NBYC – The National Barbershop Youth Chorus

Hereward Harmony chorus from Peterborough welcomed the National Barbershop Youth Chorus  to their  annual ‘Sing for Spring’ event on April 2^nd. Hereward  always have a packed diary of singouts, yet find time annually to organise a workshop day for both sexes with a mixed musical concert in the evening.
On this occasion some of the local schools were prepared to welcome singers in the week leading up to the event to give a flavour of the day. The NBYC were delighted to be able to supply ‘Mach 4’ for this exciting task with Tom Knight of ‘Cadence’ as substitute bass.  The quartet had a great time singing and leading sectional sessions with the students and felt that it had been a really positive experience.
On the day, a good-sized group of youngsters joined with the NBYC for the workshop to learn about singing and to rehearse ‘Full time job’ for the evening concert.  The girls were coached seperately by the hugely competent Ellie Mills along with Singchronicity chorus.
Joe White, our MD, showed remarkable maturity whilst directing some of the livelier attendees whilst the section leaders really worked hard to help teach the lads about singing techniques. 
There was time for fun too with a game of Super Chicken and our own rehearsal time before the concert .
‘Steel’ were headlining and greatly added to the merriment of the afterglow with a queue of people wanting to sing with them. Several ex-NBYC members were also with us during the day for support as well as our man with the regalia, Mr. Derek Parmenter .
The lads were hosted overnight organised by (chairman) Les Ashton and Hereward also generously provided a village hall venue for a full day’s rehearsal on the Sunday.  This extra day gave everyone a chance to relax and enjoy time to prepare for the Sunday afternoon convention show, play some games and have a tag competition.  Joe really hit his stride in this atmosphere and a superb rehearsal ensued.  The NBYC are proud of their contribution to this day and delighted to have been asked.

The chorus are singing next at the Annual Barbershop Convention in Llandudno 27th May weekend-onstage Sunday afternoon and rehearsal in the morning. Songs: Jeannie, Full-time job and Star (featuring David, the owner of the fastest feet in the chorus). Registration for the Sunday is free if you are performing onstage. Many singers choose to get b& b accommodation so that they can sing in the evening at the afterglows.

Later we have a Youth Chorus day at harmony college held at Nottingham Uni – food included!-Saturday 27th August.

Moe details?  Contact our PRO AshleyB@lbm.co.uk

NBYC have a rehearsal in Sheffield on Sunday Jan 9th 10-4.

Message from your director Joe White:

Howdy folks,
The next rehearsal date has been set as the 9th January in Sheffield. (10-4)
It will be held in the rehearsal venue of Hallmark of Harmony - Holt House School, Bannerdale Rd, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S7 2EW
On the 8th there is a directors symposium in Birmingham. Anyone wanting a lift up to Sheffield could probably meet Andy Allen or Myself there and kip the night in our Bachelor pads, same goes for anyone wishing to be there on time and get a train the night before.
Be there or be so very square

I have just uploaded teach tracks and sheet music to the members website: www.members.nb-yc.co.uk for the new song, STAR MEDLEY.
The files can be downloaded from the “Learning Materials” section of the above website. I am currently working on tidying up the file section. The best way to find the file you want is to use the limits above the file window i.e. limit to “baritone” mix (do not attempt to limit by song), submit and the correct track should appear and be simple to download.
We shall be working on this song next weekend and I apologise for the late notice (due to people being on holiday and out of office in america) although I will be allowing note bashing sessions and music on risers but this is not an excuse to not learn the song and expect to be able to learn the notes on the risers.
Antoine Kaiserman produced the teach tracks in a 24hour time frame, quite an achievement I think you will agree! Give him a pat on the back on sunday.
Happy learning! Any problems, do not hesitate to contact me.

Joe White

Holt House School Bannerdale Road Sheffield S7 2EW  1
You can be collected from the station if you ring mum or any committee member.

Lunch for £1-50.

Minutes of NBYC AGM meeting held on 7th November in Telford

Apologies received from Joe Knight, Dan Course, Richard Fisher, Dave Moffatt.

Chairman’s report: The chairman was pleased to have Derek Parmenter in attendance and spoke of the closer alliance that had been forged with BABS in recent months. We had a high point at the funded retreat in Lincoln at the start of the year and there was some hope of another such event being run again next year in June or July. BABS Convention show had been a great success, although the start of a new era with Rob leaving and Joe taking over as MD.  Joe was now shaping up to be an excellent director. There had been some problems with entering for chorus competitions as people were reluctant to commit to attending. Andy thanked the committee for all their support during the year. He reported that it had been a great year and thanked everyone who had been part of the team.

Treasurer’s report: Most of the work this past year had been concerned with expenses claims. If we accept funded singouts we must commit to putting the whole chorus out.

Musical Director’s report: We sang at LABBS last October on the Sunday show and must commit to a more professional approach if we are on stage the day after ‘party night’. Some singers had indelible make-up visible from the night before! Thanks to Tony Chapman for organising retreat in Lincoln. Peterborough had been Joe’s first outing as MD and he felt he had learned on the job. The BABS Convention performance had been one of the best we’d done.  The chorus was moving forward with a new vision and many new singers to meet the needs of. Next year Joe intends to concentrate purely on the music and to avoid any committee decisions. He asked for ideas for a new ballad. He proposed a vote of thanks to Rob and suggested that we should get something to show our appreciation.

BABS Vice Chairman: Derek confirmed the plan for NBYC to be on next year’s Convention show on Sunday afternoon. (The same one as Crossroads!) He was pleased to see so many newer guys on the risers. BABS want to support the NBYC and will offer what we feel the need for. They could help with organisational issues-rehearsal venues etc. They don’t want to interfere but to offer their time and experience. NBYC is a representative of the BABS organisation and we need to put out the best chorus that we can. Alan Goldsmith (Ali G) will be our first point of contact in future in his new role of Musical Services Director. Discussions were underway with Zac about Harmony College having a Youth Stream.
Before electing the new committee retiring chairman thanked Shirley (chorus mum) for what she had done during the year.
A.O.B. :

• Duncan Appleby resigned as section leader due to coursework commitments.
• Alessandro McCarthy  asked about keeping links with Rob Barber and asking him to come to rehearsals as a coach. After discussion it was agreed to do so in the future after a break.
• Tom Knight suggested working with a team of coaches at rehearsals but after debate this was ruled to be organisationally difficult. He also asked for clarification on age limits as the chorus was also a group of good friends who wished to meet and sing. After discussion it was agreed that older guys could sing when it was appropriate but noted that some competitions were age-limited. It was also felt important not to lose the expertise that had been built up – older members were good mentors and also took positions of responsibility. It was also important that younger members didn’t feel overwhelmed.
• David Taylor/John(dad): Suggested a more regular schedule of rehearsals to be announced in advance. Suggestions- ask your own chorus if they would host us for a rehearsal and build up a bank of places. Next planned sing: Jan 9/16th Sheffield, courtesy of Andy Allen’s chorus.

Elections were held: