Fascinating Rhythm Gears Up to Take the Stage at LABBS Bournemouth

The excitement is building as Fascinating Rhythm, the all-female chorus group, gears up for the LABBS (Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers) Convention, which will take place in Bournemouth at the end of October. The chorus has been honing its skills through a series of coaching sessions, engaging the community, and preparing to deliver an unforgettable performance.

In the lead-up to the convention, the chorus invited friends and community members to experience a rehearsal firsthand. Guests participated in rhythm challenges, tackled complex vocal warm-ups, and joined the singers in various singing rounds. After a productive session, participants were treated to a few of the chorus’ favourite songs, showcasing the talent and camaraderie within the group. Later, they observed the chorus being coached by Jo Thorn, the group’s Musical Director, providing an insider look at preparing for a major event.

The following weekend, Fascinating Rhythm received additional coaching from renowned barbershop coach Rob Mance. Rob is known for his ability to enhance vocal quality and authentic performance. He led the chorus through intensive exercises aimed at refining their sound and overall performance. The weekend culminated in a dress rehearsal attended by an audience of over 80 supporters, who witnessed the polished result of the chorus’ hard work.

Reflecting on the weekend, Jo Thorn expressed her enthusiasm for the upcoming convention. “What a marvellous weekend of coaching we have just had. The chorus performed so well, and we are truly ready and excited to perform at the convention. Rob was able to help the chorus and me achieve an authentic performance, with each and every member producing a rich sound. It was amazing to feel as one together. We are bringing our best to Bournemouth 2024 and can’t wait.”

For those interested in experiencing the joy of singing, Fascinating Rhythm is hosting a “Sing Happy in Harmony” event starting on Thursday, January 9th. The event will take place over five consecutive weeks, from 7:15 p.m. to 9:00 pm, and is open to anyone interested in singing alongside the chorus. The program is free and offers a chance to learn about vocal techniques, explore different harmonies, and, most importantly, have fun. Visit their website for more information and to book.

As they head into the LABBS Convention, Fascinating Rhythm’s dedication and community spirit promise a memorable performance. Whether you’re a seasoned singer or just looking to try something new, this vibrant group welcomes you to join their journey.

A Lunchbreak with a difference for Fascinating Rhythm’s Charity of the Year, Off The Record,  and more fundraising.

Fascinating Rhythm recently joined forces to run a singing workshop to support staff from their charity of the year Off The Record.  A few of the chorus members from each section volunteered to travel down to Bristol to the OTR office and drop-in hub in Old Market, Bristol and received a warm welcome from staff, who were looking forward to a lunch break with a difference. All of the team were new to a cappella singing, though one lady sings in a Reggae Choir, which sounds like great fun. Fascinating Rhythm did a few warm-ups to get started, and then OTR joined in and, before long, were feeling “Good Vibrations” throughout the building! 

The staff really enjoyed the session, and we discovered they also offer music therapy to teens and young adults who need it. MD Jo Thorn said, “We were thrilled to support OTR in this fun way—and it was brilliant how quickly they picked up the tunes and were soon singing along. With laughter and smiles all around, it was great to feel we were able to bring some fun and sunshine to their day!”

The OTR staff who attended shared a great video compilation of the event and said,

Thank you to the ladies from Fascinating Rhythm Chorus for bringing us together for a workshop of fun, laughter and singing!

We were invited to have a tour of their brightly decorated facilities which offer a safe space for children in Bristol and South Gloucestershire with mental health issues. They offer a range of support from simply somewhere to “be” to resilience workshops, a book club, 1-2-1 therapies from their mental health support team and much more.   

We then enjoyed a cuppa and yummy cakes and the chance to talk more with the OTR Team about the support they give. It was heartwarming to see how dedicated and enthusiastic they are about the important roles they play in what must, at times, be a challenging job. We hope we may be able to help them further in the future, as we all know that singing is good for our well-being, our mental health, and our soul! 

A delicious Teddy Bears’ Picnic

Anne-marie Collier,  joint Chair of Fascinating Rhythm, joined forces with The Jolly Melodies Music Company,  (the other hat she wears), to organise a Teddy Bears’ Picnic and raise some more money for OTR.  Fascinating Rhythm ladies provided the cakes and treats, and a few chorus members were there to help on the two coffee mornings, which were run at the end of term. There was lots of fun and laughter and yummy cakes for the children, parents and carers who came with their teddies for a beautiful picnic.  A whopping £265 was donated over the two days.  

A delighted Anne-marie said,

I’m so pleased – what a truly generous amount for us to pass on to OTR.

She added,

I always worry we might not have enough cakes for these end-of-year parties, which we run every year… and every year, I’m overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends from Fascinating Rhythm, who bake such yummy cakes! I’m delighted we raised such a great amount for the Fascinating Rhythm Charity of the Year.

