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The Sea-Adelines

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The Sea-Adelines Quartet formed early in 1959 and set high goals from the start. Quartet members included (photo left, l-r) Shirley Alfonso Humann, Jamel Hassen Barden, Katie Schwarzhans and Zoe Thompson. 

Jamel Hassen Barden, lead, belonged to Puget Sound Chorus. She was a cheerleader in both high school and in college, where she attended the University of Washington. Jamel worked as a stewardess for United Airlines for two years, then went into teaching at the high school level.

Baritone Katie Schwartzhans also sang with Puget Sound Chorus, as did Shirley Alfonso Humann, the tenor. Katie was a stay at home mom, caring for four children, while Shirley was a secretary at Boeing.

Zoe Thompson, bass, sang with Lakeside Chorus. She taught primary grades, and later went on to direct Lakeside for 25 years. Zoe served as Sweet Adelines international president from 1971 to 1973. She is also a Certified Judge Emeritus in the Sound, Expression and Showmanship categories, a frequent emcee for area shows and events, and one of the charter trustees of this Fund.

These ladies entered their first contest in April of 1959, winning in the regional contest in 1960. The Sea-Adelines took 9th place at International in Detroit in 1960, and 3rd place in Colorado Springs in 1961. In 1962, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, these four women were crowned Queens of Harmony, the first quartet from our region to achieve such an accomplishment.

In fact, it was a year of firsts for The Sea-Adelines, as well as Sweet Adelines International: the international convention was held outside of the United States for the first time; a new judging system was in place and the contest was judged by an all-Sweet Adeline panel; and for the first time, the American Society of Composers, Author and Publishers (ASCAP) presented individual trophies to the Sweet Adelines quartet champions.

The foursome continued performing until 1964, two years after winning the championship in Toronto.

North Pacific Region 13 is proud to name our Endowment Fund after this ground-breaking quartet from our area.

Special thanks to Regional Historian, Jody Allen, for her help with the information and photographs on this page!