sustaining the barbershop style and if we are improving,” Reed said.

They will be competing in Houston March 25TH.

You can see The Heart of the Pines performance tomorrow night at 7 P.M. at The North Street Church of Christ auditorium in Nacogdoches.

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