Written by Julie Macnamara

Fascinating Rhythm Keynsham Bandstand Performance

Fascinating Rhythm treated an audience on Saturday, 13 July 2024, with a performance at the wonderful Keynsham bandstand. This event was part of the Keynsham Town Council’s Bandstand in the Park Programme.

The chorus, raising funds for their charity of the year, “Off the Record,” performed a diverse setlist, including hits like “City of Stars” from “La La Land” and David Guetta’s “Titanium.” Sam and Jess did an excellent job with the collection tins.

For Isabel Carvalho, who sings lead with Fascinating Rhythm, this was her debut performance with the group. She shared, “Although I was a bit nervous performing for my first audience, I felt at ease with the chorus and thoroughly enjoyed it. I joined Fascinating Rhythm earlier this year, and I’m so glad I did. The women are incredibly supportive and talented—it’s truly a joy. I encourage anyone considering joining a chorus to come to a rehearsal and experience it firsthand.”

Jo Thorn, the musical director of Fascinating Rhythm, said, “We loved performing for such a responsive audience on a wonderfully sunny day. The bandstand is a fantastic venue, and the Keynsham community is fortunate to have such a vibrant music programme. I especially want to thank our leads, who, despite being few due to illness, delivered strong performances.”

Fascinating Rhythm are always ready to welcome new members. If there are any ladies out there looking to join a chorus, do come along to one of our rehearsals on a Thursday night, and you can get a feel for what we do. We meet at the Greenfield Centre, Winterbourne; contact us for more information.

Fascinating Rhythm and Junior FR Choruses: Delighted Crowds at Yate Rocks Festival

On Sunday, July 23rd, Fascinating Rhythm had the pleasure of performing a set of seven songs at the Yate Rocks event, held in Kingsgate Park and hosted by Yate Town Council. This Sunday event, known as the Great Choir Showcase, featured a variety of wonderful choruses.

The talented Junior FR took to the stage, performing popular hits such as “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music and “Pure Imagination” from the 1981 movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Their performance culminated in a splendid rendition of “Make Your Own Kind of Music” with Raysfield School.

Fascinating Rhythm delighted the audience with their new song, “Don’t Stop Me Now,” and concluded their set with the beloved classic “Happy Together.”

The event reached its grand finale with the senior choirs joining forces to sing “Green Green Grass” by George Ezra.

Fascinating Rhythm looks forward to their next performance on July 13th, 2024, at 11 am at Keynsham Bandstand. Stay tuned for a very special performance by Junior FR on October 19th, 2024.

To find out more about Fascinating Rhythm and Junior FR or to hire us to sing at your event, please contact us via our website or follow us on Facebook or Instagram.

Off the Record Cake Sales for Off the Record Fundraiser

RhythmMix put their baking skills to great use this weekend for their first big fundraiser to support Fascinating Rhythm’s Charity of the Year, Off the Record. OTR (as it’s known) is a brilliant Bristol-based charity covering Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and North Somerset. It is run by and for young people aged 11 – 25 and provides support for good mental health.

Wotton-under-Edge, a delightful town on the edge of the South Cotswolds, allows local charities to run Town Hall Teas on Sundays – and it’s the perfect place to host a fundraiser as it’s a regular favourite with locals as well as visitors, walkers and cyclists who happen to be passing on the day.

Guests were treated to an amazing range of mouth-watering cakes, from luscious fruit cake to tasty carrot cake and yummy flapjacks, to delicious lemon drizzle, squidgy chocolate brownies, and an amazing pear frangipane—shame I missed that one, but you can’t try them all now, can you?

RhythmMix were delighted to serenade visitors as they enjoyed their cakes throughout the afternoon. They played Fascinating Rhythm favourites like “Feelin’ Good,” “Can’t Take my eyes off of you,” and “We go together,” as well as a few of their own songs, “Somewhere Out there,” “Sweet Dreams,” and one that is becoming a firm favourite: an ancient song, originally written in the fifteenth century, a delightful melody called “Spring Song.” 

With recent recruits to the Lead and Baritone sections, RhythmMix sounded top-notch and had many compliments throughout the afternoon.  One chap, as he was leaving, asked, “Where have you been hiding?” and added, “That was amazing!”  Another lady said, “I could stay and listen to you all day!” and chorus members reflected “You sounded the best yet!”  So, as you can guess RhythmMix were feeling super-proud, thrilled to have their new recruits to enrich their sound and very happy to have supported the event.

It’s always lovely to see old friends from the chorus, and it was great that they could come along to support the event and OTR– as you can imagine, there was lots of catching up to do! 

