Marching to our 40th anniversary

SINGERS
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Marching to our
40th anniversary
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Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
www.labbs.org.uk
197
6
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By LABBS Chairman Brenda Rothwell
W
hat an achievement! 2016 sees
LABBS celebrate 40 years
of ladies coming together to sing
barbershop harmony!
As your Chairman, I feel honoured
to be part of this milestone in our
history as the leading association for
ladies barbershop singing in the UK. I
am extremely proud of everything that
LABBS has achieved in its 40 years
and the strength and depth of our
organisation today. This is testament to
the dedication of my predecessors, our
members and the wealth of volunteers
who have supported our growth and
development over many years.
In the UK, we have seen an
increased participation in singing by
women in recent years, mainly due to
publicity surrounding the health and
social benefits of this wonderful pastime – and long may it continue. Our
clubs throughout the country are at the
forefront of supporting this increased
interest and making barbershop singing
accessible within their communities.
LABBS is in a very strong position
today with over 2,200 members and a
network of 57 clubs, including three
new clubs who we announced and
welcomed at our Council meeting in
January 2016.
Judging by recent posts on social
media by our clubs, many of you are
currently running learn to sing courses
or something similar. These are very
popular and well supported initiatives
that help to promote increased
membership to ensure a stable and
sound foundation for your clubs.
Our 40th Anniversary celebrations have already begun and the
Beacon of Harmony is travelling
the UK following the launch at
Convention. It is wonderful to
follow its journey from club to
club, uniting us all in celebration. Please do continue to
share the experience via the
blog which is there for us all
to read.
You can access it on
the internet at www.labbsblog.wordpress.com
March 20, 1974 is
being recognised as the date
of the formation of LABBS,
so our 40th Anniversary is
on March 20, 2016. Coincidentally, this
falls the day after the LABBS AGM and
Council meeting in London. We will
mark the occasion with a 40th Anniversary celebration cake to share with
attendees at the meeting and hopefully
there will be good attendance from your
club representatives to join the celebrations. I promise there will be photos to
follow!
Exciting plans are in place for a
weekend full of celebrations at our 40th
Anniversary Convention in Harrogate
later this year and this is being coordinated by Alison Harbord in her role as
Special Events Director. I know many of
you are helping Alison with the plans to
make this a weekend to remember.
Finally, as we all embrace another
year of singing, I wish you good luck
with your activities; be it Learn to Sing
Courses, performances or Beacon of
Harmony celebrations.
Remember – we love to read about
your activities in Voice Box so please do
share your experiences.
Yours in harmony
Brenda Rothwell
LABBS Chairman
n Former Chairmen recall the early
days of LABBS – pages 10 and 11
INSIDE: Youth project aims to shape a bright future – page 3
1
Taylor-made for retirement
N
ovember has always been a memorable time of year for Jill Taylor:
her birthday, her wedding and the birth
of her daughter Sara. In 2015, as Jill
prepared to celebrate her 80th birthday
on November 4, she also decided to
make this the day she would retire as
Musical Director of Cascade.
Born in Southsea and remaining in
the local area all her life, Jill worked
as a neo-natal nurse, eventually rising
to the position of Senior Nurse on the
Neo-Natal unit in St Mary’s, Portsmouth.
Her husband, Ken, was in the Navy
when they met but went on to join the
police. He was an active member of
the local men’s barbershop chorus and
was also a familiar face to the ladies
of Cascade, helping to move risers and
other such “roadie” duties as required at
singouts or events and offering words of
encouragement before performances.
Jill was a founding member and
Musical Director of Shades of Harmony,
which was formed in October 1985,
officially becoming a member of LABBS
in 1988. They rehearsed in Lovedean
and then in Petersfield but there were
lots of choruses in the local area, many
of whom knew each other.
When Portsmouth-based Harbour
Lights lost their MD and with both choruses being quite small, they met up for
a few social evenings singing together
before combining forces in May 2002 to
form Cascade. A newly-built church hall
in Catherington became the home of
Cascade and has been so ever since.
Jill has put in a huge amount of
time, energy and dedication to the
chorus: attending director weekends,
judging training sessions, choosing the
music that we would sing – on a few
occasions arranging songs herself – and
has soldiered on during her own health
issues (typical nurse!). She has been a
member of Arun Sounds since the mid
90s, having roles such as wardrobe
mistress, committee member, producer
of teach CDs, music librarian and standin lead section leader for around 18
months even though she sings bari and
bass!
Jill has been in various quartets with
Arun, including Footloose and Limelight; at one point having the honour to
be mic warmers at convention and also
singing in Spain in 1997 with the LABBS
champion chorus.
2
Red Rock representatives receive their
certificate from Brenda Rothwell, LABBS
Chairman, Rita Wood, Membership Secretary
and Lee Westlake, Regional Rep
Shaping
a bright
future
TOP: Angela Sage (left)
presents Jill with her flowers
and present
RIGHT: Shades of Harmony
circa 1996 (Jill is middle
centre front)
A
ABOVE: Shades of Harmony and Harbour Lights, just before they combined to
form Cascade
Jill is a regional rep, working with
Guildford and Wessex and was a long
standing member of Coast to Coast,
where she was wardrobe manager.
To celebrate Jill’s birthday and
retirement, we held a party and were
joined by our friends from Arun Sounds,
as well as some from the Pitchpipers.
We had a fabulous evening, entertaining each other with songs and the ladies
of Cascade had come up with some
alternative words about Jill, sung to
the tunes of Bring Me Sunshine (Jill’s
favourite) and the 12 days of Christmas,
much to the amusement of Jill and the
audience. Jill’s niece Jacquie (our Tenor
section leader) had made a sunflower
covered cake (Jill’s favourite flowers),
and our Chairman Angela presented
Jill with a bouquet of flowers – entirely
made out of paper, in a mixture of sheet
music and sunflowers – and a glass
clock, engraved with the notes to the
start of Bring Me Sunshine.
In her time as MD for Cascade, Jill
has taught and encouraged so many
ladies in the joys of harmony singing.
She continues to be an active member
of Cascade, taking over as Bass section
leader while supporting our new MD
Jackie Rapley. Her commitment and
dedication have been second to none.
From everyone at Cascade – Thank you
Jill!
Caroline Clack
PRO, Cascade
t Convention 2015 we announced
the appointment of Boo de Bruin
as LABBS Youth Coordinator and since
then we have been busy developing our
plans for LABBS Youth.
The first activity was a joint
workshop with BABS to kick off our
shared approach to youth outreach
and working with local groups to raise
the profile of harmony and a cappella
singing. This took place in Oxford and
was the culmination of many months of
preparation when 35 LABBS and BABS
clubs came together for the launch of
the Youth Development Project trial.
Supported by both Boards, the trial is
the largest joint project undertaken and
aims to set the foundations for a long
term recruitment programme which
should see more people entering our
hobby at a younger age.
We recognise that not enough
youngsters are getting involved with
singing. As the two largest a cappella
singing organisations in the country we
believe we can support changing this
with the wealth of skill and expertise we
have to hand.
Thanks to all the clubs who appointed a Youth Development Officer
– and extra thanks to those who made
it to Oxford the weekend after our own
convention. That is barbershop dedication indeed and your presence contributed hugely to the value of the day.
