A decade of a cappella will be celebrated Saturday when Northern Blend Chorus presents its annual Sing Fling.

“I think a couple of times along the way we thought, 'Maybe it's time to change our format,'” said veteran Northern Blend Chorus member Mary Ann Wert of the annual “a cappella extravaganza.”

“But then we say, 'If it ain't broke, why fix it?' It's been pretty successful.”

The 10th annual Sing Fling at the Dulles State Office Building will feature the Ringtones, the quartet winner at the 2010 International Harmony competition; the Pointercounts, SUNY Potsdam's male a cappella group; Acappedia, a local mixed a cappella group, and Harmony Explosion Chorus, a group of about three dozen singers from area school districts.

The Ringtones consists of Samantha Arten from New Hampshire, Jen Wheaton from St. Hubert, Quebec, Julia Borsari from Nashua, N.H., and Lindsay Chartier from Montreal.

Also part of the Sing Fling will be three Northern Blend chapter quartets: Just for Fun, Pitch Please and For Heaven's Sake.

Two years ago, Northern Blend won the chorus contest at the Harmony Inc. 51st international contest held in St. John, New Brunswick, becoming the 2010 International Chorus champion.

Mrs. Wert said winners can't compete in the same category for two years in a row, so Northern Blend will return to the Harmony Inc. contest this year when it's held at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in November.

“We're ranked first going into the contest because they rank scores from all of the area contests, which qualify you to go to the international competition,” Mrs. Wert said. “So we're looking for another gold.”

Northern Blend, which has about 35 members, has selected two songs for November's contest: “The Nights Have a Thousand Eyes” and “Who Can I Turn To?” The chorus also plans to sing these selections at its Sing Fling.

This is the third year that a Harmony Explosion Chorus of youngsters has been created for the Sing Fling. The chorus is directed by Mrs. Wert's daughter, Katie Taylor, vocal music instructor at Alexandria Central School and Northern Blend co-director.

“That's a goal for our organization — to keep involving the youth so it will perpetuate the hobby,” Mrs. Wert said.

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