A Beacon of Harmony

Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
www.labbs.co.uk
Autumn 2015
A Beacon of Harmony
L
ABBS 40th anniversary in 2016 is
a significant milestone for an
organisation that started life with a
group of dedicated female barbershoppers in a small room in 1976. To mark
this milestone, we wanted to find
something that enabled all clubs around
the country to celebrate and be part
of LABBS. Whether you’ve been here
since 1976 or joined in 2015, we all
sing together as one and we want to
celebrate as one too.
We’re sure you all remember the
excitement of watching the Olympic
Torch move from town to town and
event to event in 2012 as we prepared
to host the summer games. Anything
the Olympics can do, LABBS can do
better (although we can’t promise David
Beckham).
When we discussed ways to
celebrate our 40th with your Council
representatives in January 2014, one of
the ideas that came up was a ‘Beacon
of Harmony’. Inspired by the Olympic
Torch, this idea is something that we immediately wanted to take further – and
so we are delighted that at Convention
2015 we will be starting our Ruby
anniversary year by sending the Beacon
of Harmony off to its first owners.
All clubs have received information
about how to participate in this event
over the year between Convention 2015
and Convention 2016 and it is our hope
that you will all choose to be part of
this symbolic journey as we pass the
beacon from club to club throughout
the country.
As we get closer to the starting point
we will be sharing the finalised route
of the Beacon of Harmony and we
will be supporting each club which
What’s your 40 tale?
Does the number 40 mean something
special to you in the year ahead?
Perhaps its your 40th birthday or
wedding anniversary? Maybe your
40th blood donation is coming up or
you’ve been at the same job for four
decades! In the run-up to LABBS’
Ruby celebrations, we want to share
those ‘40’ stories in print and via
Social Media. Contact us at
voiceboxeditor@labbs.org.uk
participates with a subsidy to go
towards putting on an event at the time
they ‘host’ the Beacon. This could be
a club event that is personal for your
members and your achievements, or it
may be that you coordinate with other
clubs locally and pool your subsidy
to have a social event. The choice is
yours. All we ask is that you join with
us, celebrate and share your stories as
we follow our Beacon from club to club
throughout the year.
After travelling the country, the
Beacon will be welcomed back to
Convention 2016 in Harrogate, kicking
off our 40th anniversary convention and
a weekend of celebrations and singing
for us all to share.
We’ll be following the Beacon’s
travels on social media with photos and
stories along the way, so start
planning now to ensure that your club
is involved. For more information on
the Beacon or its route, please email
Viv Garner, Events Director, on events@
labbs.org.uk
Alison Harbord
Special Projects Director
1
Our barbershop journey
W
hat a fantastic day we had
recently at the LABBS Quartet
Prelims day in Walsall. It was wonderful
to see more than 30 quartets crossing
the stage, performing for the opportunity
to compete at the LABBS Convention in
Bournemouth this October.
Congratulations to all the competing
quartets who made the day so special.
The stage is now set for a great quartet
competition!
My thoughts have recently turned
to ‘our barbershop journey’ and how
wonderful barbershop singing is and
how it enriches our lives through our
involvement in chorus and quartet
singing.
Think back for a moment to the start
of your journey and how it has evolved.
I know many of you will recall the songs
you’ve sung, the events you’ve attended,
the places you’ve visited, the audiences
you’ve entertained, the people you’ve
met and friends you’ve made along the
way; some of them lifelong friends and
we’ve even had the occasional barbershop wedding! Many of you tell me
how your chorus or quartet has become
a support mechanism and is there for
you not just in the good times but when
life throws up its challenges too.
My own personal barbershop
journey has been a busy and fulfilling
Singing E
together
a huge
success
All smiles: Chairman
Brenda with Pzazz at
the Quartets Prelims
one and I never seem to know where it
will lead me to next. I recently had the
thrill of recording a CD with my chorus
in the assembly hall of my old Junior
School – a place I hadn’t visited for over
40 years. It felt really strange to walk
through the door after so long and in
such different circumstances.
There is no doubt that the journey
for LABBS so far has been momentous
since the founding members came together nearly 40 years ago and had the
courage and vision to start something
arly in 2015 I was approached by Vere
Conolly from Humber Belles (Grimsby)
to see if Main Street Sound (York) would be
interested in jointly applying for a grant from
LABBS to hold a local Education Day.
We always enjoy the regional days so the
planning began and we invited Abbey Belles
from Selby and Pennine Chimes from Bradford
to join us. Goole Academy was chosen as a
convenient venue and Jo Braham agreed to
coach us on the new polecat Let’s Sing Again.
2
that we’re all part of today. Thankfully
they did and we look forward over the
coming months and year to sharing
this journey in our 40th Anniversary
celebrations.
I hope you’ve all had a great summer so far and I’m looking forward to
seeing as many of you as possible at
Convention this year. The countdown
has started!
Yours in harmony,
Brenda Rothwell
LABBS Chairman
Working
hard: Jo
Braham
puts the
singers
through
their paces
At the end of April about 80 ladies turned
up – many bearing cakes for the cake stall!
We started with warm-ups and moved on
to sectional rehearsals before coming back
together again to start working on the song. By
the end of the afternoon we had even added
choreography (and eaten an awful lot of cake)!
Everyone went home having enjoyed the
day and hoping to do it all again next year.
Jenny Whitehouse
Chairman – Main Street Sound
‘Fantastic’
Directors’
Weekend
Inspiring: Dr Jim Henry offers
words of wisdom at a hugely
successful Directors’ Weekend
S
Relishing the challenge
I
had been looking forward to
Directors’ weekend for months.
I’d done some preparation with my
assistant MD Jo and our wild card
entry Georgie – so I was ready for
it right? Wrong! I don’t think I quite
realised how inspirational, gamechanging, thought provoking and
brain exploding it was going to be!
I started the weekend early,
with a day-long session with the
amazing Dr Jim Henry, aka Captain
Fantastic. I even made cupcakes
with American flags in his honour!
He proved to be one of the kindest,
unassuming and honest people I’ve
had the pleasure of being educated
by – and that coupled with an
encyclopaedic knowledge of (what
appeared to me to be) everything to
do with directing was just a joy.
In addition, we are so lucky to
have within our own association
a bunch of incredibly talented
people who are willing to share
knowledge and experiences. Over
the weekend, I was able to access
classes that covered such diverse
issues as performance and leadership psychology, team building,
burger relishes (oh yes!), dancing,
and even crocodiles.
On my timetable, Sunday
morning was the main event. I was
honoured to be allowed to direct
half of the White Rosettes. Despite
the fact that my legs were like jelly,
Captain Fantastic patiently took me
through some incredibly effective
adjustments to my technique and
the response from the amazing
women on the risers was incredible. To say I was a bit giddy is
an understatement. I think I will
treasure this is one of the highlights
of my barbershop career to date.
Of course, there was also some
time for social activities during
the weekend. Liz Garnett proved
a marvellous MC on Saturday
evening. The ‘Spare Parts’ quartet
deserves a special mention – with
each singing a part different from
their usual one, they earned their
standing ovation. Well done to
Delyth, Jane, Jen and Andrea for
being brave enough to do this.
So, chorus members, stand by
your beds! We have a breed of
newly inspired directors spreading their arms across the country;
we have new mantras to chant
(‘give me 20 ways’); we have new
techniques at our fingertips and our
brains are just so full of stuff that
we want to share with you.
