www.labbs.org.uk IN THIS ISSUE:

The magazine of the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
www.labbs.org.uk
March 2008
IN THIS ISSUE:
OUR FIRST
BARBERSHOP
YEAR
with
THE
BARBERETTES
LEARN TO
SIN G
SUCCESS
FOR
FASCINATING
RHYTHM
Gloucestershire is pleasantly overwhelmed
Barbershop from the rookie perspective
ALL THE WORLD
LOVES A CLOWN
QUARTET
CORNER
Havoc, Enigma &
After Hours
p. 16
p.5
CLUBS
Find out what
p.10
-Cheshire Chord Co.,
-Green Street Blues,
-Signature,
-White Rosettes,
-Thameside,
-Harton Harmonisers
-Belles of 3 Spires and
-A Touch of TLC
HOW DO THEY
DO IT?
Costume tips from Kath
Roodhouse
p.9
have been up to since the
turn of the year.
Induction Programme
from Gem Connection p.4
p.6
Dressing up with Renaissance
SNAP TO IT
p. 8
LABBS NEWS ROUND-UP
Catch up with new appointments, resignations and
retirem ents and find ou t how LABBS, BABS and
Sweet Adelines are working together.
p.2
AND THE REST
All the usual Letters to the Editor, Notices, and Ads
p.13
Excellent ad vice on taking great shots from EN IGMA s
favourite photographer Louis Ramsey p.12
VOICE BOX
MA RCH 2008
FROM
PAGE 2
LABBS CHAIRMAN
H i everyone
Well, the New Year is well and truly moving on and here we are again, preparing for Prelims in April
how quickly these things come round! I know that both the E&J Committee and the Prelims/Convention
Team are working very hard to make these days both efficient and fun, as always, and I do hope you will
enjoy the new concept. I will see some of you in Bristol and Hatfield and Kath Good will be representing
the Executive in Leeds and Nottingham. Please come and talk to us!
Jacqui Edwards
My first (and very p leasu rable) d u ty in this letter is to say an enorm ou s thank you to Jean Lew is I am
sure you will all agree with me that her first edition of Voice Box was a real success. She has given you all
lots of ideas for items so please respond! Our in-house magazine can only be as good as you make it.
We have had some changes on the Executive Team: Jennifer Nicol has had to resign due to ill health we all wish you much
better health for the future Jennifer and thank you for being with us, albeit for a short time. Betty Townsend resigned in November as Prelims/Convention Team Liaison Officer (but is still involved on the Team) and Jane Wilkinson has kindly
stepped into her shoes. Thank you Betty for an incredible job and welcome Jane we wish you good luck but know you will
do a great job too.
At Council on the 19th January it was agreed that we should honour our Founder Members by making them Honorary Members and Val Law rence is at p resent tracking them d ow n . We know that five of them are still m embers of LABBS, w hich is
a p retty cool achievement by anyone s stand ard s. I hop e you agree that this is a m arvellou s id ea where would the Association be if they had not put their heads together thirty-one years ago?
I have one sad, but not exactly unexpected, piece of news to report and that is that Crawley Harmony has decided to leave
LABBS, although they plan to stay together as a singing group. It is always sad when a club leaves our Association but especially so when it is a Founder Club. Some ladies will become CAL Members but I know you will want to join with me in
thanking them for being part of LABBS for an incredible thirty-one years and in wishing them all the very best for the future.
Yours, in harmony,
Jacqui
3.
Young Singers Harmony Camp.
Lincoln Barbershop H arm ony Choru s (BABS) is ru nning a
sum m er cam p for you ng singers aged 13 18 in Au gust 2009
and educators from the three Associations will take part.
Rep resentatives of LABBS, BABS and Sw eet Ad elines International (Region 31) have m et on fou r occasions since
Ju ne 2007 to d iscu ss both w orking m ore closely together
and find ing w ays of p rom oting barbershop to a w id er audience and, to date, there are five projects in hand:
1.
A Best of British Barbershop CD .
This w ill show case ou r hobby and w ill be u sed m ainly for
p rom otional p u rp oses. This is p rogressing and it is hop ed
that the CD will become available in the early summer.
2.
Two one-day Workshops:
a. Saturday 5th April 2008. BVSC Conference Centre,
Birmingham. Marketing and PR.
This is targeted at PROs and w ebm asters. The cost is
£25.00 p er head and ind ivid u al clu bs w ill p ay for their
d elegate(s) to attend ; BABS H arm ony Fou nd ation is fu nding the overheads.
b.
A Saturday in early June 2009.
Venue to be decided. A Masterclass in Arranging.
No details yet but watch this sp ace!
4.
Barbershop Awareness Week and Show.
It is envisaged that w e w ill all hold events p rom oting barbershop d u ring one w eek in the su m m er of 2009 and this w ill cu lm inate in a Best of British Barbershop Show at the Lond on
Pallad ium in Sep tem ber 2009. The Show w ill featu re the top
choruses and qu artets from each Association and w e p lan to
do this in conjunction with a major British charity.
I hop e you w ill agree w ith m e that these are exciting p rojects
for LABBS and for barbershop generally and will support them
wholeheartedly.
Jacqui Edwards
Chairman, LABBS
MA RCH 2008
VOICE BOX
PAGE 3
LABBS ROUND-UP
LONG SERVICE
We recognise and honour the tremendous service to LABBS given by the
following members. Please take the
time to congratulate them.
30 year members in 2006
Audrey Ackroyd (Avon); Margaret d e
Wolf (CAL); Enid Fow ler and Sybil
H u lm e (Craw ley); Ed na Dean, Mary
Sm ith & Patsy Sm ith (Dorset); Margaret H obd ay (E Mid land s); Sand ra
La n d e y (Le e d s ); En id Va u x
(Liverp ool); Kay Derrig, Kim H and el,
Wend y Povey, Dap h Pow ell, Mau reen
Tott (Read ing); Barbara Mesu re &
Beryl Richm an (Sevenoaks); Margaret
Kersw ell, Brend a Roffe & Lee Westlake (Teignm ou th); Evelyn Asher,
Bu nny Bainbrid ge, H ild a Cam p bell,
Margaret Grant (Tynesid e); Di Crosfield (Winchester).
30 year members in 2007
C a t h M o r t o n & Ca r o l Sh e r r y
(Brad ford ); H elen Row land s & H elen
Ryley (CAL); Olive Clarke, Ed na Lawrence, Jean Stad nicki, Au d rey Syrett,
& Joan Tam on (Craw ley); Karen
Palmer & Marilyn Penketh (H avant);
Dot H all (Leed s); Pau la McEw an &
Jean Th om as (Lym m ); Cath erin e
Grimes (South Shields); Helen Dawkes
(Teignm ou th); Cathy Ball & Robena
Hinwood (Wessex).
C ONVENTION TEAM CHANGES
Jane Wilkinson, longstand ng m em ber of the
Convention Team has
taken over from Betty
Tow nsend and is you r
new Convention Chairman.
Jane says, We w ill keep
you inform ed throu ghou t
the year via the Website,
Voice Box, Co n v en tion
newsletters
and
Inform ation to clu bs .
Please contact m e w ith
any com m ents you w ou ld
like to m ake abou t Conventions and Prelim s. For enquiries regard ing the contests, p lease contact Pau line Sp iller .
Out-going Convention Chairman, Betty
Townsend is presented with a thank-you
gift on behalf of LABBS by Chairman,
Jacqui Edwards
See LABBS Directory or website for contact details.
NEW REGIONAL REP
Theresa Phillips has taken on
the role of Regional Rep covering Erew ash and Coventry.
