CONVENTION BOURNEMOUTH 2022 - MESSAGES

BCP CHAIRMAN WELCOME

It is a pleasure to welcome the Ladies Association of Barbershop Singers to the to the magnificent Poole Bay Area that stretches around to Christchurch, and I trust our world-renowned Hospitality Industry makes you comfortable wherever you stay during your Convention.

It has been such a difficult time for everyone but traditional uplifting hobbies such as yours brings happier times to the forefront of our concerns once again, and we will all benefit from your musical wave of enthusiasm matching the waves on our golden sands here in the BCP Council area.

I am honoured and delighted to join you, especially for your Evening Spectacular on the Saturday, and look forward to meeting your UK and European associates. Just please don’t ask ME to sing… !

I particularly note your organisation’s support for charities in general, and BCHA in particular on your latest visit to Bournemouth. Charities are needed to help people in more ways now than ever before, and it is a cause close to my heart too.

I look forward to meeting you all and being able to enjoy Barbershop in ‘real time’ with all the joy and vibrancy you will share with us - everyone should have a song in their heart!

To our Dear Friends in LABBS,

On behalf of the British Association of Barbershop Singers, I send all of you our very best wishes for a successful Convention. We hope that it is a weekend full of happiness, music and love as we return to in-person events again.

If you are competing, enjoy every moment of your experience and know that no matter the outcome of the results, you have made your community a better place. If you are volunteering, thank you for everything that you do to make the weekend such a success. As the saying goes, ‘break a leg!'.

Something I always say to BABS members when it comes to Convention: please make sure you make time over the weekend to thank the people in your club who have made it possible to stand on the stage this weekend. People like your MD and Chair work tirelessly to ensure you have an amazing time, so be sure to show them your appreciation.

Thank you to Natalie and her team for inviting me and Sarah to be a part of your special weekend. We are delighted to be here to celebrate with you and wish you all the best.

Convention Team

Following all the upheaval, delays, and uncertainty, I had wondered if I would ever get to write this welcome.

In true Barbershop style, you were all steadfast in your determination to conquer all and continue to sing together. Your creativity flowed as you used technology or braved the great outdoors, wrapped up in layers, to be able to continue to rehearse. How many of you heard, ‘You're on mute' for the first time during those rehearsals?

You showed that it would take more than a global pandemic to stop you from singing together!

It is because of this determination and commitment, that I know that this Convention will be a celebration, the likes of which our association has never experienced before.

The team that works hard to put your Convention together, and then to ensure that it runs smoothly, have been toiling away behind the scenes, to make sure that this event makes up for those that you have missed, and I couldn't be prouder of everything that they have done to make your Convention all that it can be.

So, what does Convention 2022 have in store for you? There will be brilliant contests and dazzling shows, fantastic fringe sessions and uplifting mass sings. Oh, and not forgetting those amazing afterglows too, that we hope you will be able to remember the following day!

As we come together to champion the barbershop talent that we have in our great nation, we will celebrate the joy of being together once more. 

So what else could we call this year's Convention other than simply….Jubilation!

And so, we welcome you all to your Convention 2022 and look forward to celebrating with you.

Faith Corrigan,

Events Coordinator

BinH

BinH is a collaboration between the three barbershop organisations in Great Britain (BABS, LABBS, and Sweet Adelines Region 31) and its purpose is to encourage and promote barbershop singing. The group meets three times a year and is chaired by Nancy Philbin. BinH comprises two Board representatives from each organisation, and we discuss what’s going on in the world of UK Barbershop, and share ideas for the benefit of all.
 

Currently, BinH hosts the National Mixed Quartet Contest, which cycles between the various organisations' conventions (BABS in November at QuartetCon, LABBS in October, and SA R31 in May). For more information about our friends in Barbershop in Harmony, please click on BABS,  LABBS and Sweet Adelines Region 31, and don't forget to check out the Barbershop in Harmony Facebook page.

Nancy Philbin – BinH Co-ordinator 

Dear Sisters in Harmony, 

I am thrilled that the LABBS Convention is going ahead this year, and that you are finally back singing together like SA Region 31 were able to in May. A jubilation indeed, and a chance to finally reconnect with friends and fellow singers, and to celebrate being together again! 

On behalf of the Sweet Adelines Region 31 Management Team, I wish all the competing quartets and choruses the best of luck when crossing the stage.

Be the best you can be, enjoy every second, and have lots of fun! 
If there is anything we have learned over the last couple of years, it is the huge value of connection, both within our organisations and across them.