We all owe a huge debt of
gratitude to the amazing team that
had the vision to bring Jim over.
Thank you all.
Sara Jackson
MD Silver Lining
o, I was asked to write a brief outline of
the LABBS Director’s weekend with Dr
Jim Henry – but how do you sum up a weekend crammed full of amazing, inspirational,
lightbulb moments into a few paragraphs?
The weekend started with a plenary
session on the Friday evening with Jim Henry
out front and us as a delegates chorus to
sing You Don’t Know Me (which we had all
learned in two different parts!).
After welcome speeches, Jim warmed
us up and started to work on our pitch… an
issue even for the top choruses in the world.
The solution – learn to breathe properly and
work hard, then work a bit harder!
It was a fantastic session that slightly
crept over the two hours allocated because
time moves so fast when you’re making
beautiful music and engrossed in what you
are learning. Everyone left the session buzzing and that was only the first night!
Every delegate had their own individual
timetable. As well as plenary sessions, we
had all chosen different elective sessions to
attend and each session gave us more tools
for our box, more food for thought and more
items for our to-do list!
The highlight of my Saturday was oneto-one coaching with the fantastic Sally
McLean. I got the chance to direct half of
Second City Sound while Sally gave complete
hands-on coaching. As terrifying as this was,
it was made much easier as we were in a pod
of only four directors at a time.
On Sunday we were given a chance to
watch three top directors being coached by
Jim, as they directed the White Rosettes. To
watch Jo Braham, Helen Lappert and Sally
McLean listen intently as Jim advised and
tweaked only goes to show that learning is a
never-ending process.
Thanks to all those involved in the
organisation, in particular Liz Garnett and Viv
Garner. Thanks also to the ladies of Second
City Sound who I had the privilege to direct
and to the White Rosettes – you were breathtaking. Final thanks to Jim Henry – who really
was “Fantastic”!
Helen Bylett
MD, Welwyn Harmony
3
Four have
fun in
Pittsburgh
E
ach year, the Barbershop Harmony
Society hosts their International
convention featuring the best of the
world’s mens barbershop choruses and
quartets. This year the event was held
in Pittsburgh and the UK representation was as strong as ever with BABS
champions Hallmark of Harmony in the
chorus competition and The Emerald
Guard and Reckless flying the Union
Flag on the quartet stage.
Alongside the competitions are
evening events and shows, one of them
being the World Harmony Jamboree;
a showcase of the best of barbershop
from around the world, with a focus on
groups from outside of the USA.
Each year, LABBS is invited to
nominate a quartet to appear on this
special show – and this year Hannah
and the Hurricanes were there, representing LABBS, BABS and the UK as the
UK Mixed Quartet Champions.
Although the Mixed Quartet Champions, Double Date, are American,
mixed quartets in the States are still
a very rare occurrence; many people
chatted to us after the Jamboree and
Honoured:
Hannah
and the
Hurricanes
perform
at the
President’s
Reception
told us we were the first mixed quartet
they had ever heard!
It was great for us to open the eyes
(and ears) of so many people as to how
much fun it could be.
Continuing with the success that we
had at the Jamboree, the President of
the Barbershop Harmony Society, Don
Fuson, invited us to perform for all the
dignitaries at the President’s reception
after the quartet finals, normally something reserved for the top 10 competing
quartets who have just finished on stage.
From there we were whisked straight
to the Chorditorium, an informal stage
area where acts are invited to perform
throughout the evening and into the
early hours of the morning.
We were welcomed off the stage
with a standing ovation – what a thrill!
With our baritone, Tim singing with
Hallmark and Emerald Guard, our
Bass, Duncan singing with Reckless in
the quarter finals and mic testing the
semi-finals, our tenor, Andrea taking
part in the Harmony Platoon (like
Extreme quartets!) and our lead, Hannah being an afterglow tag master – it
was an exceptionally busy but amazing
week for all of the Hurricanes. We were
all so proud to be out there representing LABBS, BABS, the UK and Mixed
barbershopping!
See you at #LABBS15 convention!
Andrea Day
Hannah and the Hurricanes
Amersham gets a great reception
I
t didn’t actually happen in
Amersham but one of the
members of Amersham A Cappella,
Ron, recently married Mike in the
beautiful surroundings of Horwood
House, near Milton Keynes.
Around 30 members of the
chorus descended on the hotel to
join in the celebrations – but not
without “singing for our supper”
first!
During a set consisting of upbeat and romantic tunes, stunning
bride Ron dazzled the wedding
guests as she sung solo in John Legend’s
chart-topping hit, All of Me, dedicated
to her new husband.
She also shone as part of a quartet in
4
the opening bars of Whitney Houston’s
rousing number, One Moment in Time.
The audience was in high spirits and
enjoyed the whole performance, with
many joining in with the moves for
Dancing Queen.
After the delicious buffet, which
included a hog roast, cheeses and
homemade chilli jam, the fun
continued with more dancing as
Amersham A Cappella joined the
rest of the wedding guests with
some rather funky moves on a
packed dance floor.
Huge thanks go to Ron and her
husband, Mike, for inviting us to
share this very special celebration
with you both. We had a fabulous
time and we wish you all the best
in your married life together.
Marianne Green
Amersham A Cappella
Focusing on our youth
O
ur LABBS Youth Programme has
objectives to support and develop
young women in barbershop to become
musical and committee leaders of the
future, through a structured and targeted
programme that will include our two
LABBS Youth choruses, educational and
outreach activities.
Thank you to all those clubs who
have nominated Youth Development
Officers following our recent communication – they will be key to supporting a
youth outreach programme that we are
working on with BABS.
Nicky Salt was heavily involved in
supporting the set up and vision for our
Youth Programme and many of you
will be aware that Nicky has recently
taken an opportunity to live in France
and start a new business venture out
there. Although this is great news for
Nicky, it does unfortunately mean that
she has taken the hard decision to step
down from her position as LABBS Youth
Coordinator.
While we acknowledge we are not
as far progressed with our plans as we
initially hoped to be by this stage, we
have taken this time of change as an
opportunity to discuss how we will be
able to continue to meet the long-term
commitments we have made.
The first and most important of these
is to seek a new LABBS Youth Coordinator – someone who is a strong musical
leader and who will work with the
LABBS Board to set a vision and goals
for the LABBS Youth Choruses, enabling
us to set rehearsal and meeting plans in
place for the whole of 2016 to allow us
to schedule and plan for these activities.
This will give us scope to work with
some excellent and world renowned
educators, supporting our aims to provide targeted development opportunities
to all ages.
We are planning some youth
targeted events at LABBS Convention
as part of the LABBS Fringe and are
working with special guests Lemon
Squeezy and others to plan education
and singing opportunities that will be
available to all young people – male
and female – over the course of the
weekend. We will share more on this in
the regular Convention Updates that the
team is issuing.
In addition, we have recently
announced that from January 2016 we
will be offering a ‘youth membership
rate’. All young people aged 29 and
under who are in full time education
will be able to register as LABBS
members for half the price of a standard
membership.
Our commitment to the Youth
Programme and the Youth Choruses
remains and while we are not as far
progressed as we had hoped, we have
plans and support in place to continue
to drive this.
