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AUGUSTA — Thanks to a class at the Lewiston Regional Technical Center, members of Maine-ly Harmony women’s a capella barbershop chorus don’t have to be nervous when they stand on the back-row risers they use in practice and concert.
Maine-ly Harmony travels around the state performing for civic and church organizations, senior citizens, veterans, festivals, fundraisers and more. The members rehearse on Wednesday evenings at Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church, 209 Eastern Ave. At rehearsals and performances, they stand on risers so they can see the director and to be seen by audiences. Singers positioned on the high back row of the risers have been uneasy for some time, fearful that a move could result in falling backwards.
It all came about when chorus member and former Lewiston High School teacher Dee Dumais contacted the LRTC regarding the need for riser bars. Since students are geared to work on community projects as well as school projects to enhance and promote their skills, the juniors and seniors in Stewart’s Sheet Metal and Welding Class tackled the challenge.
Most of the construction was custom made, with no manual or instructions, other than YouTube videos and comparisons with the back rails of the risers used by Lewiston’s high school chorus. Some issues involved pipe bending, Stewart said, which had to be very specific, as well as reworking dimensions, sizing and measurements. Reworking also involved the welding because the process can cause warping of the metal.
The clamps that hold the rails to the risers had to be redone a couple of times to allow installation to be user-friendly. It turned into a three-year intensive project for Stewart and his students, with a few setbacks along the way, and all done while other class projects were ongoing. The riser bars were completed last June, with the juniors and soon-to-be-graduating seniors adding much labor to the finishing touches.
Students who participated on the project were Caleb Anthony, Daniel Bolton, Joe Cloutier, Griffin Johnson, Justin Merrill, Garrett Sampson, Connor Sullivan and Corey Wires.
Stewart said that he and his students feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in their efforts and hope that Maine-ly Harmony will remember them with fondness whenever they sing on the risers (which is every week).
Lewiston Regional Technical Center has students from Lewiston High School; Oak Hill, in Wales; Lisbon High School; Edward Little, in Auburn; Poland High Schoo; Leavitt Area High School, in Turner; Lisbon Falls Christian Academy, as well as home-schooled students.
Stewart is only the second instructor of Sheet Metal and Welding, hired in 2005 to replace retiring long-term instructor Rene Chicoine. Stewart credits his predecessor for being a great instructor and the driving influence for keeping him in school when he attended Chicoine’s 1985-87 class, adding, “Rene’s kindness and LRTC’s ability to give me purpose and a place to shine truly changed the course of my life.”
Maine-ly Harmony memberssaid they are grateful, indeed, and breathing easier these days when their repertoire includes dance moves in such songs as “Could I Have This Dance” and “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
TOP PHOTO: Lewiston Regional Technical Center students spent three years building safety bars for risers for Maine-ly Harmony. Those taking part in the project were, from left, teacher Bob Stewart, and studentsnJustin Merrill, Caleb Anthony, Griffin Johnson, Connor Sullivan, Daniel Bolton, Garrett Sampson, Joe Cloutier and Corey Wires. (Dee Dumais photo)
