I didn’t really know what to expect from Convention, except I had watched a few choruses on You Tube. For me, overwhelmingly, it was the sense of bonding I got with other members of

Our five lovely new members at their first convention

FR! I loved the spontaneous singing we did at dinner the first evening and then again in the restaurant with another chorus on the Saturday – really “singing for our supper”! It was nice to look around and see non-singers enjoying the singing too. As for the competition itself, I found it really exciting and it was good to hear different Choruses. It helped me understand a bit more about why good choruses sound good. I was on a high from start to finish and feeling lasted a good long time during following week too as we had done so well! Feel proud to be part of FR.
Bekki

Convention – how can I describe it? Amazing, bonding, professional, exhilarating, full of warmth and friendship, relaxing and refreshing.  When I got on the coach to Harrogate I had no idea what to expect. The FR family sprang into action and I felt fully supported throughout. The coach ride gave the opportunity to learn more about the people we stand on the risers with each week. The militant schedule for our package meant we were all focused and feeling prepared for getting on the stage. I loved the way we could all just come and go in different groups, listen to other choruses and just share in one common interest.
By far, the best moment, was waiting on the stairs to go in and perform our package holding hands and feeling the energy from the whole of FR, so overwhelming and calming at the same time. A weekend I will never forget and roll on Convention 2017.
Claire

My first convention was a really thrilling experience. The adrenaline pushed us all to be even better than we had been before and I was so proud to be a part of a really great sound. My favourite moment was when we were all warmed up, dressed and ready waiting in the stairwell about to go onstage. We held hands in silence just repeating in our head “We’ve got this”. The moment was truly electric and made me feel like I was a part of such a special chorus. We’re all in this together!
Sam

Through feedback from longer-standing FR members I had tried to create an image in my mind of the LABBS Convention.  Well, the reality included far more shimmer, glitter and glamour than I could have imagined!  I loved the warm air of friendliness, encouragement and support throughout the weekend amongst delegates both within the conference centre and when seeing each other out and about in Harrogate. There was a real buzz throughout the weekend and it was great to see so many other groups and quartets performing, allowing me to observe and learn from each and every one of them.  As for FR – it was an uplifting experience to be part of such a focused, committed, enthusiastic and hard-working group; our fabulous performance was the icing on the cake, the measure of success for me being the massive smile on Jo D’s face!
Carolyn

Junior FR took part in The Big Sing on 1st December at St Peters Church in Frampton Cotterell.  This community charity event raises funds for Christian Aid with many school choirs and local children’s choirs involved.  Wearing their FR T-shirts and with something Christmassy in their hair, JFR performed a 3-part arrangement of ‘Amazing Grace/Pachabel’s Canon’, then the juniors sang a really fun and vibrant version of ‘Must Be Santa’ by

Bob Dylan, followed by the seniors with ‘Winter Wonderland’ in 4 parts and supported by the FR helpers.  MD Wendy Howse received the following from one of the organisers:
‘I just wanted to say a big thank you to JFR for coming along to this year’s Big Sing, the children sang beautifully & are a real credit to you. I’m pleased to say that £510.71 was raised for Christian Aid, to which will be added £94 in Gift Aid.  Thanks again & best wishes’ Alison.

Jolly cold, but it was the most beautiful winter’s day to enjoy a bit of seasonal singing.  On 4^th December 2016, we were pleased to be invited back to sing in the beautiful little church in the grounds of the National Trust’s very popular Dyrham Park where we performed two sets to good audiences.  Lovely experience for the youngsters, including those who joined in when the pitch was blown (and not necessarily in the same key).
We had a bit of a struggle to get there as unfortunately there had been an accident on the
A 46 and the road was eventually closed, but most of us were on time for the first session and the rest arrived after a detour through the village.  Once again we were very well looked after – tea, coffee and biscuits warmed us through the sub-zero temperatures; very difficult to see the MD when your glasses mist up every time you sing!

Oooh – is that Santa doing an early run?

