Recently, we were delighted to present a final cheque for almost £550.00 to Dementia Connections, our chosen charity for 2018.

Thelma represented Fascinating Rhythm to present the cheque to Amanda and Christine who run the local group in Wotton-under-Edge.

Christine said “All of us at Dementia Connections are really grateful for this donation from Fascinating Rhythm. The money will help us to complete our allotment project this year. We plan to add a seating area, raised beds and troughs so that everyone in our groups can take part in planting and harvesting this year and into the future. We love our days on the allotment when the weather allows, and all this will make it so much easier for us to go there more often. A huge thank you from all of us. Amanda and Christine“

We are, of course so pleased to be able to help such a worthy cause and wish them well in their future projects.

Children and young people with Down Syndrome release Fascinating music video.

Today sees the release of a music video with children and young people who have Down Syndrome performing an arrangement of the award-winning song “This is Me” alongside one of the UK’s leading ladies’ barbershop choruses.

This musical collaboration brings together families supported by the Down Syndrome charity, Ups and Downs Southwest https://www.upsanddowns.net/, and members of the 60-strong, South Gloucestershire based chorus, Fascinating Rhythm.

Released on World Down Syndrome Awareness Day (WDSD), the video contributes to the WDSD 2019 “leave no one behind” campaign raising awareness that people with Down Syndrome should have equal opportunities to live fulfilling lives in all aspects of society.

“This is me”, from the film The Greatest Showman, is a defiant song of self-empowerment sung by the people with unique qualities employed as so-called “human oddities” for the Barnum Circus.

The idea for the video came from Jo Thorn, Director of Ups and Downs Southwest and Musical Director of Fascinating Rhythm. 

“This year at Ups and Downs, we agreed to create something for World Down Syndrome Awareness Day relevant to its campaign but with the potential for global reach too. We wanted to feature our young people sending out a very pertinent message through a song which says: although I may be different, I still make a difference and a worthwhile contribution to society. We asked my chorus Fascinating Rhythm to support us to help provide an inclusive platform for our children and young people to explore their creative side through signing as well as song.”

Members of Fascinating Rhythm and the young people with Down Syndrome had to learn the song with Makaton signs to communicate keywords, and the video was after weeks of preparation finally recorded.

Fascinating Rhythm chorus member Wendy Daniell said,

“It has been a huge privilege for us being invited to participate in this project. I personally have learned so much more about Down Syndrome, and it was a surprise to me to discover Makaton being used as a language to support speech development. And we had such fun working with the Ups and Downs families on the day our performance was being filmed.”

Marie, the mother of 12-year-old Poppy who has Down Syndrome, said

“It was such a joy for me to see Poppy involved in this project. It allowed her to get involved in new and enriching experiences, but in a nurturing environment too with the lovely ladies of Fascinating Rhythm being so understanding and supportive. She was enthralled by the equipment used by the professional film production team and also thrilled at performing with such an amazing chorus.”

The project has been generously supported with grants from Sedgemoor District Council and Bridgwater Town Council, and in-kind contributions from music recording company “nooj Productions” and venue hire from Sydenham Barn.

The video can be seen on Twitter at #leavenoonebehind and #UDThisisme https://youtu.be/A54xxtJgxOg

Fascinating Rhythm signing “Here I come” with Makaton in the song “This is Me”

We were so pleased that the snow did not stop play for our learn to sing workshop held on 2nd February. Fortunately, the snow stopped falling in time for us to go ahead, so the delegates did not miss out on their singing fix.

We welcomed around 70 ladies of all ages (including a Mum and Daughter set which with our Fascinating Rhythm member (the grandmother) made a 3 generation appearance again)

The delegates worked so hard this year as it was quite a mammoth song – it was the very famous “This is Me” (from The Greatest Showman) so it was even more of a challenge for those ladies who were given a harmony part and not the lead line (the bit we all know)

The speed at which the song was learnt was incredible. We even had a run-through before lunch!

Much cake was consumed, and we again offered merchandise to buy along with the chance of winning a raffle prize.

We were delighted that we now seem to have several ‘regulars’ who come to the workshop each year, and we look forward to welcoming everyone again in 2020!

