Saturday 30th November saw Solent City supporting the Baffins Pond pre-Christmas celebrations in Portsmouth. Performing outside the City Life Church, the chorus kept an appreciative crowd entertained, despite competition from traffic noise and distracting aromas from the fish n’chip shop across the road. Also worth mentioning our unusual warm-up venue – the Rev Kev’s shop. The reaction of customers bringing in their computers for repair – and being confronted by 20 barbershoppers in full voice – was a sight to be remembered. |
Well done the Blue Eyed Boys! The joint Solent City / Wight Harmony quartet – John Kerr, Bob Knowles, Steve Morris and John Ward) - pulled off a great result at the BABS prelims in Leicester over the weekend. Not only were the guys placed 15 th in the open quartet semis, but they also scored an impressive 4 th in the seniors contest, a miniscule 0.1% behind the third-ranked quartet. This means that the Blue Eyed Boys will be competing in the quartet semi finals at convention in Bournemouth next May. We’ll all be cheering them on! |
Solent City Chorus were proud to be invited to perform in a musical afternoon / early Christmas party organised by OGC-Splash on November 5 th . The charity – an Oesophageal-Gastric Cancer Support Group – offers support and help to cancer sufferers, their families and carers, in the Portsmouth and South Hampshire area. The event, held in Waterlooville Golf Club, was attended by almost 150 people, and the Solent guys reckoned it was one of the most responsive and welcoming audiences they’d ever had. After performing, we had the privilege of being able to watch the rest of the afternoon’s entertainment – four more top-notch acts. For more information on OGC-Splash visit their website: https://ogc-splash.co.uk
|
Solent City were proud to be invited to perform in an “a cappella showcase” on the Isle of Wight on 11 th October. The evening of singing was held at the lovely All Saints Church in Gurnard and was mainly aimed at raising funds for the Church. But it was also an opportunity for our pals at Wight Harmony to celebrate the end of their recent “Learn to Sing” course and to welcome several new members into their club.
|
At the chorus' AGM held on Wednesday 2nd October, the chorus seleted their Barbershopper of the Year 2024. The award was given to Kevin Jones and the John Beck trophy was presented to Kevin by our new Chair, Bob Knowles Well done to the Rev Kev! |
Solent City Chorus hosted a sparkling summer concert at Portchester Methodist Church on 19 th July. The guys were thrilled to welcome back the Queen Bees from Southampton as their special guests; the ladies were on great form and kept the near-full house entertained with their combination of wonderful singing and lots of humour. The evening also saw a terrific performance from Autumn Gold, a quartet drawn from within Solent City, and featuring Bob, Julian, Ian and Kevin. Both the songs they sang were arrangements by members of the chorus – “When you say nothing at all”, arranged by Peter Mumford, and “In my room”, arranged by Julian Church. A remarkable tribute to the talent in the chorus. As for the chorus itself, the comedy number “Blew by you”, featuring Philip Davies (aka the Portsmouth Pavarotti), brought the house down as always. But there was also a huge roar of appreciation for our first public performance of “Paralysed”, an old Elvis number. With several of the guys launching into their own version of the notorious Elvis hip gyrations, there was general relief when we reached the end of the song with no limbs dislocated! Lots of fun, great enjoyment – and with the after-glow continuing in the local pub afterwards. |
|
The guys at Solent City have long known that their colleague Kevin Jones is a committed Christian. We’ve sung at his Church – the Church of the Good Shepherd in Waterlooville; we’ve watched him performing in his “Puppet Ministry” for children; we know that he’s an active lay preacher; and some of us have even listened to his show on Portsmouth QA Hospital radio. But what none of us knew until recently was that in between all these activities – not to mention singing with Solent City Chorus and running his own full-time business – in between all this….that Kevin has been studying to become a Priest in the Church of England. Kevin says that he first embarked on the process towards ordination some 12 years ago. Initially unsuccessful, he persevered and in recent years has been studying hard and receiving training in the various skills required of a Priest. All the hard work and dedication paid off, and a couple of months ago Kevin was able to announce his good news to the rest of the chorus. The big day was on 29 th June in Portsmouth Cathedral, when Kevin was Ordained as a Deacon by the Bishop of Portsmouth during an impressive and moving ceremony. The Reverend Kevin Jones – as he now is – will serve as a Deacon in the Parish of Southsea St Simon for around a year, before becoming a fully-fledged Priest. Speaking on behalf of the chorus, Music Director Steve Morris says that all the guys are thrilled for Kevin and very proud to sing with him: “He’s one of life’s good guys, and we’re full of admiration for everything he does and everything he’s achieved. The “Rev Kev” (as he’s already been nicknamed) is going to get a wonderful and heartfelt welcome back onto the risers at our next rehearsal.” |