LABBS Special Projects Director,
Alison Harbord, will be acting on behalf
of the LABBS Board, working closely
with the newly-appointed Youth Coordinator to plan and structure activities. If
you want to get involved, please email
her on specialprojects@labbs.org.uk
HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF LABBS
AS OUR YOUTH COORDINATOR
We are looking for an energetic, passionate and committed individual to support the growth
and leadership of the LABBS Youth Development Programme as
LABBS YOUTH COORDINATOR
This is a fantastic chance to get involved as part of a progressive team at the helm of your organisation and support our
growth for the future. The role holder will be a musical leader who will play a key active part in setting and implementing the
vision, structure and support networks for the LABBS Youth Choruses to help meet our goals to support young women
become musical and committee leaders of the future.
You will be directly supported by key members of the LABBS Board and will also be asked to work with the LABBS Board to
shape our Youth Outreach and Youth Education activities.
Fresh ideas, passion and perspectives are encouraged, as well as an ability to work as part of a team to fulfil the aims of the
Association
The position is voluntary, as are all LABBS positions, although expenses incurred will be reimbursed in line with the LABBS
expenses policy
For more information or to apply for this position please contact:
Alison Harbord, LABBS Special Projects Director, specialprojects@labbs.org.uk
The role holder will be selected after interview with relevant members of the LABBS Board
5
20 tuneful years for Roses
I
n 1995, two women who had sung
in other ladies barbershop choruses
decided to set up a chorus in Winchester. It was a brave decision – but one
for which those of us involved in Tudor
Roses now are very grateful. One of the
original singers at that first meeting is
still on the risers with us today.
In 2000, the Chorus attended the
LABBS Convention for the first time
and has continued to do so in almost
every year since. Tudor Roses have
also competed in the International Irish
Convention in Athlone and the International Spanish Convention in Calpe.
Over the years the chorus has competed very successfully at music festivals in and around Hampshire, scoring
honours marks and being awarded best
chorus of the day on several occasions.
This success has been achieved under
the direction of our Musical Director, Di
Crosfield, who has been with the chorus
for 16 years and brings a vast amount of
knowledge and experience alongside an
irrepressible sense of humour.
We had a very successful ‘Learn to
Sing in Harmony’ course in September
and welcomed about a dozen new
members. When they realised that we
intended to put on a show to celebrate
our 20th anniversary, they worked hard
to learn the songs in their chosen parts.
We had chosen a lovely little theatre
in Andover in the North of the County
to bring Barbershop to a new audience.
We were honoured to have the Mayors
of Test Valley and Winchester, Brenda
Rothwell, Chairman of LABBS and
our Regional Rep Jean Olman in the
audience.
The show was fast moving and full of
energy and we were delighted with the
audience response. I don’t know how
forty women with four costume changes
could have had more fun!
Linda Upson
PRO, The Tudor Roses
Ladies Association of
British Barbershop Singers
CAN YOU HELP?
We are looking for one or two enthusiastic people to run the LABBS shop.
Ideally you would set it up at Convention, Prelims and various workshops
during the year.
This would be a wonderful chance to get involved with LABBS and help us
raise extra funds.
For more details contact:
labbsshop@labbs.org.uk or vicechair@labbs.org.uk
… leading the way in harmony
6
Happy together: GEM Connection and the new friends they made on their chorus retreat
GEM retreat makes friends
G
EM Connection can’t wait to
return to competing at LABBS’
Convention in Bournemouth after a year
out making a CD and touring Tuscany.
As part of perfecting our brand new
package for 2015, we held a weekend
retreat in the heart of the beautiful
Derbyshire Peak District with the
inspirational Sally McLean. As we
anticipated, the weekend was a great
success. We sang, we laughed, we
polished our tall vowels, we played
games, we bonded over origami and
then we sang some more.
We always enjoy this quality time
together and it has become a tradition
that we sing to other residents at meal
times. This trip was extra special as our
fellow visitors were a large group of
Methodist ministers with their guests
from Nigeria.
Their reaction when we sang to them
was pure delight, which led to another
of those extra special moments we, as
barbershoppers, so often experience. As
we sang To Make You Feel My Love for
them, we felt the goose bumps rise as
the Nigerians joined in (woodshedding)
and the magic of their rich, harmonious
tones soared.
Their British host summed up the
experience in his event newsletter
where he reported, “Their (GEM’s)
post-breakfast rendition of The Lord’s
Prayer, followed by an invitation for the
Nigerians to join them in singing on
stage in the adjacent hall, brought tears
to many an eye. Many Nigerians will be
praying for them in their further preparation for the National Championships in
Bournemouth in October.”
GEM always makes friends wherever
we go but I suspect these wonderful
people will be in our hearts to calm and
inspire us as we make our return to the
Convention stage in October.
Rita Hulands
PRO, Gem Connection
Silver Spirit’s
golden oldies
S
pirit of the South have another string
to their bow – a day chorus called
Silver Spirit, due to the fact that all bar
one are retired.
It was after the whole chorus sang at
a residential home that one of our girls
suggested that we formed a day chorus
and come back to sing now and again.
Now we have quite a few regular singouts and some new ones are also being
booked which is very encouraging.
We always have a short rehearsal
before hand, where the 10 of us can
warm up, and go through our chosen
programme for the 30 or 45 minutes
that is normally enough for the residents.
The programme
varies but we generally sing a few of our
Musical memories: Silver
repertoire songs and
Spirit in performance
plenty of wartime
sing-alongs which
always go down
we sang Hallelujah and were awarded
well. Those who are able have a jolly
Honours. For our other songs, At Last,
good sing-song and sometimes remem- On My Own, from Les Miserables, and
Feeling Groovy we were given two
ber more than we do!
Distinctions and one Commended. We
We are now looking at musicals
and show tunes to ensure that we don’t missed winning our section – and the
cup – by one point. Win or lose, it is all
repeat ourselves too often.
The chorus took part in the Fareham good experience.
Sandra Strawn
music festival in May, and the AdjuPRO, Spirit of the South
dicators’ comments were more than
encouraging. In our 15 minutes on stage
7
Bristol
has the
festive
spirit
C
hristmas came early for Bristol
Fashion at their concert in Stoke
Bishop on July 11th!
We just had to share our new
additions to our Christmas repertoire
with the audience at our concert, and
guest artiste Charlie Green entered into
the spirit for our photo call. Apart from
our two festive songs we were proud to
perform, for the very first time the Stereophonics’ Have a Nice Day arranged
specially for us by one of our members
Santa stage: Bristol Fashion and guests pictured at their summer concert
Beth Rothwell. Our lovely and brilliant
quartet Obsession complemented the
programme beautifully and was very
well received by the audience.
Charlie Green, with his wonderful
voice, versatile style and repertoire
and engaging presence completed an
enjoyable evening.
The event raised more than £500
for Macmillan Cancer Care. A group of
our ladies who entered the Race for Life
raised a further £600-plus.
Over the summer we are also to be
found from time to time in the sheep
pen of the ‘Baahber sheep’ as part of
Bristol’s Shaun the Sheep trail in aid of
Bristol Children’s Hospital.
As a bass, I find singing Lazy Day
very appropriate in the circumstances as
all I seem to sing is ‘bah bah bah bah’,
not to mention ‘Heart of My Heart I
Love Ewe.