As well as thanking RhythmMix members, the main planners and organisers, we must thank all the wonderful bakers and give special recognition to Imogen, who is a brilliant helper (and whose Mum, Caroline, is in Fascinating Rhythm and RhythmMix), for running the tombola.  It was also great that additional chorus members Sharon, Kate, Briony, and Trina gave up their Sunday afternoon to help – so grateful thanks go to them too! They also joined in one final song – “Titanium,” which the audience loved.

Sharon, Fascinating Rhythm’s Social Media Queen took lots of lovely photos and videos, so check them out on Facebook or Instagram.

Thanks to the generosity of the chorus, a fabulous range of cakes were on offer—so many that Fascinating Rhythm will be hosting a mini-cake sale at their next rehearsal and hope to increase the current total raised from a fantastic £490 to over the £500 mark.

We hope to be back at Wotton Teas next year and with all those scrummy cakes on offer, maybe next time I’ll volunteer to be the Fascinating Rhythm Official Taster!

Written by Julie Macnamara – Fascinating Rhythm and RhythmMix member

Introducing our Charity of the Year 2024 – OFF THE RECORD (OTR)

All young people deserve to receive timely mental health support that is relevant to their needs, gives them meaningful choices, and equips them with tools and skills that will last a lifetime. This has never been more relevant than in our communities today and is at the heart of what Off the Record aims to provide for young people aged 11-25 in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. 

They offer a variety of projects to promote good mental health and well-being and empower young people to support themselves and their communities. However, they’re not just a charity providing mental health services – they’re a social movement mobilising to support, promote and defend young people’s mental health, rights and social position. OTR is free, confidential and self-referral – they give young people a choice and a voice.

We are delighted to support OTR this year and hope to hold several events throughout the year that will not only raise funds for this wonderful cause but also hope to use our skills and knowledge to add value to this organisation. Research reveals that group singing not only helps forge social bonds but also does so remarkably quickly, acting as an excellent icebreaker and helping those feeling isolated or anxious.  Community singing has also been shown to be effective for bonding large groups, making it an ideal behaviour to improve our broader social networks. This is particularly valuable in today’s often alienating world, where many young people’s social interactions are conducted remotely via Facebook and Twitter.

People feel more positive and uplifted after actively singing, and the improvement in mood comes, in part, from the release of positive neurochemicals such as β-endorphin, dopamine, and serotonin. 

For all these reasons, we hope to offer singing opportunities (workshops, performance opportunities, fun sessions) for staff and young people connected to OTR during the year. We hope this partnership allows us to share the benefits of group singing and teach skills that will be long-lasting and beneficial to all involved.

Fascinating Rhythms Charity of the Year

If you would like to make a donation, please head to our Just Giving page.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/fascinating-rhythm-support-otr

Reminders, Refreshers, and Revelations!

On 16^th March, Emma Beale, Su Roberts, and Julie Macnamara from Fascinating Rhythm attended the LABBS/BABBS Singing Education Day in Coventry. What a fabulous day it was. We couldn’t wait to get back to share what we learned with the rest of the Fascinating Rhythm Chorus. We’d also like to share it with you.

Let’s talk about those nifty SOVT exercises. Ever heard of them? They’re all about partially closing your mouth to create some back pressure. The fancy term for it is Semi Occluded Vocal Tract. Basically, it helps your vocal folds vibrate with less effort, so your voice doesn’t tire out as quickly.

Now, onto vocal pedagogy. Craig Kehoe gave us the lowdown on mouth shapes and breath management. Picture this: tongue behind your lower teeth, start your phrases with a forward position and keep that jaw relaxed. Oh, and remember, “Toned but not tense” is the name of the game.

Let’s not forget about alignment. Start from the ground up—literally. Think about aligning your body from your feet all the way to your ears, and watch out for tension creeping in! It’s all about finding that sweet spot for your best sound.

Next, we deeply explored stacking with Craig and how different arrangements affect chorus sounds. From random placements to arranging by resonance, it’s like a game of musical chairs but with voices. Finding your spot in the stack can make all the difference in how you feel and sound.

Barry Clinton took us on a musical journey through tuning. ‘Equal temperament’ versus ‘Just intonation’ is all very technical and scientific, so thank goodness Barry broke it down for us, showing how dropping pitch can be natural in certain intervals.

Then there’s vocal expression—they had us dive into the emotional side of singing, bringing lyrics to life, experimenting with different emotions, and really connecting with our audience.

Jen rounded things off with vocal flow. We learned all about breath control, legato singing, and maintaining pitch. Plus, we got to practice hissing like a pro. Who knew it could be so fun?

Finally, we peep behind the curtain and see how judges score performances with Alison Thompson. It’s all about consistency, fairness, and watching and listening to the best of the best to know what excellence sounds like.