We are delighted to announce that we will be holding a Summer Concert on Friday 19th July featuring the fabulous Queen Bees, the excellent Autumn Gold quartet as well as ourselves. |
The weekend of 23rd-25th May saw BABS (the British Association of Barbershop Singers) celebrating its’ landmark 50th anniversary in Harrogate. A wonderful few days, full of amazing singing, spending time with friends old and new, and of course the occasional beer or two. For the guys of Solent City, there was also the satisfaction of achieving an excellent result in the Male Chorus competition. Posting a score of 64.0%, our best for 17 years, Solent pulled off 4th place in the Division 3 category in which we were competing, and 22nd in the full national contest. Musical Director, Steve Morris, said he was really pleased with the result, and our continuing improvement was a testament to all the hard work the chorus has been putting in during the past year. For two “new boys” in the chorus, Tony Nicholas and Kevin Gall, this was their first convention. Interviewed on the BABS livestream, they both agreed it was an extraordinary and thrilling experience. Kevin said he’d been struck by the wonderful warmth and friendship, not just from the other guys in Solent City, but from all the people attending the weekend. Tony added that when he joined Solent City less than a year ago, he could never have dreamed that within a few months he’d be singing in front of nearly 2,000 people. As he said: “It was terrifying….but amazing. A day I’ll never forget. And I’m already looking forward to next year’s competition!” |
Solent City Chorus have received many compliments over the years. But the barbershop outfit reckon that having the smoothness of their singing compared to “bathing in hot chocolate” is a definite first! The comment came from Sarah Jefferies, international classical singer and teacher, and adjudicator at the Fareham Music Festival on 3rd May. Ms Jefferies was full of praise for Solent’s performance: “quiet and controlled, with a lovely use of dynamics”, as she put it. Against stiff competition, she awarded Solent two first prizes: the Acapella Cup in the Barbershop Class and the Andrews Trophy in the Part Singing Acapella Class, with a ranking of Distinction in both. The Chorus also came a close second in two other classes. Solent’s Musical Director Steve Morris said he was thrilled by the club’s success, and paid tribute to the guys’ hard work in recent months. “Singing quietly while maintaining control isn’t an easy skill. But you can imagine that when a men’s chorus gets it right it’s a wonderful and powerful sound.” The chorus are competing in the UK National Barbershop Championships in Harrogate at the end of month. Steve says that it will be a real test: “We’ll be up against some of the top men’s choirs in the country – but sing like we did at Fareham and we’ll do well." We also met up again with the fantastic Queen Bees who were terrific as always and took home a couple of cups of their own. You can see more photos from the evening here: Fareham Music Festival - Photo Gallery |
Many congratulations to the Club’s Musical Director, Steve Morris, who ran the London Marathon on Sunday 21 st April. Amazingly, this was Steve’s 11 th London Marathon and his 25 th marathon altogether – Stratford-on-Avon, Southampton and Brighton are just some of the other venues where he’s competed. Steve says his best-ever time was 3 hours 24 minutes, achieved some 30 years ago when he was younger, fitter and slimmer (his words not mine). But his time on Sunday was still a very creditable 5 hours 26 minutes. Allegedly this was to be his last marathon but the betting is that he might change his mind once he’s recovered. This time round Steve was raising funds for the Miscarriage Association, in honour of his middle daughter Sarah, who lost her baby 18 months ago. But, as Steve explains, the story has a happy ending as Sarah had a healthy baby girl three months ago. And together with 31 others who were also running for the Association, he helped to raise an incredible £103,000! |
Our Barbershopper of the Month for April is Chris Tweed - Deputy Musical Director, assistant to Steve, as well as bass section leader. During recent months Chris has also been providing invaluable advice to the Committee regarding the financial management of the club. Congratulations to Chris and many thanks. What would we do without him? |