She s pictu red here (on the
right) receiving her bad ge
from Kath Good (LABBS
Vice-Chairman) at the LABBS
Cou ncil m eeting in Lond on,
in January
30 years continuous services in Contest & Judging Programme:
Marilyn Penketh (Havant)
25 year members in 2007
Sylvia H emm ings (Avon); Mad eleine
Br a n so n , W e n d y M ea d , P e n n y
Mitchell, Dee Shu ckbu rgh (Bognor
Regis); Mary Cru te, Valerie Davis,
Janet H ill, Joyce Sm ith (Bristol); Pam
Coke (Brom ley); H elen Woold rid ge
(Card iff); Doris Baker, Anne Jones,
Lynne Ow en (Chesham );
Valerie
Fisher, Chris Moore, Lynn Preen, Jan
R y d e r ( C A L ) ; G r a c e L e fe v r e
(Crawley); Ann Garratt, Gloria Rogers,
Rita Selw ay, Anita Slad e (Exeter);
Aud rey Flem ing (G. Manchester),
Glad Watkinson (H avant); Jane Ford ,
Sally McLean, Alison Sp encer (Leed s);
Pam Keen (Read ing); Polly Witty
(Sou th Dow n s) ; Lesley Rid d en
(Tynesid e); Pau line Roshier & Su e Davies (Wessex)
If I d know n you d take m y p h oto I d have had m y
hair d one! said Theresa
HAPPY 30TH, LEEDS
The current LABBS chairman and
no fewer than five previous
Chairmen met up with Clive
Landey and Sally MacLean (past
and present MDs) in November
to help The White Rosettes celebrate their 30th year.
Pictured from left to right: Sue
Livesey, Bunny Bainbridge, Clive
Landey, Pauline Corrieri, Sally
MacLean, Sandra Landey, Jacqui
Edwards and Cath Morton.
MARCH 2008
G EM POLISHING
This article follows on from V al Lawrence s Talking Point piece on recruitment in the last issue of Voice Box.
Gem Connection have a very structured w ay of bringing their new est
members into the fold. It involves
extra effort and commitment from
Section Leaders and other club officers, a buddy system, and the preparation of extra training materials but
they believe it is worth it.
Firstly, I think it is im p ortant to say
that no choru s is going to retain every
new recru it, says Sing-ou t Secretary,
Mary H u rt. Som e are not read y for
the com m itm ent; others are not seriou s; the od d one, sad ly, cannot sing in
tune.
Each recru it is su p p orted to w ork at
her ow n p ace and is p rovid ed w ith
sm all, achievable goals w hich bu ild
grad u ally as she is d evelop ing confid ence and d em onstrating com m itm ent. It is im p ortant to choose the
right p eop le for each of the cru cial
sup p ortive roles N ew Mem ber Rep ,
Section Lead ers and bu d d ies. This is
vital if new com ers are not to feel isolated and overw helm ed . N o one is
ever rejected . Op tions offered along
the w ay inclu d e becom ing a non singing m em ber in a su p p ortive role to the
chorus.
Ou r ind u ction p rocess involves som e
of the following:
Initial meeting with Membership Secretary, w elcom e and inform ation giving. Then voice testing w ith the section lead ers in a qu iet p lace. This in-
CONTRIBUTED BY MARY HURT
volves singing to m atch a note, singing u p and d ow n a scale, singing a
w arm up exercise w ith Section Leaders and a rou nd , hold ing her p art. A
d ecision is m ad e w hether to continu e
to the next step : hand ing over a CD of
a short w arm up song in the p art allocated
A N ew Mem bers H andbook and
brief exp lanation of the au dition p rocess is given out and the recruit is introd u ced to a bu d d y, w ho is available by
phone and supports at rehearsals.
In her ow n tim e, the recru it d ecid es
w hen she w ants to be au d itioned by
singing her p art w ith bu d d y or section
lead er and then alone in a qu artet.
Feed back is given. She m ay try again
the following week if necessary.
I have a great section lead er and
director who give endless energy and
su p p ort, w hich encou rages m e to
p erform better and hop efu lly I w ill
keep imp roving. It s a thrill w hen
you know you have hit the right
notes! It is a lovely hobby and I am
so glad I joined Gem . - new recru it
Denise Healey
When this is com p leted a CD of one
song to learn is p rovid ed and she is
introd u ced to the Presentation asp ect
of performance.
Visu al ind u ction is next, su p p orted
by a vid eo to cop y sim p le choreograp hy to the song. She joins the choru s
for w arm u p s and w e sing the song
she is learning every w eek so that she
can p ractise singing
and choreograp hy. We
then m ove on to visu al
au d ition on this song
w hen the recru it is
ready for it.
Early Bird sessions, 30
m inu tes before
rehearsal, are offered by
Section Lead ers on all
asp ects of singing craft,
ch oreograp h y,
bod y
language etc
Gem Connections new est m em bers
PAGE 4
VOICE BOX
Meetings in Section
Lead ers or bu d d ies
I have been encou raged to join in as
m u ch as p ossible, w ithou t being
pressu red to d o m ore than I am comfortable w ith. As I have p assed each
au d ition I have been overw helm ed
by the su p p ort and congratulations
from all choru s m em bers. I have
fou nd the com bination of sheet m usic w ith teach CDs to be a brilliant
w ay to learn and p ractise new songs
at hom e. I also feel that the au d ition
stages for new m em bers are w ell
thou ght ou t to bu ild confid ence
grad u ally and m ake the p rocess of
joining m u ch less intim id ating and
overwhelming than it cou ld be. new recruit, Sam Wallace
homes are also used.
When the new m em ber is accep ted
she is given a CD and m usic for the
current song and asked to learn five or
six songs w ith a goal of a singou t or
competition. All is done in conjunction
w ith the Mu sic Team , as the p rogress
and su p p ort strategies of all new
mem bers are d iscu ssed at th eir
monthly meetings.
On com p letion of her first singou t the
new recru it w ill be aw ard ed her
sp arkly Gem brooch, to be w orn w ith
pride! And only at this stage will a full
folder of music be given.
At no tim e is any p ressu re exerted.
All step s are taken at the recru it s ow n
time.
Ou r choru s has a very enthu siastic,
p ositive, and friend ly ethos w hich is
rem arked on by new recru its. Singing
ou t w ith the choru s, how ever, is an
earned privilege and not a right.
In p rep aration for this article I asked
som e of ou r m ost recent m em bers for
their com m ents on the ind u ction p rocess and I inclu d e excerp ts here. Money
d id not change hand s for their comm ents!
Gem Connection are happy to share
details of their induction process
w ith other choruses. Contact details
are available in the LABBS Directory,
or on the club website.
MA RCH 2008
VOICE BOX
SPECIAL FEATURE
Just about a year ago, The Barberettes
gave some free singing lessons, fulfilling one of the criteria they had to
meet to get a Lottery grant for some
new risers. Joy N eedham, Barberettes
Chairman, asked those w ho attended
then w ent on to become chorus members to chart their progress. She
thought it w ould remind old hands
w hat it s like to take those early
steps, and also strike a chord w ith
ladies w ho are starting out w ith other
choruses. We thought the result w as
worth sharing.
sleep and m y family knew them off by
h eart becau se I san g con stan tly
around the house.
PAGE 5
CONTRIBUTED BY THE BARBERETTES
w eekend coaching sessions the hard
w orking Barberettes Com m ittee takes
the time to organise.
