Pamela Collet, executive assistant, Office of the General Counsel; tenor
And the other half? Entertaining with song. Collet is a member of East Side Connection, four women who sing a cappella harmony in barbershop style. The quartet has been together for eight months, singing at conventions, club meetings, and progressive dinners, and competing in contests sponsored by Sweet Adelines International.
The style of singing has been a part of Collet's life for nine years. In addition to singing with East Side Connection, Collet sings tenor - or harmony - parts with the Mount Hope Bay Chorus, one of Rhode Island's three a cappella women's choruses affiliated with Sweet Adelines.
Shortly after she joined Brown as the executive assistant in the Office of the General Counsel, Collet faced the approach of an empty nest: "My daughter was going off to college soon. She's my only child, so I knew I'd need something," Collet said. "Singing was one thing I always wanted to do."
As luck would have it, shortly after that realization she read an article about a local Sweet Adelines chorus and signed on. She soon discovered that what she was learning about barbershop harmony and performance skills paralleled what her daughter was learning as a musical theater major in college.
Since then, Collet has developed a number of enduring friendships through membership in the chorus. Health benefits have been an unexpected bonus. "There have been times when I've dragged myself to chorus rehearsal despite having a headache," she says, but sometime during the evening she often has discovered that her mood has improved and her headache has evaporated.
Curious to see how far she can go as a musical performer, Collet is an eager competitor. At a regional competition April 11-13, East Side Connection placed 12th out of 21 quartets ("We're very happy because we're a brand-new quartet") and the Mount Hope Bay Chorus, competing against other choruses twice as large, placed 7th. ("Phenomenal!" she says.)
Collet rehearses regularly and performs about twice a month. The song list includes more than barbershop standards - one of Collet's current favorites is "It's Raining Men."
Sweet Adelines International, founded in 1945, has more than 30,000 members around the world, with membership growing fastest in Sweden. Interested women may find more information about the Sweet Adelines on the World Wide Web - or catch Mount Hope Bay Chorus or East Side Connection. Just follow the sound of Collet's harmony. - Tracie Sweeney