March 2008 www.labbs.org.uk The magazine of the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers IN THIS ISSUE: Gloucestershire is pleasantly overwhelmed p. 16 ALL THE WORLD LOVES A CLOWN Dressing up with Renaissance p. 8 OUR FIRST BARBERSHOP YEAR with THE BARBERETTES Barbershop from the rookie perspective p.5 SNAP TO IT Excellent advice on taking great shots from ENIGMA s favourite photographer Louis Ramsey p.12 LABBS NEWS ROUND-UP Catch up with new appointments, resignations and retirements and find out how LABBS, BABS and Sweet Adelines are working together. p.2 CLUBS Find out what -Cheshire Chord Co., -Green Street Blues, -Signature, -White Rosettes, -Thameside, -Harton Harmonisers -Belles of 3 Spires and -A Touch of TLC have been up to since the turn of the year. p.6 QUARTET CORNER Havoc, Enigma & After Hours p.10 HOW DO THEY DO IT? Costume tips from Kath Roodhouse p.9 Induction Programme from Gem Connection p.4 AND THE REST All the usual Letters to the Editor, Notices, and Ads p.13 LEARN TO SING SUCCESS FOR FASCINATING RHYTHM
Transcript
March 2008 www.labbs.org.uk The magazine of the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers
IN THIS ISSUE:
Gloucestershire is pleasantly overwhelmed p. 16
ALL THE WORLD LOVES A CLOWN
Dressing up with Renaissance p. 8
OUR FIRST BARBERSHOP
YEAR with THE
BARBERETTES
Barbershop from the rookie perspective p.5
SNAP TO IT
Excellent advice on taking great shots from ENIGMA s favourite photographer Louis Ramsey p.12
LABBS NEWS ROUND-UP
Catch up with new appointments, resignations and retirements and find out how LABBS, BABS and Sweet Adelines are working together. p.2
CLUBS
Find out what -Cheshire Chord Co., -Green Street Blues, -Signature, -White Rosettes, -Thameside, -Harton Harmonisers -Belles of 3 Spires and -A Touch of TLC have been up to since the turn of the year.
p.6
QUARTET CORNER
Havoc, Enigma & After Hours p.10
HOW DO THEY DO IT?
Costume tips from Kath Roodhouse p.9
Induction Programme from Gem Connection p.4
AND THE REST
All the usual Letters to the Editor, Notices, and Ads p.13
Representatives of LABBS, BABS and Sweet Adelines In-ternational (Region 31) have met on four occasions since June 2007 to d iscuss both working more closely together and finding ways of promoting barbershop to a wider au-dience and, to date, there are five projects in hand:
1. A Best of British Barbershop CD. This will showcase our hobby and will be used mainly for promotional purposes. This is progressing and it is hoped 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 webmasters. The cost is £25.00 per head and individual clubs will pay for their delegate(s) to attend; BABS Harmony Foundation is fund-ing the overheads.
b. A Saturday in early June 2009. Venue to be decided. A Masterclass in Arranging.
No details yet but watch this space!
3. Young Singers Harmony Camp. Lincoln Barbershop Harmony Chorus (BABS) is running a summer camp for young singers aged 13
18 in August 2009 and educators from the three Associations will take part.
4. Barbershop Awareness Week and Show. It is envisaged that we will all hold events promoting barber-shop during one week in the summer of 2009 and this will cul-minate in a Best of British Barbershop Show at the London Palladium in September 2009. The Show will feature the top choruses and quartets from each Association and we plan to do this in conjunction with a major British charity.
I hope you will agree with me that these are exciting projects for LABBS and for barbershop generally and will support them wholeheartedly.
Jacqui Edwards Chairman, LABBS
Hi 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!
My first (and very p leasurable) duty in this letter is to say an enormous thank you to Jean Lewis 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 No-vember 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 Mem-bers and Val Lawrence is at present tracking them down . We know that five of them are still members of LABBS, which is a pretty cool achievement by anyone s standards. I hope you agree that this is a marvellous idea where would the Associa-tion 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 espe-cially 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
Jacqui Edwards
PAGE 3 VOICE BOX MARCH 2008
We recognise and honour the tremen-dous service to LABBS given by the following members. Please take the time to congratulate them.
30 year members in 2006 Audrey Ackroyd (Avon); Margaret de Wolf (CAL); Enid Fowler and Sybil Hulme (Crawley); Edna Dean, Mary Smith & Patsy Smith (Dorset); Marga-ret Hobday (E Midlands); Sandra La n d e y (Le e d s ) ; En i d Va u x (Liverpool); Kay Derrig, Kim Handel,Wendy Povey, Daph Powell, Maureen Tott (Reading); Barbara Mesure & Beryl Richman (Sevenoaks); Margaret Kerswell, Brenda Roffe & Lee West-lake (Teignmouth); Evelyn Asher, Bunny Bainbridge, Hilda Campbell, Margaret Grant (Tyneside); Di Cros-field (Winchester).
30 year members in 2007 Ca th M or ton & Ca r ol Sh er r y (Bradford); Helen Rowlands & Helen Ryley (CAL); Olive Clarke, Edna Law-rence, Jean Stadnicki, Audrey Syrett, & Joan Tamon (Crawley); Karen Palmer & Marilyn Penketh (Havant); Dot Hall (Leeds); Paula McEwan & Jean Thom as (Lymm ); Catherine Grimes (South Shields); Helen Dawkes (Teignmouth); Cathy Ball & Robena Hinwood (Wessex).