LABBS welcomed three new
clubs to the Association in
January – Red Rock
Harmony (Central Teignmouth), Moor Harmony
(Wadebridge Ladies
Barbershop Harmony Club)
and Celtic Chords (Truro).
Members of Red Rock Harmony and Moor Harmony
are pictured receiving their
certificates at the January
LABBS Council meeting.
Moor Harmony representatives receive their
certificate from Brenda Rothwell, LABBS
Chairman, Rita Wood, Membership Secretary
and Val Lawrence, Regional Rep
All smiles at the Youth Development Project launch weekend in Oxford
Attendees heard from leading speakers in music education, who conveyed
how important and valuable this initiative is and welcomed our involvement.
They offered suggestions on how local
clubs could engage and support musical
activities for youth in their region and
delegates were issued with materials
and ‘best practice’ information to help
them proceed.
The project is been coordinated by
Windsor Rackham from BABS with Boo
de Bruin and Alison Harbord representing LABBS. It’s not too late for you to get
involved – if your club does not have a
Youth Development Officer or you have
any suggestions for the project team or
local clubs to consider to help get more
people singing at a younger age, please
contact one of us.
In addition to reaching out to youth
who are not yet involved in barbershop,
our main activity has been the scheduling and refreshing of the LABBS Youth
Choruses for 2016. We are very excited
to have a full rehearsal schedule available and Boo and Claire Barnett-Jones
will be working throughout the year
with the two choruses (aged 7 – 17 and
18 – 29) on a package to perform at
Convention, where we hope that both
choruses will perform independently
but also work together as one larger
group. Music is being selected now and
anyone who wants to register to come
along to any of the rehearsals should
contact Boo on [email protected]
Even if you can’t make the first or
several of this year’s rehearsals, we
would encourage you to register with
Boo so that we can keep you up to date
with coaching and performance opportunities for the youth choruses.
One of the rehearsals will take place
at Harmony College and we are all
looking forward to working with Sandi
Wright and Doug Harrington over the
course of that weekend. Education is
one of the keys to our future and with
the establishment of the Katy Phillips
Youth Education Fund we can help
more of our members benefit from it.
Our aim at Harmony College is to show
Sandi and Doug exactly what LABBS
Youth are made of!
Boo de Bruin
Youth Coordinator
Alison Harbord
Special Projects Director
Claire Barnett-Jones
LABBS Youth Chorus MD
n See page 19 for more details on
upcoming Youth Chorus
events
3
North Wales win for CCC
LEFT: Cheshire
Chord
Company
celebrate their
win in North
Wales
TOP RIGHT:
Singing at
Warrington
Bank Quay
station
RIGHT: Singing
at White Moss
Garden Centre
in Widnes
A
fter the excitement of the LABBS
Convention in Bournemouth, the
Cheshire Chord Company ladies were
eager to get into the competition spirit.
Luckily we didn't have long to wait and
the following weekend, we headed to
Llandudno to compete in the North
Wales Choral Festival.
It was a great competition, with eight
barbershop choruses competing and
after singing their hearts out, Cheshire
Chord Company was very proud to win
the first place trophy with a fantastic
score of 83%.
We then had the pleasure of hosting
a Christmas Concert at the All Saints
Church in Chester. The show, in aid
of the Chorus' charity, Elsie Ever After,
was a great success raising a fantastic
£900 through ticket sales, the raffle and
donations on the night.
The chorus sang some of our repertoire songs along with a few Christmas
classics. The cosy, festive atmosphere
even enticed members of the public to
come in and watch as they were walking by the church.
The chorus also took part in a
number of other Christmas singouts
including White Moss Garden Centre in
Widnes and at Warrington Bank Quay
station, where we raised another £150
for charity. This year the chorus is proud
to have raised a total of £1,500 for Elsie
Ever After.
At the start of 2016 we welcomed
in our new committee at our AGM. We
have an exciting and busy year coming
up and our next show is already in the
planning. 'Jubilation at the Monastery'
will take place on April 17 at Gorton
Monastery in association with HCPT
(Hosanna House & Children's Pilgrimage Trust), and will also feature The
Greater Manchester Police Band.
Details on how to get tickets for
the show are available via our website
www.cheshirechord.co.uk or on our
Facebook page https://www.facebook.
com/cheshirechordcompany.
Furthermore it’s been great to see the
journey that the Beacon of Harmony has
taken so far. We are looking forward to
planning our own event and handover
later in the year. More details soon!
Finally we are very proud to support our friends in Hannah and the
Hurricanes as they head off to BinG! in
March to compete in the World Mixed
Quartet Competition, representing
Barbershop in Harmony. Good Luck!
Janine Gilbert
PRO, Cheshire Chord Company
Hectic for Harmonisers
In November, nine members of The
Harton Harmonisers went to Newcastle
upon Tyne Civic Centre, where the Lord
Mayor presented the LABBS 40th Anniversary scroll to Tyneside A Cappella.
It was signed by director Peter Jones
and Bunny Bainbridge and then handed
to our Chairman, Kathleen Tudberry
and Ella Winfield, who signed it on
behalf of the Harton Harmonisers.
The two choruses joined together in
harmony and sang Lazy Day.
At the end of November we started our
Christmas singouts, eagerly anticipated
by the nine new members who joined
us in 2015. We raised over £1,000 for
4
charities including St Clare’s
Hospice, Jarrow.
A Christmas Special show at
our church hall included guest
performances from The Dam
Jammers ukulele band, our
new quartet Tiffany and Darcy
(8-year-old granddaughter of
our Chairman who performed ballet
and tap dances). It was a great evening.
One of our baritones, Linda, keen to try
directing and assist our MD Kathleen, is
booked in for the Directors’ Education
Day in March – Well done!
On the Sunday before Christmas,
nine of our members sang at the Lord
Nelson Pub, Monkton and raised £150!
Finally, scratch quartet 4Tune, consisting of Viv, Chris, Kathleen T and Linda
performed Christmas songs and carols
at the home of Denise Robertson
(agony aunt on This Morning).
Beryl Cooke
PRO, The Harton Harmonisers
ABOVE & BELOW: Junior Fascinating
Rhythm members show off their skills in
Cinderella
ABOVE: On the risers at the popular Page to Stage in a Day event
Panto fun with FR juniors
A
fter appearing on FR’s successful
20th Anniversary Show in June
2015, the Junior Fascinating Rhythm
(JFR) Musical Director Wendy Howse
decided the girls deserved a show of
their own, an opportunity to expand
their singing skills by adding the extra
dimensions of dancing and acting.
Roald Dahl’s version of Cinderella
was chosen and the staging package,
designed for primary school performances, arrived in the summer of 2015
with scripts, scores, backing tracks and
staging suggestions.
The JFR team were disappointed to
find that the music was simply in unison
or in rounds and team member Kitty
Davies decided to have a go at arranging some harmony parts. She intended
to add just a second line here or there
but ending up arranging all seven of the
main songs into two or four parts. This
gave the music much more interest and
depth of sound, though it gave the team
a huge challenge in terms of learning
time and production.