Maggie Proom
PRO, Bristol Fashion
PENNINE CHIMES
CHORUS
Bradford, West Yorkshire
SEEKS CHORUS DIRECTOR
This is an exciting opportunity to join a well
established women’s chorus comprising 30+ members
ranging in age from 20s to 70s.
We are members of LABBS and compete in the annual
Convention as well as local festivals, sing-outs, concerts
and community events.
We are seeking a Chorus Director with experience of
the barbershop style and of directing with the skills,
enthusiasm, drive and commitment to lead, coach and
motivate Pennine Chimes chorus.
- High quality and accurate natural sounding
If you think you might be the right person for this
challenge, then we’d love to hear from you.
- Library tracks added every month.
- Custom recorded tracks lovingly recorded.
- Quick turn around (depending on demand).
We rehearse on Tuesday evenings at Eccleshill United
Reformed Church, Eccleshill, Bradford, 7.30pm to 10pm
and on the first Sunday of each month 7pm to 9pm.
For an initial informal discussion, please contact June
Johnson.
E mail: junejohnson8@gmail.com
Tel: 01274817554
Mobile: 07711799738
8
www.HarmonyTracks.com
Learning Tracks for your chorus and quartet.
- Part Only, Part Dominant, Part Right, Part
Missing and Full Mix.
Take a look at my website for more information and
please get in touch.
Tel. 07954 170532
Email. mary3036@virginmedia.com
A sparkling anniversary
T
he Royal Northern College of Music
Theatre, Manchester, provided the
perfect setting for Crystal Chords 35th
Anniversary show on May 3. With a
packed auditorium, our audience was
treated to wealth of a cappella harmony, from jazz to traditional barbershop.
35 years is a long time for any
group; this lovely venue gave us the
perfect setting to bring our best performance to the stage, to showcase some
new songs and chance to honour four
of our founder members, all of whom
still perform with us.
Invited guests included The Lord
Mayor of Manchester, the Deputy
Mayor of Stockport and LABBS Chairman, Brenda Rothwell. With profits
from the programme donated to our
charity this year, Stockport Cerebral
Palsy Society, we were very pleased that
Sarah Thomas, their Chief Executive,
was able to join us on this very special
occasion.
The show featured club quartets
Barberlicious, Pzazz and Sound Escape,
along with special guests Just Midnight,
a mixed a cappella harmony group
from Warrington. We were delighted
also to welcome Manchester University
choruses to take part, Mantunian Way
(the guys) and Ultraviolet (the girls),
as well as the BABS’ highest scoring
International quartet representatives
Reckless.
Crystal Chords topped and tailed the
show of course but brought everyone
together for a combined finale to close
the evening, raising the roof in song!
Monica Funnell, MD, said: “A simply
gorgeous evening filled with harmony;
a wonderful way to celebrate a magic
milestone for Crystal Chords.”
Celine Macdonald-Matti
PRO, Crystal Chords
Norwich on song for fundraiser
N
orwich Harmony has been raising
money for a cancer charity for
a young mother who died from the
disease.
A concert was held in memory of
Lisa in Tasburgh village hall in April.
Lisa’s mother, Brenda, organised a
craft stall, on which there was a hand
knitted bedspread that she had made,
there was also a tombola and silent
auction and with the help of the voices
of Norwich Harmony more than £1,033
was raised.
The concert brought friends and
family of Lisa together to celebrate and
remember her life. Shaun Campbell,
local fundraising manager for
Macmillan said: “It was an honour
to be invited to meet the chorus and
hear them sing”.
The chorus would especially like to
thank one of their members, Janet Few,
who helped to organise the concert in
Lisa’s memory.
Maria Collier
PRO, Norwich Harmony
LABBS members have been invited by the GAFA ARTS Collective GAC
London. to take part in a free event on October 3 from noon-4pm, which
addresses domestic violence. They are looking for an a cappella set between
10-30 mins and for you to learn an SATB arrangement of their mass song.
The day is described as “a big, participatory, arts and sciences and sports
mash-up, culminating in a mass Haka at the end of the day”. Proceeds to
Women’s Aid and Mankind Initiative.
Find out more here: http://www.gafasamoa.com/
9
Excitement building
Top Tips from Nancy Kelsall
C
onvention time can be quite stressful as
we try to bring all the hours of rehearsal together for that important slot on stage.
We asked Nancy Kelsall for some Top Tips
for the run up to contest. Besides her role
of singing judge, Nancy has a wealth of
experience on either side of the table; twice
LABBS quartet champion (most recently
on baritone for The Mix in 2012) and as
musical director for Heartbeat Chorus, the
current SAI Region 31 champions.
Get ready for stage
Practice the ‘walk on’ to help everyone
feel confident, bringing a sense of focus.
Run the full package a number of times
to build stamina and sing the intros to
get comfortable with each start. Don’t
let coaches complicate plans with late
changes. The more comfortable you feel
with these aspects, the more you will all
feel able to perform your best at that key,
scary moment when you walk out on stage.
Ensure the rehearsal on the day of competition is relaxed and positive
We found that a tight two-hour
rehearsal and ‘assembling time’ (plus a
shortish get ready time of an hour) kept us
on the ball. Stick to the plan and concepts
you already know and be as comfortable
and relaxed as you can.
Manage expectations
Aiming for a particular placing or
score can be disappointing if you don’t
achieve on the day and also adds to the
nerves of the performance. You want
your chorus to perform to the best
of their ability but it’s not about
perfection. You can’t control what
others do in the contest; you can
only perform to your best and sing
for the audience.
Take time to warm up with good
vocal techniques
On the final rehearsal, dress
Choose a sensible point to leave the
rehearsal and on the day of competitechnique behind
tion, use lots of good vocal techniques
Keeping fixes aimed at the ‘big picture’
to find everyone’s ‘best voice’.
rather than technical details reaped rewards
Focus on posture, breathing exerfor us this year. In last six weeks before
cises, breath management and finding
contest, we focused on overall musical
the ping in the voice. It is tempting
plan and emotion. Were we remembering
to launch into the package but more
the dynamics? Did the phrasing flow?
beneficial to find your best voices in a
relaxed way.
Use the dress rehearsal(s) well
Make sure you have time to ‘fix’ things
Relax and enjoy
after the dress rehearsal. If the dress
Contest is one of the big moments in
rehearsal is too ‘last minute’ it can add
our year where we get to put our hard
stress. In the lead up to contest before
work up on a stage for an audience, so
we won, The Mix gave a number of
remember to enjoy it. Thanks to a reminder
performances to audiences, videoing
from Jo Braham, I really tried to do that in
each one and using a follow-up
May - and this year was the first where I
rehearsal to review what happened
slept the night before contest. Remind your
under pressure.
singers to enjoy it too!
Our Convention Charity
Imagine your life has fallen apart. The
happy family unit you once were is no
more and you are in a Women’s Refuge.
You have few possessions because you
had to leave quickly, perhaps with police
help and you were taken from your house
in your night clothes, no time to pack.
This story above could have happened to
any one of us – and it’s why we ask for
10
your help each year at Convention.
Please bring gifts, which should be
wrapped and labelled MUM, BOY or
GIRL with an age range, or BABY BOY or
BABY GIRL.
A massive thank you for giving me the
chance to show these women that there
are some truly wonderful people in life.