30 years continuous services in Con-test & Judging Programme: Marilyn Penketh (Havant)
25 year members in 2007 Sylvia Hemmings (Avon); Madeleine Bra n son , Wen d y Mea d , Pen n y Mitchell, Dee Shuckburgh (Bognor Regis); Mary Crute, Valerie Davis, Janet Hill, Joyce Smith (Bristol); Pam Coke (Bromley); Helen Wooldridge (Cardiff); Doris Baker, Anne Jones, Lynne Owen (Chesham); Valerie Fisher, Chris Moore, Lynn Preen, Jan Ry d e r (C A L); G r a ce Le fe v r e (Crawley); Ann Garratt, Gloria Rogers, Rita Selway, Anita Slade (Exeter); Audrey Fleming (G. Manchester), Glad Watkinson (Havant); Jane Ford , Sally McLean, Alison Spencer (Leeds);Pam Keen (Reading); Polly Witty (Sou th Dow ns) ; Lesley Rid d en (Tyneside); Pauline Roshier & Sue Da-vies (Wessex)
Jane Wilkinson, long-standng member of the Convention Team has taken over from Betty Townsend and is your new Convention Chair-man.
Jane says, We will keep you informed throughout the year via the Website, VoiceBox, Con ven tion n e w s l e t t e r s a n d Information to clubs .
Please contact me with any comments you would like to make about Con-ventions and Prelims. For enquiries re-garding the contests, p lease con-tact Pauline Spiller .
See LABBS Directory or website for contact details.
LABBS ROUND-UP
LONG SERVICE CONVENTION TEAM CHANGES
Out-going Convention Chairman, Betty Townsend is presented with a thank-you
gift on behalf of LABBS by Chairman, Jacqui Edwards
NEW REGIONAL REP
If I d known you d take my photo I d have had my hair done! said Theresa
HAPPY 30TH, LEEDS
Theresa Phillips has taken on the role of Regional Rep cov-ering Erewash and Coventry. She s pictured here (on the right) receiving her badge from Kath Good (LABBS Vice-Chairman) at the LABBS Council meeting in London, in January
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 cele-brate 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.
GEM POLISHING
VOICE BOX PAGE 4 MARCH 2008
This article follows on from Val Law-rence s Talking Point piece on recruit-ment in the last issue of Voice Box.
Gem Connection have a very struc-tured way of bringing their newest members into the fold. It involves extra effort and commitment from Section Leaders and other club offi-cers, a buddy system, and the prepa-ration of extra training materials but they believe it is worth it.
Firstly, I think it is important to say that no chorus is going to retain every new recruit, says Sing-out Secretary, Mary Hurt. Some are not ready for the commitment; others are not seri-ous; the odd one, sadly, cannot sing in tune.
Each recruit is supported to work at her own pace and is provided with small, achievable goals which build gradually as she is developing confi-dence and demonstrating commit-ment. It is important to choose the right people for each of the crucial supportive roles
New Member Rep, Section Leaders and buddies. This is vital if newcomers are not to feel iso-lated and overwhelmed. No one is ever rejected. Options offered along the way include becoming a non sing-ing member in a supportive role to the chorus.
Our induction process involves some of the following:
Initial meeting with Membership Sec-retary, welcome and information giv-ing. Then voice testing with the sec-tion leaders in a quiet p lace. This in-
volves singing to match a note, sing-ing up and down a scale, singing a warm up exercise with Section Lead-ers and a round, holding her part. A decision is made whether to continue to the next step: handing over a CD of a short
warm up song in the part allo-cated
A New Members Handbook and brief explanation of the audition proc-ess is given out and the recruit is intro-duced to a buddy, who is available by phone and supports at rehearsals.
In her own time, the recruit decides when she wants to be aud itioned by singing her part w ith buddy or section leader and then alone in a quartet. Feedback is given. She may try again the following week if necessary.
When this is completed a CD of one song to learn is provided and she is introduced to the Presentation aspect of performance.
Visual induction is next, supported by a video to copy simple choreogra-phy to the song. She joins the chorus for warm ups and we sing the song she is learning every week so that she
can practise singing and choreography. We then move on to visual audition on this song when the recruit is ready for it.
Early Bird sessions, 30 minutes before re-hearsal, are offered by Section Leaders on all aspects of singing craft, choreograp hy, bod y language etc
Meetings in Section Leaders or buddies
homes are also used.
When the new member is accepted she is given a CD and music for the current song and asked to learn five or six songs with a goal of a singout or competition. All is done in conjunction with the Music Team, as the progress and support strategies of all new mem bers are d iscu ssed at their monthly meetings.
On completion of her first singout the new recruit w ill be awarded her sparkly Gem brooch, to be worn with pride! And only at this stage will a full folder of music be given.
At no time is any pressu re exerted. All steps are taken at the recruit s own time.
Our chorus has a very enthusiastic, positive, and friendly ethos which is remarked on by new recruits. Singing out with the chorus, however, is an earned privilege and not a right.
In preparation for this article I asked some of our most recent members for their comments on the induction proc-ess and I include excerpts here. Money did not change hands for their com-ments!
Gem Connection are happy to share details of their induction process with other choruses. Contact details are available in the LABBS Directory, or on the club website.
