2007 gold medal winners

The magazine of the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
www.labbs.org.uk
December 2007
CONGRATUL ATI ONS
THE WHI TE ROSETTES
2007
GOL D
M EDA L
WI NNERS
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
From the Chairman
2
Convention round-up
2
Talking Point
3
Medal winners
4-7
Bournemouth Rocked!
8-9
Around the clubs
10-12
Music Resources
13
Notices & letters
14-15
The Tag
16
HAVOC
VOICE BOX
D ECEMBER 2007
FROM
PAGE 2
LABBS CHAIRMAN
Well, w hat does one say after Convention? What a fabu lou s w eekend w as had by all - enorm ou s thanks
m u st go of cou rse to all w ho m ad e it p ossible, p articu larly the Prelim s/ Convention Team w ho w ork so
willingly for months before the event and all through the weekend. Congratulations to all the medal winners, both quartets and choruses. Well done to every quartet and chorus for getting up on that stage and
doing your best - it was a fabulous effort and the standard improves every year.
There were so many highlights but may I crave your indulgence and pick out my special ones (in no particular order):
(i) Seeing all those m embers w ith their 25-year p ins and their 30-year certificates on the stage on
Sunday morning. Thank you ladies you are the backbone of our Association.
(ii) Watching the White Rosettes w in gold for the 11th time
standard year after year.
Jacqui Edwards
w hat an achievem ent and w hat w ork to keep u p that
(iii) Being there to see Zena Smith, at age 85, conducting Coast-to-Coast on Su nd ay m orning
how moving it was.
what a lovely idea and
(iv) Watching The IVY League. No words for that one.
(v) Singing with my chorus on Saturday.
Thanks to you all for your support for our charities - no pun intended but the mind boggles at the thought of all those old bras
d oesn t it? I know that each charity w ill be d elighted at the generosity shown by LABBS members, as always.
One m ore thing (non-Convention this tim e). I am su re you w ou ld all like to join m e in thanking Daw n Bolton for her fou r
years as Ed itor of Voice Box. We hard ly knew she w as there she ju st d id the job qu ietly and regu larly. Good lu ck w ith the
new job Daw n, and w e look forw ard to seeing you in the fu tu re. Ou r thanks go to Jean Lew is from Gu ild ford H arm ony for
taking over so quickly and seamlessly.
By the tim e this is p rinted Christm as w ill be close, w ith all its attend ant concerts and singou ts, etc. m ore hard w ork bu t so
worthwhile. Enjoy! May I wish you all a peaceful Christmas and a happy, prosperous and, most of all, healthy New Year.
Yours, in harmony,
Jacqui Edwards.
C ONVENTION ROUND-UP
The White Rosettes
(Top Div 1 chorus)
Brighton Rose Bowl & Clive Landey Award; The Music Trophy
The Liverpool Trophy highest marks in singing and
The Westering Trophy highest marks in presentation
Green Street Blues
The White Rosettes Trophy
Chiltern Harmony
The Harmony Incorporated Trophy
Mountain Harmony
Millenium Award most improved chorus
Welwyn Harmony
Reading Barberettes Trophy
Brunel Harmony
The Peter Caller Award top of Division 2
Thameside
The Red Rosettes Award top of Division 3
Havoc
Tyneside Ladies Trophy 1st place; Frank Taylor Trophy
Crackerjack! Trophy highest marks in music.
Flaunt!
Holland Harmony Trophy
2nd place
Noteorious
Guildford Harmony Bowl
3rd place and Indigo Blue Trophy
dIVa
The Tapestry Award most improved quartet
Bowled Over
Blue Chords Trophy
Derek Hollis
Cheshire Chord Trophy
Mel Lane
Gillian Depledge Lowe Award unsung hero
2nd place and Phoenix Trophy
highest marks in music;
best small chorus
3rd place
novice chorus
For more details on all of the
results please visit
www.labbs.org.uk
where a comprehensive list is
available for download.
highest marks in presentation
novice quartet
Director effecting most improvement
highest marks in singing
VOICE BOX
D ECEMBER 2007
Talking
point
PAGE 3
O UR GREATEST ASSETS
Here s a question for you from the
LABBS Membership Secretary, Val
Law rence: What are LABBS greatest
assets (a clue: w e have 1,817 of them),
and how do we hold on to them?
At Bou rnem ou th, before the Su nd ay
show , Val exp lains, LABBS invited
all those w ho have been m em bers for
25 years to com e onto the stage to receive a certificate and their 25-year
p in. This year there w ere 33 of them ,
and in ad d ition, w e d ecid ed that w e
m u st acknow led ge (w ith certificates)
the achievement, loyalty and d ow nright stickability of all those m embers w ho w ere p resent at the birth
of LABBS and w ho have now totted
up 30 or even 31 years of membership.
H ow m any (w ho m u st have been
m ere child ren w hen they joined , they
still look so you ng) cou ld have im agined that, 30 years later, they w ou ld
still be u p there, singing, stru tting
their stu ff and show ing ju st how good
Barbershop is for ou r health and w ellbeing? If only w e cou ld bottle it.
LABBS obviou sly has no p roblem
hold ing on to the totally hooked bu t
Val is concerned abou t the retention of
new m em bers and has been find ing
ou t how clu bs d eal w ith this. Som e
clu bs have alread y rep orted back bu t
Val is keen for everyone to share these
experiences.
Talking
point
u nd er their belts, they are given m ore
in tw os and threes, w ith a cop y of ou r
rehearsal plan for the com ing m onths,
so they know w hat w e w ill be singing
on w hat night.
For a variety of reasons, Humber
Belles were on the verge of losing several new m em bers this year and had
Pennine Chimes have had eight new
to react qu ickly. Chairman Jennifer
m em bers this year (all
N icol says, This year
d ifferent p arts) and
w e have had qu ite a
They came for a few
P a u lin e
b u sy
few p eop le N OT join
weeks and loved the
lady
has also been
as they w ere oversinging and camaraderie,
o r g a n i s in g
r o o k ie
w helm ed
w ith
the
but looked at the music
classes for them . She
am ou nt of w ork that
folder of songs in our
teaches the basics, bu t
goes on w ithin the chorepertoire and
gets her fled glings reru s. They cam e for a
recoiled.
hearsing w ith the rest
few w eeks, loved the
of the choru s as soon
singing and camaradeas they ve learned
rie bu t looked at the
their new songs. To sp read the load ,
m u sic fold er of songs in ou r rep ertoire
the choru s have also started a bu d d yand recoiled . The solu tion w as to
ing system so that new m em bers have
give few er songs ou t at a tim e, and to
som eone w ho lives close by and is
m ake new com ers m ore at hom e by
som eone other than their section
giving them a rehearsal sw eatshirt
leader to lean on.
w ith the choru s logo and their nam e
em broid ered on it becau se, It m akes
them feel a fully-fled ged Belle.
Is this a concern to your chorus?
What s your view as one of our 1,817
Pau line Corrieri rep orts that red u cing
members? Have you joined recently
the initial w orkload is something that
and felt overw helmed by the w orkMain Street Sound have also tried . I
load? Val w ould be interested to hear
voice test them that [first] night , she
from you so that she can collate as
said . If they're OK, they are given
much information as possible and
tw o songs (m u sic and CDs) - no
share it with all clubs,
more - so that they can be involved
right from the start. As they get those
Contact details: see LABBS directory
I NTERNATIONAL GOLD FOR ENIGMA
H as anybod y recovered from the
Convention w eekend yet? What a
great tim e w as had by all, and a great
venu e too m u ch better than the last
tim e Convention w as at the BIC, w hen
w e had to stand in ou r stage-wear
w hile p eop le in sw imm ing costu m es
wandered past.
We d like to offer hu ge congratu lations to H avoc and to The White Rosettes for their w ell-d eserved Gold
Medals w e hop e they all have a w ond erfu l cham pionship year and enjoy
every m oment. Thank you also to all
w ho supported our Sung w ith a loving kiss (SWALK) on the Friday. We
raised w ell in excess of £60 in donations for the Breast Cancer charity.
We seem ed to be extremely bu sy at
Convention althou gh neither Enigm a
nor Signatu re w ere com p eting, but
Enigm a w as even m ore bu sy at the
IABS convention in Cork 3 w eeks p reviou sly. We w ere w hisked off all over
the p lace to sing; to .the library, the
Mu sic College (50+ Steinw ay p ianos),
the m aternity hosp ital (!), and best of
all, RTE radio for a live broadcast.
And of cou rse w e w ere thrilled to w in
the International Gold Med al against
stiff op p osition from qu artets from
Eu rop e, Sw ed en, & the UK and USA.
Mind you , before the comp etition, w e
w ere in som e kind of kitchen area
w arming u p w hen they said w e had
alread y been annou nced , so it w as a
rather u nseem ly scram ble to get to the
stage - only to find w e w ere com ing on
from stage right rather than stage left,
so m ore u nseem ly scram bling to reverse ou r p ositions took p lace before
w e stu m bled on to the stage som ew hat
short of breath.
So now w e look tow ard s the Christm as p eriod
w e have the Gu ild ford
Show , the Tham es Valley Choru s show
and also a big carol concert (w ith Valerie Singleton as com p ere), so p erhap s
w e d better knu ckle d ow n and learn
som e Christm as songs. May w e w ish
all of you a very H app y Christm as and
our best wishes for 2008.
Steph, Rowena, Sue & Sue xx
Enigma www.enigma-cappella.org
D ECEMBER 2007
VOICE BOX
PAGE 4
GOLD T HE WHITE ROSETTES
How pleased and proud w e are to be your
LABBS 2007 Gold Medal Chorus, and w hat a
thrilling competition it w as. Congratulations
go to Green Street Blues and Chiltern Harmony on w inning their Silver & Bronze Medals and our appreciation goes to Signature in
concluding w hat has been a momentous championship year.
Bou rnem ou th Convention 2007 w as a terrific
exp erience p rovid ing barbershop bap tism for
ou r new est m em bers w hose infectiou s enthu siasm w as a real pleasu re to w itness. Even the old
hands who know the convention ropes could not
fail to be hooked once again throu gh sharing
the joy of singing and the excitem ent of stepping-u p on the comp etition stage tw inkling and
sp arkling and d elivering w hat w e hop ed w ou ld
be our best performance.
The White Rosettes win their 11th gold
If Barbershop Singing w as an Olym pic Sp ort this
year s Choru s Com p etition m u st have been the m u sical equ ivalent of the Marathon. It w as a tremend ou s d ay in w hich w e the
com p eting choru ses w ere able to d em onstrate to the Ju d ges and all ou r (highly critical) friend s the resu lts of 12 m onths hard
graft.
A major part of this day are the messages of support and encouragement that w e give to one another in the build-up to
those precious few minutes on stage and the praise afterw ards as w e applaud each other s performances. This expression
of feeling, the camaraderie, the competitive edge, the sense of pride and achievement, and the know ledge that w e belong
to this vast singing family is something magnetic that draw s us back year after year for our annual renew al of barbershop
vow s. Convention sets us up for another year, giving us the opportunity to improve our craft through learning new skills,
trying out different techniques and setting ourselves fresh goals to work towards.
One of the highlights of the convention w eekend w as seeing the LABBS You th Choru s The Ivy Leagu e m ike cooling the Choru s Com p etition. We w ou ld like to com m end the hard w ork, energy and com m itment of Mel Lane in coaching and d eveloping the choru s and cheer on The Ivy Leagu e for their m assive achievement in su ch a short sp ace of tim e. We look forw ard to
further supporting you all in the future.
Bou rnem ou th International Centre w ith its m u ch im p roved facilities and am p le afterglow sp ace m ad e it a great venu e. It
w as a fabu lou s stage on w hich to sing and there w as su ch a good atm osp here both in the au d itoriu m itself and in the com m unal areas ou tsid e. The staircases p resented u s w ith the p erfect riser op p ortu nity and it w as lovely to m ingle and m eet u p
with old friends and new and simply be together.
After ou r celebrations on Satu rd ay night, Signatu re s Sing With The Cham p s on Su nd ay m orning p roved to be a very effective hangover cure and the Sunday Morning Show gave us the opportunity to relax and enjoy great musical performances
a p ositive w ave of barbershop sou nd com ing from the stage, and get ou r yearly fix of Anita s Bolland esqu e H u m ou r w hich
kep t u s lau ghing for m u ch of the jou rney hom e. On our w ay back up north it w as tim e for coach bingo cou rtesy of ou r fu lly
qu alified (form er) Bingo Caller. So, w ith m u ch hilarity and after a slight d elay d u e to the Official Ad ju d icator having fallen
asleep, we played for lollipops and chocolate and had a thoroughly lovely time.
By the tim e you read this w e w ill have had ou r 30th Anniversary Celebration Dinner and w e have a bu sy 12 m onths ahead ,
w hich so far w ill see u s continu ing ou r Choru s Mentoring Program m e w ith the Abbey Belles Choru s, singing at the BinG!
Convention in Dortm u nd in March, attend ing Regional Prelim s in Ap ril w here w e hop e to be m ike w arm ing, BABS Convention in May and the Llangollen International Mu sical Eisted d fod in Ju ly. We also hop e to ru n another Ed u cation Day later in
2008 to which all clubs in our region will be invited.
We are honou red to be you r 2007 Gold Med al Choru s and hop e to be great Ambassadors for LABBS over the coming year.
In H arm ony, and w ith ou r very best w ishes for the festive season from The White Rosettes
Clare E Gaunt PRO
VOICE BOX
D ECEMBER 2007
SILVER
PAGE 5
GREEN STREET BLUES
It s been qu ite a year for u s as ou r
long stand ing m u sical d irector Gaynor
Du gay d ecid ed that having led u s
since ou r fou nd ation in 1999 she w as
read y to step d ow n to d evote som e
tim e to her other interests. In those
years Gaynor took u s from being a
brand new and u ntested choru s to
winning no less than fou r national
bronze m ed als as w ell as find ing tim e
to collect gold w ith her qu artet,
Sounds Familiar.
In Janu ary w e w elcom ed Bob Croft
as ou r new Mu sical Director and the
tenors gained a new voice as Gaynor
step p ed u p onto the risers to join the
m ain bod y of the choru s. As m any of
you w ill know , Bob is a lead ing light
in the Cam brid ge Chord Com p any
and a BABS m u sic category ju d ge.
We ve qu ickly settled to his new style
of teaching and been incred ibly lu cky
to be able to take ad vantage of Bob s
consid erable talents as an arranger
and d irector; so to then have been rew ard ed w ith ou r first Silver Med al
w in at Convention this year in
Bournem ou th is ju st the icing on the
cake.
Bou rnem ou th w as a great su ccess for
u s, not only d id w e achieve ou r best
ever p osition as a choru s, bu t three of
ou r qu artets ( d IVa , Ou t of the Blu e
and Riot ) w ere p laced in the top six
w ith d IVa collecting The Tapestry
Award for most improved quartet.