Phil Mobsby
Pictured from
the top: Lemon
Squeezy, Cheshire
Chord Company,
Tagline and Great
Western Chorus
for Convention 2015
The Fringe – and beyond
T
here is a packed schedule of
activities throughout Friday,
Saturday and Sunday, showcasing
talent from all UK barbershop organisations, starting with quartet registration from 8am on Friday (competition
starts at noon) and running through to
5pm on Sunday following the Mixed
Quartet competition on Sunday afternoon. Here are some of the activities
planned for the Fringe. (Details correct
at time of going to press):
FRIDAY
2:30pm - Ever wondered how top
quartets choose their music, pick the
most appropriate coaches or arrange
their rehearsals? Take part in a Q&A
with Lemon Squeezy to hear how they
tackle these and other challenges.
4pm - Meet the LABBS Media Team
for an open forum to share experiences
and challenges that we all face. Contact
Rita Hulands, who heads up this team,
to suggest topics for this forum.
5pm - Hear from Liz Garnett about
managing the key relationship between
Director and chorus. What do you
want from your Director and what does
your Director want from you?
SATURDAY
Pick up some tips in a session on how
to deal with stage nerves, hosted by Jude
Dadswell.
Our guests Lemon Squeezy will be
offering masterclasses throughout the
weekend and as BHS Collegiate Champions
will also be taking the opportunity to host
an event specifically for those attending
who are aged seven to 29
SUNDAY
9:30 - Ever a popular session, be sure
to make time in your schedule to Sing with
the Champs – Cheshire Chord Company.
Don’t forget the shows:
Friday evening: Current Mixed Quartet
Champions, Hannah and The Hurricanes,
followed by the 2015 BABS Quartet
Champions, Tagline and Lemon Squeezy,
the current SNOBS Quartet Champions and
4th place International Bronze Medallists.
Saturday evening: As well as our very
own chorus of quartet champions along
with our newly crowned quartet and chorus
champions, enjoy the entertaining Great
Western Chorus, the 2015 BABS champions
and special guests, Lemon Squeezy.
Sunday morning: Count down to the
Beacon of Harmony relay at noon by sitting
back and enjoying show spots from our
new silver and bronze medallists, Coast to
Coast and a song from Lemon Squeezy.
The History Book prize, raffle results,
the winner of the Gillian Depledge Lowe
“Unsung Hero” Award and the first Katy
Phillips Young Barbershopper of the Year
award will be announced during this show.
Katy Phillips Award & Bursary
Katy was a young woman with a love
of all aspects of barbershop life who
contributed and achieved a lot in her
too short time with us. She passed away
aged 28 years old in April 2015.
To honour Katy’s memory and recognise
this contribution, LABBS established the
‘Katy Phillips Young Barbershopper of
the Year’ Award and bursary.
At the request of the Phillips family,
donations in Katy’s memory funded an
award and an annual bursary which will
provide support for ongoing barbershop
education for the recipient each year.
It was felt that the recipient would be
a ‘young barbershopper’ as Katy was
passionate about youth development.
The Bursary will be £250 and the
recipient will have 24 months in which
to claim the money.
Any LABBS or Youth Chorus member
aged 29 or under is eligible.
Nominations can be made by a LABBS
member or a LABBS chorus.
A nomination form (available on the
LABBS website) must be completed
and returned to Alys Galloway, LABBS
treasurer (treasurer@labbs.org.uk). Any
questions can be directed to Alys.
The closing date for nominations is
September 30. All nominations will be
forwarded anonymously to the LABBS
Board and the Phillips family for
consideration.
11
Brunel
Harmony
stalwart:
Right,
Diana with
friends
past and
present
Left, Diana
with a gift
from the
chorus
O
Farewell to Diana
n June 22, Brunel Harmony bade a
fond farewell to Diana Holman as
she put her pitchpipe away for the last
time.
A founder member and longest
serving continuous member of Brunel
Ladies Harmony Chorus, Diana has
been a formidable force in keeping the
chorus moving forward as it has grown
and developed over the past 24 years.
She began her barbershop career
singing with the Plymouth Mayflowers,
where she first met our MD Delyth
Knight and some of our other current
members, before helping to found
Brunel in December 1991 with five
other ladies, based in Saltash, Cornwall.
In total, Diana’s barbershopping career
has spanned more than 34 years.
Diana was Chairman on several occasions and led many initiatives including Brunel Barbershopper of the Month.
She has also been Vice-Chairman,
Membership Secretary, PRO, Bass Section Leader and a member of the Music
Team. Among her many responsibilities,
perhaps one of the most important jobs
was to ensure we had tea, coffee, milk
and biscuits every week!
One of Diana’s lasting legacies was
to enrol the chorus onto a Community
Partnership Scheme run by Cornwall
College. In return for our following a
formal scheme of education and training in singing, over five years we were
paid in excess of £12,000. This involved
a lot of organising and administration,
in which Diana excelled.
The highlight of Diana’s tenure with
Brunel would have to be the year we
won the Phoenix Trophy, a feat we’ve
been striving to repeat ever since.
Diana was also Madame la Pitch
and has blown pitch for us thousands of
times in both rehearsals and competitions. She was Bass section leader until
recently, when illness has kept her away
more frequently from the Chorus.
We must also mention husband
Michael, who has provided support to
Diana and indeed the Chorus many
times by bringing Diana to rehearsals
and singouts, regularly making the tea
for us and making running repairs to the
risers.
Through laughter and tears we bid
Diana a more peaceful life with the
family but hopefully not forgetting her
adopted barbershop family.
As we start planning the Chorus 25th
Anniversary next year, we know that
Diana will be back with us to celebrate
the past and the future.
Kate Ansell
Brunel Harmony
Diane Harvey
Diane passed away on May
13 at Rowcroft Hospice,
Torquay after a long
illness, borne bravely.
Diane was a hard working, loyal member of The
Chordettes for nearly 30
years, attending almost
every event that the
chorus were involved
in. She was an amazing
cook, gardener and nature
lover and a fine singer. Her
kindness, humour and love
for her family, friends and
for her chorus will always
be remembered. We will
miss her very much.
12
Joyce Woodward
Avon Harmony’s longest serving member, Joyce Woodward
passed away on July 26, following a short stay in hospital
after a fall. Joyce had been a lead in the chorus for 21 years
and will be remembered for her elegance, enthusiasm and
earthy sense of humour. Joyce was singing with the chorus
right up to her accident. She will be much missed by all of
us.
Belles star
at festival
C
oventry based chorus The Belles of
Three Spires had a successful day at the
Leamington Spa Competitive Festival in June.
They were awarded first place and the
shield for large choirs with a distinction and
score of 89%.
The aim of the festival is to promote and
encourage the study and practice of the Arts
of Music, Dance, Speech and Drama and
the Belles are proud to have taken part over
the years and to have retained the trophy for
large choirs this year.
They were delighted to have 13 new and
returning ladies join them. They all loved it
and have had a fabulous taste of competing
and performing.
The judge felt the chorus had great
energy and gave an excellent performance
both technically and artistically.
Emer Scott-Baird
PRO, The Belles of Three Spires
Winning ways: The victorious Belles pose with their trophy
Baby Belle:
Congratulations
to The Belles of
Three Spires MD
Lucy and her
husband Paul
on the arrival of
their beautiful
baby girl Sophie
Jayne Guess.
Busy times for Harmonisers
T
he Harton Harmonisers performed their first sing out with
our new MD, Norman Dennis.
