First Place in Leamington Competitive Festival

June 6th 2009

MAJESTIC CHOIR FESTIVAL 2009

BELLES take FIRST PRIZE in competition

Singers wanted

Join a winning chorus.

You are welcome to visit us at a rehearsal.

About Barbershop

Barbershop is an unaccompanied style of singing which is one of the most exciting and challenging ways for someone who loves singing to use her voice. Barbershop harmony involves four parts, and so the simplest format is a quartet of men or women. However, many people enjoy singing in a larger group with several people joining together to sing the same part. There’s nothing quite like singing in a barbershop chorus! 
The TENOR sings the high notes. The LEAD sings the tune under the tenor– this is what’s different about barbershop harmony. The BARITONE sings above or below the lead. The Bass sings the low notes.
The "ring" of barbershop chords is unmistakable. This is what makes our music so exciting to sing and to listen to. It is quite possible when things are just right for several additional notes to be heard in a chord, which are not being sung by anybody! Once you’ve heard it you’ll be hooked! Barbershop is also about entertainment. The presentation of a song is looked at as a whole, and the outcome is a treat for the eyes as well as the ears.
Getting involved with a barbershop club is a very cheap way to improve your voice! We believe that improving our ability as singers is really important and so we work on developing the craft of singing at our weekly rehearsals, at special chorus education days and at education events organised by the organisation that we belong to.
Finally, barbershop is also about friendship and fun. The spirit of harmony pervades the barbershop movement and attracts people of all ages and all walks of life.
Although we work hard to do what we do well, we never take ourselves too seriously. We are all there to have fun - and that is something we have a lot of

Barbershop singing is generally regarded as having evolved in America, but the truth is it has its most basic roots on this side of the water.It started in Elizabethan England where, in those days, men could not afford the price of a cut throat razor so, before church on a Sunday, they would go to the Barber for a shave. There, someone would start to sing a song - most probably something that was later to be sung in church - and others would join in with harmonies. Thus Barbershop harmony was born.

In the 17th century, Samuel Pepys mentioned Barbershop in his diary, as traditional music sung in parlours, barbershops and “publick places”.  Immigrants took it to America where it really took off in the 1800's with harmony quartets joining travelling shows and vaudeville. The popularity of Barbershop peaked just before the first world war, but with the coming of talking movies, jazz and the band music of the roaring twenties it fell out of favour. A revival started in the states in 1938  popularity grew through the 40' and 50's throughout the country. Enthusiasm for the style overflowed to the UK and the first clubs in this country were formed in the 70's.

The Coventry Ladies Barbershop Harmony Club was founded in 1989 and the chorus name was and still is The Belles of Three Spires.  The name Three Spires comes from the City Of Coventry which is known as the City of Three Spires and the club is linked to the Men’s club whose chorus is called the Sound of Three Spires.

2008 for the Belles

The year 2008 started for the Belles with a new Musical Director Timm Barkworth, he has been singing Barbershop since he was 13 years old and he learned a great deal about singing from Hallmark of Harmony chorus in Sheffield with whom he won three gold medals. He also sang with Grand Central Chorus from Derby and won a gold medal with them. In 2006 he won Gold again in the Quartet competition with Pitch Invasion and now sings with a quartet called Evolution. Timm works with a number of a capella groups up and down the country as a professional Voice Coach.

He started the year by giving the girls four new songs to learn including a new song for the National Competition Preliminary Heat which was held in April where the group achieved second place.

In March Sally McLean from The White Rosettes in Leeds came to coach the chorus for a day which was very enjoyable as well as useful.

In June the Coventry Barbershop Harmony Clubs (male and female) but on their regular bi annual show Harmony Inspires. This was held at the Spa Centre in Royal Leamington Spa and included two champion quartets U4ria and Monkey Magic.

This year also saw the chorus in a new stage costume at the National Convention in Harrogate on November 1st where they came 5th in the National Finals. After some initial hiccups and some uncertainty the dresses were declared stunning and have been used on several events since. 

November and early December saw a flurry of bookings for concerts and Christmas events including singing in the shopping centre for late night shopping in Leamington. A cold evening but good fun.