Bob brou ght a great bonu s p rize
w hen he joined u s in the form of his
w ife Jan w ho after m any years as
a BABS grou p ie,
has now joined
ou r bass section.
We re also really
p leased to w elcom e tw o other
n ew
m em b er s
w ho ve boosted
ou r lead section Lind sey Rhod es
and Tina Jam es.
Jan has already joined one of our quartets
Tickled Pink and , if w e have
ou r w ay, it w on t be long before
Lind sey and Tina are rop ed into qu arteting too!
N o tim e for resting on ou r lau rels,
w e re now back to rehearsing as w e
p olish ou r act for forthcom ing sing
ou ts inclu d ing a p re-Christm as p erform ance for the John Lew is store at
Blu ew ater.
Green Street Blues
BRONZE C HILTERN HARMONY
Convention w as definitely the highpoint of a very special 25th anniversary year for Chiltern Harmony.
Most of ou r choru s arrived on Frid ay
in tim e to chant encou ragem ent to ou r
fabu lou s qu artet of H elen Lap p ert,
Alison Moore, Astrid Shep herd and
Rose H op kinson w ho m ake
up
N o t e o r i o u s . Th e y
sou nd ed ju st w ond erfu l and
w e are so very p rou d of
them achieving that w ell
d eserved bronze m ed al and
claim ing the aw ard for best
singing.
ing the resu lts. We m anaged to release
som e of ou r p ent u p excitem ent in
cheering on tw o of ou r you ng associates (Sarah Lap p ert
aged 13 and
Angharad H ari Birtles aged 18) giving it w hat for w ith the IVY Leagu e.
They w ere aid ed and abetted in Lean
On Me by d irector Ali
M oo r e,
N o teor iou s
m em ber (in m ore w ays
than one) and lead section lead er for ou r chorus.
When the resu lts w ere
annou nced , w e heard
the Ch of Chiltern
So, off to a good start, w e
and w ere u p on ou r
need ed to d o as w ell on Satfeet. Bu t of cou rse, you
u rd ay. We fitted in a ru n
can t celebrate too hard
throu gh in ou r hotel then it
as you need to be
w as on to the very sm oothly
aw ake and raring to go
op erated conveyor belt of Helen Lappert collects trophy
for the Su nd ay w inmaking up, dressing up, limners show . Well, w e
bering u p , w arming u p , p u tting u p
were up but perhaps not quite as enerand finally shu tting u p ! The last of
getic as w e m ight have been after
those is alm ost im p ossible for u s bu t
sharing one or tw o very sm all sherw e d id the best w e cou ld w hile aw aitries betw een u s. Before the Su nd ay
show w e w ere in the m ain au d itoriu m
to see tw o of ou r gals getting their 25
year pins
Doris Baker and Lynne
Ow en w ho joined Anne Jones, Anne
Wilkins and Pat Gates in celebrating
25 years in ou r 25th anniversary year.
H ow fantastic to have been there at
the start.
Althou gh w e d on t need m u ch of an
excu se to celebrate, w e had so m any
reasons to d o so. We thanked and
toasted the fou nd ers of ou r choru s w e
toasted the new fu tu re of Barbershop
w ith ou r 5 new com ers and ou r IVY
Leagu e m embers, w e toasted N oteoriou s, and w e toasted ou rselves, section
by section (gosh, those tw o sm all sherries went a long way).
And last bu t not least, w e raised ou r
hats (glasses em p ty by now ) to the
organisers and com p etitors for staging
su ch a sp lend id event.
Joanna Birtles, PRO Chiltern Harmony
D ECEMBER 2007
VOICE BOX
PAGE 6
I NTRODUCING HAVOC - BRONZE 2005, SILVER 2006, GOLD 2007
I have been singing for as long as
I can rem em ber. Eith er arou nd
the p iano at hom e w ith m y Mu m
and my sisters, or at local concerts
and eisteddfods.
My first m u sical activity w as
learning th e pian o, before joining
a Brass Band , playing Flugel
Horn.
After being an active m em ber in
school choirs and show s I d id
nothing else m usical until I m et
Ali in my 20s.
When I w as 12, I w as d ragged
along to a group that m y m other
and Grand m other sang in. This
w as m y first taste of Barbersh op
and I w as hooked . I have been
We joined a gu itar trio together singing barbershop ever since.
that soon becam e a quartet, and
had a bu sy year singing at con- We all joined Bristol Fashion in
certs in and around Bristol.
1983. It w as am azing to think
there w ere three generations
At one of the concerts, w e m et singing in the sam e choru s. I
som eone from The Avonbelles spent m any happ y years there
w ho told u s all about Barbershop and have attend ed 20 convenand p ersu ad ed u s to attend a re- tions w hich has been m y biggest
hearsal. From that p oint I w as inspiration. Bristol Fashion nu rhooked.
tu red m e throu gh m y early years
of Barbershop and I knew from
I started on Lead then later m y very first convention that I
m oved to tenor. I joined a qu artet wanted to compete in quartet.
w ith Ali and som ehow end ed u p
singing bass. Our finest hou r w as A fam ily and a short break later I
app earing on the Generation started m y qu artet journ ey singGam e as the su rp rise gu est to ou r ing tenor w ith 'N o Strings', w inbaritone w ho w as com p eting in ning gold at the Irish Internathe show - she still won.
tional in 2000.
It w as at a concert in 1978 that I
heard my first 'Barbershop' chord,
su ng by a guest ch orus. It tu rn ed
ou t to be a life changing evening
for the w hole Corcoran fam ily.
My Dad joined th e Red Rose Chorus and a grou p of u s, includ ing
I first got to hear Barbershop in m y Mum & sister, form ed 'Th e
1989, w hen Donna & I w ere in- Red Rosettes'.
vited to an Avonbelles rehearsal. I
soon joined th e baritone section I sang tenor in m y first quartet
and m y section lead er asked m e 'Quartz' com peting at the 1980
to join a m ixed group City Convention, com ing 5th. We d idLights , w here I enjoyed m any n t have a clu e w hat w e w ere d ohapp y years singing at various ing, bu t I d id get to bu y new
venues, in concerts, w ed d ings shoes!
and competitions.
In 1982 I joined Liverpool Lad ies
I also sang w ith a capp ella group and w on a quartet Silver at th e
Classic Group Com pany , ou r 1985 Convention, singing Bariclaim to fam e singing on the TV tone with 'City Limits' - more new
series Casualty .
shoes!
After this, m y qu artet life w as
non-existent until Linda moved to
A few years later, I helped to I retu rned to 'The Red Rosettes', the West Country and asked me if
form a new choru s, Fascinating in 1990 as MD, a p osition I held I fancied a sing.
Rhythm , w here I am the Tenor for alm ost 10 years - load s of n ew
Section Lead er and Chorus Man- shoes!
And so H avoc w as born, as a
ager.
non-com petition, singing ju st for
When 'Checkm ate' form ed and fu n qu artet.
My first love is singing in quartet, need ed a Tenor, I w as happ y to
so w hen Lind a m oved d ow n, I oblige. We w on the Gold in 1994, In 2004 The GWC com p eted in
w as thrilled w h en she asked m e and 2 years later, th e Interna- the Irish Convention and as Linda
to join her for a sing , and tional in Card iff - w e even had and Jo w ere going anyw ay, Ali
H AVOC w as caused .
matching handbags!
and I decided to go too.
Donna and I have been singing
together for years, in a variety of
grou ps from folk to sea shanties,
singing at som e am azing venues
across the country.