The JFR team pulled together in an
incredible effort to produce costumes,
props, set and lighting, with technical
help from Mark and Ray of local drama
group ‘The Actonians’. Sarah Hopkins
from FR stepped in to help with acting/
directing. All of these things combined
to produce a show that was greatly appreciated by audiences of both packed
shows.
The girls, aged from five to 14,
showed great commitment to learning
each new song, concentrating during rehearsals and stepping up their
performances, enjoying themselves
enormously in the process.
Next on the agenda will be competing at the Thornbury Eisteddfod in
March, when they will be debuting a
song arranged for them by Pete Nugent.
Proms in the Meadow follows in the
summer and hopefully an appearance
or two in Fascinating Rhythm’s next big
show in December.
FR’s annual harmony singing workshop in January was a great success.
More than 70 took to the risers this
year to take part in our Page to Stage in
a Day. We had many returnees from
previous years, so we must be getting
something right (it could be the cakes).
Many singers from our sister chorus
Cardiff Style travelled over the Severn
Bridge to get to us for 9.30am registration. It kicked off at 10am with MD
Jo Dean taking a briefing / vocal warm
up / singing craft session, then we all
galloped through the day with break out
and joint sessions until suddenly it was
3.30pm and Show Time, when we welcomed friends and families to marvel
at what all our amazing delegates had
accomplished in the day.
We teamed up with the awesome
Great Western Chorus for a Magical
Night of Harmony on December 19 to a
full house of seasonally minded people
and it made our night to sing a couple
of joint songs with them; powerhouse
voices – it’s all about the Bass,
‘bout the Bass!
5
Convention inspiration
The White
Rosettes wave
for the camera
after one of their
performances
at the BBC Look
North studios in
Leeds
T
he Arun Sounds had a lovely end to
2015. Although we did not compete at
Convention, most of us were able to go and
watch. We had a brilliant time, coming away
full of enthusiasm and straight into Gosport
Music festival, followed by our Christmas
singouts.
Some of our very new members, Alisa
Lakeman-Ford, Chris Thompson, Joy Johnson
and Sue Sandy, had their first taste of singing
in public and despite their nerves they did
very well – as the rest of the chorus knew
they would. Well done ladies and a huge
welcome to the chorus, we look forward to
singing with you in 2016 and beyond.
Sarah Fisher
Chorus Rep, The Arun Sounds
Members of The Arun Sounds at St Wilfrid’s Church, Bognor Regis
Mixed Quartet
Contest
Sunday 30th October 2016
Harrogate
Venue
The 2016 Barbershop in Harmony Mixed Quartet contest will be held
at the end of the LABBS Convention in the Harrogate International
Centre on Sunday 30th October 2016, starting at around lunchtime.
Eligibility
The mixed quartet can consist of any combination of males and females.
However, all singers must be a member of one of the three Barbershop
in Harmony organisations.
Entry
Forms available from the LABBS web site www.labbs.org.uk/convention
and must be submitted by Friday 10th June to [email protected]
The draw will take place at the LABBS Quartet Prelims.
Winners Benefits
We can promise another exciting contest with the added bonus that
the top three quartets with qualifying score, will be asked to represent
the UK in the European Mixed Quartet contest in October 2017.
GET IN THE MIX
So if you like the idea of mixing it up in harmony, then put the date in
your diary and start thinking about who you can get together with to
form a quartet.
Closing Date for Entries: 10th June 2016
Barbershop in Harmony, is a collaboration between: The Ladies Association of British Barbershop
Singers (LABBS). Region 31(Quartet of Nations) Sweet Adelines International and the British
Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS). With a collective voice of over 6000 singers, the three
organisations are working together to promote and raise the profile of barbershop singing in the UK.
6
The Pitchpiper
Year Book
Trophy 2016
There has been much discussion
over the past two years concerning
the qualification of books that are
entered for The Pitchpiper Year
Book Trophy.
This year, 2016, it has been decided
that books that have been compiled
on the ‘scrap book’ style containing
individual written items, photos and
mementoes etc. will be those that
will qualify for the trophy.
Computer photobooks are welcome
on the table as we love to see what
you have all been doing in the last
year but they will not be eligible
within the competition rules to win
the trophy.
The Pitchpipers wish to remind
Choruses that your Year Book must
cover the period from Convention
to Convention in the relevant
year and the book must be on the
table by midday on Saturday of
Convention for the judging.
They will be judged by a
representative team from The
Pitchpipers who vote and the
votes then are collated by the
Chairman.
Rosamunde Pope
Council Delegate
Just champion TV double
W
ell, 2015 certainly went out with
a bang for The White Rosettes!
We were invited to sing for BBC TV’s
Look North to celebrate our gold medal
and the performance received 21,000
‘likes’ and 37,000 views online.
Not only that but our own Alison
Crutchley wrote a fantastic insider’s
account of the LABBS convention for
the Guardian.com. Fame at last!
Look North even invited us back to
sing them out for their last show before
Christmas and we had a ball.
December’s bookings also saw us
leaving the bright lights of local TV
news to busk on the streets of Harrogate
and entertain the bus passengers of
Wakefield.
The highlight of December was
our winter barbershop show. Despite
nasty flooding, it was packed out. We
were honoured to share the bill with
Hannah and the Hurricanes and Finest
Hour and it was great to sing a romantic
ballad with the chaps from Spirit of
Harmony.
Now we’re well into preparations for
our trip to Germany to sing at the BinG!
convention in March. We’ll be cheering
on Hannah and the Hurricanes at the
mixed quartet competition.
We’re also looking forward to singing at BABS, where we’ll be cheering for
The Spirit of Harmony and Finest Hour.
Here’s to an exciting 2016 for all our
barbershop friends.
Rebekah Olive
PRO, The White Rosettes
A tuneful way to
help flood victims
M
ost people will have heard about
the flooding in York and the
surrounding areas on Boxing Day 2015
and during the following week. Many
houses were badly flooded and businesses were affected too.
When a local soprano, Rebecca
Newman announced on Facebook that
she was co-ordinating the compilation
of a CD to be sold to raise money for
the flood appeal, it seemed like something that Main Street Sound could be
involved in. We donated a track for the
CD, although at the time of writing we
don’t know if it will be included.
Then Rebecca, who has toured the
UK with such artists as Russell Watson
and Alfie Boe, appealed
for community singers
to help her record
Bridge Over Troubled
Water for inclusion on
the CD.
With just a couple of days notice
some of us turned up, along with
about 80 other singers and after a few
run-throughs, we were able to record
successfully our parts of the song.
The CD will be produced as quickly
and cheaply as possible and hopefully
lots of money will be raised and passed
on to the flood victims. It was fantastic
to be able to do something like this in
aid of a cause close to our hearts.
We were then asked to sing a
barbershop song to be included in the
promotional recording for the album.
We even gained a potential new
member, so it was a great afternoon!!
If anyone would like to buy a CD,
please get in touch. A beautiful picture
has been painted by a local artist for
the CD cover and the original will be
raffled for the flood appeal.
Jenny Whitehouse, Chairman
Main Street Sound
7
Help with the copyright minefield
I
Barbara Eifler (Pic: Damien McFadden)
n January, Making Music presented
to your Council meeting in London.