I have been encouraged to join in as much as possible, without being pressured to do more than I am com-fortable with. As I have passed each audition I have been overwhelmed by the support and congratulations from all chorus members. I have found the combination of sheet mu-sic with teach CDs to be a brilliant way to learn and practise new songs at home. I also feel that the audition stages for new members are well thought out to build confidence gradually and make the process of joining much less intimidating and overwhelming than it cou ld be. - new recruit, Sam Wallace
I have a great section leader and director who give endless energy and support, which encourages me to perform better and hopefully I w ill keep improving. It s a thrill when you know you have hit the right notes! It is a lovely hobby and I am so glad I joined Gem. - new recruit Denise Healey
Gem Connections new est members
CONTRIBUTED BY MARY HURT
PAGE 5 VOICE BOX MARCH 2008
SPECIAL FEATURE Just about a year ago, The Barberettes gave some free singing lessons, ful-filling one of the criteria they had to meet to get a Lottery grant for some new risers. Joy Needham, Barberettes Chairman, asked those who attended then went on to become chorus mem-bers to chart their progress. She thought it would remind old hands what it s like to take those early steps, and also strike a chord with ladies who are starting out with other choruses. We thought the result was worth sharing.
We start w ith Jacqueline Cowgill, who says: I had made myself a New Year s resolu tion that, having finished studying in 2006, I wanted to take up a hobby that involved meeting people and learning a new skill. I thought possibly Morris dancing which, for some reason, my family found most amusing! Then whilst out shopping at my local supermarket I saw a poster offering free singing lessons with The Barberettes. I have to confess I had never heard of them but I had always loved singing when I was younger and decided to give it a go.
I was made to feel so welcome by the chorus, everyone was very sup-portive and encouraging and I was delighted , and a little surprised , to be asked at the end of the free lesson period if I wanted to audition for the chorus. Af-ter several weeks practice it was my turn to show the ladies w hat I could do. Thanks to the fantastic free lessons and the subsequent coaching and sup-port of the chorus, I was to officially become a Barberette.
The chorus were already working hard on their songs for the annual LABBS convention and the Barberettes being as welcoming as ever asked me to go with them. But it was still early days for me, I lacked confidence and felt I had so much to learn about bar-bershop singing that I declined the offer.
As the weeks went by and we prac-tised more and more, the convention songs became embedded in my sub-conscious. I could sing them in my
sleep and my family knew them off by heart becau se I sang constantly around the house.
The Barberettes had arranged for some special coaching for the chorus in readiness for convention. Again the chorus showed their fantastic support by inviting me to attend even though at this stage I was not going to convention.
We worked hard with the coaches. There is so much to remember: your body posture, your facial expression, how to hold your arms, the words, to sing the right notes and whilst doing all of this to smile! I was ex-hausted but one of the coaches com-mented on what good progress I had made in such a short space of time and these comments gave me such a confi-dence boost that in a moment of sheer madness I asked if I could join the chorus in Bournemouth.
For Caroline Tyler, those first steps were even more meaningful. I have
always adored singing, she says, and in 2006, I joined a short summer course on a cappella training. It was held in Twyford and run by a retired couple whose lives have been dedi-cated to barbershop. They introduced me to
The Barberettes and from that evening onwards I knew I was hooked!
On the night I was due to audition with the Bar-berettes, my Mum was in the final stages of lung cancer and we were nursing her in our home. She insisted I went to my audition and I shall never forget the thrilled expression on her face and the big hug when I returned home with the good news that I had been successful.
I benefited so much from the singing lesson sessions and know that my breathing technique and singing abil-ity have so improved since I joined the chorus. I loved the coaching weekend in March and so enjoy attending the
weekend coaching sessions the hard working Barberettes Committee takes the time to organise.
I have had an extremely challenging time in my personal life this year and my new pals at Barberettes have sup-ported me throughout. My husband, who incidentally is not a fan of barber-
shop, is so pleased I have been able to focus on my new hobby and that it has made me so happy.
I was particularly excited to take part in the Wellington Coun-try Park singou t in
aid of the MacMillan Nursing Charity. To be part of an event which raised £7,500 in an evening is mind blowing. Those fabulous nurses took such great care of my Mum. It was wonderful for me to be able to give something back.
Chris Lupton also quotes her first sing-out as a major highlight. I have always wanted to learn to sing 'properly', she says, and therefore jumped at the chance to do this at the free 'Learn to Sing' course. At last, a year, on I think I'm mastering the art of breathing and learning to sing with some confidence, thanks to the patient and friendly support of my fellow bar-bershop singers.
Many times I had felt tired and a lit-tle 'down' after a long day at work but coming along to rehearsals certainly
lifted my spirit to the extent that it often took an hour or so to wind down sufficiently to allow me to go to sleep!
The highlight for me is the first time I d id a Singout - everybody
was very encouraging and supportive; followed by the weekend Retreat when we spent all weekend singing - an exhausting but rewarding experi-ence; culminating in the Convention w eekend at Bou rnem ou th . N ow THAT was a mind-blowing experi-ence....
We ll continue in the next issue, as our Convention V irgins describe what Bournemouth 2007 meant to them.
I wanted to take up a hobby that involved meeting people and
learning a new skill.
I have had an extremely challenging time in my
personal life this year and my new pals at Barberettes
have supported me throughout.
CONTRIBUTED BY THE BARBERETTES
I lacked confidence and felt I had so much to learn about barber-
shop singing.
PAGE 6 VOICE BOX MARCH 2008
After a brilliant result at Conventionbringing The Belles of 3 Spires to 6th
p lace and seeing Quantro reach 7th p lace in the Quartet CompetitionPaula Williams, who brought the cho-rus on over her four year period with The Belles, has moved on to pastures new. Timm Barkworth has taken over.
Timm has been singing barbershop since the age of 13, says Pamela
Clewes. He has sung in numerous male choruses and quartets around the country, including the Gold medal winning Quartet
Pitch Invasion . He
also runs his own voice coaching busi-ness. Both Timm and the ladies of the Belles are excited to be starting the New Year together, working towards great things at the 2008 L.A.B.B.S. competition.