Thank you Lind a, Jo and Don na
for your friend ship and allow ing
m e to organise you (!) and for
helping m e to achieve the on e
thing I never thought possible!
In 1999, I m oved 200 m iles and
becam e the very p roud Director
of The Great Western Chorus of
Bristol.
I live w ith Martin w ho, luckily, is
Last but not least, thanks to Pete, also heavily involved in this sam e
(Bariton e in QED and The GWC) crazy hobby being the Baritone
for being there for me.
Section Leader of the GWC.
Ali Jack (Tenor)
Winning the Gold is unbelievable,
as the id ea of form ing H AVOC
w as ju st to have a sing ...and bu y
more new shoes, of course!
Linda Corcoran (Lead)
I becam e a serious grou pie for
the Great Western Choru s w hen
m y 9 year old son joined . It w as
d uring this tim e that 'H AVOC'
was created.
I am now prou d to be in
Fascinating Rhythm and thank
them for their su pp ort and encouragement.
In m y early tw enties I w rote
d ow n a list of things I w anted to
achieve, includ ing w inning a
It w as then suggested , as w e w ere quartet gold m ed al. Well that s
all going, HAVOC should enter.
one crossed off!
We w ere stunned w hen w e w on
the gold.
I could not have achieved this
w ithou t th e sup port of Steve w ho
For a qu artet that form ed ju st for is as m ad abou t this hobby as I
fu n this left us w ith a d ilem m a, am and yes, another Bariton e in
but w e w ere finally p ersuad ed to The Great Western Chorus.
join LABBS and com p ete and th e
rest, as they say, is history.
I com e to this w ond erful h obby
of ou rs w ith very little m u sical
expertise but a d ream to chase
Donna Hicks (Bass)
and catch.
Jo Dean (Baritone)
VOICE BOX
D ECEMBER 2007
PAGE 7
FLAUNT! - SILVER MEDALLISTS 2007
Flaunt! had a fabulous w eekend in
Bournemouth.
It w as a great convention w ith tw o
very exciting contests. We felt p rivileged to have w on ou r silver m ed als
against su ch good com p etition and
w ore them w ith p rid e all w eek the
follow ing w eek. Congratulations to everyone w ho
competed.
Thu rsd ay night (after a few obligatory
w arm ing d rinks) w ith the inevitable
comedy mistimed wave jumping.
Satu rd ay night the sight of Kay and
Angie in naked suits has left p erm anent mental scars.
Trying to avoid the incred ibly creaky
floorboard s in ou r hotel room by hu gging the walls and walking over beds.
The hilariou s Barberettes p arty on
And finally .. the m om ent backstage on Su nd ay w hen Eve m ad e a
sharp exit amid a nasty niff exclaiming
Is som eone u nw ell?!
Caroline blam ed it on the
fried breakfasts.
Sorry Eve!
It w as w ond erfu l to catch
u p w ith so m any old
frien d s an d w e w ere
thrilled by the su p p ort and
lovely com m ents from so
m any. And there w ere
m any other m em orable m oments as always:
Lots of love,
Flaunt!
Kim, Jenn,
Nicky and Caroline
Ex-Phoenix member Jane now lives
in New Forest and
came down to
support us
The IVY Leagu e p erformance that m ad e u s cry. Fantastic!
Pad d ling in the icy sea on
N OTEORIOUS - BRONZE MEDALLISTS 2007
Convention 2007 w as a fantastic year
for N OTEorious and for Chiltern
Harmony.
ing of competing next year.
We w ou ld like to thank everyone
w ho help ed u s throu gh the year, from
coaches to p eop le w ho let u s u se their
hom es for rehearsals, and a p articularly big thank you to Chiltern H arm ony, ou r fantastic choru s, for their
enthusiastic and very vocal support.
Everyone affected by a cold . Last m inu te p anic abou t costu m es/ shoes/
make-up - nothing in the shop s. Last
m inu te p anic abou t choice of songs utterly pointless, far too late to do anything abou t it bu t still w e d o it. Wish
w e'd d evised a m ore organised rehearsal sched u le and p lu gged in
more coaching. Where d id the year
go? Worry that w e've not actu ally
managed to sing ou r songs to an au d ience very much - because of the colds
Wond er how fam ily are going to cop e
w ithou t u s for w hole w eekend - and
w orry end lessly abou t it. H u sband s/
p artners/ p arents/ family pets slightly
tetchy abou t all the tim e that's being
d ed icated to barbershop . Wake u p in
cold sw eat every night the w eek before Convention having nightm are
that you 're on stage and have forgotten essential part of your stage outfit.
We'd like to congratu late H avoc and
Flau nt! on their m ed als, and of cou rse
The White Rosettes and Green Street
Blues. Weren t the IVY Leagu e great?
And d id w e m ention the fantastic
Chiltern Harmony?
We're looking forw ard to seeing everyone again next year in H arrogate. It
seem s like a long w ay off at the m oment, but we all know the year will fly
by.
Rem iniscing abou t Convention this
year w e p u t together a little 'before
and after' comparison, which may ring
a few bells w ith you , or m ay be u sefu l
to any new choru ses or qu artets think-
BEFORE
AFTER
SLEEP for 3 days...
Then...everyone is fighting fit - no
need for the Lem -sip , Vitam in C and
Echinacea tablets w e've all been su rviving on for the w eeks ru nning u p to
Convention. H u nd red s of fabu lou s
p ossibilities for qu artet/ choru s ou tfits
in the shop s. Fu ll of good intentions to
p lan a p rop er rehearsal sched u le this
year; choose songs early, p lu g in lots
of coaching, p resentation, lots of singou ts etc. Slightly p u t-ou t that the
hou se is still stand ing, the child ren/
cat/ d og/ hu sband / p arents are w ell
and fed and that everything m anaged
to survive in your absence. Make mental note for next year to take haird ryer/ Rennie/ bottles of w ater/ Mars
bars or other snacks/ head ache tablets
for inevitable Su nd ay hangover. Husbands, partners, parents and family
pets absolutely delighted and very
proud. (Good time to ask for favours) .
Start revising Christmas music.
H ap p y Christm as and best w ishes for
the N ew Year .
NOTEorious
(Astrid, Alison,
Helen and Rose)
VOICE BOX
D ECEMBER 2007
PAGE 8
BOURN EMOUT H
What an am azing w eekend for The IVY League
girls owe you a big thank you, without
you w e w ou ld n t have had this op p ortu nity. Ou r thanks also go to the N ation al Barbersh op You th Ch oru s
There w e all w ere stand ing behind
(N BYC) for all their su p p ort and adthe cu rtains - ou r skirts short, leg
vice, and the convention team for orw arm ers on, m ake-u p carefu lly apganising su ch a fantastic convention.
p lied and hair crim p ed and backLastly and p erhap s m ost im p ortantly
com bed to an im p ressive height. Evethank-you to everyone w ho w as in the
ryone s face lit w ith an excited nervau d ience su p p orting u s on w hat w as
ou sness w hile w e listened to the
ou r d ebu t p erform ance, w e re glad
cheers, chants and w hoop s of ou r inyou enjoyed it and hop e you w ill contend ed au d ience. Then the
tinu e to su p p ort
cu rtains op ened and w e
the IVY Leagu e in
Everyone had a brilliant
p erform ed the resu lt of all
the future.
time and we are so grateful
ou r hard w ork to rap tu rfor the support we have
ou s ap p lau se and an
Th e
w ee k e n d
received from LABBS and
amazing stand ing ovation. other choruses, quartets and
wasn t ju st taken
Ou r enjoym ent w as echu p w ith You th
individuals.