So, there you have it, a whirlwind tour of vocal technique, performance enhancement, and judging criteria. Who knew singing could be so multifaceted? But that’s what makes it so fascinating!

Thank you to the LABBS/BABS Judges and Barberlicious Quartet for a wonderful day.

More Eisteddfod success for JFR in 2024!

Junior Fascinating Rhythm (Junior FR) is celebrating another successful year at the recent Thornbury Eisteddfod, part of the Thornbury Arts Festival 2024. This year, the Juniors and Seniors sang together in two-part harmony in the Under 14 class and gained a Distinction with 88 marks. They won their class and best-performing choir overall. Thirteen girls also competed with their solos, duets, and trio.

The girls aged between 7 and 16 competed first with Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.

The adjudicator commented.

“An imaginative and atmospheric opening and the choral sound was warm, rounded, and nicely blended. You sustained the line well with some effective legato singing, and this was shaped with some thoughtful use of tonal colour and some simple but effective choreography.”

For their second song, they sang Edelweiss from The Sound of Music.

“Again, a lovely blend here with the harmony of confidence and control.  You built well into the song, sharing a wide range of dynamic colours, and the line was expressively shaped and maintained with a warm legato and good clarity in the diction.”

Wendy Howse, Junior FR’s Musical Director, commented:

“I’m so glad that the adjudicator picked up on all the things we’ve been working on. I’m so proud and feel so blessed that we get to do this every Friday. It was so lovely to see so many parents there supporting us. I’m over the moon. A heartfelt thanks to the girls for working hard and to all the ladies who make JFR possible.”

Solo and Duet Performances

Thirteen of our Junior FR girls also performed exceptionally well in solo and duet categories at the music festival, and they all did exceptionally well with their confident singing. They featured in several categories:

Songs from the Shows

How Far I’ll Go from Moana (Beth), December (Caitlin), Slipping Through My Fingers from Mamma Mia (Amelie), and As Long As He Needs Me from Oliver (Evie).

Duets and Trios

Doh a Deer (Beth, Natalie, Elsie), Count on Me (Grace & Caitlin), Who Am I? (Anna & Izzy).

To Make You Feel My Love (Rosie & Jasmine) and True Colours (Lily & Amelie) came joint first in this category.

Traditional

Caitlin achieved the highest mark in the Traditional category with Crystal Spring.

Pop Songs.

Somewhere Only We Know (Natalie), When I Was Your Man (Lily), Born Without A Heart (Kiara), You’ve Got The Love (Grace). Evie came first with her performance of Lay Me Down by Sam Smith.

Another successful year! A Huge Well Done to all involved.

Fascinating Rhythm raise over £1200 for St Peter’s Hospice Bristol

On February 15, 2024, the ladies of Fascinating Rhythm warmly welcomed Nick Wilson, a Community Fundraiser for St Peter’s Hospice. Throughout 2023, the dedicated members of Fascinating Rhythm and RhythmMix (a smaller group of the Fascinating Rhythm chorus members) worked diligently to raise funds for St Peter’s Hospice through various activities, including singing at Yate Shopping Centre, Cribbs Causeway, and the walk to remember at Ashton Court. They also contributed to a Music with Mummy children’s event at Easter and provided refreshments and sang at Wotton Teas in the town hall in Wotton Under Edge.

Their hard work paid off, resulting in an impressive £1245.45 raised. During this special night, Fascinating Rhythm’s co-chair Anne-marie Collier presented a cheque to Nick Wilson. Nick highlighted the crucial role St Peter’s Hospice plays in providing palliative end-of-life care for patients and families dealing with cancer, lung, heart, and neurological diseases.

Covering a large area around Bristol and serving a population of 1.2 million people, St Peter’s Hospice supports 3000 patients annually, with 90% receiving care at home. The funds raised by Fascinating Rhythm equate to providing 60 therapy sessions for bereaved families and children, sustaining the 24-hour advice line for an additional 3 days, or covering the average cost of caring for a patient at home.

Expressing her pleasure in supporting the local hospice, Anne-marie stated,

“The ladies of Fascinating Rhythm truly worked hard to raise the money.” Nick emphasised the significance of local groups like Fascinating Rhythm, stating, “Having local support matters so much, it helps us ensure that care through the hospice is freely available for 3000 people a year.”

Nick stayed for the first half of the chorus rehearsal, praising Fascinating Rhythm’s talent and expressing gratitude for their efforts in fundraising for the hospice.

Fascinating Rhythm’s charity for 2024 is Off the Record a mental health social movement for young people aged 11-25.

Fascinating Rhythm rehearses every Thursday between 7 pm and 10 pm.  Contact us if you would like to join us.