Thursday evening, 11th August.   Women from across Bristol and South Gloucestershire joined together at Fascinating Rhythm’s rehearsal hall in Winterbourne to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ladies’ Barbershop Singing in the UK, and it was a truly enjoyable event, thanks to some inspired liaising between the Chairwomen of their respective Choruses.
The Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers (http://www.labbs.org.uk) runs a national network of Ladies’ Choruses and holds an annual convention competition, this year in Harrogate. Throughout 2016, LABBS Choruses have been signing a Beacon of Harmony scroll, which has travelled around the country from Chorus to Chorus and will end up in Harrogate at Convention at the end of October.

Three excellent Chairs

 
This special event was attended by around 100 singers from our three local Choruses; Avon Harmony, Bristol Fashion and Fascinating Rhythm, and a delegation from Cardiff Style who handed on the Beacon. Old and new friends mingled over supper, singing together and for each other, led by their Musical Directors Alex de Bruin, Craig Kehoe and Jo Dean.

Kate Tiveny, Chairman of Bristol Fashion, said “It was a great privilege and pleasure to
receive the Beacon Scroll from Cardiff Style on behalf of our local Choruses and we look forward to passing it on to Cleeve Harmony on 24th August”.
Terri Kinnison Chair of Fascinating Rhythm, said “We were so glad to be able to host this wonderful celebration of femaile’ harmony singing and to meet the founders of barbershop and a cappella singing in this area. There was an awesome sound tonight.”
Jackie Boffin, Chairman of Avon Harmony, drew the evening to a close and expressed her pleasure at seeing and hearing so many chorus members enjoying food and music together in this special year of Ladies Barbershop.

More pictures on our Gallery page.

Lazy Day with 3 MDs!

Very pleased to say that young rider Peter who did so well in the RDA regional competition (coming in the top 3 of two events) was placed 5th in his section of the Nationals at Hartpury College in July.  Everyone at Patchwork Riding for the Disabled is very proud of his achievement.

JFR at Proms in the Meadow – July 2016

Once again Junior Fascinating Rhythm had the privilege of opening Iron Acton’s Proms, and this year the theme was Spain.  Dressed in pink and black, their hair adorned with a pink flamenco style flower, the girls opened with their first Spanish contribution – ‘The Tango’, from Roald Dahl’s Cinderella. This was followed by ‘Teddy Bears Picnic’ sung in four-part harmony, then our younger contingent sang a medley of Abba’s ‘Super Trouper and Dancing Queen’ in two-part harmony.  Sharon Marshfield, one of the FR ladies who assist each week at rehearsals, debut as Director for a bespoke four-part arrangement of the Beatles ‘Help’ sung by the secondary school age members.  This year’s repertoire also included Bob Marley’s ‘One Love’ featuring a very confident duet by Alice and Georgia.  JFR’s second contribution to the theme of the evening was ‘The Spanish Flea – featuring our youngest member, Lily Howse, as a very cute flea.

Nine of the girls are lucky enough to have their mothers (who sing with Fascinating Rhythm) along at each rehearsal and these six lovely ladies, including the MD of JFR, help to coach and support the girls with their singing. To celebrate this they performed a round together in their family units – a proud moment for the Mums (though no doubt mild embarrassment for some of the girls!). This piece was also dedicated to two of the Mums and daughters who are sadly leaving JFR.

For their finale – ‘We’re All in This Together’ from High School Musical, the girls had the audience up on their feet and joining in – a great ending to a lovey gig.

AND …  entertaining the WI 25th June 2016

Junior FR were delighted to be invited to provide the entertainment for Iron Acton WI’s annual dinner for senior citizens at Rangeworthy Village Hall and the audience agreed they put on a fabulous show.  The icing on the cake was that, unbeknown to the girls, there was a very special person in the audience … Sally McClean, awesome MD of the multi-gold medal winning White Rosettes chorus.  Sally gave the girls some wonderful complimentary feedback when she came backstage and spoke to them at the end of their performance.  This upped the girls’ elation by several degrees and comments like ‘OMG – that’s Sally from the top barbershop chorus in the country!’ could be heard.  Fabulous end to another great gig.