oed by the scream s, tears
Ch oru s
t h in g s
and cheers from ou r m emthou gh, as m any
bers when the curtains closed.
mem bers sang w ith their ow n choru ses and all d id a cracking job in
For m any it w as the first tim e they
w hat w as a very com p etitive com p etihad p erform ed at all, never m ind to a
tion. Many also w ent to see the Satu rp acked convention hall fu ll of exp erid ay show and w ere am azed by the
enced barbershop p ers and fam ily
BABS Gold m ed al Choru s, The Cotm em bers. Bu t w hat a fabu lou s exp eritontow n Choru s and their fabu lou s
ence, and if the feedback was anything
rend ition of Fat Bottom ed Girls as
to go by everyone shared ou r enjoyw ell as The Magnets w ho brou ght a
ment.
w hole new meaning to the term au d ience p articipation. What a brilliant
The p erformance w as a cred it to all
p erform ance and atm osp here they
w ho w ere involved w ith The IVY
created. Som e of u s even m anaged to
Leagu e over the last year help ing w ith
see a bit of Bou rnem ou th over the
coaching, costu m es, choreograp hy etc
w eekend (the sea is m ighty cold this
as w ell as those w orking behind the
tim e of year) and the afterglow s w ere
scenes to book venu es, organise rem ad e even better by the sheer friend lihearsals, look ou t for the you nger
ness of everyone w ithin the organisam em bers and so m u ch m ore. All the
tion.
Rehearsing hard
Ou r congratu lations go to all the
medal-w inners. Also (and in tru e
You th Choru s style) a big Whoop goes
to Mel for w inning the -very m u ch
deserved- Gillian Dep led ge Low e
Award.
Everyone had a brilliant tim e and w e
are so grateful for the support we have
received from LABBS and other choru ses, qu artets and ind ivid u als. We
are looking forw ard to the Lou gborou gh Show w here The IVY Leagu e
w ill be app earing as gu ests of the
N BYC, hop efu lly w e shall see som e of
you there, failing that w e shall see you
in H arrogate hop efu lly w ith new
songs and new skills.
Thanks to everyone once again for
the w ond erfu l exp erience that w as the
first ever IVY Leagu e convention p erformance.
In Harmony ,
Heather Chapman, PRO IVY League
G ILLIAN DEPLEDGE LOWE AWARD
In choosing this year s recip ient of
the Gillian D epledge Low e Aw ard
the ju d ges had a d ifficu lt task, bu t in
view of the fact that Mel Lane has contribu ted to the fu tu re of LABBS in a
w ay that no one else has, the d ecision
was made easier.
Althou gh she is you ng in the life of
LABBS, her im p act on ou r Association
is p henom enal. All of those you ng
w om en w ill enliven the fu tu re of
LABBS. Mel received nineteen nom inations (not all of them from m em bers
of the IVY Leagu e) and w as d escribed
in the following ways:
She is energetic and fun and inspiring ;
Her w illingness to encourage and
show support for others is endless ;
She show s a great amount of commitment to each and every one of us ;
She goes out of her w ay to make
sure that w e are all happy and to lend
an ear if we need a chat.
H er contribu tion has insp ired so
m any and one of her nom inees d escribes her as som eone w ho alw ays
gives 110% and has never asked for
thanks: another as ou r Mu m .
Mel Lane is ju st the typ e of p erson
w hom John Low e w ou ld have chosen
to receive this aw ard in m em ory of
Gillian and I know that Gillian w ould
have approved as w ell.
Eve Weall, Convention team.
D ECEMBER 2007
VOICE BOX
PAGE 9
ROCKED
dIVa : Most improved Quartet
We d like to thank ou r tw o fabu lou s choru ses Green Street
Blu es and Signatu re w ho both p u t in som e excellent noisy
chanting as w e w aited to go on stage. We d also like to thank
ou r coaches for this year, Cathy Davies and Bob Croft. We
really ap p reciated Bob being in the w arm -u p room ju st before
com p etition to give u s some last m inu te ad vice and su p p ort
and to p rovid e a calming influ ence to the d ay. H u ge thanks
also go to all ou r friend s and fam ily w ho su p p orted u s, p u t u s
u p , fed u s and generally kep t u s going w ith their encou ragement and enthusiasm.
All those w ho said they w ou ld like to get their hand s on
u s form an ord erly qu eu e and those w ho volu nteered
for coaching, w e ll definitely be in touch.
Thanks to LABBS for a w ell-organised Convention. BIC
w as a great venu e. Congratu lations to all the qu artets that
com p eted this year, w e know the hard w ork you have p u t
in and it w as d efinitely w orth it. Best w ishes to H avoc
hop e you enjoy you r Gold m ed al year. H ave a good
Christm as and N ew Year.
Love dIVa (Debbie, Jennie, Catherine and Debbie) xx
SIGNATURE SIGN IN...
Another Convention has come and gone, and a fabulous
w eekend once again. Many Congratulation to the new champions. May you have a great year, enjoy every minute.
d irector, organist and p iano p layer. It s great to have you
out front Paul and we look forward to a very exciting time
ahead.
As w e step p ed d ow n as Cham p ions for 2006 w e look back
over ou r year w ith p rid e. As in any choru s w e have a talented
and d ed icated m u sic team w ho w ork tirelessly to keep u s on
the right track, p rovid ing mu sic and encou ragem ent. We have
the talents of tw o fantastic m em bers in the form of Doreen Lee
and Su e Bu rgess w ho kep t u s going throu gh the p ast few
m onths, so thank you to Su e and Doreen w e cou ld not have
done it without you.
We have entered into the BBC Rad io 3 Choir of the Year;
we eagerly await to see if we shall get into the next round.
And on 15th December it s Signatu re Party N ight Iver
Health Village Hall from 7.30 pm
What next for Signatu re? Exciting N ew s as you m ay have noticed on the Friday night show at Convention we have a new
director in the form of Paul Jeanes. Paul is an accomplished
For m ore d etails/ bookings for the Choru s or to purchase
our CD please visit our website
www.signaturesingers.com
H ap p y Christm as and a Very H ap p y N ew Year to all.
Sue Wheeler PRO
A FTER HOURS TOO
Convention was fabulous. A roller coaster of em otions.
It all kicked off for u s on Thu rsd ay night w hen w e tested the
sou nd set u p ..in hard hats ..hm m m w e re su re there ll be
a photo of that somewhere. Singing with our chorus The White
Rosettes, being w elcom ed into the QC s choru s, p artying Satu rd ay night, octetting w ith ou r m ates The Jazz Firm all m ad e it
a top w eekend to rem em ber. I bet w e cou ld m ake another
powerpoint presentation just of our Bournemouth experience.
Ou r tenor Alison flew back to her hom e in France on the Su nd ay evening. We sent her of w ith teach CDs of new songs and
she ll be back at Christm as to join w e three to p u t them all
together. The UK contingency of After H ou rs ( w e three ), still
get together every w eek, get coached and w ork hard to secu re
and su re u p the bottom three p arts of the qu artet s songs for
w hen Alison retu rns to slot in the tenor line on top . We alw ays
leave a sp ot for Al at the table at the end of the night and joke
that she s late again! . She alw ays has to catch u p w ith cop ious amounts of tea when she comes back.
We ll be arou nd for as long as you , the m embership & clu bs,
keep asking u s to sing for you . It ju st rem ains for u s to say
thank you so much for your support and good wishes during Convention w eekend and over the last year As you
saw , w e had a ball long may it continu e.