I have had an extrem ely challenging
The Barberettes had arranged for
time in my personal life this year and
som e sp ecial coaching for the choru s
m y new p als at Barberettes have su pin read iness for convention. Again the
p orted m e throu ghou t. My hu sband ,
choru s show ed their fantastic su p p ort
who incidentally is not a fan of barberby inviting m e to attend even
shop , is so p leased I
thou gh at this stage I w as not
have been able to
going to convention.
focu s on m y new
I w anted to take up a
hobby and that it has
hobby that involved
We w orked hard w ith the
made me so happy.
meeting people and
coaches. There is so m u ch to
learning a new skill.
remem ber: your body posture,
I w as p articu larly
We start w ith Jacqueline Cowgill,
you r facial exp ression, how to
excited to take p art in
w ho says: I had m ad e m yself a N ew
hold you r arm s, the w ord s, to
the Wellington CounYear s resolu tion that, having finished
sing the right notes and w hilst
try Park singou t in
studying in 2006, I wanted to take up a
d oing all of this to sm ile! I w as exaid of the MacMillan N u rsing Charity.
hobby that involved m eeting p eop le
hau sted bu t one of the coaches comTo be part of an event w hich raised
and learning a new skill. I thou ght
m ented on w hat good p rogress I had
£7,500 in an evening is m ind blow ing.
p ossibly Morris d ancing w hich, for
made in such a short space of time and
Those fabu lou s nu rses took su ch great
som e reason, m y fam ily fou nd m ost
these com m ents gave m e su ch a conficare of m y Mu m . It w as w ond erfu l for
am u sing! Then w hilst ou t shop p ing at
d ence boost that in a m om ent of sheer
m e to be able to give som ething back.
m y local su permarket I saw a p oster
m ad ness I asked if I cou ld join the
offering free singing lessons w ith The
choru s in Bou rnem ou th.
Chris Lupton also qu otes her first
Barberettes. I have to confess I had
sing-out as a m ajor highlight. I have
never heard of them bu t I had alw ays
For Caroline Tyler, those first step s
alw ays w anted to learn to sing
loved singing w hen I w as you nger
w ere even m ore m eaningfu l. I have
'p rop erly', she says, and therefore
and decided to give it a go.
alw ays ad ored singing,
ju m p ed at the chance to d o this at the
she says, and in 2006, I
free 'Learn to Sing' cou rse. At last, a
I w as mad e to feel so
I have had an extremely
joined a short su m m er
year, on I think I'm m astering the art
w elcome by the choru s,
challenging time in my
cou rse on a cap p ella
of breathing and learning to sing w ith
everyone w as very su p- personal life this year and
training. It w as held in
som e confid ence, thanks to the p atient
p ortive and encou raging my new pals at Barberettes
Tw yford and ru n by a
and friend ly su p p ort of m y fellow barand I w as d elighted , and
have supported me
retired cou p le w hose
bershop singers.
a little su rp rised , to be
throughout.
lives have been d ed iasked at the end of the
cated to barbershop.
Many tim es I had felt tired and a litfree lesson p eriod if I
They introd u ced m e to
tle 'd ow n' after a long d ay at w ork bu t
w anted to au d ition for the choru s. AfThe Barberettes and from that evening
com ing along to rehearsals certainly
ter several w eeks p ractice it w as m y
onw ard s I knew I w as
lifted m y sp irit to the
tu rn to show the lad ies w hat I cou ld
hooked!
extent that it often took
d o. Thanks to the fantastic free lessons
an hou r or so to w ind
I lacked confidence
and the su bsequ ent coaching and su pOn the night I w as d u e to and felt I had so much
d ow n su fficiently to
p ort of the choru s, I w as to officially
au d ition w ith the Bar- to learn about barberallow me to go to sleep!
become a Barberette.
berettes, my Mum was in the
shop singing.
final stages of lu ng cancer
The highlight for m e is
The choru s w ere already w orking
and w e w ere nu rsing her in
the first tim e I d id a
hard on their songs for the annu al
ou r hom e. She insisted I w ent
Singout - everybody
LABBS convention and the Barberettes
to m y au d ition and I shall never forget
w as very encou raging and su p p ortive;
being as w elcom ing as ever asked m e
the thrilled exp ression on her face and
follow ed by the w eekend Retreat
to go w ith them . Bu t it w as still early
the big hu g w hen I retu rned hom e
w hen w e sp ent all w eekend singing d ays for m e, I lacked confid ence and
w ith the good new s that I had been
an exhau sting bu t rew ard ing exp erifelt I had so m u ch to learn abou t barsuccessful.
ence; cu lm inating in the Convention
bershop singing that I d eclined the
w eeken d a t Bou rn em ou th . N ow
offer.
I benefited so m u ch from the singing
TH AT w as a m ind -blow ing exp erilesson sessions and know that m y
ence....
As the w eeks w ent by and w e p racbreathing techniqu e and singing abiltised m ore and m ore, the convention
W e ll continue in the next issue, as our
ity have so im p roved since I joined the
songs becam e em bed d ed in m y su bConvention V irgins describe what
choru s. I loved the coaching w eekend
consciou s. I cou ld sing them in m y
Bournemouth 2007 meant to them.
in March and so enjoy attend ing the
VOICE BOX
MA RCH 2008
PAGE 6
ARO UN D T H E CLUBS
T IMM TAKES OVER
After a brilliant result at Convention
bringing The Belles of 3 Spires to 6th
p lace and seeing Qu antro reach 7th
p lace in the Qu artet Com p etition
Pau la William s, w ho brou ght the choru s on over her fou r year p eriod w ith
The Belles, has m oved on to p astu res
new. Timm Barkworth has taken over.
Tim m has been singing barbershop
since the age of 13, says Pam ela
Clew es. H e has su ng in nu m erou s
m ale choru ses and qu artets arou nd
the cou ntry, inclu d ing the Gold m ed al
w inning Quartet Pitch Invasion . H e
also ru ns his ow n voice coaching bu siness. Both Tim m and the lad ies of the
Belles are excited to be starting the
N ew Year together, w orking tow ard s
great things at the 2008 L.A.B.B.S.
com petition.
RADIO CAROLLING
It w as w ith a great d eal of excitem ent
that sixteen m em bers of Cheshire
Chord Com p any left Warrington at
06:30 in the m orning of 21 Decem ber
p rep ared to be transform ed d u ring the
afternoon into the "Rad io 1 Christm as
Carol Singers" at the annu al Radio 1
Christmas Party.
Scott Mills, the Rad io 1 Drive-time
DJ, had asked u s to send a d ozen p eop le to sing one song every hou r d u ring the p arty at the BBC Maid a Vale
Stu d ios w ith the other live acts K.T.
Tu nstall, The H oosiers, H ard Fi and
Kate N ash. Other gu ests interview ed
in the stu d io w ere Paul O'Grad y,
Ricky Gervais (see p hoto) and five of
CONTRIBUTED BY PAMELA CLEWES, P .R.O.
the cast of Hollyoaks.
The show w as d riven by Scott Mills
and Ed ith Bow m an bu t nearly all the
other Rad io 1 DJs d rop p ed into the
stu d io at som e p oint d u ring the afternoon inclu d ing Chris Moyles, Sarah
Cox, Jo Wiley, Zane Low , Ferne Cotton and Reggie, Vernon Kaye, and
Dick and Dom.
We sang six songs live on the rad io
and three w ere show n on the su bsequ ent BBC3 TV p rogram m e of the
event shown on 23 December.
What an exp erience and w hat a
show case for a cap p ella singing.
The H arton H arm onisers (now 36 in
nu m ber) w ere very bu sy p rior to
Christm as w ith a variety of singou ts,
inclu d ing an 80th birthd ay celebration
for m em ber Cathy Grim es sister.
tion at the H ap p y Circle Clu b for the
d isabled w as m et w ith their u su al enthu siasm . These singou ts raised a
good am ou nt for ou r three nom inated
charities.
We also entertained at ou r local child ren's' hosp ice and ou r regu lar invita-
We had a great evening entertaining
a large au d ience at ou r Christm as
BLUE PETER CONNECTION
On the Satu rd ay w e joined Read ing
Salvation Arm y Band for tw o Christm as show s, com p red by Valerie Singleton, w here the p erform ances raised
over £10,000 for variou s charities. On
the Su nd ay w e p erform ed at a concert
w ith ou r friend s from the Tham es Val-
For further information see
w w w .thebelles.org.u k
CONTRIBUTED BY ERYL PRYTHERCH, P .R.O.