The Belles are always looking for new members. Come along on a Wednesday evening at 7.30pm to the Stoke U.R.C., Harefield Road, Stoke, Coventry. See and hear the Belles re-hearse and hopefully join them.
For further information see www.thebelles.org.uk
AROUN D TH E CLUBS
It was with a great deal of excitement that sixteen members of Cheshire Chord Company left Warrington at 06:30 in the morning of 21 December prepared to be transformed during the afternoon into the "Radio 1 Christmas Carol Singers" at the annual Radio 1 Christmas Party.
Scott Mills, the Radio 1 Drive-time DJ, had asked us to send a dozen peo-ple to sing one song every hour dur-ing the party at the BBC Maida Vale Studios with the other live acts
K.T.Tunstall, The Hoosiers, Hard Fi and Kate Nash. Other guests interviewed in the studio were Paul O'Grady, Ricky Gervais (see photo) and five of
the cast of Hollyoaks.
The show was driven by Scott Mills and Edith Bowman but nearly all the other Radio 1 DJs dropped into the studio at some point during the after-noon including Chris Moyles, Sarah Cox, Jo Wiley, Zane Low, Ferne Cot-ton and Reggie, Vernon Kaye, and Dick and Dom.
We sang six songs live on the radio and three were shown on the subse-quent BBC3 TV programme of the event shown on 23 December.
What an experience and what a showcase for a cappella singing.
TIMM TAKES OVER
BLUE PETER CONNECTION Christmas may be long gone but one
week-end is sure to stay in the memo-ries of Signature Singers.
On the Saturday we joined Reading Salvation Army Band for two Christ-mas shows, comp red by Valerie Sin-gleton, where the performances raised over £10,000 for various charities. On the Sunday we performed at a concert w ith our friends from the Thames Val-
ley Chorus, which was also a sell-out and a great success.
We were then able to relax a bit at our mulled wine and mince p ies so-cial. Several other local barbershop groups came to "sing for their supper" and generally have a good time. This was very popular and looks as if it could become an annual event
At our first performance this year we entertained the diners at the Burns Night supper at a nearby restaurant. Betty's husband Frank was drafted in to "address the haggis" (has kilt w ill travel) - and no, we d idn't peep. Now we have to knuckle down to get ready for the second round of the Choir of the Year Competition in Basingstoke.
Here s hoping for lots of luck.
RADIO CAROLLING
CONTRIBUTED BY PAMELA CLEWES, P.R.O.
CONTRIBUTED BY ERYL PRYTHERCH, P.R.O.
CONTRIBUTED BY HILARY REID, P.R.O.
Who s that bloke with Cheshire Chord?
H ARTON REPORT IN CONTRIBUTED BY BERYL COOKE, P.R.O.
The Harton Harmonisers (now 36 in number) were very busy prior to Christmas with a variety of singouts, including an 80th birthday celebration for member Cathy Grimes sister.
We also entertained at our local chil-dren's' hospice and our regular invita-
tion at the Happy Circle Club for the d isabled was met with their usual en-thusiasm. These singouts raised a good amount for our three nominated charities.
We had a great evening entertaining a large audience at our Christmas
Concert and Open Night and our new members enjoyed being 'on show ' and all did extremely well.
We are now going to work very hard to prepare for Prelims and show our hard working d irector Jean Sutton just how good we can be.
It was our first appearance at Con-vention for three years and during that time a new era has begun. Our brand new MD Phillip Ward has got us in hand . Phillip comes to us from the Thames Valley Chorus and is working hard on our singing style and our presentation.
For us first timers at Convention it was very exciting and a touch over-
whelming. The sea of p ink that met us on arrival (well done you fund raisers) and the cascades of sequins later on in performance. Not least the scale of it all - spectacular! At least one of us had to have time out in the tranquillity of the Rus-sell Cotes Museum, to calm down
Those eight minutes we stood behind that black curtain seemed the longest in history bu t we made it through and were pleased to nearly reach the 900 mark watershed.
The biggest surprise of all came at the end of the proceedings when most of us had trooped ou t to find the bus. It was announced that Thameside had actually won something! We were
stunned and delighted of course. Thank you Red Rosettes for present-ing your cup, it boosts the confidence of the likes of us - bless you.
Thanks too, to Gaynor Dugay who helped us after the last convention, and to Alison Zdzlowski also of Green Street Blues, to Richard Leathem and Peter Kennedy from Thames Valley for their advice and help.
Our long established members were amazed to behold Zena Smith in top form conducting a Coast to Coast number. She was our Founder origi-nally and it was wonderful to see her still going strong. We send her our very best wishes and we hold fond memories of her time at Thameside.
We trust you will see us back at Con-vention, we certainly intend to try.
THAMESIDE S TROPHY SURPRISE
PAGE 7 VOICE BOX MARCH 2008
2007 could well go down as the year GSB will never forget, but then 2008 could be even better read on!
After winning our Silver medals and the Small Chorus Trophy we quickly started work again teaching Bob our version of the festive jingles. Despite a lot of ill health and some very im-promptu part-changes, John Lewis at Bluewater were extremely p leased with our carol singing. However we all went home very down-hearted when we heard that Bob Croft had resigned from being MD. Although (to quote Bob) his work with us and the resulting medals and trophy had made it a very special year for him,
other commitments, fu ll time work and the horrendous 100 mile journey, through three counties, to rehearsals, sing-ou ts, and meetings has just proved too much for him. Sadly this also means we have lost his lovely wife Jan who s a great bass.