The venue was the historic
Bede’s World in Jarrow, a museum
dedicated to the Venerable Bede, a
monk and scholar, who lived there
in the 7th century and was the first
historian of the English nation.
We were the guests of Westoe
Colliery Brass Band and the concert was to celebrate the VE Day
70 year anniversary. The audience
included our Mayor and Mayoress.
One young man gave a very
moving performance of Jerusalem
before we sang six songs – we were
even invited to perform at their next
concert! It was a very special evening
and enjoyed by all.
Summer’s here (even in South
Shields!) and we have had lots of
outdoor sing outs, starting with Westoe
Village Fete. We have sung there for
many years and our assistant MD,
Kathleen Winter, directed a very lively
programme of popular songs. This was a
great experience for our five new ladies
Harmonisers were proud to
take part.
The following Saturday
we sang at St Bede’s Church
Fete in Jarrow, where we sang
Alan Price’s The Jarrow Song
especially arranged for us by
the man himself.
Beryl Cooke
PRO, Harton Harmonisers
Gloria Normandale
One of
Harton
Harmon- Janet, Linda, Viv, Helen and Vivienne. isers’ much-loved
members, Gloria
The following Saturday, the theme
Normandale, has
for the annual South Tyneside July
died after a short
parade was Alice in Wonderland. Six
stay in hospital.
of our members were on a float with a
very colourful Mad Hatter while the rest She was 88 years
old and had been
of the chorus were singing in the Bents
Park where the parade arrived to start a a member of the chorus for 27 years.
Gloria had a lovely voice (lead section)
summer of music.
and a sweet nature and will
It was a beautiful warm day and a
marvellous parade of spectacular floats be greatly missed by
and cheering crowds and the Harton
everyone.
13
Take That, you new girls!
A
lready, 2015 has been a year of
growth for the White Rosettes.
To start the year we put on a Learn to
Sing course. We were delighted with
the huge numbers of people who came
along. We started the first week with 87
extra singers. It was quite a squeeze on
the risers! We all enjoyed learning the
Take That feel-good song Shine which
was exactly what our new singers did.
Chorus members loved sharing our
hobby with so many new people and
we all hoped lots of them would want
to join us permanently – and no less
than 40 hopefuls auditioned. What a
task for the music team to decide which
of these talented women should join our
barbershop family! After the audition
Set to Shine: The White Rosettes’ Learn to Sing course was a huge success
Something Wicked
I
n June we released our latest
album, The Wicked Rosettes.
The album features some
exciting competition up-tunes
including Cruella De Vil and
The Night Has A Thousand Eyes.
It also has some tear-jerking
ballads in The Night We Called It
A Day and Once Upon A Time.
We have a bit of fun with
The Muppet Show Theme and
show our penchant for jazz with
Orange Coloured Sky and Eve-
process 18 people joined us, most of
them in the bass section.
So now we are heading towards
convention with some very excited
and hard-working first-timers and the
seasoned old-timers can’t wait to share
the magic of the convention stage and
the pure joy of the afterglow.
We were privileged to be invited to
be one of the demonstration choruses at
the LABBS directors’ education weekend with Jim Henry and had a wonderful day on the Sunday being directed
by some fantastic directors including
the hugely talented Jo Braham and the
inspirational Helen Lappert.
We were bowled over by the way
Jim worked with us. Perhaps the
highlight for many of us was the
moment we got our Sally back in front
of us.
Jim helped her find emotion in our
ballad that we’d never found before and
when Sally feels it, we feel it.
I don’t think there was a dry eye in
the house!
Bek Olive
PRO, White Rosettes
rything. Finally, we take you on
a trip down memory lane with
live recordings of Drunken Sailor
and Auld Lang Syne. We had an
exciting weekend recording and
producing the album.
Thanks to Andy Milner who
produced the CD and James
Beecham who helped realise
our ideas for the sleeve. If you
haven’t got your copy, come and
find one of us at convention or
Wicked women: Members of the White Rosettes with
from www.whiterosettes.org.uk
copies of their new CD
Long-established harmony chorus Soundwaves Blackpool is looking for a
new musical director. We’re friendly and enthusiastic, keen to learn and
sing a wide repertoire of songs. Whether you’re an established
director or looking to take the first steps in the role, we’d love to hear from
you! Contact Sue Andrew by email at andrewsue46@hotmail.co.uk
14
Top left: Ready to perform
at Bournemouth Music
Festival
Left: Raise-a-Sharp
Right: Christchurch Priory
was a glorious setting
Our Hallelujah moment
O
n May 16, Wessex Harmony sang
in a concert in aid of The Samaritans in Christchurch Priory. We were
joined by the Bournemouth Male Voice
Choir, the Orlando Singers and the
soloist, Fiona Aucott (Soprano).
There was a vast array of music in
the programme, from Pie Jesu, Agnus
Dei (Requiem), to Summertime (Porgy
and Bess) and Rolling in the Deep
(Adele). The culmination of the concert
was all choirs and the soloist singing
The Hallelujah Chorus (Handel’s Mes-
siah). This was an amazing experience,
especially under the beautiful vaulted
ceilings of the Priory. Dyrck directed
Hallelujah and he looked like a small
child in a sweetie shop. It took days for
the grin to dissipate!
Then on to Bournemouth Music Festival and although no cups this year, we
did achieve distinction in all our classes
against stiff competition from Signature
and Green Street Blues. Our octet Raisea-Sharp also gained a distinction and
came second in their class.
We sang in a joint show with Southern Union, High Summer Songbook,
at the Shelley Theatre in Bournemouth,
which was another excellent evening.
The theatre is being renovated but
had an intimate feeling that made it a
wonderful evening.
To top all that, we were invited to be
the supporting act for The Temperance
Seven at Christchurch Music Festival,
which was great fun!
Deborah Lamble
PRO Wessex Harmony
In the pink for community event
S
porting our new pink walk out,
Pennine Chimes joined a wide
variety of choirs for the ‘One City, Many
Voices, Bradford Sings’ event, held on
Saturday, June 13.
Participants included Bradford
Festival Choir, a newly formed choir
of refugees and their support network,
Opus 44, Sainsbury’s Choir of the
Year quarter finalists and Sing from
The Heart, a group of physically and
mentally disabled young people.
Pennine Chimes performed in three
‘pop up’ venues around the city centre,
including the covered market, shopping
mall and the historic arches of Forster
Square Station.
All the choirs met in the City Park for
a communal event at the end of the day.
Fortunately, the stormy forecast
Jackie Longbottom
didn’t materialise and we had a thorVice Chair,man
oughly enjoyable afternoon of singing to Pennine Chimes
appreciative audiences.
15
On the
record:
Cheshire
Chord
Company
members in
the studio
Right: With
their newest
fan, Greg
Clancy
of Vocal
Majority
Studio time for the champs
I
t’s been a busy summer for Cheshire
Chord Company. In May we were
invited to sing in the Sunday Evening
Show at BABS Convention in Llandudno
as the current LABBS Champions.
Many of the ladies had arrived early
in the weekend to watch the Men’s
quartet and chorus competitions and
what fantastic competitions they were!
We would like to take the opportunity
to congratulate all of the medallists.
The visiting men’s 2014 International
Chorus Champions, Vocal Majority, also
left the ladies in awe and amazement
with songs from their varied and exciting repertoire along with their winning
competition package.