I spoke about the range of services we
provide and which may be of interest to
you. Ben, our Membership and Services
Manager, focused on PRS, our second
most frequent advice topic (after governance/charity issues).
There were many questions! Ben’s
and my notes will be circulated to you
all but you should also make sure that
the person in your group who needs to
know about and deal with PRS registers
to our website – www.makingmusic.
org.uk – and checks out the guidance
available there.
PRS – what is it? It’s the performing
rights on a piece of music in copyright.
Copyright applies until 70 years after
a composer’s death (not after the piece
was written). So if even just one of
the numbers you are performing is in
copyright, then fees become due on that
concert – though you may be paying
them already via the venue.
Take a look at Ben’s notes and the information available on the website, but
if you have a query not covered there,
do not hesitate to contact the membership team via [email protected]
or 020-7939 6030.
Barbara Eifler, Executive Director,
Making Music
Social media
proves a big
GSB success
A
nne Beasley, Baritones’ section
leader at Green Street Blues, has
been off the risers since November
when she agreed to be our temporary
Musical Director.
We had Christmas singouts in the
diary and a Learn to Sing in Harmony
course planned for the New Year when
we became MD-less post Convention.
Anne agreed to take the reins for a
while, which was fantastic as she had
form already! She waved her arms
around for us last June in Bournemouth
when we came away with the Gold
medal in their Barbershop Category and
were judged Choir of the Year.
We’ve had a brilliant few months
with Anne in charge. At one of the
Christmas singouts she had to climb
onto a table in her tight GSB red lace
dress for us to see her from a small stage
in a local village hall. We were singing
a number of sets so Anne was up and
down, keeping up the banter with the
audience throughout.
Sadly MDing is not a permanent
option for Anne as she enjoys singing
and encouraging her Bari section.
Hence we are actively seeking a new
MD for Green Street Blues – see www.
greenstreetblues.org for details.
We are now well into our Learn To
8
Sing in Harmony course. This year we
did the usual distribution of flyers but
we upped our involvement with social
media, which proved effective.
One particularly successful new site
to us is called Streetlife, a sort of local
notice board/discussion forum where
you can register local events and users
can add comments or questions.
The net result has been our biggest
ever turnout of ladies on the course.
They and the GSB girls are working
on a Beach Boys song and we have an
informal concert planned for friends
and families on the last night of the
course. Our photo was taken on the first
evening and we couldn't get everyone
on the risers!
Some ladies are attending just to
work on singing skills, some to try a
cappella style and others voicing an
interest in auditioning for GSB at the
end of the course. With a even number
of ladies learning each of the four
parts we might find ourselves with
an embarrassment of Tenors (is that a
recognised collective noun?).
GSB is also delighted with the return
to the risers of two Baritones, Alison
and Glynis, who had stepped away a
couple of years ago. Both have beautiful
voices and were missed so it's wonderful to welcome them back.
Finally – news as we go to print of
the Beacon of Harmony, coming to GSB
in early March from Chorus Iceni and
Norwich Harmony. We have a handover planned at Bluewater which is close
to the Essex/Kent border. A few days
later GSB is welcoming Velvet Harmony
from Bromley for a joint rehearsal and
the onward handover of the Scroll.
Photos of both handovers will be
sent to the LABBS blog for the Beacon
of Harmony. We wish happy days to all
other choruses participating, reinforcing
the bonds of friendship and the joy of
singing encapsulated in LABBS 40th
Year celebrations.
Lucy Bull
PRO, Green Street Blues
Taking a shine to barbershop
W
hy on earth don’t more people
sing barbershop? We can’t be the
only chorus which asks that question
but despite not having a definitive
answer, Crystal Chords is starting 2016
with a plan to correct it and we have
kicked off in style with a Love to Sing
course.
Running for free over five weeks and
culminating with a show for family and
friends at the end of February, we were
delighted to welcome 35 new ladies
to the risers on our first night and had
lots of fun – and occasional hilarity – as
we all got to grips with our new song
‘Shine’.
Our MD Monica cleverly didn’t let
the chorus have the teach tracks or music in advance and we are all learning at
the same pace as the newbies – and let
me tell you, some of them are putting us
longer-serving members to shame!
You can see from our picture how
pleased we were to all be on the risers
together and all we can say is that it’s a
good job we moved rehearsal premises
in 2015 if we need to fit in more risers
for all these wonderful singing women!
2015 was a big year for Crystal
Chords – getting another year older
and reaching a ‘special’ birthday can
be a bit traumatic for some but not for
us as we celebrated 35 years of the
chorus in 2015 and held a star studded
barbershop show at the Royal Northern
College of Music in May, where we welcomed the Lord Mayor of Manchester
and other distinguished guests – including LABBS Chairman Brenda and BABS
Chairman Ian James. It was a wonderful
evening and filled with emotion as we
thanked four of our founder members
who still sing with us every week.
We knew we were going to have a
busy year as we wanted to celebrate in
style and also ensure we did our bit for
Stockport Cerebral Palsy Society as our
nominated charity for 2015. In the end
we were inundated with requests and
opportunities to support them and were
thrilled that we raised a whisker under
£2,000 in 12 months.
January is always a good time to
look back and at our AGM we thanked
our outgoing committee members
(see our picture with Chairman Nancy
Philbin), we welcomed some new ones
to the table and also had time (and lots
of cake) to celebrate our successes of
the last 12 months – not least of which
were our resident gold quartet Pzazz
and first recipient of the Katy Phillips
Young Barbershopper of the Year Award,
Amy Burns.
What will 2016 bring for Crystal
Chords? Who can tell but we have lots
planned and are looking forward our
Beacon of Harmony celebrations with
nearby choruses. With all these women
showing us how they love to sing, we’re
pretty sure it will all be exciting and we
look forward to sharing it with you all in
Voice Box and as we meet around the
country and at LABBS 40th Convention
in October.
Alison Harbord
PRO, Crystal Chords
[email protected]
Katy Phillips award
£1,000 cheque boost
Teresa Phillips and her sister Joan
Cameron are pictured presenting a
cheque for £1,000 to Brenda Rothwell,
LABBS Chairman at Convention 2015.
The money was raised by Joan and
supporters in Armagh, Northern Ireland
from activities which included a
community quiz and the funds will be
used towards the Katy Phillips Young
Barbershopper of the Year
Award and bursaries.
9
LABBS – 40 YEARS IN HARMONY
Bunny’s first
steps into
barbershop
B
unny Bainbridge was LABBS
Chairman from 1976 to 1979
and a member of one of the seven
founding clubs – Tyneside Ladies
Barbershop Harmony Chorus –
the perfect person to talk about
the early days of LABBS!
So how did she get into
barbershop in the first place?
“A friend who was a member of
Tyneside Men’s Barbershop knew
I sang with various operatic and
Gilbert and Sullivan groups,” she
recalled. “He told me of a group
of ladies getting together to sing
barbershop. I went along and my
soprano voice range seemed to fit
into the Tenor section – that was
it!”
When LABBS’ first Chairman
Janet Phillips had to resign due
to illness, Vice-Chairman Bunny
stepped into the breach. “It was
daunting but a great honour,” she
said. “My happiest memory of
that time is not a particular item
or incident, simply the amazing
friendships that exist between
barbershoppers.”
