SUBMITTED BY MEGHAN FELL

My name is Meghan and I’ve lived in the Joyce-Collingwood neighbourhood for 13 years now. This November 2023, my Vancouver-based chorus, Lions Gate Chorus, competed in an international competition, and, for the first time ever, we won the gold medal! I’m incredibly proud of this accomplishment; we all worked so hard to achieve this goal. No matter how I’m feeling, joining with 96 other voices lifts my spirit and brings me so much joy. I feel so lucky to have found this group, with whom I’ve been singing for nearly 17 years. — Meghan Fell

Lions Gate Chorus, a Vancouver-based chorus of 100 a cappella singers, secured the title of International Champions on November 4, 2023, at the 75th Annual Sweet Adelines International Convention and Competition in Louisville, Kentucky, with record-breaking scores.

This is the first time in the chorus’s 69-year history to win the coveted international gold medal. Not only did Lions Gate win the contest, but they were also the first chorus in Sweet Adelines history to receive a perfect score in any category from the panel of judges.

The group is well known in the global barbershop singing community for their creative shows and musical excellence. Moments before the announcement of their championship title, Lions Gate was also named the audience’s choice for Most Entertaining Chorus of the competition — an award they won in 2009, 2017 and 2019.

Under the leadership of their musical director, Sandy Marron, Lions Gate has been in the top five of more than 500 Sweet Adelines International choruses worldwide since 2007.

“As soon as they announced second place and it wasn’t us, I knew that after 32 years of directing this fabulous group of singers, we had finally achieved ‘the impossible dream’ of becoming world champions. This was a life goal for me, and I couldn’t be any happier. These singers are not only my chorus members, they are my best friends,” said Marron.

Watch their gold medal performances at https://youtu.be/IgBz1jDRER4?si=FwqjI4LgK7juvsAf (semifinals)
and https://youtu.be/AcLcQN6hGls?si=urvMV0AxquYfu8tf

^{Lions Gate Chorus fosters an inclusive and empowering intergenerational community, welcoming singers in a safe and accepting space. Singers interested in auditioning can learn more at https://www.lionsgatechorus.ca/join-us. Rehearsals run every Tuesday at 7:00 pm at the Croatian Cultural Centre in Vancouver. Event organizers interested in hiring Lions Gate Chorus to perform can learn more at https://www.lionsgatechorus.ca/hire-us.}