Merry Christmas and see you in 2008.
Jo, Alison, Julie & Jane xxxx
VOICE BOX
D ECEMBER 2007
A NOTE FROM
PAGE 10
MUM
Pauline Fox w ants to say w ell done
everyone for their fantastic performances, as she makes her farew ells as Chorus/Quartet Registrar, a
role she s had for almost a decade.
I am going to m iss it a great d eal,
says Pau line. My p hone and m y
em ail w ill be very qu iet from now on.
To be the Qu artet Mu m for su ch a
long tim e has been an honou r, and I
would like to say a big thank you to
you all for the love, help and su p p ort
you have given m e. I d o hop e that I
have helped you.
Sam antha Roberts w ill be taking
over from m e as the new Registrar
and I know that she w ill d o a great
job. She refu ses to take it on as Mu m
bu t I think she w ill be m ore of a big
sister .
I cannot exp ress how I felt on Frid ay
evening when I was called to the stage
to receive m y beau tifu l p resent from
the E & J and the qu artets. It is lovely
to be ap p reciated . Thank you so
much.
It has been a p leasu re w orking w ith
you all, and I treasu re the m any
friend s I have m ad e. I w ill still be
arou nd for a long w hile yet (I hop e)
and therefore hop e to see you all at
Prelim s and Convention. I love this
hobby of ours and the people w ho
take part in it are very special. Thank
you for letting me be part of it.
SWEET DREAMS ARE MADE OF THIS
The Abbey Belles have recently enjoyed their first international tour.
They travelled to France to put on a
concert for the tow nsfolk of Carentan, N ormandy, as part of the Selby/
Carentan twinning initiative.
We left at m id night on 19th Sep tember and after a very bu m p y ferry
crossing reached ou r accom m od ation
ju st in tim e for tea. The next d ay w as
spent rehearsing in the Carentan Theatre and sightseeing around the town at
lu nchtim e, w here everything w as shu t
for tw o hou rs d u e to lu nch (m u st be
nice!)
On Satu rd ay w e visited the Bayeu x
m arket in the m orning before going
back to Carentan to op en La Lavoir
w ith singing and d ancing and then off
to the theatre to p rep are for the show .
We were all very excited as it was only
ou r second big show , and w e w ere all
am azed that everything ran very
sm oothly; w e had tw isted the arm s
of tw o of ou r nu m ber to com p ere, in
French, and they d id a w onderful
job. At half time we were all buzzing
w ith great excitem ent and bou ncing
off the walls of the very small changing facilities w hilst getting changed
into ou r second ou tfit. It w as not
u ntil after the show that w e fou nd
the big changing room s (D OH !) .
The p eop le of Carentan thorou ghly
enjoyed the concert and at the champ agne recep tion afterw ards w e w ere
p resented w ith a m ed al of La Ville d e
Carentan from the m ayor and a
H UGE BUCKET OF SWEETS from the
local caramel factory.
The next d ay w e cou ld all relax and
after the lu xu ry of a late start w e w ent
to visit Mont St Michel and the other
visitors seem ed to enjoy ou r im-
30 YEARS OF HARMONY
Bristol Fashion celebrated their 30th
year w ith a party attended by past M.
D .s, members of Avonbelles and
G re a t We s te rn C h o ru s , a n d
N oteorious w ho travelled all the
w ay from the Chilterns entertained
everyone magnificently.
It has been an eventfu l year. We were
d ow ncast w hen ou r MD of ten years,
Colin Barley, d ecid ed to stand d ow n.
We hold Colin in very high esteem
and cherish the m em ories of those ten
years when Colin kept us together and
brought us on, good naturedly putting
p rom p tu street p erform ances at the
base of the m ou nt w hich had su p erb
acou stics. That evening as it w as the
last night, w e enjoyed a BBQ and a bit
of a variety show.
At 5am the next m orning w e w ere all
p acked u p and on the bu s again. We
arrived back in Selby abou t 8p m , w ell
and tru ly read y for bed .
BRISTOL FASHION
u p w ith all ou r backchat. We ap p reciate his continued support.
We w ere d elighted w hen Craig
Kehoe, Assistant Director of Great
Western Choru s and the BABS You th
Choru s, agreed to d irect u s. Craig is
an exp erienced m u sician and barbershop singer, althou gh d irecting a lad ies' choru s is a new exp erience for
him. We ap p reciate his sense of fu n,
energy, enthu siasm and vision for ou r
chorus. We hop e he w ill enjoy being
part of Bristol Fashion.
In the light of the change of d irectorship , w e d id not com p ete at Convention this year, bu t w ere there in force,
and enjoyed every m inu te (no nerves,
no w orries) being p art of the great sisterhood of lad ies barbershop . Fou r of
ou r m em bers, Val Davis, Jan H ill,
Mary Cru te and Joyce Sm ith received
25 year bad ges. We ll be com p eting at
p relim s and have every intention of
show ing how it s d one Bristol Fashion in H arrogate next year!
Sue Derrick, PRO Bristol Fashion
D ECEMBER 2007
VOICE BOX
PAGE 11
A ND HERE S TO ANOTHER THIRTY
Harton Harmonizers celebrated their
thirtieth anniversary in style w ith a
Ceildidh supper.
Thanks to w eekly ad vertising, and the
w elcome retu rn of a cou p le of p reviou s m em bers (inclu d ing Kath, form er
MD) choru s nu m bers have sw elled
from 24 to 32 in this anniversary year.
Sum m er bookings inclu d ed singing
at Westoe Village Fete in the p ou ring
rain, and su p p orting the Catherine
Cookson Festival. They also took p art
in the Sing Sou th Tynesid e Choir Festival w here everyone w as am azed by
the complex Barbershop sound.
We re all w orking hard , said Beryl
Cooke, Music Team Co-ordinator.
With so m any new m em bers and lots
of Sing Ou ts before Christm as it s
onw ard s and u p w ard s for H arton
H arm onizers.
Past and present Chairmen
with celebration cake
FROM NORWICH...
D uring the year N orw ich Harmony
has said goodbye to long-standing
members Lesley Dowe, Lynda Miller,
June King (w ho all joined together in
1989) and Mary Edw ards. They all
keep in tou ch, bu t Ju ne and her hu sband have set off on a tru e ad ventu re
in a m assive cam per van to tou r
Eu rop e for as long as it takes to find
their dream home.
This year the choru s has p erform ed
m ore in care schem es and resid ential
hom es and , it has been a joy to see
them recalling old favou rites and tak-
ing p art in the nu rsery rhym es and
bring back m y bod y m ovem ents,
w ith lau ghter as the p ace is sp eed ed
u p , said Janet Few (PRO), w ho is
also looking forw ard to a Christm as
sing-ou t in Dragon H all, a m ed ieval
m erchant s hou se in N orw ich.
Fund-raising has been a p articu lar
success too this year and the choru s
w ere able to fu nd their travel costs to
Bou rnem ou th by hold ing variou s
events. In Ju ne they also held an op en
gard en event w hen seven choru s
m em bers op en their gard ens to m embers and their families and local p eop le. It help ed that they held it on the
one dry weekend of the summer.
As the year closes, as w ell as those
w ho have coached them , the choru s
w ant to thank their m u sical d irector
Alison Thom p son w hose enthu siasm
never w avers. She alw ays encou rages
everyone to achieve their best, esp ecially the new m em bers to the choru s, says Janet.
I S THAT YOUR FINAL ANSWER?