H ARTON REPORT IN
Christm as m ay be long gone bu t one
week-end is su re to stay in the m em ories of Signature Singers.
The Belles are alw ays looking for
new m em bers. Com e along on a
Wed nesd ay evening at 7.30p m to the
Stoke U.R.C., H arefield Road , Stoke,
Coventry. See and hear the Belles rehearse and hopefully join them.
ley Choru s, w hich w as also a sell-out
and a great success.
We w ere then able to relax a bit at
ou r m u lled w ine and m ince p ies social. Several other local barbershop
grou p s cam e to "sing for their su p p er"
and generally have a good tim e. This
w as very p op u lar and looks as if it
could become an annual event
Who s that bloke w ith Cheshire Chord ?
CONTRIBUTED BY BERYL COOKE, P .R.O.
Concert and Op en N ight and ou r new
m em bers enjoyed being 'on show ' and
all did extremely well.
We are now going to w ork very hard
to p rep are for Prelim s and show ou r
hard w orking d irector Jean Su tton ju st
how good w e can be.
CONTRIBUTED BY HILARY REID, P .R.O.
At ou r first p erform ance this year w e
entertained the d iners at the Bu rns
N ight su p p er at a nearby restau rant.
Betty's hu sband Frank w as d rafted in
to "ad d ress the haggis" (has kilt w ill
travel) - and no, w e d id n't p eep . N ow
w e have to knu ckle d ow n to get read y
for the second rou nd of the Choir of
the Year Competition in Basingstoke.
H ere s hop ing for lots of lu ck.
MA RCH 2008
VOICE BOX
PAGE 7
T HAMESIDE S TROPHY SURPRISE
CONTRIBUTED BY JASMINE DYER, P .R.O.
w helm ing. The sea of p ink
that m et u s on arrival (w ell
d one you fu nd raisers) and
the cascades of sequins later
on in p erformance. N ot
least the scale of it all spectacu lar! At least one of
u s had to have tim e ou t in
the tranquillity of the Ru ssell Cotes Mu seu m , to calm
down
It w as ou r first ap pearance at Convention for three years and d u ring
that tim e a new era has begu n. Ou r
brand new MD Phillip Ward has got
u s in hand . Phillip com es to u s from
the Tham es Valley Choru s and is
w orking hard on ou r singing style and
our presentation.
For u s first tim ers at Convention it
w as very exciting and a tou ch over-
Those eight m inu tes w e stood behind
that black cu rtain seem ed the longest
in history bu t w e m ad e it throu gh and
w ere pleased to nearly reach the 900
mark watershed.
The biggest su rp rise of all cam e at
the end of the p roceed ings w hen m ost
of u s had troop ed ou t to find the bu s.
It w as annou nced that Tham esid e had
actu ally w on som ething! We w ere
G REEN STREET GET THE BLUES
2007 could w ell go dow n as the year
GSB w ill never forget, but then 2008
could be even better read on!
After w inning ou r Silver m ed als and
the Sm all Choru s Trop hy w e qu ickly
started w ork again teaching Bob ou r
version of the festive jingles. Desp ite a
lot of ill health and som e very imp rom p tu p art-changes, John Lew is at
Blu ew ater w ere extrem ely p leased
w ith ou r carol singing. How ever w e
all w ent hom e very d ow n-hearted
w hen w e heard that Bob Croft had
resigned from being MD. Although (to
qu ote Bob) his w ork w ith u s and the
resu lting m ed als and trop hy had
m ad e it a very sp ecial year for him ,
Tyneside have had a busy year with a
couple of new and interesting venues.
We had a requ est to sing at
New castle Civic Centre to entertain at
the p restigiou s Citizenship Aw ard
Cerem ony . The civic d ignitaries w ere
so im p ressed w ith the p erform ance
last Ju ne that w e w ere invited back for
rep eat p erformances in Au gu st and in
Janu ary 2008, says Bu nny.
Another new venu e w as the national
gard en centre Dobbies . The attrac-
Ou r long established m em bers w ere
am azed to behold Zena Sm ith in top
form cond u cting a Coast to Coast
num ber. She w as ou r Fou nd er originally and it w as w ond erfu l to see her
still going strong. We send her ou r
very best w ishes and w e hold fond
memories of her time at Thameside.
We tru st you w ill see u s back at Convention, w e certainly intend to try.
CONTRIBUTED BY CATHARINE FINCH, P .R.O.
other com m itm ents, fu ll tim e w ork
and the horrend ou s 100 m ile jou rney,
throu gh three cou nties, to rehearsals,
sing-ou ts, and m eetings has ju st
p roved too m u ch for him . Sad ly this
also m eans w e have lost his lovely
w ife Jan w ho s a great bass.
Ou r loss is Cam brid ge Chord Comp any s gain. Shortly after Bob s resignation their M.D., Pau l Davies left
CCC and Bob w as natu rally the best
m an for the job. We w ish him all the
very best of lu ck and look forw ard to
hearing of their next Gold m ed al w in
at BABS convention in May.
Desp ite reaching Silver m ed al stan-
T LC RING IN THE CHANGES
stu nned and d elighted of cou rse.
Thank you Red Rosettes for presenting your cup, it boosts the confidence
of the likes of us - bless you.
Thanks too, to Gaynor Du gay w ho
help ed u s after the last convention,
and to Alison Zd zlow ski also of Green
Street Blu es, to Richard Leathem and
Peter Kenned y from Tham es Valley
for their advice and help.
d ard , other m em bers have also d ecid ed to m ove on to p u rsu e d ifferent
things, both inside and outside barbershop.
The rem aining m em bers have rallied
th eir for ces, an aesth etiz ed th eir
w ou nd s w ith several bottles of w ine
and are u nbelievably d eterm ined and
excited abou t ou r cu nning p lan to get
a new M.D. and rebuild GSB.
Tw o conventions ago, Green Street
Blues were singing lyrics which told of
the brave little choru s that cou ld .
We have now evolved as the brave
little choru s that bloom ing w ell
WILL! Watch this sp ace.
CONTRIBUTED BY BUNNY BAINBRIDGE, P .R.O.
tive venu e p roved to be a favou rite
p lace for fu nd -raising for TLC s
ad op ted charities and the choru s sang
at the centre three tim es d u ring the
year.
Of Convention, Bu nny says, We
m ad e ou r w ay back to Tynesid e on a
high bu t came back to earth w ith a
bu m p w hen ou r chairman annou nced
she had received the im m ed iate resignation of m u sic d irector George Porter....As w e had a p acked calend ar of
Christm as events Lesley Rid d en took
the situ ation in hand and offered her
services as a temporary director.
Thanks Lesley, you re a gem , bu t w e
know you w ou ld rather be on the risers or at the ju d ges table.
In this 35th year since ou r form ation
w e w ish all L.A.B.B.S. m em bers a
happy and harmonious year.
See som e of you at Prelim s!
VOICE BOX
MA RCH 2008
PAGE 8
W EARING COSTUME
ALL THE WORLD LOVES A CLOWN
CONTRIBUTED BY KAY RICHARDS, P .R.O.
stage they w ere cau sing som ething of
a stir backstage as those w ho shared
the changing hall w ith them w ill testify. Bu t Kay tells it from their p oint of
view:
Im agine the scene, all the other choru ses getting read y in their frocks and
bling, carefully ap p lying m akeu p and
setting hair, and then there s u s. Qu ietly in a corner frantically back com bing and ap p lying lacqu er u ntil a
there s a m inor foggy w eather p attern
setting in it s a w ond er w e m anaged
to sing after inhaling that lot - and
m ake u p being virtu ally app lied w ith
a trow el. Of all the m om ents w e
w ou ld have liked to film , w ere the
p olite bu t bemu sed exp ressions on
other p eop le s faces w hich clearly said
What the d evil are they d oing?