Then it was time for Cheshire Chord
Company to take to the stage and we
were thrilled at the wonderful reception
we received both during and following
the performance, especially to our new
song That Man which made its first
public outing. During the afterglow,
we continued to entertain the room by
singing well into the night. We also have
a new fan in Greg Clancy, Vocal Majority’s Director.
The chorus performed at St George’s
Hall in Liverpool the following weekend
for the Liverpool Rotary Club Gala
Concert. It was an honour to sing in
such a grand venue and the Rotary Club
enjoyed our performance so much, they
asked us to perform at their next big
event in April 2016.
In June we had the opportunity to
record tracks for our new CD. Recording in individual sections across a
weekend meant that Director Jo Braham
conducted for over 20 hours and the
chorus sang more than 40 songs. It was
tough but very rewarding and a brilliant
team-building experience.
We’ll be launching the finished
article in the autumn and the CDs will,
of course, be on sale at LABBS Convention in October.
Janine Gilbert
PRO, Cheshire Chord Company
Summer edition photo mix-up
The Summer edition of Voice Box contained an article
about the Red Rosettes’ successful Singing Workshop, with
the headline ‘Soul Sisters sing and strut’. Unfortunately,
the photograph that accompanied the piece was not of the
event – a picture of Crystal Chords was used in error.
Apologies for any inconvenience and upset caused. Here’s
the correct photo of the Red Rosettes ladies, who look to
be having a great time!
Welwyn Harmony are selling black
beaded jackets and blue blouses
with matching camisoles – over
30 of each in various sizes. Please
email Lorraineehall@hotmail.com
for further information.
16
A Capital win in Wales
C
apital Connection enjoyed a fantastic long weekend at the Llangollen
Eisteddfod Festival of music this year
– and came away as winners.
From July 7-12, people from all over
the world descended on the small town
of Llangollen in Wales for the International Musical Eisteddfod competition,
celebrating music, dance, costume and
culture. On the Saturday afternoon, 37
CapCon ladies took to the stage in the
Amphitheatre, performing top songs
from our repertoire to the crowds
outside in the beautiful sunshine. It was
a great warm up just half an hour before
going into the main tent and really got
us all buzzing for more. I Will Survive
and Elbow’s One Day Like This definitely got people up and dancing – and
I don’t mean just us! The main stage looked stunning with
flowers adorning both the front and
back and we were all so excited to be
there performing our competition package. Consisting of two of our favourite
and most beautiful ballads and a bright
up-tempo song ,we sang our hearts out.
It was such a great experience for us
and we congratulate our five newest
members for taking part in what was not
only their first competition but their first
stage performance too! What a strong
performance it was as we introduced
the audience to what traditional Barbershop is really about!
As the final scores were read out, the
entire chorus erupted into cheers and
jumped off their chairs to high five each
other and the celebrations began right
there. We are incredibly proud and that
evening we made sure to let our hair
down and the singing continued. The hard work doesn’t stop here
though, as we are busy rehearsing
an ambitious set for the LABBS 2015
convention in Bournemouth at the end
of October.
We look forward to a great weekend
and performing alongside so many
talented choruses. See you in October!
If you’d like to watch our Eisteddfod
performance, visit http://bit.ly/CapitalConnectionWin
Vicky Sutton
PRO, Capital Connection
Second City takes the plaudits
A
fter competing at the Tamworth
& District Festival of Music and
bringing home an Award, Second City
Sound went on to perform their Spring
Concert on April 25 at Sutton Coldfield
Town Hall to a packed audience made
up mainly of barbershoppers.
“Stunning looking! Professional!
Unique Style! Intonation of pitch and
accuracy!” were just some of the positive comments made about Second City
Sound’s performance by the adjudicators at the Festival.
The chorus’ Spring concert in aid
of Midlands Air Ambulance featured
a lineup of talented friends and local
acts including Anvil Chorus and Jiggle
Quartet.
Both choruses have their own dynamic in place in the world of harmony
singing and love to perform just to see
the look on the audience’s faces when
they start singing.
Arranged in the barbershop style
With a Song in My Heart, composed
by Rodgers and Hart, has been recorded by many fine artists. Here, it was
brought to life in a stunning eight-part
arrangement and sung by Second City
Sound and Anvil Chorus, who showed
off their unique strengths and personalities. The audience was not disappointed
with their passionate delivery of a
collection of beautiful songs including
And So To Sleep Again by Joe Marsala /
Sunny Skylar and the lovely song Misty
by Erroll Garner/Johnny Burke.
Our concert theme of songs was a
collection inspired our Musical Director,
Rod Butcher who led the programme,
with help from Assistant MD Helen
Brown.
Along with appearances from Jiggle,
there were performances by hilarious
comedian/compere Doug Parker and
local guys Steve Ashcroft – a guitarist
and singer and musician Martin Lewis .
Second City Sound was delighted to
be part of the LABBS Directors’ Education Weekend, brought together by Liz
Garnett with special guest educator Dr
Jim Henry.
The chorus gathered on the risers as
guinea pigs on the Saturday and all the
girls who took part said they wouldn’t
have missed it for anything.
It was an extremely informative
experience and lovely to meet some
really talented and friendly Music Directors in the process.
GayeAnne Lane
PRO, Second City Sound
17
Love to Sing
course creates
plenty of fun
T
artan Harmony members played
hosts to 25 ladies during a free
four-session Love To Sing course led by
their MD, Kate McGeoch.
Singing sessions included vocal technique, breathing, posture, tone and lots
of fun. The course culminated with the
ladies joining TH on the risers to sing
their new song Let’s Sing Again.
Some of the ladies joined Tartan
Harmony in a very successful sell-out
Summer concert.The chorus was joined
on stage by TH-based quartet The
Decibells and special guests Spark, who
travelled from Aberdeen and St Andrews
to share their vocal prowess.
Audience participation caused great
amusement and mouthwatering home
baking and refreshments added to the
relaxed party atmosphere of the evening.
Tartan Harmony also took part in the
Helensburgh Summer Festival, singing
a few songs at the John Logie Baird
Monument on the Esplanade.
Margaret Sakulina
PRO, Tartan Harmony
Triple success for
Tartan Harmony
Tartan Harmony was delighted to come home with three
prizes from Bangor International Choral Festival in April.
They worked very hard under the direction of MD Kate
McGeoch and assistant MD Juliet Erskine (founder of Tartan
Harmony), rehearsing 12 songs to take to the festival. The
chorus winning set included Hey Mister, Love Me and Auld
Lang Syne.
TH quartets The Decibelles and Vox came first and second
respectively in the Barbershop Ensemble class.
A cake to celebrate their win was made by Eileen Kruger.
Quartets club together
H
igh Tea Quartet posted on our
Facebook page during May, looking
for singouts to gain experience ready for
prelims.
A new line up meant we hadn’t been
ready to perform publicly for a few
months but with prelims coming up we
knew we had take some action.
What came of that Facebook post
was quite extraordinary. Bristol is
fabulous area for barbershop, with
four ladies’ choruses. We worked out
that there were seven or eight quartets
from the surrounding area taking part
in prelims including Free Range, The
SongSmiths, Chord En Bleu, Obsession,
Amethyst and ourselves, plus mixed
quartets BS4 and Jigsaw. Wouldn’t it be
lovely to meet up?