The Brain Game is Marie Curie
Cancer Care s annual fund-raising
black-tie quiz, and this year The
Cheshire Chord Company w ere invited to perform.. There w ere plenty
of famous faces there and legend
Gordon Burns from The Krypton Factor played host. At such a prestigious
event, the musical Guess the intros
round w as bound to be a little different, so in stepped the girls from
Cheshire Chord.
N ow w e all stru ggle a bit w ith ou r
intros sometimes; but to have to sing a
nu m ber of them one after the other
w ithou t any w ord s, took a lot of p ractice. It w as a relief w hen w e started
singing that all the team s started to
confer am ongst them selves w orking
out what it could be, and then cheered
w hen w e sang the w ord s to the title,
knowing that they had got it right.
It w as fantastic to take p art in su ch a
an im aginative event, and I am su re
that the final total of fu nd s raised w ill
reflect that.
N ow , I have to m ention Convention.
Congratu lations to the gold m ed allists,
and to Derek H ollis for being the second d irector to be aw ard ed the Cheshire Chord Trop hy. A sp ecial m ention
to the girls from the IVY Leagu e, w hat
a fabby show you p u t on, there has
been nothing bu t p raise for you r talents.
Andrea Day, PRO Cheshire Chord
A LL TOGETHER NOW
It w as w ith great excitem ent that Fascin atin g Rh yth m w elcom ed Th e
Avonbelles and Bristol Fashion to an
evening of West Country harmony.
Over 90 w om en cram med onto the
risers for a m ass vocal w arm -up in
itself very exciting w hen you norm ally sing w ith only abou t 20 p eop le.
Each choru s then entertained the others w ith a cou p le of songs, follow ed
by ind ivid u al m em bers, ou r you ng
u ns from The Ivy Leagu e, and new
qu artet Dilem m a w ith their d ebu t
performance.
We d iscovered that w e all knew It s
Raining M en and after that there w as
no stop p ing u s. It w as a su p er evening, and so exhilarating to sing w ith
su ch a hu ge nu m ber of w om en. We
all hop e to rep eat the exp erience
sometim e soon.
Brenda Roberts
PRO Fascinating Rythym
VOICE BOX
D ECEMBER 2007
PAGE 12
BARBERSHOP HITS BRATISLAVA
CRYSTAL CHORD S (Greater Manchester) d ecid ed to m iss Convention this year to concentrate on recru itm ent, learning a new rep ertoire and ju st having som e fu n. The concert they
p u t on for the Chorlton Arts Festival in Manchester in May, and the LABBS Qu artet Weekend in June were great highlights, but the main event of the year was the chorus trip to Bratislava in Slovakia, w here they p erform ed tw o concerts as p art of the Bratislava International Cu ltu ral
festival.
Enchanted by Bratislava they had a fantastic tim e
seeing the sights, singing The Blue Danube w herever
they got a chance (arranged in 4 parts of course), and
generally enjoying them selves. Their first concert
w as in the old est chu rch in the city, the Franciscan
chu rch (see right), w hich had fabu lou s acou stics and
gave everyone the tingles as they sang. Som e of ou r gu ys even shed a tear or tw o,
they w ere so m oved by ou r p erform ance, said Sue Ward (bass).
Du ring an off-d u ty session (below ), one grou p w ere in a bar that had tiger throw s on the seats, so they ju st had to sing The
Lion Sleeps Tonight p rom p ting tou rists, shop staff and w aiters to stop , enjoy the p erform ance and take p hotos. Later, in the tow n s m ain squ are, they again had an ap preciative au d ience w ho had never heard barbershop before. After the concert they took
over a local restau rant w here, u nd eterred by the interesting food , they after-glowed
again and several quartets performed, some for the first time in public.
Thanks go to Kathy for organising the trip , Angela for MD-ing, Mad eleine for all the
coaching and for travelling w ith them , and all of their gu ys and friend s w ho su pported them throughout the year.
I S THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?
Thank you for your hard
work Caroline, and very
well done: we are all extrem ely p rou d of you .
A VONBELLES Lad ies Barbershop Choru s
in Bristol are celebrating the fantastic
achievem ent of their MD, Dr. Caroline
Bam ford BSc MSc PhD.
Caroline obtained her Doctorate in Microbiology, by w orking on a d isease-causing
oral bacteria, Trep onem a denticola (Try
saying that without your teeth in).
She com bined her stu d ies w ith a fu ll-tim e job, ru nning her hom e, and seeing the
chorus throu gh a p eriod of great im p rovem ent (100 m arks, p relim s to convention). The Avonbelles w ant to p ass on their congratu lations and exp ress their
gratitude.
SPANISH HIGHS
Spangles a chorus based in Spain
really enjoyed the Education D ay they
attended in September. Organised by
Gail Grainger and Cath Hunter, and led
by 2006 gold medallists After Hours, it
was a day to remember.
Most of the choru s live near the venu e in
Torrevieja. After H ou rs d on't. And it's a
tribu te to their great sp irit that severe
d elays, d iverted flights, the torrential
rain in Spain' and a long, tiring and
exp ensive taxi rid e d id n t p u t them
off their stride.
The fifty attend ees w ere p rovid ed
w ith teach-CDs of Feelin' Groovy
(59th Bridge St. Song) in advance, and
had sp ent som e tim e learning their
p arts in p reparation. On the d ay, it
w as the job of After H ou rs to bring
ou t the nu ances and em otions of the
song, and to throw som e choreograp hy at their w illing stu d ents. "We
w ere cap tivated by After H ou rs joie
d e vivre and their genu ine d esire to
give everyone a grou nd ing in barbershop singing. The enthu siasm and fu n
generated by these (very tired ) fou r
w as fabulou s," said Anthea Prentice
from Spangles.
VOICE BOX
D ECEMBER 2007
PAGE 13
NEW ARRANGEMENTS AVAILABLE
Title
Arranger
Available from
Santa Clau s is Com in to Tow n
Roger Payne/Jean Sutton
LABBS Music Library
When Christmas Comes to Town
Karen Palmer
www.barbershoparrangements.co.uk
Fly Me to the Moon
Marilyn Penketh/Jean Sutton
jandmpenketh@tiscali.co.uk
The Hippopotamus Song
Jean Sutton
Stay # Music
jeanhsutton@aol.com
Po Atarau (Now is the Hour)
Jean Sutton
Stay # Music
jeanhsutton@aol.com
Sing Something Simple
Mike Kimber
Stay # Music
jeanhsutton@aol.com
Sing Me That Song Once Again
Jean Sutton
Stay # Music
jeanhsutton@aol.com
Stars Fell on Alabama
Jean Sutton
Stay # Music
jeanhsutton@aol.com
Sue Cooke
VOICE BOX
D ECEMBER 2007
PAGE 14
P RESENTATION TO THE PREVIOUS EDITOR
LABBS Execu tive Com m ittee w anted to p u blicly recognise the trem end ou s contribution D aw n Bolton has m ad e as ed itor of Voice Box over the last fou r years,
and sent a thank-you gift u p to the N orth East as a token of their ap p reciation for
everything she s d one.
Jean Su tton (show n here on the right) m ad e the p resentation in Sou th Shield s on
the Com m ittee s behalf, and H arton H arm onizers Chairman, Dorothy Mu llen
w as p leased to hand over a beau tiful bou qu et from the choru s too, to rou nd off a
special evening.
THANKS DAWN
FROM ALL AT LABBS.
O BITUARY - IRENE WOODS
It is w ith great sad ness that w e have to annou nce the loss (in Au gu st) of one of the longest serving m em bers of The Crawley Lad ies H arm ony Clu b .