Of th e tw e n ty c h o ru s m e m be rs
w h o to o k t o th e s ta g e i n B o u rn em o u t h , n i n e w e re c o n v e n ti o n v irg in s , fiv e h a d n t be e n in th e
g a m e fo r y e a rs , a n d ju s t s i x
w e re s e a s o n e d p ro s . Th e y d id n t
come e x p e c tin g to w in bu t t h e y
d id h a v e a g re a t d e s ire to e n te rta in a n d t h e ir c o s t u m e w a s a ll
part of the fun.
Costu m es w ere the next thing that
Finally, the m om ent cam e and w e
had to be tackled . The jackets w eren t
m u ch of a p roblem ; believe it or not, w ere behind the cu rtains and all w e
they w ere ou r su it jackets w ith the cou ld hear w as the good old West
Cou ntry clap
sid es p inned back, bu t the
and
stom p
trou sers had to be m ad e.
Ad m itte d ly , w e th o u g h t
with
Oggie,
Bu ying the m aterial raised a
Oggie, Oggies
few eyebrow s; w and ering there might be a few wails
about dresses and bling
throw n in; it
arou nd the shop w ith bolts
w as exhilaratof lu rid black on w hite and bu t t h e re w a s n t a s qu e a k :
e v e ry o n e w a s u p fo r i t.
ing and w hen
w hite on black sp otty m atethe
cu rtain
rial, mixed w ith a very
w ent
back,
fetching p laid cau sed qu ite
just fantastic.
a stir.
Pu tting Back in the old routine and
W ill it be me together as a p ackage
and d ressing the choru s as clow ns
tu rned ou t to be a good vehicle. Admit t edly, we t h ou gh t t h er e m igh t be
The shoes raised the biggest p roblem ,
a few wa ils a bou t dr esses
bu t w e got over
a n d blin g bu t t h er e wa sn t
that by sp raying
The shoes raised the biggest
a squ ea k: ever yon e wa s
old trainers w ith
problem but we got over that
u p for it . The girls learnt
Ferrari Red car
by spraying old trainers with
their d ots very qu ickly and
p aint, to give u s
Ferrari Red car paint, to give
everyone p ulled together,
those extra revs. I
us those extra revs.
says Kay Richard s, Renaism u st ad m it hangsance PRO.
ing tw enty od d
p airs of shoes on
The w eek after w e d ecid ed to d o this
m y w ashing line to sp ray started a
p ackage, w e had tw o new tw o m emsp ate of cu rtain tw itching in the
bers arrive and boy d id they help .
neighbou rhood bu t never m ind , w e
Both had been in theatre, one w ith
w ere on ou r w ay. Fu lly togged ou t
exp erience w ith choreography and the
and raring to go, ou r m u sical vehicle
other m ake u p ; som ebod y w as d efihad now been fitted w ith a V8 and
nitely looking after u s. With their help
w as d oing w heelies around the car
w e w ere rom p ing aw ay: the excitep ark.
m ent and enthu siasm in the choru s
was coming off the Richter Scale.
Before they got on the Convention
The au d ience gasp ed , lau ghed and
clapp ed like m ad . N o novice choru s
could have ever had su ch a brilliant
reception and it made us feel so good.
Ou r p erform an ce w en t th rou gh
every range of heart-stopp ing em otion
ranging from Oh, no, Pau line s fallen
over (she d id assu re u s that she w as
still singing albeit that her bottom w as
facing the au d ience) to the rip p le that
ap p eared in bar 17 of the second song
w hen w e su d d enly realised that w e
actually on the Convention stage.
When you d escribe Convention to a
com p lete novice there is alw ays that
little flicker of scep ticism of it can t be
that good bu t w hen w e cam e off that
(Continued on page 9)
MA RCH 2008
VOICE BOX
PAGE 9
M AKING COSTUME
(Continued from page 8)
stage w e w ere flying and ou r Convention Virgins w ere d ying to go it again And w hat p u t the extra sticky icing on the cake
w as the ap p lau se from the au d ience w hen w e w alked back into the au d itoriu m . Even after the m arks cam e ou t, it d id n t d im
ou r enthu siasm : w e know w e have lots to learn and are p repared to p u t in the w ork. At the end of a rather boozy d inner,
Maire ou r MD said she s never know n anything like it. We had com e nearly last and w e w ere still buzzing! Bu t one of ou r virgins p u t everyone s thou ghts into w ord s: It doesn t matter, w e did it and w e can do better next year.
We w ould like to thank everyone w ho w as so su p p ortive at convention, bu t sp ecial thanks m u st go to the m em ber of M&J
who e-mailed us saying how much she had enjoyed our performance and if there was a category for Entertainment, we would
have won.
All I can say to any choru s that has not d ip p ed its toe into Convention w ater, be like u s and take the p lu nge, it s w orth it.
NEEDLES AND PINS
CONTRIBUTED BY KATH ROODHOUSE
Stage Costume is what got me into Barbershop 27 years ago. Back in those days of Crimplene®, we seamstresses were learning new skills: Sylko® (cotton) thread did not cope with the elasticity of the seams on these 'modern' nylon garments. Polyester thread it had to be and you had to use a special sewing machine needle too.
It all started for m e w hen a fellow member of my babysitting group asked me for help hemming her royal blue nylon jersey
'singing' dress. I was invited to her next rehearsal to satisfy my curiosity about why such dresses were needed. All my previous choirs had 'made do' with school uniform or cassocks. Being instantly hooked on the Barbershop sound I knew I had
found the ideal combination of my two hobbies: music and sewing.
Well, w hat have I learnt throu gh the years, and w hat d o I ad vise? The styles have gone
from kaftans, through gingham gowns and trouser suits to slinky sequined dresses. Once,
hats or feathery headdresses were vital too. When I joined my present chorus, Guildford
Harmony, our dark navy, long sleeved, belted dresses had been made using a maternity
pattern. Not a bad idea as we women are prone to these little surprises. All our outfits since
have had a 'preggy' version too [Speaking of which congratulations Gretl!] SO.....
Wish w e hadn t : used short
black gloves which made it
look as though our hands
were chopped off!
Tip 1. The STYLE should be flattering, fluid and comfortable for all body shapes and sizes. Each chorus has its own personality: youthful, dynamic and glamorous, or mostly mature, staid and reticent, or a combination of all. Costume teams do need
to spare a thought for those with generous builds, shall we say, when choosing close fitting gowns that look great on elegant
slyphs. Care must also be taken to cater for the needs of ladies who've had breast surgery.
Tip 2. The FABRIC. Unless you have a clairvoyant it is usually best to purchase fabric(s) and 'make your own' , adding further ou tfits as new m em bers join. "Off the p egs often need alteration anyw ay.
Wish w e hadn t : made
our black stage skirts out
of tafetta. They rustle so
noisily!
Tip 3. COLOUR. My preference is for vibrant colours, alone or with black but you do need
to test them from afar: many fabrics go 'grey' when viewed from the back of the hall. Here I
would also warn that too many sequins can send the video cameras (and some eyes) crazy!
This distracts the onlooker. Other fabrics need strong lighting to look their best so are less
effective in daytime.
Tip 4. Other DISTRACTIONS to avoid: If using velvet ensure the pile is all the same way
up (or down) or different shades will result. If there is a bold design on the fabric this will be noticed if it doesn't occur at the
same place, and the same way up, on everybody. All hems should be the same distance from the floor. Static 'cling' can be
avoided by dipping the garments in fabric conditioner.
Tip 5. JEWELLERY must compliment the outfit but not distract. Guildford Harmony now use local bead shops to design and
supply items to match our outfits. The quality is good and it makes it easier to get replacements and extras.
Tip 6. SHOES. Invest in professional makes which can be re-ordered in future. It's false economy to buy cheap fashion shoes
every year. Basic 'character' shoes can be embellished.