In 1977, SAI held their international Convention at the Royal
Albert Hall. It was to prove an
inspiring event.
“11 members from Tyneside
Ladies took time and attended this
wonderful spectacle,” said Bunny.
“It was a show of perfection and
talked about for many subsequent
months. Now LABBS members
had another goal that they were
keen to achieve.”
Early conventions were held
as part of BABS events but the
first 10 years of LABBS saw our
Association branching out alone.
Bunny recalls: “The interest and
increase in membership within 10
years was amazing and with help
from BABS, by 1980 it was time
to organise our own Conventions.
”The rest, as they say, is history!
Bunny Bainbridge 1976-79
Favourite barbershop song: There
Goes My Heart
1970s memory: My youngest
daughter was born in 1971 – what
joy!
1970s fashion: A squirrel fur
jacket
My barbershop thought: My 40
years in LABBS with so many
friends has made for a wonderful
lifestyle. Please keep the whole
world singing.
10
LABBS
members
promote
Harmony
Hairspray in
y
1977. Bunn
leads the
way as the
Harmony
re
Hairbelles a
pictured in
,
Green Park
n
o
d
Lon
LABBS by numbers
Who better to relate the history of the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers than the women
who were at the helm? In the first of a four-part series, Voice Box looks back at the first decade of LABBS
7
25
337
685
1977
The number of founder clubs (Avon, Brighton, Crawley, Leicester, Reading, Teignmouth and Tyneside)
How many pennies it cost for quarterly
membership back in 1976
The number of members registered by LABBS’
first AGM, held in March 1977
The points total awarded to winners Tyneside
at the 1976 Convention
The first Sing With The Champs at
Convention
A memorable
decade for Daph
T
Daph Powell
presents Clive
Landey, chorus
director of The
White Rosettes
with the Rose
Bowl as they are
crowned
champions in
1984. Great
costumes!
The LABBS
S
ong – anyon
e remembe
Sheila spreads the word on her travels
L
eicester’s Sheila Riddington has happy
memories of her years as LABBS Chairman
from 1981 to 83. Favourite among them was a
trip abroad.
“We went over to Holland where barbershop was very new,” she recalled. “A group
of ladies signed up and they came over to our
next Convention. It was good to spread the
love of barbershop.”
These days Sheila sings four-part harmony
with the Keep Fit Choir but she looks back at
her time with LABBS with affection.
“I loved every minute,” she said. “It’s a
great hobby and I still love to hear barbershop.”
Among her prized possessions is an
engraved bell given at LABBS 10th anniversary and a miniature barber’s pole which was
a surprise gift for everyone who attended an
early Convention in Leicester. “I helped Roy
Phillips make them and then we put them in
every room at the halls of residence, along
with a welcome letter,” said Sheila.
Now that’s dedication!
Bunny
Bainbridge
(left), LABBS
Chairman
1976-79,
with Pat
Dawson,
LABBS
Chairman
1979-81
r it?
he 1970s were a busy time for Daphne
(Daph) Powell – she got married, won
the first Quartet gold medal with The Minor
Birds and was a member of The Barberettes
when they became chorus champions in
1977.
A founder member of The Barberettes,
she was also their musical director. Daph is
a LABBS stalwart, acting as Secretary until
becoming Chairman. She helped start the
LABBS judging programme, was Category
Director of Harmony Accuracy (now Singing), MC of the quartets’ competition for a
number of years and organised Harmony
College in Leicester for several years.
Fast forward to 1983 and LABBS founder
member Daph became LABBS Chairman – it
was to prove a hectic couple of years. “Being
Chairman was a great honour and a great
responsibility,” she said. “It was good to
see new clubs being formed throughout the
country and enjoyable to visit them and give
them encouragement. I have so many happy
memories of my Chairmanship.”
She added: “In our first decade, our
Association formed strong links with
Harmony Inc, The King’s Singers also
became our patrons.”
Daphne Powell 1983-85
Favourite barbershop song: For The Sake Of
Auld Lang Syne
1970s memory: Singing in the QC
Chorus – very moving!
11
Obituaries
LABBS members recount their 40 Tales
As part of the LABBS Anniversary celebrations,
Voice Box wants to hear your 40 stories. We start
with a big birthday and a Scouting milestone...
One of the Gang for 40 years
T
he first Blackpool Gang Show was
held on a small stage in a church
hall in November 1962 and has gone
on to perform in most of the town’s
theatres.
I joined the Scout Movement in the
summer of 1966 as an Assistant Cub
Leader. I was aware that Blackpool
Scout District – the
district I belong to – held
an annual Gang Show.
It was 10 years later
before I found time to
join the show. In the
Spring of 1976 I signed
on for rehearsals. It was
a fantastic experience,
and one which has led to
my 40 years continuous
association with the
show. Apart from being
a member of the cast, I
have held many other
positions during my time
with the show, such as
producer of the Junior and Senior Gang
numbers, rehearsal pianist and a 20
year stint as Business Manager. Also it
has provided me with a great platform
for the many songs and sketches I’ve
written for the show.
I was presented with a certificate
of long service on stage in The Globe
Theatre, Blackpool Pleasure
Beach, last November.
2016 sees me approaching 50 years with the Scout
Movement and no longer
treading the boards but still
working hard with the Gang
Show Administration Team.
I get an enormous
amount of pleasure and
satisfaction from seeing
young people building up
their confidence before an
audience.
Long may it continue.
Christine Fitton
Soundwaves, Blackpool
Caroline as
a baby in
the 1970s
and as
she nears
her 40th
birthday
12
y name is Caroline Bamford and
I will be 40 in June 2016, so I
am almost exactly the same age as
LABBS!
My parents, Bob and Eve Weall,
were founder members of Blackpool
Soundwaves and very involved in
LABBS, meaning that barbershop
music played a large part in my childhood. Mum had a number of roles on
the Exec including two busy years as
Chairman.
After that she was a part of the
Convention team for a number of
years. My Dad was stage manager for
very many years. I am sure that many
of you would know his face if not his
name.
I
t is with much sadness that the members of Cascade Southdowns Ladies
Harmony Chorus, announce the death
of Lyn Perry, aged 70, on September 20,
2015.
Lyn was a lovely, bubbly person with
a beautiful spirit and fun loving nature.
She enjoyed singing Barbershop and
had a beautiful warm bass voice: she
was a reliable member of the chorus
both when it was Shades of Harmony,
through to the merger with Harbour
Lights and the creation of Cascade.
Lyn was persuaded to join a quartet
with myself, Sylvia Erica and Carol
Surman. The Quartet was known as
All Sorts and Lyn, with her great ability to sew, made items for our outfits
including a lovely scarf and toggle from
material with liquorice allsorts on it.
Lyn didn’t have much confidence in
her own singing ability but always rose
to the occasion when we performed.
We sang at various Christmas functions
but the most memorable event was
performing in a pantomime in 1998
near Andover, called “Rumblestiltskin’s
Birthday Party”! We were an ‘act’ at the
party and sang three Barbershop songs.
Lyn worked at Bedales Prep School
near Petersfield, as a librarian and
sewing teacher. She had endless ideas
for projects and revelled in her success
with getting boys to sew! She continued
part-time well beyond retirement age.