Our loss is Cambridge Chord Com-pany s gain. Shortly after Bob s resig-nation their M.D., Paul Davies left CCC and Bob was naturally the best man for the job. We wish him all the very best of luck and look forward to hearing of their next Gold medal win at BABS convention in May.
Despite reaching Silver medal stan-
dard , other members have also de-cided to move on to pursue d ifferent things, both inside and outside barber-shop.
The remaining members have rallied their forces, anaesthetized their wounds with several bottles of wine and are unbelievably determined and excited about our cunning p lan to get a new M.D. and rebuild GSB.
Two conventions ago, Green Street Blues were singing lyrics which told of the brave little chorus that could . We have now evolved as the brave little chorus that bloom ing w ell WILL! Watch this space.
GREEN STREET GET THE BLUES
CONTRIBUTED BY JASMINE DYER, P.R.O.
CONTRIBUTED BY CATHARINE FINCH, P.R.O.
TLC RING IN THE CHANGES CONTRIBUTED BY BUNNY BAINBRIDGE, P.R.O.
Tyneside have had a busy year with a couple of new and interesting ven-ues. We had a request to sing at Newcastle Civic Centre to entertain at the prestigious Citizenship Award Ceremony . The civic d ignitaries were so impressed with the performance last June that we were invited back for repeat performances in August and in January 2008, says Bunny.
Another new venue was the national garden centre Dobbies . The attrac-
tive venue proved to be a favourite p lace for fund-raising for TLC s adopted charities and the chorus sang at the centre three times during the year.
Of Convention, Bunny says, We made our way back to Tyneside on a high but came back to earth with a
bump when our chairman announced she had received the immediate resig-nation of music d irector George Por-ter....As we had a packed calendar of
Christmas events Lesley Ridden took the situation in hand and offered her services as a temporary director.
Thanks Lesley, you re a gem, but we know you would rather be on the ris-ers or at the judges table.
In this 35th year since our formation we wish all L.A.B.B.S. members a happy and harmonious year.
See some of you at Prelims!
Of the tw e n ty ch orus m e m be rs w ho took to the s tage in Bourne-m outh , n ine w e re conve ntion -virgins , five hadn t be e n in the gam e for ye ars , and jus t s ix w e re se asone d pros . Th e y didn t come e xpe ctin g to w in but the y d id have a gre at de s ire to e n te r-tain and the ir costum e w as all part of the fun.
Putting Back in the old routine and Will it be me together as a package
and dressing the chorus as clowns turned out to be a good vehicle. Ad-mit tedly, we thought t here might be a few wails about dresses and bling but t here wasn t a squeak: everyone was up for it . The girls learnt their dots very quickly and everyone pulled together, says Kay Richards, Renais-sance PRO.
The week after we decided to do this package, we had two new two mem-bers arrive and boy d id they help . Both had been in theatre, one with experience with choreography and the other make up; somebody was defi-nitely looking after us. With their help we were romping away: the excite-ment and enthusiasm in the chorus was coming off the Richter Scale.
Costumes were the next thing that had to be tackled . The jackets weren t much of a problem; believe it or not, they were our su it jackets with the sides p inned back, but the trousers had to be made. Buying the material raised a few eyebrows; wandering around the shop with bolts of lurid black on white and white on black spotty mate-rial, mixed with a very fetching plaid caused quite a stir.
The shoes raised the biggest problem, but we got over that by spraying old trainers with Ferrari Red car paint, to give us those extra revs. I must admit hang-ing twenty odd pairs of shoes on
my washing line to spray started a spate of curtain twitching in the neighbourhood but never mind, we were on our way. Fully togged ou t and raring to go, our musical vehicle had now been fitted with a V8 and was doing wheelies around the car park.
Before they got on the Convention
stage they were causing something of a stir backstage as those who shared the changing hall w ith them will tes-tify. Bu t Kay tells it from their point of view:
Imagine the scene, all the other cho-ruses getting ready in their frocks and bling, carefully applying makeup and setting hair, and then there s us. Qui-etly in a corner frantically back comb-ing and applying lacquer until a there s a minor foggy weather pattern setting in
it s a wonder we managed to sing after inhaling that lot - and make up being virtually applied with a trowel. Of all the moments we would have liked to film, were the polite but bemused expressions on other people s faces which clearly said
What the devil are they doing?
Finally, the moment came and w e were behind the curtains and all we could hear was the good old West
Country clap and stomp with Oggie, Oggie, Oggies thrown in; it was exhilarat-ing and when the curtain went back, just fantastic.
The audience gasped, laughed and clapped like mad. No novice chorus could have ever had such a brilliant reception and it made us feel so good.
Ou r p erformance w ent throu gh every range of heart-stopping emotion ranging from Oh, no, Pauline s fallen over (she d id assure us that she was still singing albeit that her bottom was facing the audience) to the ripple that appeared in bar 17 of the second song when we suddenly realised that we actually on the Convention stage.
When you describe Convention to a complete novice there is always that little flicker of scepticism of it can t be that good but when we came off that
(Continued on page 9)
PAGE 8 VOICE BOX MARCH 2008
W EARING COSTUME
ALL THE WORLD LOVES A CLOWN
Adm itte dly , w e th ou gh t there might be a few wails
about dresses and bling but the re w asn t a sque ak:
e ve ryone w as up for i t .
The shoes raised the biggest problem but we got over that by spraying old trainers with Ferrari Red car paint, to give
us those extra revs.
CONTRIBUTED BY KAY RICHARDS, P.R.O.