Bu t w e d on't w ant to look at feet, d o w e? It's FACES that w e shou ld be captivated by....but that brings us on to make-up and
I leave this topic to the experts. Perhaps in the next issue?
VOICE BOX
MA RCH 2008
PAGE 10
GOLD RUSH III - GOLD AND YOUTH
Get your Spring fix of great Barbershop Harmony on SATURDAY March 29th - An event not to be
missed at the Leicester Y Centre. Please come & support your QC's chorus as we stage Gold Rush III Gold and Youth. A plethora of gold all in one evening for just £10 a ticket! It s an absolute bargain
wouldn't you agree?
Featuring the wonderful LABBS QC's chorus plus current champions HAVOC and also previous champions After Hours, Enigma and Finesse. The BABS BQC Chorus are also featured along with current
champs QED, and previous champions Pitch Invasion and The Works.
The evening will be the last performance for Pitch Invasion, lets give them a send off to remember!
To keep the average age of the show down (tee hee!) we've also invited LABBS very own Youth Chorus,
The Ivy League and also the BABS Youth Chorus the NBYC. These two dynamic groups will not only
have their own spots but a joint one too, not to be missed it's like a West End performance, believe me.
Tickets are available from the Y Centre Box Office on 0116 255 7066
or take a look at the website www.leicesterymca.co.uk
Please support us. Our performance opportunities are few & far between due to the nature & geography
of the QC's chorus and this show is also giving a donation from the profits to the local Leicester charity
'Coping With Cancer'.
Thank you and hope to see you there!
Jo Braham
Q UARTET CORNER
RED CARPET FOR AFTER HOURS
We hop e you r Christm as w as fu ll of
fu n & frolics like ou rs w as. The
Bou rnem ou th w eekend ju st seem s like
it w as ages ago, d oesn t time fly!
We re keeping bu sy as ever w ith
bookings. At the tim e of w riting this
w e ve a film p rem iere to sing at. Yes,
you d id read correctly: a film p remiere. Toy Story 3 in fact
Well OK, so it s been m ad e by the
Year 1 s at Jo s son Jam ie s school, and
he w as a d irector of cou rse! We ve
been asked to sing at the p rem iere and
Oscar evening, which should be lots of
fu n. We ll let you know how it w ent.
By the tim e you read this w e ll have
also been sp ringing som e u nexp ected
Valentines su rp rises as w e retu rn to
first direct to serenad e em p loyees and
d eliver roses & m essages from their
loved ones. Aah bless!
In m id March w e rep resent
LABBS at BinG! Convention in
Dortm u nd , Germ any along
w ith ou r choru s The White Rosettes and w ill also be singing
on a cou p le of show s later in
March at the Wakefield Op era
H ou se and of cou rse at the Y
Centre Leicester at the GOLD
RUSH III show.
The rest of the year p rom ises
to be bu sy w ith the LABBS
Qu artet Weekend , som e coaching p rop osals w ith a cou p le of LABBS choru ses to finalise and also a trip to Sligo
to the IABS Convention later this year.
So it s bu sy, bu sy, as alw ays!
N ow , as you norm ally see u s in ou r
finery, w e thou ght you d like to see
the attire w e had to w ear for the
Thursd ay nigh t sou n d ch eck at
Bournemouth.
Do these com e in p ink?
In the w ord s of Bob The Bu ild er Can
w e fix it? Yes w e can!
Jo, Julie, Alison & Jane xxxx
After Hours
www.afterhoursquartet.co.uk
MA RCH 2008
VOICE BOX
PAGE 11
ENIGMA CURRY FAVOUR WITH THE LOCALS
It w as an exhau sting, bu t very
hap p y, ru n u p to Christm as for
Enigma, w ith m any p erform ances
both on our own and with Signature.
Thank you to all w ho invited u s on
to their show s
w e p robably m anaged to sing the few carols w e know
m ore tim es than the average chu rch
choir.
One w eekend consisted of p erformances on the Satu rd ay m atinee, Satu rd ay evening and Su nd ay evening at
least it m eant w e w ere too bu sy to go
shop p ing w hich, as you know , is ou r
favourite hobby.
Of cou rse, there are alw ays op p ortunities to sing, so the Enigma Christm as d inner consisted of u s and p art-
ners p iling into the local Ind ian takeaw ay, ord ering a cu rry, then going
arou nd the local hou ses carol singing
(com p lete w ith cand lelit lantern) before going back to collect the takeaw ay. Despite nau ghty com m ents
abou t collecting for ou r d inner, w e
w ou ld like to assu re p eop le that w e
actu ally collected nearly £60 for
Breast Cancer charities!
The year has alread y started in an
interesting fashion for u s, w ith a p erform ance in a rather large hou se so
large in fact that, d esp ite u s changing
and w arm ing u p in one of the bedroom s, the host d id n t know w e had
arrived and w as concerned w e had
got lost!
ing u p , and there are also som e p otentially very interesting p rojects in the
pipeline for Enigma.
We re also d elighted to have been
asked to coach som e new , and not so
new , qu artets, w hich is great, as w e
have alw ays felt it im p ortant to p ass on
the knowledge that we have gained.
By the tim e you read this w e ll be w ell
into 2008, bu t w e still w ish you all a
H ap p y N ew Year and hop e you all
achieve w hatever is in you r heart this
year.
Sue, Steph, Row & Sue
ENIGMA
www.enigma-cappella.org
We have som e great sing-ou ts com-
W HAT A WELCOME HOME FOR HAVOC
N eed less to say w e had a fabulou s
Convention and are still reeling from
becom ing the 2007 Labbs Qu artet
Champions (Waaah !)
We w ou ld very m u ch like to thank
every one w ho help ed and su p p orted
u s and give a sp ecial m ention for
After H ou rs for all their encou ragem ent and su p p ort they have given u s
before, d u ring and since ou r w in. We
hop e to follow in you r footstep s and
be true ambassadors for LABBS.
So w hat d o you d o after a w eekend
like that ?
Well the follow ing Wednesd ay w e
visited the Great Western Choru s rehearsal night w here Lind a is the Mu sical Director and w hat a w elcom e w e
got. Lind a s Boys w ere d elighted
w ith ou r achievem ent and gave u s a
real treat w ith gifts and
bu bbly! The celebrations
continu ed the follow ing
n ig h t a t
Fa scin a tin g
Rhythm s rehearsal (Jo,
Donna and Ali s choru s)
w here w e received a real
hero s w elcom e w ith m ore
bu bbly and m ore p resents.
Thanks girls for a fantastic
p arty, it really w as the icing on the cake (literally
see p ictu re) follow ing a
fabulous weekend.
We can see that w e are going to have
a really bu sy year and the d iary is filling rapidly.
Start . This is som ething very close to
Jo's heart as she also m anages an area
Home-Start scheme.
Ou r first booking after Convention
took u s d ow n to Minehead on a very
w et and w ind y Frid ay night to sing at
a social event for the charity H om e-
It w as an extrem ely ap p reciative aud ience. One lad y w as so insp ired ,
she s d ecid ed to set u p a singing
group in her area.
So the Christm as show s have com e
and gone and w e are now in the
throes of learning new songs, p lanning fu nd raising and generally looking forw ard to the rest of ou r bu sy
Gold year.
See you at the Gold Ru sh Show !
Ali, Linda, Donna, Jo
MA RCH 2008
VOICE BOX
S NAP TO IT
In the Contributions Wanted section
of the last issue we asked for pointers
on how to get the best from our riser
and publicity shots. Louis A. Ramsey
(professional photographer, married to
Steph, from our medal winning quartet,
Enigma) obliged.
There s nothing qu ite like a good
photo so how d o you get one? That s
the m illion d ollar qu estion - the holy
grail.
CONTRIBUTED BY LOUIS A RAMSEY
Althou gh this one is so obviou s, it is
not alw ays that easy to achieve!