Thursday, 30th June and, thanks to some great teamwork, we were all risered up to take our rehearsal  to the very impressive Tudor Room in Thornbury Castle as part of the Fringe Festival.  It was a ‘warts and all’ production in front of two separate and very appreciative audiences who had booked seats as we took them through the journey of tweaking, polishing and blending 4-part a cappella singing under the direction of Jo Dean, who also kept up a running commentary throughout.  During both sessions, members of the audience were invited to join the Chorus to have a go – and both times the brave participants were just brilliant.
Email comments from one of the organisers, Chris Saich:
“You will shortly receive a formal thank you from Ian Walker on behalf of the Friends of Thornbury Carnival Committee for the great performance you organised on Thurs 30 June, as part of Thornbury Carnival Fringe week.  However, I just wanted to add my personal thanks for your willing support for this community event and your suggestion to bring your rehearsal to Thornbury.  As anticipated, Thornbury Castle proved to be an ideal setting and we were very appreciative of you taking the trouble to join us, with the logistics of travel and the physical set-up required.  The chorus sounded tremendous, as witnessed by the great reception from our two audiences.
We hope your ladies enjoyed the evening as much as we did and please thank them all for giving of their time to support our community event.  It was great to meet you and we send our very best wishes to Jo Dean and the Chorus for your future engagements.”

Photographs courtesy of Garry Holden of G Holden Photography.  (gholdenphotography@hotmail.com)

Update from Free Range:

So, Prelims 2016 came and went in a blur of excitement and fun!
When you are competing against 35 (yes 35!) other quartets, you appreciate there is every chance that it’s going to be tough to qualify as in reality you have to beat 19 of them.  Our performance felt good and this year we decided to watch our recording straight after we had come off stage. Having made the decision not to watch any other quartets prior to our own stage time, we watched the final section of the competition and waiting for the results… it was a very long day for the judges!
For those not aware, the process is that if you qualify, your name goes into a hat and then randomly selected, which gives your place to sing at Convention.  Very nail biting stuff; when “and singing 12^th…” is announced and you have not been mentioned…. With each further place your emotions start to sink and we had that look between us all thinking that we had not qualified… .  Then – “and singing 16^th…… FREE RANGE!” Well, there were a few whoops and screeches as you can imagine!
When the score sheet was produced we were absolutely thrilled to have been placed 13^th, with a score of 67.5 which was a lovely jump from 62.9 at convention 2015 (and 63.3 from Prelims).  We are delighted of course, but also appreciate that we need to work even harder to continue to improve so Convention will be a big focus for us (once our holidays are all done of course!).
We’d like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to our family, friends and coaches for all their support and help, plus a Big Shout Out to Fascinating Rhythm, whose support and enthusiasm is immense.

Dot, Di, Lesley & Mads

Approximately 160 ladies joined us for our annual Fascinating Fashion Show at the Armstrong Hall, Thornbury on Wednesday 15th June and, with many excellent top end high street bargains to be had, we all enjoyed a very therapeutic fun evening of good company and shopping.  The quality and choice of clothing this year was outstanding and meant most ladies went home with something new.
A number of FR  bought the same white top (with black spots, which suited everyone) and mischievously decided to wear them to rehearsal the following evening;  MD Jo Dean definitely went home with spots before her eyes!  The tops did look very smart though – we may have to change our walking out gear and buy another 60.

If you missed out on the fun, put this date in your diary – Wednesday 14^th June 2017 – Armstrong Hall – 7 for 7:30 and join us next year for a bargain.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Harrogate – Spring Bank Holiday, 30th May 2016 and the last day of the British Association of Barbershop Singers annual convention saw the inauguration of the very first Mixed Chorus class.  Very proud to report that no less than six of the 24 singers in the group were from Fascinating Rhythm, including our two gold medallists – Ali Jack and MD Jo Dean – with Chloe Roberts, Hanna Davies, Emma Richardson, Brenda Roberts and Julie Morgan.  Other members of P24 came from The Brit Pack, Black Sheep Chorus, The Great Western Chorus, Jigsaw Quartet and a special guest from Zero 8!  There’s something rather marvellous about this combining of voices from different choruses which also fielded 3 sets of couples.  Harmony indeed.

Overcoming the almost impossible job of getting tight diaries lined up, the group had just five rehearsals to pull it all together, with only a full number at the last rehearsal.  The songs offered were ’My Foolish Heart’ and ‘Undecided Medley’ which saw them romp into 3^rd place, with a Highly Commended.