MAKING COSTUME
PAGE 9 VOICE BOX MARCH 2008
(Continued from page 8)
stage we were flying and our Convention Virgins were dying to go it again And what put the extra sticky icing on the cake was the applause from the audience when we walked back into the auditorium. Even after the marks came out, it d idn t d im our enthusiasm: we know we have lots to learn and are prepared to put in the work. At the end of a rather boozy d inner, Maire our MD said she s never known anything like it. We had come nearly last and we were still buzzing! But one of our vir-gins put everyone s thoughts into words: It doesn t matter, we did it and we can do better next year.
We would like to thank everyone who was so supportive at convention, but special thanks must go to the member 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 chorus that has not d ipped its toe into Convention water, be like us and take the p lunge, it s worth it.
Stage Costume is what got me into Barbershop 27 years ago. Back in those days of Crimplene®, we seamstresses were learn-ing new skills: Sylko® (cotton) thread did not cope with the elasticity of the seams on these 'modern' nylon garments. Polyes-ter thread it had to be and you had to use a special sewing machine needle too.
It all started for me when 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 previ-ous 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, what have I learnt through the years, and what do I advise? 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.....
Tip 1. The STYLE should be flattering, fluid and comfortable for all body shapes and sizes. Each chorus has its own person-ality: 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 fur-ther outfits as new members join. "Off the pegs often need alteration anyway.
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.
But we don't want to look at feet, do we? It's FACES that we should be captivated by....but that brings us on to make-up and I leave this topic to the experts. Perhaps in the next issue?
NEEDLES AND PINS
Wish we hadn t : used short black gloves which made it look as though our hands
were chopped off!
Wish we hadn t : made our black stage skirts out of tafetta. They rustle so
noisily!
CONTRIBUTED BY KATH ROODHOUSE
We hope your Christmas was fu ll of fun & frolics like ours was. The Bournemouth weekend just seems like it was ages ago, doesn t time fly!
We re keeping busy as ever with bookings. At the time of writing this we ve a film premiere to sing at. Yes, you d id read correctly: a film pre-miere. Toy Story 3 in fact
Well OK, so it s been made by the Year 1 s at Jo s son Jamie s school, and he was a d irector of course! We ve been asked to sing at the premiere and Oscar evening, which should be lots of fun. We ll let you know how it went.
By the time you read this we ll have also been springing some unexpected Valentines surprises as we return to first direct to serenade employees and deliver roses & messages from their loved ones. Aah bless!
In mid March we represent LABBS at BinG! Convention in Dortmund, Germany along with our chorus The White Ro-settes and will also be singing on a couple of shows later in March at the Wakefield Opera House and of course at the Y Centre Leicester at the GOLD RUSH III show.
The rest of the year promises to be busy with the LABBS Quartet Weekend, some coaching pro-posals with a couple of LABBS cho-ruses to finalise and also a trip to Sligo to the IABS Convention later this year. So it s busy, busy, as always!
Now, as you normally see us in our finery, we thought you d like to see the attire we had to wear for the Thursd ay night sou nd check at Bournemouth.
In the words of Bob The Builder Can we fix it? Yes we can!
Jo, Julie, Alison & Jane xxxx After Hours www.afterhoursquartet.co.uk
RED CARPET FOR AFTER HOURS
PAGE 10 VOICE BOX MARCH 2008
QUARTET CORNER
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 cham-pions 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'.
real treat with gifts and bubbly! The celebrations continued the following n igh t a t Fascin a t in g Rhythm s rehearsal (Jo, Donna and Ali s chorus) where we received a real hero s welcome with more bubbly and more presents. Thanks girls for a fantastic party, it really was the ic-ing on the cake (literallysee p icture) following a fabulous weekend.
We can see that we are going to have a really busy year and the d iary is fill-ing rapidly.
Our first booking after Convention took us down to Minehead on a very wet and windy Friday night to sing at a social event for the charity Home-
Start . This is something very close to Jo's heart as she also manages an area Home-Start scheme.
It was an extremely appreciative au-dience. One lady was so inspired , she s decided to set up a singing group in her area.
So the Christmas shows have come and gone and we are now in the throes of learning new songs, p lan-ning fundraising and generally look-ing forward to the rest of our busy Gold year.
See you at the Gold Rush Show!
Ali, Linda, Donna, Jo
Needless to say we had a fabulous Convention and are still reeling from becoming the 2007 Labbs Quartet Champions (Waaah !)
We would very much like to thank every one who helped and supported us and give a special mention for After Hours for all their encourage-
ment and support they have given us before, during and since our win. We hope to follow in your footsteps and be true ambassadors for LABBS.
So what do you do after a weekend like that ?
Well the following Wednesday we visited the Great Western Chorus re-hearsal night where Linda is the Musi-cal Director and what a welcome we got. Linda s Boys were delighted with our achievement and gave us a
PAGE 11 VOICE BOX MARCH 2008
It was an exhausting, but very happy, run up to Christmas for Enigma, w ith many performances both on our own and with Signature.
Thank you to all who invited us on to their shows
we probably man-aged to sing the few carols we know more times than the average church choir.
One weekend consisted of perform-ances on the Saturday matinee, Satur-day evening and Sunday evening
at least it meant we were too busy to go shopping which, as you know, is our favourite hobby.
Of course, there are always opportu-nities to sing, so the Enigma Christ-mas dinner consisted of us and part-
ners piling into the local Indian take-away, ordering a curry, then going around the local houses carol singing (complete with candlelit lantern) be-fore going back to collect the take-away. Despite naughty comments about collecting for our dinner, we would like to assure people that we actually collected nearly £60 for Breast Cancer charities!
The year has already started in an interesting fashion for us, w ith a per-formance in a rather large house
so large in fact that, despite us changing and warming up in one of the bed-rooms, the host d idn t know we had arrived and was concerned we had got lost!