Most p oint & shoot cam eras focu s
u sing the central p art of the view
finder (or screen) which is great for a
su bject that is relatively one d im ensional and straight onto the cam era.
H ow ever, w hen taking a photo of a
choru s that is 3 row s d eep , you m ay
find that not everyone is in focu s.
This is w hat technically w ou ld be
called d ep th of field (I w ou ld be
hap p y to exp lain it fu rther if you
want to contact me).
We ve all got a cam era (or tw o), bu t
then again there are cam eras and there
are Cam eras and a lot d ep end s on w hat
Camera shake happ ens w hen there
you w ant the p hotos for - a snap shot, a
is not enou gh light for the cam era to
m em ory, p u blicity m aop erate at a high
terial, or m aybe a CD
en ou g h
sp ee d .
Action shots are great aren t they? Like ou t-of-focus
cover.
They bring such life to the subp ictu r es,
th is
This article concen- ject, but I bet you never realised
show s u p as a blu r.
just what tortured expressions
trates on the u se of
You m ay also see
you
pulled till you saw the photo!
d igital cam eras, as that
ju st p artial blu r on
is w hat nearly everya p hoto that has
one now u ses. H owm ovem ent in it,
ever, the general com m ents are valid
again this is d u e to the cam era shu teven for that strange p henom enon that
ter sp eed not being high enou gh to
we oldies once used to call film.
freeze the m ovem ent. Cam era shake
If you re at all technical, you w ill know
all the w ond erfu l bu zz w ord s - the all
im p ortant one in d igital p hotograp hy is
of cou rse Mega Pixels, the m ore you
have the better the ou tp u t. Tru e, u p to a
p oint, bu t the real lim itation w ill alw ays
be the qu ality of the lens, and the artistic
ability of the p erson taking the p hoto.
That d oes not m ean that a 3MP (m ega
p ixel) p hone cam era can t be u sefu l, bu t
d on t exp ect it to p rovid e you w ith the
best qu ality for that p oster you w ant to
advertise your next show.
Althou gh you d on t need to be a p rofessional to take good p hotos, it s a bit
like singing, there are certain qu alities
you do need (like singing in tune - something I m constantly told I can t d o), and
as you w ou ld n t exp ect to give a fantastic p erform ance w ithou t constant rehearsals, d on t exp ect som eone w ho
d oesn t sp end hou rs w ith a cam era to
produce stunning photographs.
H aving said all that, here are som e basic p ointers that m ay help you to p rod u ce som e good qu ality p hotos for you r
chorus or quartet.
Make su re that you r p hoto is in focus.
PAGE 12
hap p ens at d ifferent sp eed s for d ifferent p eop le (and m ore so w hen
you ve had a few !!).
Birds-eye view of The Barberettes
Size does matter, w ell height actually. If you re trying to fit a large
nu m ber of p eop le into a p hoto, being above them often help s (it can
also hid e those d ou ble chins!). So
throw cau tion to the w ind and stand
on som eone or better still on som ething - bu t d o rem em ber health and
safety and try not to fall off.
If you are u sing a cam era that allow s you to control the quality of
you r p hotos, alw ays u se the highest
qu ality setting. I know this sou nd s
obvious, but you would be surprised
how m any p eop le p refer to get 2000
p hotos on the m em ory card rather
than 200 and then w ond er w hy the
Formal shot of Signature
quality is bad.
If you are trying to take som e formal
photos, try and p lace the su bject
against a neu tral backgrou nd bu t not
too close to it. This w ill m ake a better
p hoto. It is also m u ch easier to change
the backgrou nd afterw ard s if you
need to. Rem em ber, a p hoto is not always what it seems!
If you have a w hizzy camera that allow s you to u se an external flash,
d on t ju st p oint the flash straight at the
su bject on fu ll p ow er - that s w hat
gives those aw fu l heavy shad ow s behind the head s. Try d efu sing the light,
bou nce it off the ceiling, p u t som ething op aqu e over the flash to soften
the light, even a w hite hanky w ill help
(ju st m ake su re you haven t u sed it).
Remember, you do have choices - even
a p oint and shoot norm ally has an off
p osition for the flash, som e even have
d ifferent p ow er settings. Don t forget
that if you take a p hoto d u ring a p erformance, TURN THE FLASH OFF!
Action shots are great aren t they?
They bring su ch life to the su bject, bu t
I bet you never realised ju st w hat tortu red exp ressions you p u lled till you
saw the p hoto! They d o have their
p lace, p u t m ost p eop le still like to
have that sm iling, in focu s and no
m ovem ent p hoto that they can fram e
and have out on display.
If you d o w ant to take p hotos of a
p erform ance, you w ill need a reasonably good cam era w ith a fairly long
lens. This is w here it has to get a little
technical, I m afraid :
1) Use a high ISO setting
2) Use a reasonably high shu tter sp eed
as this w ill allow for the freezing of
m ov em en t. Rem em ber you r ey e
ad ap ts to m ovem ent m u ch better than
(Continued on page 13)
MARCH 2008
VOICE BOX
PAGE 13
(Continued from page 12)
a camera (technically, your eye is much more advanced than even the most sophisticated camera in the world).
3) Use the sm allest p ossible ap ertu re to allow for the greatest d ep th of field as this
w ill greatly enhance the p ossibility that the p hoto w ill be in focu s, rem em ber p eop le
on stage may be constantly moving.
4) It s a fact of life that you have no control over stage-lighting. It w ill tu rn p eop le
red , yellow or any other shad e that the lighting technician d ecid es he likes and
there s nothing you can d o abou t it. If you re seriou sly into p hotograp hy you can
correct it afterw ard s (u p to a p oint), p u t it can take end less hou rs of w ork, believe
me - I know.
5) Choose a good vantage p oint and stick to it. Rem em ber, the rest of the au d ience
have p aid and are only interested in w atching the show , not w atching you take you r
p hotos. I norm ally ap ologise to the p eop le closest to m e in ad vance, ju st in case the
noise of the shu tter annoys them . Try not to shoot d u ring those very qu iet, or, w orst
still, absolutely silent moments.
Enigma performance
One last thing, the not everyone
can keep their eyes open for a
photo p henom enon. This is som ething that WILL hap p en w hen you
have a group of m ore than one
person - som eone w ill alw ays close
their eyes. Fear not, alw ays take
m ore than one shot, as there is a
good chance that not alw ays the
sam e p eop le w ill have their eyes
closed . With a little bit of skill,
som e p hoto enhancem ent softw are
and a lot of patience, eyes from one
p hoto can m agically ap p ear on another.
Sing w ith the Cham ps - Lots of movement in this one!
Finally a note abou t those CD covers. You d on t need a p hoto of the choru s on the front - no really you d on t. Som e good artw ork w ill sell ju st as w ell, if not better. Save the p eop le p hotos for insid e - on the ou tsid e p u t som ething a little d ifferent, be
bold - rem em ber it is all abou t m arketing and im age. The m ore eye catching, the m ore likely you r CD w ill not be the one left
on the shelf at the end of the weekend.
For more of Louis w ork see www.photolouis.co.uk
A DS, NOTICES & LETTERS
THE CHORDETTES
LADIES BARBERSHOP CHORUS
(Based in Newton Abbot Devon)
Is seeking a vibrant, enthusiastic and dedicated
MUSICAL DIRECTOR
To modernise, further develop and enhance an
established competing chorus of sixty
ladies.
For more information on this challenging task, or to make an
appointment to visit our club, please contact
Chairman
ChairmanLynn
Lynnat
thechapples@tiscali.co.uk
or
Vice
Vicechairman
chairmanJoan
Joanat
jcurtis@teignbridge.gov.uk
WANTED!
MUSICAL DIRECTOR
for
TYNESIDE LADIES
BARBERSHOP HARMONY CHORUS (TLC)
Fifty ladies require a dynamic, enthusiastic
musician to direct an established close-harmony
Chorus.