Christmas was Lyn’s favourite time
of year. She loved decorating her house
and made over 30 baubles for her
tree, each an individual labour of love.
She made presents for her friends and
sometimes individual cards. She loved
entertaining at home, planning and
preparing most generous spreads.
She had various health problems that
were eventually identified as Parkinson’s
Disease, however she was determined
not to give in to it and continued working part-time. Even after she had to give
Val Davies: Welwyn Harmony
ABOVE: Christine with her 40 year
certificate and the programme from her
first Gang Show in 1976
LEFT: Christine modelling for Lewis’
store in the 1970s
Born to barbershop
M
Lyn Perry: Cascade
My introduction to barbershop
began therefore at a very young age.
I have misty memories of sitting in
corners of barbershop parties listening
to everyone singing.
My parents eventually allowed
me to join the Blackpool Soundwaves
when I was 14 and I have been singing tenor ever since!
When I came to Bristol University I
joined Avonbelles (now Avon Harmony) where I became assistant MD
and then was MD for about five years.
I am now the assistant MD of
Bristol Fashion and loving every
minute of it!
Caroline Bamford
Bristol Fashion
V
al Davies loved her music
and we joyfully shared that
love with her. She was a loyal
and long-standing, founder
member of Welwyn Harmony
Ladies Barbershop Chorus.
We shall miss her wonderful bass voice and quick
humour but we shall cherish
the memories we have and
those memories will be ‘Happy
Ones’.
She and I stood together on happened, we would glance
the risers and if a wrong note
at one another, she with a
sparkle in her eyes and then
Afterglow
we would look at the others
by Helen Lowrie Marshall
with the ‘who was that’ faces.
I’d like the memory of me to
We giggled too much and were
be a happy one.
separated!!
I’d like to leave an afterglow
Val lived every moment,
of smiles when life is done.
loved beyond words and
I’d like to leave an echo
laughed every day.
whispering softly down the
Our gift at Val’s funeral, for
ways,
Rosie, her daughter and her
Of happy times and laughing family, was special and unique,
times and bright and sunny
one that only a Barbershop
days.
Chorus could give.
I’d like the tears of those who
We sang with love for Val,
grieve, to dry before the sun; our friend.
Of happy memories that I
Bron Wild,
leave when life is done.
Welwyn Harmony Chorus
up singing, she continued to come and
watch us, sitting with some handiwork
on the go and chatting at break-time.
When she found travelling too difficult
and retired she joined a sewing group
that gave her new friends and she still
entertained at home.
She died suddenly at home in
September but we were privileged to
have her as a friend and many individuals within the chorus have treasured
memories and items that she made for
us, which we will always hold dear.
Jane Wells, Cascade
Kath Davis: Red Rosettes
O
n December 27, Kath Davis, dear friend, founder
member, honorary member and lovely lady passed
away peacefully in her sleep at home. Kath had been
poorly for the past 12 months.
Kath was one of our
longest-serving committee
members and a committed
Baritone. Her knowledge
on the formation of the Red
Rosettes in 1980 and early
years was second to none
and she had an answer to
any question we asked.
Although Kath hadn’t been
singing with our chorus
for a few years she always
supported us in everything
we did.
For many years Kath’s husband, Bernard (a member
of BABS and the Red Rose Chorus) and Kath distributed
BABS Harmony Express magazine worldwide. Through
Barbershop singing they travelled to Canada, America,
Holland, Germany and Ireland and were members of
The Northernaires. They were married for 58 years.
We said goodbye to Kath on January 11 with members of both LABBS and BABS attending her funeral.
Bernard requested that the Rosettes sing when family
and friends gathered later for refreshments. We sang
Hallelujah and The Way We Were. Our hearts and
thoughts are with Bernard and his family.
Pam Ambrose, Red Rosettes
13
Clothes encounters
as GEMs look back
O
ur leg of the Beacon of Harmony’s journey across the country
coincided with our first rehearsal
of the new year, so to help us get
over the turkey-and-mince-pies (and
prosecco!) hangover, we held a ‘Bring
a Friend to GEM’ evening and were
inundated with guests, some learning
the Anniversary Tag along with us and
some providing excellent applause!
The evening was tinged with
nostalgia, as we had a display of
members’ scrapbooks covering GEM’s
history and there were some cracking
stories being passed around about the
more unusual places we’ve sung (on a
coal mine winding wheel? Pisa airport
baggage claim?). There were also
photos of some of the wondrous outfits we’ve sported over the years, the
more recent of which were beautifully
modelled by our Dress Committee.
We had planned to have an inperson handover relay with Humber
Belles, GEM Connection and Belles
of Three Spires but circumstances
unfortunately meant we
couldn’t do that – so
to make up for it we
conducted our own
relay, giving every
chorus member and our
guests the chance to
take part.
The Beacon of Harmony scroll was signed
on our behalf by our
Chairman, Chris Temple
and Maggie Hobday, also celebrating
40 years of barbershopping this year
along with LABBS.
We finished the evening with a
lovely buffet to top up the festive
fullness and a mini-concert to
thank our guests for all their support,
both throughout a wonderful
2015 for GEM Connection and
for the coming year which will no
doubt see just as much fun, friendship
and harmony.
Jenny Smedley
PRO, GEM Connection
Striking a chord with youth
A
ABOVE: Modelling GEM costumes
BELOW: Signing the Beacon of Harmony
Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
LABBS EVENTS OFFICER
WOULD YOU LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP LABBS BY WORKING ON OUR EVENTS TEAM?
We are looking for an enthusiastic and committed individual to support and be involved in
organising and running all LABBS events
This is a great opportunity to get involved in the running of all LABBS Events including Category
and Directors’ Days through to Convention.
You will work alongside the Events Director. It is essential that you are able to work as part of a
team and can bring a fresh perspective and ideas to the Events Team. Your main responsibilities
will be booking hotels and organising catering.
The position is voluntary, as are all LABBS positions, although expenses incurred will be
reimbursed in line with LABBS expenses policy.
R
P
For more information or to apply for this position please contact:
Viv Garner, Events Director, [email protected]
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… leading the way in harmony
Guildford Harmony project with a
local girls school has shown how
barbershop can make a welcome and
valuable contribution to young people’s
music education.
In September, the chorus received
an email from the Head of Choral and
Organ Studies at St. Catherine’s School,
an academically selective Church of
England girls’ school in Bramley, Surrey,
known for its music programme.
The director, Geoff Field, believes in
exposing his pupils to a wide range of
singing genres and, as a long-time fan
of barbershop, he decided to teach his
50-strong Senior Chamber Choir three
barbershop songs – My Wild Irish Rose,
Me and My Shadow and My Evaline –
to perform at the school’s annual gala
concert in November. He looked for
a local ladies barbershop chorus to
support him and found Guildford Harmony! Specifically, he wanted help to
develop the visual performance aspects
of the songs, including some choreographed moves – “all the wonderful
movements and gestures that bring the
music to life”.
In response to this enthusiastic
invitation, Guildford Harmony MD
Andrew Edgley developed a plan for
three workshops for the choir during
October. The aim was to share with
the girls some of the principles and
tools of musical and visual expression
used in barbershop and to develop a
performance plan. A quartet from the
chorus joined one of the workshops to
illustrate how performance can enhance
the impact of a song for audiences and
to demonstrate the visual plan for songs.