We have some great sing-outs com-
ing up, and there are also some poten-tially very interesting projects in the pipeline for Enigma.
We re also delighted to have been asked to coach some new, and not so new, quartets, which is great, as we have always felt it important to pass on the knowledge that we have gained.
By the time you read this we ll be well into 2008, but we still w ish you all a Happy New Year and hope you all achieve whatever is in your heart this year.
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 quite like a good photo
so how do you get one? That s the million dollar question - the holy grail.
We ve all got a camera (or two), but then again there are cameras and there are Cameras and a lot depends on what you want the photos for - a snapshot, a memory, publicity ma-terial, or maybe a CD cover.
This article concen-trates on the use of d igital cameras, as that is what nearly every-one now uses. How-ever, the general comments are valid even for that strange phenomenon that we oldies once used to call film.
If you re at all technical, you will know all the wonderful buzz words - the all important one in d igital photography is of course Mega Pixels, the more you have the better the output. True, up to a point, but the real limitation will always be the quality of the lens, and the artistic ability of the person taking the photo. That does not mean that a 3MP (mega p ixel) phone camera can t be useful, but don t expect it to provide you with the best quality for that poster you want to advertise your next show.
Although you don t need to be a pro-fessional to take good photos, it s a bit like singing, there are certain qualities you do need (like singing in tune - some-thing I m constantly told I can t do), and as you wouldn t expect to give a fantas-tic performance without constant re-hearsals, don t expect someone who doesn t spend hours with a camera to produce stunning photographs.
Having said all that, here are some ba-sic pointers that may help you to pro-duce some good quality photos for your chorus or quartet.
Make sure that your photo is in focus.
Although this one is so obvious, it is not always that easy to achieve! Most point & shoot cameras focus using the central part of the view finder (or screen) which is great for a subject that is relatively one d imen-sional and straight onto the camera. However, when taking a photo of a chorus that is 3 rows deep, you may find that not everyone is in focus. This is what technically would be called depth of field (I would be happy to explain it further if you want to contact me).
Camera shake happens when there is not enough light for the camera to
operate at a high en ou g h sp eed . Like out-of-focus p i c t u r e s , t h i s shows up as a blur. You may also see just partial blur on a photo that has movement in it,
again this is due to the camera shut-ter speed not being high enough to freeze the movement. Camera shake happens at d ifferent speeds for dif-ferent people (and more so when you ve had a few!!).
Size does matter, well height actu-ally. If you re trying to fit a large number of people into a photo, be-ing above them often helps (it can also hide those double chins!). So throw caution to the wind and stand on someone or better still on some-thing - but do remember health and safety and try not to fall off.
If you are using a camera that al-lows you to control the quality of your photos, always use the highest quality setting. I know this sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how many people prefer to get 2000 photos on the memory card rather than 200
and then wonder why the
quality is bad.
If you are trying to take some formal photos, try and p lace the subject against a neutral background but not too close to it. This will make a better photo. It is also much easier to change the background afterwards if you need to. Remember, a photo is not al-ways what it seems!
If you have a whizzy camera that al-lows you to use an external flash, don t just point the flash straight at the subject on fu ll power - that s what gives those awful heavy shadows be-hind the heads. Try defusing the light, bounce it off the ceiling, put some-thing opaque over the flash to soften the light, even a white hanky will help (just make sure you haven t used it). Remember, you do have choices - even a point and shoot normally has an off position for the flash, some even have d ifferent power settings. Don t forget that if you take a photo during a per-formance, TURN THE FLASH OFF!
Action shots are great aren t they? They bring such life to the subject, but I bet you never realised just what tor-tured expressions you pulled till you saw the photo! They do have their p lace, put most people still like to have that smiling, in focus and no movement photo that they can frame and have out on display.
If you do want to take photos of a performance, you will need a reasona-bly good camera with a fairly long lens. This is where it has to get a little technical, I m afraid :
1) Use a high ISO setting
2) Use a reasonably high shutter speed as this will allow for the freezing of m ovem en t. Rem em ber you r eye adapts to movement much better than
(Continued on page 13)
SNAP TO IT
Formal shot of Signature
Action shots are great aren t they? They bring such life to the sub-ject, but I bet you never realised just what tortured expressions
you pulled till you saw the photo!
Birds-eye view of The Barberettes
CONTRIBUTED BY LOUIS A RAMSEY
PAGE 13 VOICE BOX MARCH 2008
(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 smallest possible aperture to allow for the greatest depth of field as this will greatly enhance the possibility that the photo will be in focus, remember people on stage may be constantly moving.
4) It s a fact of life that you have no control over stage-lighting. It w ill turn people red , yellow or any other shade that the lighting technician decides he likes and there s nothing you can do about it. If you re seriously into photography you can correct it afterwards (up to a point), put it can take endless hours of work, believe me - I know.
5) Choose a good vantage point and stick to it. Remember, the rest of the audience have paid and are only interested in watching the show, not watching you take your photos. I normally apologise to the people closest to me in advance, just in case the noise of the shu tter annoys them. Try not to shoot during those very quiet, or, worst still, absolutely silent moments.
One last thing, the not everyone can keep their eyes open for a photo phenomenon. This is some-thing that WILL happen when you have a group of more than one person - someone will always close their eyes. Fear not, always take more than one shot, as there is a good chance that not always the same people will have their eyes closed. With a little bit of skill, some photo enhancement software and a lot of patience, eyes from one photo can magically appear on an-other.