It was decided to hire a venue and
sing to each other just before prelims
and we offered to organise the event.
18
By chance, a local church phoned
the following week
to ask if High Tea
would sing at their
fete the week after
prelims. A deal
was struck and in
exchange they offered us the church
for free on June
16. We decided
that because Fiona
worked for Survive
Womens Refuge as
a support worker that we would have a
raffle and take donations to the charity.
A concert plan was put together and
the free event was advertised. We were
overjoyed to have a full house with
members from all local choruses and
the public joining together in harmony.
It was a splendid evening where we
all got our chance to sing to real people
in a lovely atmosphere. I am very overwhelmed at the support of all the Bristol
quartets who attended and we raised in
total £220 for Bristol Survive
Mary Williams
High Tea Quartet
All that jazz: FR strut their stuff in a scene from Chicago
It was a glorious evening with more than
500 spectators at Proms in the Meadow
in Gloucester on July 4 and JFR were
asked to open the proceedings. Under
the directorship of MD Wendy Howse,
they performed a set of six songs, including The Cup Song fom Pitch Perfect,
mixing a cappella, backing tracks and
accompaniment by pianist Jo Luddington.
A great way to finish a successful year for
Junior FR. They’ll be back in September.
A tuneful 20th celebration
F
ascinating Rhythm was formed 20
years ago and we felt we had to
‘push the boat out’ and mark the occasion with a Celebration Show.
In collaboration with Rachel Bosomworth and her team from Love’s Bet
Productions amateur dramatic group
and Junior FR, we set about working
our socks off to present a high quality
musical show in just six months.
We learned six new songs to add
to our repertoire together with some
exciting new skills that included acting,
dancing and comedy. All the hard work
and commitment paid off with sell-out
performances for both the matinee and
evening show.
Themed on ‘Songs from Stage &
Screen’ the show opened with a 10part arrangement of Mr Blue Sky, then
offered up songs from, among others,
Oliver, Chess, Chicago, Les Miserables,
and Lady and the Tramp... 19 in all,
with a number of costume changes.
Comedy was provided by Love’s
Bet Productions’ version of The Song
That Goes Like This (Spamalot) and
FR’s rendition of Anything You Can Do
(Annie Get Your Gun) that started with
a tap dance-off from Jane Sawyer and
Julie Bath. The Dance of the Sugar
Plum Fairy also went down well.
Junior FR = joined us for Oliver,
complete with Victorian costumes.
Soundwaves
grant boost
They had their own spot for a medley
of songs by Queen and a percussion
accompaniment to The Cup Song and
did Wendy Howse (MD) proud.
MD Jo Dean sang a ‘goose-bump’
duet of I Know Him So Well with Ali
Jack – founder member of FR (when
it was known as Rainbow). Youngest
member, Georgia Radcliffe, who has
been with the chorus for 10 years, sang
‘On My Own’ (Les Mis).
We were thrilled to have LABBS
Chairman Brenda Rothwell, Jean
Olman, LABBS representative and past
Directors and members in the audience.
Julie Bryant
PR Team, Fascinating Rhythm
Having fun: Members
of Soundwaves with
Andy Whitfield
Below: Our lovely
new logo
A
decision not to compete at LABBS
convention Bournemouth this year
led members of Soundwaves Blackpool
to look for something different.
A former chorus chairman now
suffers from dementia and we decided
we wanted to help people living with
the condition.
We enrolled as Dementia Friends –
and applied for a grant that would allow
us to take our songs out to a wider
audience. Months (and many hours of
research) later, we were delighted to
learn that LeftCoast and the Arts Council
had supported our plan to the tune of
£5,000. To celebrate, we commissioned
a bright new logo.
The ladies of the chorus are now
developing a repertoire to take out to
care homes and other establishments
around Blackpool and Wyre. We are
working on some new songs with Andy
Whitefield of More Music and have
already done our first Flash Mob at an
event for Trinity Hospice, which was a
great success.
Chorus members are relishing the
prospect of a six month project and
hope to use our new skills to wow the
audience at Harrogate in 2016. Watch
this space!
Sandra Mangan
PRO, Soundwaves
19
Living life
with Pzazz
P
zazz began the year determined to
have some fun learning new songs
and enjoying coaching sessions.
We’re fortunate to be based in
Manchester, home to MUBS and their
two fabulous choruses. Both were
invited to perform on the Crystal
Chords 35th Anniversary show in May
and Pzazz offered to spend some time
working with Ultraviolet in February.
What a talented and enthusiastic group
of young women, led by the wonderful
Gina Hallums.
It was soon time to begin our own
preparations for the Crystal Chords
show, which included learning three
new songs and rehearsing with Reckless
for an eightpart number.
The show
was a huge
success. We
were honoured
to play a part in this special occasion,
particularly as we have a previous
Musical Director (Gill) and the current
Musical Director (Mon) in our ranks.
We’ve also managed to squeeze in
excellent coaching sessions with Nicky
Salt, Lynda Keever and the lovely Sally
McLean. Each of these very talented
ladies brought something different to
Pzazz and we continue to pour over our
notes, diagrams and recordings.
T
swing. Before we knew it, we were in
our costumes, stage make-up trowelled
on, in the rehearsal room, only a few
minutes away from our prelims debut!
Suddenly, it was a matter of weeks
to Prelims – how come it always comes
around so quickly? We were thrilled
to place 1st in all three categories,
congratulations to Road Trip and ToneAcity for their 2nd and 3rd placings. It
was amazing to see so many quartets
competing, especially our Crystal girls;
Barberlicious, Sound Escape and Supernova. Well done to everyone involved.
Sare, Gill, Me-Julie and Mon
Pzazz
Aca-Holics make prelims debut
he songs were chosen, the copyright
fees paid, LABBS membership
renewed, prelims application form
submitted, hotel accommodation
booked, costumes and make-up bought,
studio ‘mirror time’ organised, coaching
scheduled, dress rehearsals arranged.
After less than two years together,
Aca-Holics were ready for our first ever
official LABBS quartet competition!
After many nervous, sleepless nights;
Saturday June 20 dawned - a damp,
humid day in Walsall. We arrived at the
venue and were booked ‘in the system’
as the well-oiled machine that is a
LABBS music competition went into full
Deadline for Next Issue
Friday
November 6 2015
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The next few minutes were a blur.
After all the training, coaching and practice, we sang our two competition songs
to the very best of our ability. No wrong
notes, no fluffed moves, no evidence of
nerves (although we weren’t quite sure
how). Everyone backstage and in the
dressing room was so supportive.
After what seemed like an eternity,
the results were announced. To our
surprise and relief, Aca-Holics scored
63.7%, placed 16th and are through to
the semi-finals in October – where it all
starts again! See you in Bournemouth!
Laura, Sue, Czarmé and Katy
Aca-Holics
Diary Dates
Sep 5
LABBS Board/E&J/Convention team meetings
Sep 5
Avon Harmony Anniversary Show
Sep 12-13
LABBS Judges Seminar
Sep 26
LABBS Council meeting
Oct 2-4
IABS Convention, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
Oct 5-10
SAI Convention, Las Vegas
Oct 11
Convention Team meeting
Oct 30-Nov 1
LABBS Convention, Bournemouth
For more dates and information see our website www.labbs.org.uk