Connection brings us closer together and lets us achieve bigger and better things.   
I’m really looking forward to attending your Convention and witnessing the fabulous competitions in person. Your Sweet Adelines Sisters in Harmony wish you joy and happiness!
I also extend my best wishes and good luck to everyone on the LABBS Board and Convention Team, and I look forward to meeting you all in person during the Convention weekend!

It’s so good to be together again!

These past several months have been so rewarding for barbershop singers around the world. We are reassembling week by week, month by month, event by event. I know this weekend’s Convention will be filled with the sounds of music, but even more importantly, by the sounds of friends greeting each other from across a lobby. As the song goes, “the music brings us together, but the friendships make us stay…!”

Now one year into the new global alliance agreement between LABBS and the Barbershop Harmony Society, we are excited at the prospect of your new quartet and chorus champions competing on the BHS international contest stage in the future. Our entire barbershop world grows exponentially as we interconnect more singers everywhere.

Fuel this weekend with your joy, and sing one for your friends in BHS! We’ll see you soon!

Marty Monson
CEO, Barbershop Harmony Society

Shows

Despite a challenging few years, LABBS and our amazing members have continued to flourish, and as Shows Manager, I'm so excited to be planning a full programme of shows celebrating our own British talent.

Expect to be dazzled and enthralled by performances from some of our best LABBS quartets and choruses, who will be joined by some BABS friends too.

We have Awesome Foursomes on Friday night, the Saturday Jubilation Show celebrating all things Gold, and the Sensational Sunday show which has more of our weekend medallists, plus past quartet champs. Add into that mix of talent the winners of the Jen Mills Awards 2021 and 2019 performing on the Friday and Saturday shows, and the best of Mixed Barbershop singing, and you have a weekend of the Best of British!

I hope you have a fantastic Convention - I'll see you there!

LABBS Youth

The LABBS Youth Choruses and I are so excited to be back at Convention again after a very long three-year wait! During Covid, I was worried that barbershop, the thing I love, was not going to survive, but I’m very pleased and proud to say the LABBS Youth Choruses are looking pretty healthy, despite having lots of members age out.

We have had a great year with our two new MDs, Bethany and Ros, meeting in person, getting our singing voices back, and having fun. We have had lots of new people join and so have made lots of new friends, and we can’t wait to get on stage and show off what we’ve been working on!

We are always accepting and welcoming new members, so if you’d like to join us, or have a daughter, granddaughter or niece, or there’s anyone else you know between the ages of 7 and 30, why not come along to Youth Chorus event? We will be having open events early in 2023, and we look forward to seeing lots of you there! Please do like our Facebook page to stay updated.

Lamorna Hooker, Youth Director
 

Coast to Coast – now in our 35th year!

Coast to Coast is the national chorus of LABBS, who meet in Leicester city centre throughout the year, with Zoom meetings thrown in for good measure.

All members of LABBS clubs, including Club At Large and affiliated choruses are entitled to join, and we have members from all over the country. We are always looking for new members, and you can be assured of a very warm welcome and plenty of support. Our MD, Angela, is a registered LABBS Music Judge, and her directing style combines knowledge and technique with a gentle humour.

We have wonderful memories of past trips, including singing at the Irish, Dutch, German and Spanish Conventions, and trips to Prague and Bruges. We will be looking at various music festivals for the coming year, including Bournemouth – our favourite! We would love to include you in our future plans, so please do check out our website, www.singcoast2coast.co.uk, to find out what we are up to. I am sure you will find something exciting!

We should like to wish all our LABBS (and BABS) friends a wonderful Convention weekend.

Marion Morley, PRO, Coast to Coast

Quartet Champions Chorus

It’s fantastic to be back at Convention after such a long break. Everyone is so excited! The Quartet Champions Chorus is looking forward to welcoming the new 2022 Gold medallist quartet to the ranks, after this year’s Quartet Finals.
 

The Quartet Champions Chorus are also thrilled to be singing in the Saturday Night Show, and once the chorus results have been announced, there is such a buzz as we race backstage to get ready for our annual rehearsal before our spot on the show. 

Each year, the previous year’s gold medallist quartet introduces a new song to the Quartet Champions Chorus, to perform on the show. Avalon never had this opportunity due to the pandemic and so we are delighted to finally sing their choice of song for you all.
 

As part of the performance the outgoing quartet champions, Sound Central (QC Champions 2019), are invited on stage to join the Chorus and be presented with their crown pins. It will be their turn next year to provide the Quartet Champions with a new song!

We are all looking forward to seeing old friends and making some new ones along the way.

See you there.

Alison Jack, LABBS Quartet Champions Chorus