Finally a note about those CD covers. You don t need a photo of the chorus on the front - no really you don t. Some good art-work will sell just as well, if not better. Save the people photos for inside - on the outside put something a little d ifferent, be bold - remember it is all about marketing and image. The more eye catching, the more likely your CD will not be the one left on the shelf at the end of the weekend.
For more of Louis work see www.photolouis.co.uk
Enigma performance
Sing with the Champs - Lots of movement in this one!
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 Lynn
or Vice chairman Joan
ADS, NOTICES & LETTERS
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.
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
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR Thank-you to all who have sent me feedback. Your comments and good wishes are really appreciated. Per-haps it s just being in that lovely honeymoon period but I have to say I am having fantastic fun with the job. Sometimes, volunteering pays off (and no, I wasn t paid to say that!)
I m much obliged to those who responded to my request for special 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 write in but haven t yet, see if there s anything that interests you there. Or suggest a topic yourself.
PS For those who were asking me about T-shirts at Bournemouth
see the Barmybass advert on p.15.
CONTRIBUTIONS WANTED
Musical Directors, we rarely hear from you in these pages. Tell us what drives you mad, what makes you glad, your most over-used phrases, your greatest w ishes, the good things and the bad things about 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: Perhaps you ve bought a new Barbershop CD or are trying out a new mp3 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
If you want a good bonding exercise then look after the LABBS Shop for a year! I am very proud of all the mem-bers of The Arun Sounds who so will-ingly shared in making this such a success. Thanks too to members of Cheshire Chord Company, Colne Har-mony, Second City Sound and Finesse who helped at Bournemouth while we were singing, and to Sue Livesey whose constant support and relaxed style is so re-assuring. To meet such lovely people, to have such fun and to pass £5,000 over to LABBS was a great privilege and we send our very best w is h e s t o C h i l t e r n H a r m o n y [Amersham A Capella] for a happy and successful year as the current 'shop-keepers'. And Finally: Thanks to all who made the purchases, w ithou t whom this could not have happened!
Dee Shuckburgh, Chairman of The Arun Sounds.
The sales of the calendars went very well at Convention and we are particularly gratefu l to Anita Bolland, Pauline Fox and other friends who stepped in as 'salesmen' while I was judging. The IVY League also p layed their part by taking money for us on the Saturday when there was nobody to man the stall.
The fund is going extremely well but as this is going to be an ongoing charity to provide counselling for people who are losing their eyesight, it has to go from strength to strength. We are to be LABBS designated charity next year so that should raise a lot of awareness and hopefully, money.
Thanks again to everybody who helped ; they'll know who they are.
Carol Sherry On behalf of The Eye Fund
NVENTION EX-PRESS
EDITOR REQUIRED
PAGE 15 VOICE BOX MARCH 2008
EYE FUND THANKS BONDING BBS STYLE
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Mousepads
BARMYBASS GIFT EMPORIUM
Gifts with a Barbershop flavour.
All profits earmarked for The IVY League.
Please support them if you can.
T-shirts
Notecards Fr idge Magnet s
www.barmybass.co.uk
BLAST FROM THE PAST
Does anyone remember or have any photos of Harry Danser way back in 1964 when he first introduced barbershop to England? Anyone from Crawley, 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 ISERS FOR SALE 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
Bags
CONVENTION EXPRESS EDITOR
REQUIRED A new editor is required for the Convention Ex-press 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 in-cluding adding in mes-sages, competition re-sults and photos. The time involved is approx. four hours per day.
The paper, printer and photocopier will be pro-vided and there is help available throughout the weekend from the Conven-tion Team but it would be useful if you have your own laptop using MS Word, Publisher, or anything else suitable.
Printed by Pixel Beach, Reading www.pixelbeach.co.uk
The ed itor reserves the right to ed it any material in the interests of clarity, accuracy, suitability and to fit the space available. The deci-sion of the editor as to the publication of any material is final.
Contribu tors are responsible for the opinions and facts contained in the material they submit and the views so expressed are not necessarily those of the ed itor, or LABBS.
This is the kind of flood they don t mind getting in Gloucestershire. Not in their wildest dreams did Fascinating Rhythm expect such an overwhelming response to their first Learn to Sing course.
We started advertising before Christ-mas , says Brenda Roberts, w ith posters, flyers, adverts in Parish magazines and free local papers and on our web site. Our rehearsal venue is in a tiny village that no one s heard of and we thought we would struggle to get a handful of people com-ing along.
An amazing 191, yes 191, women tried to register for our course. WOW!
Our first night, 17th January, was amazing and our small chorus of just 21 members was completely swamped. We all waited with baited breath wondering just how many would actually turn up.
At 10 to 7, the first person arrived followed by a constant stream of very apprehensive looking women coming through the door. Members of Fascinating Rhythm were there to meet and greet and soon the hall was bursting at the seams.
After a welcome from our chair person and a short intro from our MD it was time for a physical and vocal warm up and then on with the singing.
It took just 10 minutes to organise everyone into parts. We split into sections to teach the first page of our song and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, with a few people finding their part too high or too low, we returned en masse to sing it through all together. Much to everyone s amazement it sounded fantastic and the atmosphere was electric.
It was just brilliant to see the transformation on all those faces from such apprehension at the start to eagerness and excitement by the end of the evening.
We had some great feedback on how well organised the whole evening was, how much at ease everyone felt after the initial nerves had worn off and how people can t stop sing-ing.
We were only able to accept 100 women on this course so with 90 more on our waiting list we are already p lanning our next course.
Watch this space or visit our website: www.fascinating-rhythm.com to find out what happens next.
H OW MANY? CONTRIBUTION FROM BRENDA ROBERTS, P.R.O