“The girls loved it!” said Geoff.
“I’ve always been a strong believer that
The faces
say it all as
these young
singers get
their first
taste of
barbershop
RIGHT: The Guildford Harmony
project ended with a gala concert
movement and singing are linked, and
barbershop demonstrates this well. If the
girls can relax into the moves, they will
relax in their singing. It also involves the
audience and shows that they’re having
fun. Visual performance builds confidence, which is a big part of what we’re
trying to do as music educators.”
“The girls sang so beautifully”, said
Andrew. “They were clearly already at
a very high standard musically. It was a
delight to work with them.”
When the director was asked
whether he would recommend to other
teachers or schools that they include
barbershop in their singing curriculum,
“Absolutely and I would introduce it
at an earlier stage because younger
students more easily embrace movement and expression.”
He added: “Barbershop represents
high quality a cappella singing. The
harmonies can actually be quite challenging and are beautiful when you
achieve them. You need to use all the
basic singing skills, such as breathing,
diction and finishing each phrase. More
importantly, it requires real teamwork
to blend with others. It was great having
the quartet from your chorus come in to
show the girls how you work together
and how much fun you’re having.”
Guildford Harmony was invited to
attend the gala concert, where the girls’
performance was a big hit with the
audience and the school’s Headmistress
expressed her sincere appreciation for
our support.
Cly Wallace Aramian
Guildford Harmony
SEND US A TENOR!
Aileen McLoughlin (Lead), Andrea Teasdale (Bari) and Gilda Possibile (Bass) are looking for
a tenor with a view to competing. We rehearse in Warrington and would welcome interest
from committed Barbershop in Harmony members who are looking to join a quartet.
We would be happy to consider a mixed quartet if any gentlemen are interested? If you
would like more information or to meet us for a sing please contact Gilda on 07973670612
or email [email protected].
Happy singing! Aileen Andrea and Gilda
15
Mike signs up for Signature
F
or over a year we have been without
an official director but with our
great, highly skilled music team keeping
us all enthused, in tune and in harmony.
Despite being ‘directorless’ (but
not without a direction) we had a busy
year filled with contests, singouts and
coaching sessions. We competed in
Godalming and Bournemouth, we sang
to support charities – in a theatre for
‘Detecting Womens’ Cancers’, on a
sports field supporting StOp-Hit (against
domestic abuse) and in a supermarket in
support of ‘Scannappeal’.
We enjoyed fantastic training
sessions with Heather Lane, Liz Garnett, Janet Shell and Debi Cox and an
amazing weekend retreat with Doug
Harrington
We finished the year glammed up
in our ‘scarlet ladies’ gowns in what
initially appeared to be a rather elegant
Christmas event but actually included,
due to audience participation, the most
raucous, table hammering, foot stamping, glass breaking version of The Twelve
Days of Christmas ever!
Signature members pictured at a
Christmas singout
W
New MD
Mike
Taylor
As if that wasn’t enough excitement
for this group of demure, shy, retiring
ladies, we only went and appointed a
new musical director! What a way to
start a new year… welcome to Signature
Mike Taylor!
Does he really know what he’s let
himself in for? Please don’t tell him!
Mike must have been just a toddler
when he started barbershop singing as
he tells us he began in 1980! Since then
he has gained silver and gold medals
with BABS quartets Channel 4, Hi Fidelity and iQ. He has directed male chorus
Solent City and ladies’ chorus Spinnaker. He is an arranger of barbershop and
a cappella music and is currently BABS
Singing Category Director. We are going
to make great use of Mike’s musical
skills and his interest in the mechanics
of singing and vocal craft.
We are all absolutely delighted that
Mike has come on board and are looking forward to a great partnership and
an exciting year.
Jo Birtles
PRO, Signature
Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
THE LABBS SHOP NEEDS YOU!
Following the successful launch of our ‘new look’ branded LABBS Shop, we are seeking to appoint a
LABBS SHOP MANAGER
This is a great opportunity to be involved with LABBS as a volunteer and help to
support your Association.
The role involves:
• Responsibility for sourcing and ordering new stock
• Keeping a record of existing stock and sales
• Arranging for the shop to be set up and run at Convention
• Arranging for a smaller shop to be present at other LABBS events such as Quartet Prelims.
• Acting as contact for online sales (pitchpipes and rhinestone part pins)
• Arranging for volunteer support to help with running the shop at events
The position is voluntary, as are all LABBS positions, although expenses incurred will be
reimbursed in line with LABBS expenses policy.
To apply or to find out more, please contact Deborah Lamble,
LABBS Vice Chairman, by emailing:
[email protected] before March 31, 2016.
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Tyneside ladies
look back on a
fun-filled year
… leading the way in harmony
hat a memorable and fantastic
year 2015 proved to be for
Tyneside A Cappella.
Following our Music Festival success
an invitation was received to entertain
friends and relatives to celebrate Norwegian Independence day in Newcastle on
May 17. The invitation came via a new
chorus member, Grethe, who is Vice
Consulate for the Norwegian Association in Newcastle.
Later in the year another invitation
followed to help welcome visiting officials from Bergen who came to switch
on decorative lights on the city’s large
Christmas tree. Heavy wind and rain
meant the ceremony was under cover
but still gathered the usual crowds.
Throughout the summer and early
autumn we had repeat invitations to
entertain at our favourite venues – National Trust Gibside Chapel and Beamish Country Park. Both have the most
fantastic acoustics which was a great
experience for our new members.
In December, despite being a wet
day, guests enjoyed our new Christmas
repertoire at the garden’s farmers’
market at Alnwick Gardens, Northumberland.
We always have fun at joint singouts
with the men’s chorus Compass Acappella, who have frequently provided
support and helped with the use of
their risers. Our last joint singout was
at the Gateshead Little Theatre in aid
of FACT (Fighting All Cancers Together)
our nominated local charity for the year
2015, The evening raised £930. Compass joined us for our Christmas party
held at Westmoor Community Centre.
See below for more about our visit to
Newcastle Civic Centre in November –
a most memorable occasion!
Christmas singouts included our annual visit to Newcastle General Hospital
Stroke Unit and Eldon Square shopping
centre where a generous collection
was taken in aid of Macmillan Nurses –
another charity very close to our hearts.
Now it’s back to the drawing board
with new songs ready for our calendar
in 2016 with many dates booked. We
wish all LABBS members a peaceful
40th Anniversary year of 2016.
Bunny Bainbridge
Retiring PRO for Tyneside A Cappella
n Tyneside A Cappella would like to
give their special thanks to Bunny for
all her work as the chorus PRO over
many years of service.
Tyneside A Cappella were
honoured to be asked to sing
again at a Citizenship Ceremony
at Newcastle Civic Centre on
November 11, 2015.
This prestigious ceremony takes
place several times a year, as
Newcastle welcomes its new
citizens.
The event was also an opportunity to receive the Beacon of
Harmony and pass it on to the
Harton Harmonisers. We were
lucky enough to have the Lord
Mayor on hand to help us hand
on the Beacon of Harmony to
our neighbours.
