Would you like some Christmas carolers to bring some joy and fun to your holiday event or party this year? Reply to this email and we can work something out if we still have the date!
The Harmony Jewels are two men and two women (at any one time!) singing all your favorite carols (both traditional and secular) in lush harmony and festive dress. We can also come in victorian caroler costumes if you like!
It’s hard to believe I started the Harmony Jewels at Coco’s party in 2014! I pulled together some friends from church: Jessica McClellan, Adam Radl and one of my voice students who sang lots of a cappella (was in Ball in the House), James Jones, and we rehearsed once and had a great time- and GOT PAID for singing Christmas Carols!
Just the next year we started singing for the Millbury Chain of Lights- still doing that show now in 2023! Adam Radl stuck it out with us for one more year on bass sharing the low end with James Joutras on alternate shows. Gabe Paradis (just a college boy at the time) and Diana Botello (a newlywed) also came on board that year on tenor and alto respectively.
And we also started playing for Cary and Joe’s FABULOUS party that year! Below is James Joutras (did a stunning Grinch!) and the lovely Jennifer Evans on alto (Alternating with Diana)… and my good friend Jim Cafarella trading tenor gigs with Gabe.
2016 ushered in more shows that became annual events including some very fun one timer events. Now every year we make a stop at The Mill in Millbury (and they do turn the sound off the game when we come!) James Jones came back into the mix after Adam decided caroling wasn’t his thing!
Rich Evans even popped in on tenor for a couple joys that year!
Elle Brigida hopped in for a few gigs in 2017 as a sub. And we had a stint playing supermarkets…
We also played a bunch of private parties, corporate parties, nursing homes and veterans and non profit events and hospitals.
It was becoming the norm to sing 10-12 shows in the 3 weeks before Christmas and we could have done more if I’d had the time! 2017 was also our first time singing the Revere City Holiday Festival!
In 2018 we started getting our picture in Revere Journal! And we had the talented Morgan Minsk joining us on alto.
In 2019 the lovely and talented Hannah DeSouza joined the Jewels family! (Oh- with some extra helpers here!)
We also invited Ben change into the group as an alternate bass!
in 2020, when the rest of the music industry crashed and burned, we still did a few outdoor shows… At a hospital, a hospice and a backyard party… burrr! We also added Thais Gloor to the rotating alto section!
We did something really cool on a snowy Halloween day in 2020… we made some Harmony Jewels promo videos in the back yard! We also made a short lived attempt to sell the 5 voice version of the group… and the non-Christmas Patriotic holidays option… (these are still available!) – Oh and we did one virtual show that year, too.
LInk to video: https://youtu.be/t_DQR5dd6dY
Hallelujah! in 2021 we got to gig again without masks! Here we are having some fun at Don’s wonderful party in Hollis, NH!
And returning to Cary and Joe’s FABULOUS party and Revere, and Millbury! Oh the joy! We missed you all so much!
And there were so many other shows those years I could have included! But finally we come to last year! We said good bye to so many past Jewels: James Jones moved to NYC while James Joutras moved to Japan! Others had family or work changes that made them need step out… But we have continued to forge forward. In 2022 we consolidated quite a bit. Most of the gigs were Jim Cafarella on tenor, Hannah DeSouza on alto and Gabe Paradis switching admirably to bass to fill the need (and of course me on soprano)! But we did pull in the crazy and amazing Colescott Rubin to sing bass a bit between playing string bass while riding his unicycle (I am serious! Google it!)! Some great new additions to the annual shows in 2022 included Alliance Health ( Thank you Erika) and The Marina Bay Business Alliance (Thank you, Jay!).
We had a fun moment with Kayla McGarr subbing in as alto at the Mill in Millbury!
One of our favorite shows last year was a fundraiser for families with adult children with disabilities!
Right near the end go the 2022 season we got to do a show for the nursing home where my dear friend Laurie Tranchell worked!
What great adventures will the 2023 season bring? -With new bass Paul Pampinella (of 5 O Clock Shadow and Vox One fame!) and new alto Ruthie Ristich and Daniela Tosic? Jim Cafarella and Diana Botello are back, too! We will miss Gabe and Hannah (but they may sub if we need them!) – And Colescott- look for him on American Idol!
To book the Harmony Jewels this season, as always, contact me, Julie at 617-686-7075 or Julieksings@gmail.com!