The Chorus has again received some great feedback from our guests, and we would like to share some of it with you here:

“The day whizzed by – such fun with lovely people. I’d love to come again.”

“An excuse to let go – great to enjoy time with great ladies.”

“A great day doing something for myself and being part of something big!”

“Just a nice experience to be with others who enjoy singing and the opportunity of being part of a choir for just a day.”

“Find that although it takes me out of my ‘comfort zone’ I have a sense of achievement by the end of the day. It’s just lovely to sing and meet such a fab group of ladies!”

We thank you, ladies, for coming to share the day with us, it was lovely to welcome you to Fascinating Rhythm, and we hope to see you again.

We were delighted that on Saturday 10th November we performed for “Dementia Connections”, our charity of the year. They organised a concert with refreshments and a raffle while the audience enjoyed 2 halves of Fascinating Rhythm singing all of our favourites.

Well over £1,000 was raised for this local charity who provide memory groups and carer support.

Chris Sweet commented, “What a fabulous evening we had last Saturday. Our group members, volunteers and friends in the audience enjoyed Fascinating Rhythm singing their hearts out for us”.

We are thrilled that the evening was a success and we will be able to let you know what other funds are raised by Fascinating Rhythm for the group in the new year.

Fascinating Rhythm were delighted to host the Southwest regional education day in June.

LABBS members of thirteen choruses from all corners of the region travelled to join us to work on the current polecat song “Anthem” as well as to catch up with old friends and of course to eat cake!

Our guest educators Monica Funnell (MD of Crystal Chords) and Avalon quartet provided guidance on singing and performance throughout the day. There was even some friendly competition as the group split into two mini choruses for the afternoon in preparation for a sing-off.

The day ended with a massed sing from our enormous combined Chorus – a fantastic sound which clearly showed the brilliance of barbershop singing in the Southwest!

As an established chorus, we are always delighted to present our members with our long service badges.

Recently we have had quite a cohort of ladies who have been with us ranging from 5 up to 15 years.

Congratulations ladies, we appreciate your commitment and enthusiasm for the Chorus.

 Thornbury Eisteddfod 2018

This year, we were determined to get things 100% right – so lots of plans were put into place to make our journey to the competition the best it could be.

Solos – six Junior FR girls decided to take part in the Thornbury solo competition this year.

Music was sourced and chosen and tweaked to match every girls’ vocal range. Teaching tracks were made, and private lessons began. The girls also spent time with Kitty on presentation and Ali on vocal excellence and Charmaine (our piano accompanist), to get as fully prepared as possible.

The girls were also given some performance opportunities and came along to Fascinating Rhythm on Thursday 8th March to perform in front of Fascinating Rhythm and on the 9th March to all the parents from Junior FR.

The competition began at 9.00 am on Sunday 11th March (Mother’s day).

Lily Howse sang “Let’s go fly a kite”, Anna White sang “Somewhere out there”, and Edie Wong sang “Tomorrow”. All in the under 11s stage and screen section.

It was a Junior FR hat trick! Anna scored a massive 89 marks and won the trophy. Lily came second with 88 marks, and Edie came third with 87 – distinctions for all.

Hannah Sharp had a challenging section singing “On My Own” against nine other competitors in the 14s and under stage and screen section. She came a very respectable 3rd and gave a very moving performance.

Ella Carrick had a fantastic day. She sang “I’m not that girl” from Wicked in the 18s and under section. Competing against six others, she gave a very emotional performance and took the 1st place trophy.

Our last singer of the morning was Jessica Page – singing about “a windmill in old Amsterdam” in the 11s and under folk song section. She gave a brilliant performance and was given 88 marks (another distinction) and came 2nd.

It was a fabulous morning; the adjudicator was brilliant and has given us lots of advice. I am hoping to book her to come and do a workshop with the girls in the future.

To top it all, Lily has since been asked to represent the junior sections and perform at the Eisteddfod concert on the 23rd March. What an honour, and of course we said yes.

Choruses – We decided to split Junior FR this year, as our numbers are growing and we have nine very competent secondary school girls, who we thought needed more of a challenge.

Song choice has always been key to these competitions – finding songs that are challenging, but that can be sung well.