We meet weekly at West Moor Community Centre,
West Moor, Tyne & Wear.
MA RCH 2008
VOICE BOX
PAGE 14
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
Thank-you to all who have sent me feedback. Your comments and good wishes are really appreciated. Perhap s it s ju st being in that lovely honeym oon p eriod bu t I have to say I am having fantastic fun with the job.
Sometimes, volu nteering p ays off (and no, I w asn t p aid to say that!)
I m m u ch obliged to those w ho resp ond ed to m y requ est for sp ecial contributions too. Thanks for taking the
time to put pen to paper or finger to keyboard. There are more ideas for future issues below so if you d like
to w rite in bu t haven t yet, see if there s anything that interests you there. Or su ggest a top ic you rself.
PS For those who were asking me about T-shirts at Bournemouth
see the Barmybass advert on p.15.
C ONTRIBUTIONS WANTED
Musical D irectors, w e rarely hear from you in these p ages. Tell u s w hat d rives you m ad , w hat m akes you glad , you r m ost
over-used p hrases, you r greatest w ishes, the good things and the bad things abou t d irecting. Do you have any insights you
dare commit to paper on the Mars/Venus differences between directing the ladies and directing the men?
Fundraisers, do you have any unusual fund-raising techniques that have worked well? Care to share them?
Everyone else: Perhap s you ve bou ght a new Barbershop CD or are trying ou t a new m p3 player or keyboard . Maybe you ve
been to a barbershop show. Why not send in a review?
LABBS NEEDS YOU (YES, YOU!)
LABBS needs help from someone exactly like you to take over the role of Secretary (vacant due to ill-health)
There is a tremendous team spirit on the LABBS Executive Committee and it s a great way to get to know like-minded people
from all over the country. If you are in a position to help, please let us know.
For an informal discussion about what the job entails please contact Jacqui Edwards
MA RCH 2008
VOICE BOX
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
BONDING BBS STYLE
EYE FUND THANKS
If you w ant a good bond ing exercise
then look after the LABBS Shop for a
year! I am very p rou d of all the m embers of The Aru n Sou nd s w ho so w illingly shared in m aking this su ch a
success. Thanks too to m em bers of
Cheshire Chord Com p any, Colne H arm ony, Second City Sou nd and Finesse
w ho help ed at Bou rnem ou th w hile w e
w ere singing, and to Su e Livesey
w hose constant su p p ort and relaxed
style is so re-assu ring. To m eet su ch
lovely p eop le, to have su ch fu n and to
p ass £5,000 over to LABBS w as a great
privilege and w e send ou r very best
w ish es to Ch ilter n H a r m on y
[Am ersham A Cap ella] for a hap p y
and su ccessfu l year as the cu rrent
'shop-keepers'. And Finally: Thanks to
all w ho m ad e the p u rchases, w ithou t
whom this could not have happened!
The sales of the calendars went very well
at Convention and w e are p articu larly
gratefu l to Anita Bolland , Pau line Fox
and other friend s w ho step p ed in as
'salesm en' w hile I w as ju d ging. The IVY
Leagu e also p layed their p art by taking
m oney for u s on the Satu rd ay w hen
there was nobody to man the stall.
Dee Shuckburgh,
Chairman of The Arun Sounds.
The fu nd is going extrem ely w ell bu t as
this is going to be an ongoing charity to
p rovid e cou nselling for p eop le w ho are
losing their eyesight, it has to go from
strength to strength. We are to be LABBS
designated charity next year so that
shou ld raise a lot of aw areness and
hopefully, money.
Thanks again to everybod y w ho helped ;
they'll know who they are.
Carol Sherry
On behalf of The Eye Fund
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Does anyone rem em ber or have any p hotos of Harry D anser w ay back in 1964
w hen he first introd u ced barbershop to England ? Anyone from Craw ley, Brighton
or Newcastle might find this question ringing a few harmonic bells!
Replies please to Pauline Beckford via Cat Finch (email) or to Voice Box
R ISER S FOR SA LE
Colne Harmony (Colchester) have for sale
a full set of second hand chorus risers
(NOT WENGERS). Hand crafted, 3 ranks, 8 sections (7 in photo).
Back rails and trolley included in the price. Buyer to collect. £500
PAGE 15
BARMYBASS
GIFT EMPORIUM
Gifts with a
Barbershop flavour.
All profits earmarked for
The IVY League.
Please support them
if you can.
Fr id ge
ts
M agne
N o tec
ard s
Bags
T-shirts
pad s
M ouse
www.barmybass.co.uk
NVENTION
CONVENTION
EXEXPRESS
PRESS
EDITOR
REQUIRED
A new editor is required
for the Convention Express newsletter that is
produced over the LABBS
Convention
weekend
(a
different
edition
for
each day).
Although some of it can
be prepared before the
weekend, most of the work
is done at the time including adding in messages,
competition
results and photos. The
time involved is approx.
four hours per day.
The paper, printer and
photocopier will be provided and there is help
available throughout the
weekend from the Convention Team but it would be
useful if you have your
own laptop using MS Word,
Publisher,
or
anything
else suitable.
Contact Jane Wilkinson,
Convention Team Chair
H OW MANY?
CONTRIBUTION FROM BRENDA ROBERTS, P.R.O
This is the kind of flood they don t mind
getting in Gloucestershire. N ot in their
w ildest dreams did Fascinating Rhythm
expect such an overw helming response
to their first Learn to Sing course.
We started ad vertising before Christm as , says Brend a Roberts, w ith p osters,
flyers, ad verts in Parish m agazines and
free local papers and on our web site. Our
rehearsal venue is in a tiny village that no
one s heard of and w e thou ght w e w ou ld
stru ggle to get a hand fu l of p eop le coming along.
An amazing 191, yes 191, w omen tried
to register for our course. WOW!
Ou r first night, 17th Janu ary, w as am azing and ou r sm all
choru s of ju st 21 m em bers w as com pletely sw amp ed . We all
w aited w ith baited breath w ond ering ju st how m any w ou ld
actually turn up.
At 10 to 7, the first p erson arrived follow ed by a constant
stream of very ap p rehensive looking w omen com ing throu gh
the d oor. Mem bers of Fascinating Rhythm w ere there to m eet
and greet and soon the hall was bursting at the seams.
After a w elcom e from ou r chair p erson and a short intro
from ou r MD it w as tim e for a p hysical and vocal w arm u p
and then on with the singing.
It took ju st 10 m inu tes to organise everyone into p arts. We
sp lit into sections to teach the first p age of ou r song and after
a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, w ith a few p eop le find ing their
p art too high or too low , w e retu rned en m asse to sing it
throu gh all together. Mu ch to everyone s am azement it
sounded fantastic and the atmosphere was electric.
It w as ju st brilliant to see the transform ation on all those
faces from su ch ap p rehension at the start to eagerness and
excitement by the end of the evening.
Watch this space or visit our website:
www.fascinating-rhythm.com
to find out what happens next.
DEADLINES 2008
25 April
June issue
25 July
September issue
9 November
December issue
Advertising rates:
£50 for a full page
£25 for a half page
£15 for a quarter page
£10 for a small ad.
NB Payment to
be sent with
copy
Send all copy to:
Jean Lewis,
Email: labbseditor@googlemail.com
We had som e great feed back on how w ell organised the
w hole evening w as, how m u ch at ease everyone felt after the
initial nerves had w orn off and how p eop le can t stop singing.
We w ere only able to accep t 100 w om en on this cou rse so
w ith 90 m ore on ou r w aiting list w e are alread y p lanning ou r
next cou rse.
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 editor as to the publication of any material is final.
Contribu tors are resp onsible for th e opinions and facts contained
in the m aterial they su bm it an d the view s so expressed are not
necessarily those of the ed itor, or LABBS.