Of course, we took the
opportunity for a joint song and
entertained the new citizens,
their friends and families and
the employees in the Civic
Centre with a great rendition of
Lazy Day!
THE TUDOR ROSES
Now in our 21st year, this Ladies Barbershop Harmony Chorus is seeking a new Musical Director to join us from November
2016. The chorus of 40+ singers is a member of the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers and we compete at
Annual Convention, Music Festivals and sing at local community and fundraising events.
We are seeking a positive and enthusiastic Musical Director with the skills and knowledge to take the chorus forward.
Although the position is from November 2016 we would hope to appoint by June and involvement with the chorus could be
from an earlier date. Experience of barbershop is desirable but not essential, so if you think you could take up this opportunity
then please contact us for further details.
We rehearse on Monday evenings at All Saints Church Hall, Winchester, Hampshire, from 7.15pm to 10 pm.
For more details and informal discussion please contact Marie Maher: [email protected]
17
Carol’s a ‘newbie’ no longer
I
n September of 2014 I signed up for a
Learn To Sing In Harmony course, run
by Tudor Roses. I’d barely sung since
school days.
The course ran once a week for eight
weeks on Mondays - the only evening
of the week I could reasonably call my
own, free from providing the Carol’s
Cab service to which my children are
accustomed. I spent the time at these
sessions learning vocal exercises and
skills and trying to sing a different part
from those stood next to me.
I opted to join the baritone section –
low enough to suit my vocal range but
not completely down in the basement!
By the end of the course we could sing
two full songs with the main chorus,
one with a set of moves to complement
the vocals. It was time to perform!
The next stage, in November 2014
was challenging! I had to get up in
front of “family and friends” alongside
chorus members and the other “Learn
to Singers” – roughly 40 of us – and
perform the songs (and moves) we had
been diligently learning. I was in the
front row, so felt a little exposed.
Having survived that experience,
I went on to perform with them at the
Gosport Music Festival, in front of
judges and a large audience of experienced vocalists and there was a pressure
not to let Tudor Roses down. Thankfully,
we won our category!
Auditioning to join the Tudor Roses
was the next barrier – those of us from
the course who had decided to continue
hovered around nervously waiting our
turn to sing. The news came shortly
afterwards – I was now eligible to join
the baritone section of Tudor Roses, and
henceforth be known as a newbie!
That’s when the hard work started. I
decided not to join them in Portsmouth
for the next competition as I didn’t feel
I could learn the repertoire of 5-6 songs
in time, so my first performance as a
fully-fledged member of the chorus was
on Mother’s Day at the Theatre Royal
in Winchester, in aid of the Wessex
Cancer Trust. I had moved back a row
by now but it was daunting to perform
to a paying audience in a professional
venue. I’d also had to master several
songs, including moves!
The show was a big success and
a great experience to be able to tuck
under my belt. However, that wasn’t
the end of it! The show to celebrate 20
years of Tudor Roses was fast-approaching. Now we had to knuckle down to
learn and polish 15 songs, again with
routines for a number of them.
In June, we all headed off to Andover
to perform at The Lights in Andover –
another professional theatre setting.
This time, as well as performing so
many songs, we had to cope with four
completely different outfits.
I signed up to perform at the LABBS
Convention in Bournemouth and got a
shock when I saw a photo showing the
view from the stage at the BIC – it went
on for what looked like miles!
I spent the whole weekend in
Bournemouth with the ‘Roses but it was
Saturday morning that counted. Wow
the auditorium was big! We got stuck
in and delivered a great performance
of our two-song repertoire. We were
never going to win – rehearsing one
night a week with the rest of the chorus
isn’t enough to compete with the big
northern choruses but I did win a sense
of accomplishment and I’d earned the
right to lose the “newbie” tag at last.
I’m so glad that I took that first step
to join the Learn To Sing course. I love
it when we all sing in a restaurant we
have gone to for a meal. My breathing,
breath control and health have all
benefited, it’s great for my self-esteem
and state of mind and I never get time to
worry about work when I’m performing
or rehearsing so it’s a great escape and
there’s a feeling of belonging.
It’s been a challenging time but
rewarding too. I’d thoroughly recommend joining a choir to anyone who
might be thinking of giving it a go.
Carol Agg
Tudor Roses
New Musical Director Wanted
Guildford Harmony is a lively club of committed and well organised women which has been running for over 30 years.
We are currently looking for a new MD to take the chorus forward into 2016.
We have a wide ranging play list of a cappella and barbershop songs. We were the proud winners of three awards at Godalming Music Festival in 2014. We are now hoping to extend our repertoire and achievements.
Please visit our website: www.guildfordharmony.org.uk or come to hear us sing on Thursday evenings 7.45-10pm in
Onslow Village Hall, Guildford GU2 7QR (or other try-out nights by arrangement)
If you are creative, well-motivated, fun, but above all a talented musician, we would love to hear from you.
Please contact our Chairman, Katharine on: [email protected]
18
19
A new home for the Belles
T
The Belles of
Three Spires
certainly got
about in the
run-up to
Christmas!
he Belles of Three Spires had a fantastic, busy and highly enjoyable time
celebrating Christmas, 2015, with a total of
16 performances from mid November right
up until December 23.
We sang in numerous community and
charity functions and were as always so
proud and delighted to be asked to perform
at these local events and to give our support to these fabulous causes.
We raised funds for Walsgrave Hospital’s Breast Cancer Unit, supported runners
in Myton Hospice’s Santa Dash, took part
in the Leofric Lions annual show and sang
as part of Myton Hospice’s Annual Remembrance Service. We also sang for Exhall
Grange Special School and Sherbourne
School as well as taking part in Christmas
festivities in Coventry City centre and holding our own Friends and Family Show.
We had an amazing year, with our
numbers growing including lovely baby
Belle Sophie, our score and ranking
improving at Convention and we have
found a new home in Coventry City Centre
at Coventry Central Hall.
The Belles are looking forward to
another fantastic year based in our new
home and wish all our friends and family
the very best for 2016!
Emer Scott-Baird
PRO, The Belles of Three Spires
Come and Sing Handel’s Messiah at St
Matthew’s Church in Chapel Allerton, Leeds,
on 16 - 17 April. Proceeds in aid of Macmillan
Cancer Support. Rehearsals take place all day
Saturday and on Sunday afternoon. The informal
performance will take place on Sunday
evening. Information from Elisabeth Hedges,
01904 632236, [email protected]
Deadline for next issue
Friday
April 29, 2016
Please supply photographs in the highest
resolution possible, in colour, as separate
Jpeg files not in a Word document to Editor
Sandra Mangan at [email protected].
Expect the file to be probably more than
1Mb. If it’s not, then it’s probably low
resolution and won’t print well.
Dates for your Diary
Mar 4-6
BinG! Convention, Munich
Mar 19
LABBS AGM and Council meeting
Apr 1-3
SABS Convention, Calpe, Spain
Apr 9-10
LABBS Harmony College
Apr 9-10
LABBS Youth Chorus Rehearsal at Harmony
College (Under 18s on Sat 9th only)
Apr 16 Convention Team site visit, Harrogate
For more dates and info see our website www.labbs.org.uk