Irene joined the chorus within the first four weeks of starting the club her membership started in June 1971. She contributed greatly to the smooth running of the club and, as Treasurer, held our purse-strings for fourteen years. She was also our
Council Delegate for 18-20 years.
Barbershop was her big joy in life but Irene was a very active lady. She was a retired Civil Servant with a need to help others. She was a very active member of the Arthritis Care Council, Crawley Town Twinning Committee, and many more
small committees. Her lovely smile and infectious laugh will be greatly missed.
Pauline Beckford, Crawley Harmony.
VOICE BOX
D ECEMBER 2007
PAGE 15
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
H EAD-CASE
A bright Satu rd ay m orning, a d ay trip
planned and off we go, but a road traffic accid ent p u t p aid to that. Ap p arently for som e d ays I w as in Intensive
Care fighting for m y life bu t w hat
d id I exp erience from m y sid e
strange nightmares and dreams. When
eventu ally I start to w ake I am happ ily w aving to m any barbershop
friend s w ho are on the stage .
Du ring the next few d ays I have a major operation and yet again my Barbershop friend s are in 'm y' w orld to help
m e w ith the effects of general anaesthetic. Yet again I w ake and w hen a
nu rse sp eaks I ask for m u sic. Then I
click m y fingers, tap m y toes and
know my life is coming back.
su m ing they are not squ eam ish. Friend s
from Cascad e visit and over the p ast
m onths p eop le I have m et throu gh Barbershop and becom e good friend s have
been very caring and su pp ortive. The
strength I have been given has been
am azing and it confirm s for m e that Barbershop chords must touch the soul.
C OURIERS
With loving thanks to all those p eop le
w ho along w ith d octors, consu ltants,
nu rses, fam ily, friend s and last bu t not
least Barbershop friend s w ho w ith their
singing reach out to others.
However I w ou ld also like to thank
throu gh this m ed iu m , the 2007 Convention Cou rier Team . They w orked
so hard over the w eekend , long hou rs
and lots of exercise. My heartfelt
thanks to each and everyone of you:
Thank you for the music,
Pat Thompson,
Cascade (South Downs)
Ruth (Pennine Chimes), Elaine, Michelle, Lesley (Second City Sound),
Steve, Joe & Tom (BABS Quartet
Cadence)
Many Thanks,
Phil Mobsby, Chief Courier
When I get hom e m y fam ily are incred ible in their love and care and
soon I am u p to receiving visitors, as-
D IARY
Jan 5: LABBS Exec Meeting
Jan 11: BABS Directors College
Jan 19: LABBS Council Meeting
Mar 1: LABBS Exec Meeting
Mar 29: LABBS AGM
LABBS Convention 2008 Prelims:
Apr 19 : Bristol
Apr 20 : Reading
Apr 26 : Leeds
Apr 27 : Nottingham
To ru n a convention takes terrific and
often u nthanked efforts from all involved and I w ou ld like to p u blicly
thank those who give up so much time
and p u t them selves throu gh high
stress levels etc.
i
Br e a k
ng N
ew s
GOLD RUSH III
evening of 29 March 2008
The Y Centre, East Street, LEICESTER
Featuring Gold medallist quartets past &
present from LABBS and BABS, plus the
BABS Quartet Champion Chorus, your very
own LABBS QCs and a few other surprises.
See the next edition of Voice Box, the LABBS
Website, and the Britonet for further
information as it becomes available.
.
Miss it, miss out
CONVENTION RAFFLE WINNERS 2007
1st
£500
Lyn Yeoman
Second City Sound
2nd
£250
Tricia Green
Guildford Harmony
3rd
£125
Bunny Bainbridge
Tyneside Ladies
4th
£75
Yvonne King
Crystal Chords
5th
£50
Pam Doxsey
Brunel Harmony
With thanks to all who supported the raffle
from Lilian Clewes.
MESSAGE FROM YOUR NEW EDITOR
As this is m y first Voice Box and few p eop le know m e, I ll introd u ce m yself. I m Jean Lew is, and I sing bass
w ith Gu ild ford H arm ony w hen I m not w orking as a freelance record s and inform ation m anager.
I ve been a barbershop p er for ten m inu tes so there s m u ch I have to learn, and taking on Voice Box w hilst
up to my ears in teach-tapes was definitely a dive into the deep-end . H ow ever, if you re read ing this som ething went right and most likely it was due to Dawn Bolton, your out-going editor.
Like m any p eople w ho m ove into a new hom e, I ve re-d ecorated and d ragged the fu rnitu re arou nd a few
tim es before settling on this arrangement. I hop e it s not too d isorienting. I d love to hear w hat you think, and if you d like to
send hou se-w arm ing gifts, you ll find m y w ish-list in the Contribu tions Wanted colu m n, below . For the next issu e p ieces
you d on t even have to send a fu ll article
send me snippets, quotes, and I ll stitch them together.
Thanks for listening. Have a great Christmas and a fun and harmonious 2008, Jean.
C ONTRIBUTIONS WANTED
LABBS SHOP
A message from Sue Livesey, manager of the LABBS shop.
Articles
As w ell as letter to the ed itor and PRO pieces, please send in
som e general interest p ieces on ou r craft. Tell u s how , w hy,
w hat, w hen and w here. N ext issue: Seam stresses, shoeselectors, jew ellery gu ru s
send in you r ou tfitting issu es
your su ccesses, exp eriments, and w ish w e had n t m oments.
Related interests
Do you have a skill or interest that relates in som e w ay to the
w ork ou r clu bs d o ou tsid e of singing? Writing? Marketing?
Fund-raising? Make-u p techniqu es? H airstyling? Scrapbooking? Web d esign? N ext issue: Photographers
help u s
im p rove ou r team p hoto and riser snap s, by send ing in you r
tips.
Reviews
Bou ght a new CD? Can t p rise an old one ou t of the p layer?
Fou nd a p od cast? Tried ou t a new m p3 p layer? Voice recorder? Keyboard? Send in a review.
Many thanks and 'Well Done' to the Aru n Sou nd s for all
their hard w ork and I hop e they enjoyed their year. Du ring
the 12 m onths the shop w as in their safe hand s they w ere
alw ays efficient and cheerfu l, (at least w hen I w as arou nd )
and nothing w as too m u ch trou ble for them . Thanks also to
those who ran the shop while Arun Sounds were on stage at
Convention.
The p ile of boxes and su itcases com m only know n as the
Shop ' is now in the trem bling hand s of Chiltern H arm ony,
esp ecially Pau line Sp iller, and betw een u s w e w ill get the
shop to Prelims, Council meetings and Harrogate 2008.
Please keep supporting the LABBS shop.
All the profit goes into the Association for them to help all
of its members.
Silly stuff
Every now and then, very brief fillers are required to stuff the
gap s that longer articles som etim es leave behind . Jokes, cartoons, you r favou rite qu otes and one-liners are m ost w elcom e. Of cou rse, any p oor taste jokes abou t basses and their
d enser qu alities m ight be heavily ed ited ...
Web links
Got any favou rite singing-related w ebsites or new sgrou p s?
Let s share them .
Suggestions for future issues, and constructive feedback,
are always welcome.
Printed by Pixel Beach, Reading
www.pixelbeach.co.uk
The ed itor reserves the right to ed it any m aterial in th e interests of
clarity, accuracy, suitability and to fit the space available. The decision of the ed itor as to the p ublication of any m aterial is final.
Contribu tors are resp onsible for th e op inions and facts contained
in the m aterial they su bm it and the view s so exp ressed are not
necessarily those of the editor, or LABBS.