The Juniors (directed by Wendy Howse) and supported by Nic Page, Claire Bevan and Melanie Edwards sang “The midnight Tango” from Roald Dahl’s Cinderella musical and “The Little Sandman”, a poem set to music by Brahms.

The girls really benefited from the same performance opportunities as the soloists on the lead up to the competition.

They seemed fearless as they took to the stage (in St. Mary’s Church – Thornbury) and delivered their package perfectly. They even managed to sing in 3 part harmony, unaccompanied and stay in pitch. They competed against five other schools in the 11s and Under competition; Crossways; Tockington Manor; Christ the King; Frampton and Manorbrook.

Whilst all the other performances were lovely, no-one delivered like Junior FR, and we took 1st place and a trophy.

On top of that, we had so many lovely compliments from other schools and Eistedfodd staff, which was the icing on the cake.

Junior FR had never won this competition and each year they just miss out, and we are delighted that our perseverance has paid off and Junior FR finally get the win they deserve (after five years of competing).

The seniors from Junior FR were entered into a new competition this year. 18s and U (small choirs) – against Tockington Manor and The Castle School Chamber Choir. Our girls sang “The Winter Carol” and “Sing”. Directed by Kitty Davies and supported by Chloe Roberts, Ali Jack and Joan Josey.

The girls gave a solid performance – the adjudicator was highly impressed when one of the songs went into five parts. – especially as there were only nine girls in the chorus

The Castle school choir also gave a solid performance, and the adjudicator found it very difficult to decide who should come first. We were just beaten by one point (but still scoring 87 – distinction) and so were awarded 2nd place.

We are so immensely proud of both choruses and incredibly grateful to Wendy Howse (MD) and the whole Junior FR team.

We are also so very fortunate that Valerie Shelton gave up her time to accompany the girls again this year and once again played the piano beautifully for us.

SO WHAT” S NEXT?

This weekend (17th March) see’s the soloists (plus Alice Grubb), compete in the Bristol Eisteddfod.

28th April we will be taking to the stage as we have been invited to sing in The Frampton Male Voice Choir’s concert – in aid of Cancer Research.

May Day will see us on the side of a lorry (stage), as we entertain the crowd.

And we hope to be involved in The Thornbury Carnival – we are just waiting to hear.

Wendy Howse has said “It’s such an honour being the Musical Director. Obviously, winning trophies is nice, but seeing the journey that these girls go on from when they first walk into our rehearsal room, to now, is so rewarding. Being part of Junior FR has made quite a big difference to so many girls in terms of confidence and self-esteem, that every second spent on rehearsals, admin, learning songs etc. is so worth it.”

2018 Workshop was the best yet!

On Saturday 24th February, we were excited to welcome 50 delegates to this year’s workshop.

We were able to showcase a few of our songs, then the delegates were firstly given a vocal warm-up, they were then split into their voice part for the day. Fascinating Rhythm members then sang the song to them that they were going to learn from page to stage, and they were delighted to hear ‘Shine’ by Take That, which actually is a 5 part harmony song.

Hard work by every single delegate, and we were absolutely amazed that they took on board section work and came together before lunch for a first sing through, which was incredible.

During lunch (and much eating of cake) we were able to chat with our visitors and tell them about our hobby.

Every delegate was invited to gives us some feedback at the end, and below are a few of their comments:

“Such a fun, rewarding day. A lot to learn but a huge sense of achievement at the end of the session. I just love singing”

“Confidence to ‘go for it’! To sing with a large, great chorus” “Fun, friendship, harmony, teamwork (and cake)!” “To do something for me, it was fun, and I enjoyed it.”

“I found it an incredibly emotional experience to go from being terrified of making a mistake to actually enjoying singing.. and on the front row even! I can’t believe how much we learned in one day, and I’m going away with a huge sense of achievement. THANK YOU!”

“Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, so much support from all the Fascinating Rhythm ladies. Lots of laughs and a great Musical Director.”

We were really pleased to hear that a few of our visitors intend to come to a regular rehearsal to see us again with interest in joining us, and we look forward to welcoming you all.

Fascinating Rhythm had a fabulous day with you all, thank you for joining us, you all certainly did ‘Shine’, and we hope to see you again next year if not sooner!