Hi Michael and everyone else in Pionetland. I'll try to "fill in the blanks" as best as I can with your questions.

Michael writes, "I've heard some really great things from others too about the Brigade and I even signed up nearly 2 months ago at the http://MIHB.org website but haven't heard anything back yet."

There has only been two broadcasts to all of the people who indicated interest as of right now. The interpretation of this is, "no news is good news." David shared the other e-mail which Joe sent out last week, while the previous one was just a general "welcome" type.

Michael also writes, "Their home page says, 'Our charter rally is scheduled for May 2008'. Also, "The FAQ page says, 'The 10 to 12-song repertoire for each Rally is selected roughly six months in advance.' which is about a month from now.

This is true; however, I believe that our webmaster will be updating the date very soon. We have decided to postpone from the May 2008 date in order to provide the best possible product for all participants. Once the date is set in stone, the music will be selected approximately six months ahead of that date.

Michael also writes, "BUT the FAQ page also says, 'Brigade Rally attendance is by invitation only. A Brigade Member who knows both your quartetting ability and your preparation capacity may nominate you to be a guest.' And yet the home page provides a link to a form to, 'Contact us if you're interested in becoming a participant!'" Michael continues, "So now I'm really confused why there's a 'sign-up form' for an invitation only event and if I'm even eligible to participate since I have minimal quartet experience, having mostly sung only with our chorus."

I can certainly understand the confusion on this one. For the brigades that are already up and running, this is absolutely true...you must be invited by a member in order to attend; however, since this will be our inaugural event, there would be no way to be invited by a member...we have none yet :) For the inaugural event, we will have an application which ANYONE can submit in order to be considered for invitation.

I hope this helps...if anyone has more questions please contact Joe Queen jqueen.mihb@gmail.com or me rhalsey.mihb@gmail.com We'll be sending out more updates as we have more information.