A sparkling evening of singing at the Isle of Wight Music Festival on 8 th March saw Solent City Chorus take home winners’ trophies in the Male Voice Choir, Barbershop Male Voice Choir and Small Barbershop Group classes. Not only that, but Solent achieved an “Outstanding” mark in every class they entered. Judge Rosanna Whitfield - a vastly experienced conductor, composer and musical adjudicator – was especially impressed by the guys’ singing in the Male Voice Choir category, where she remarked on how our total commitment drew her in to the soul of “Love Letters”. She also commented on the glorious warmth of the final bars in “A Million Dreams”, in the Barbershop class. Solent were particularly successful in the Small Barbershop Group class, where two groups drawn from the chorus – and christened the Ferrets and the Polecats for the evening – took first and second places against stiff competition. “A wonderful sound”, “stylish” and “quite magical” were just some of Ms Whitfield’s comments. A really wonderful evening, with so much talent and musicality on display. Particular thanks go to our great pals from Wight Harmony for hosting the evening. Not only did they share the Barbershop Male Voice Choir first prize with us, but they also just pipped us to trophies in two other classes. |
What could be better than a good barbershop chorus to help those Christmas celebrations go with a swing! Solent City was in high demand during December, and the guys got into the festive spirit with a series of gigs. First off the blocks was an outing to the Red Lion pub at Southwick on December 6th. This was a big thank you to the pub for hosting our Christmas dinner and other events for a number of years. With almost all the chorus there it was a tight squeeze to find singing space, but a full house of diners and drinkers loved the performance and we also had some impromptu dance moves by the bar staff. Just hope they didn’t spill anyone’s beer…. There was a more traditional Christmas concert on December 10 th , when we shared the platform with the marvellous Queen Bees at St Michael’s and All Angels Hall in Bassett, Southampton. A fun afternoon, the highlights being the ladies’ rendition of “Santa Baby”, and our own comedy number “Blew by You”. The funds raised were shared between the Mountbatten Hampshire Hospice and Portchester Methodist Church. A few days later, on December13th, we were thrilled to be invited to back to perform for old friends at the Denmead W.I. The evening marked the sing-out debut of our new recruits Kevin and Tony, who had both done a terrific job in swotting up the Christmas repertoire. A lovely friendly evening, with a number of new songs that the ladies hadn’t heard us sing before, and with splendid refreshments afterwards. And talking of refreshments….the chorus were back at the Red Lion in Southwick on the 20th for the club Christmas dinner. A great meal, a great atmosphere, and inevitably some post-dinner singing to help the digestion! All of which was a good warm-up for our final gig of the year the following evening at the Wallington W.I. in Broadcut, Fareham. A full house and a super warm welcome from the W.I. ladies. After that the guys just had enough energy left to stagger round the corner for a beer at the Cams Mill pub, where we’d been invited to sing a few songs. The evening finished with a rousing rendition of “Amarillo”, much appreciated by both patrons and bar staff. What a great way to finish what has been a wonderfully enjoyable and successful year for Solent City! |
Solent City are delighted to welcome two new boys to their ranks, Tony Nicholas and Kevin Gall. Tony and Kevin both completed the Learn-to-Sing course which ran during September and October, and then passed their chorus audition first time with flying colours. Both of them agree that’s it been a challenge which has taken them out of their comfort zone. But as Kevin says: “Everyone’s been incredibly supportive; of course I get a buzz from the singing, but I love the camaraderie and fun as well.” According to Music Director Steve Morris, both of them have fine voices and will be a great asset to the lead section. But perhaps surprisingly, neither has sung in a chorus before. Tony confesses that some 60 years ago he was chosen to sing a solo in the school play….but his voice dried up and he couldn’t sing a note. Joking, he says that he’s been traumatised ever since! As for Kevin, he admits he never even made it into his school choir. But with Welsh parents (and a talented musical brother) he reckons the singing genes must be there just below the surface. Both Kevin and Tony are now working hard on the club’s Christmas repertoire and looking forward to their first public performance. |
Mike Cook was voted the Solent City Chorus Barbershopper of the Year for 2023 by the chorus members at the club AGM on Weds 13th September. Mike has done sterling work as the club secretary keeping the committee and the club as a whole on track. He has also been active in trying to keep the clubs profile high by advocating and providing the copy for articles published in local press. Congratulations Mike.
|
What an evening and what a concert! Solent City and special guests the Queen Bees performed to a full house at Portchester Methodist Church on 21 st July. Although entrance was free, a raffle and donations by the audience raised £444, which is being split equally between the Church and the Mountbatten Hampshire Hospice. Both choruses were in sparkling form and received a great response from the audience. Solent’schoice of songs ranged from the beautiful Maori anthem “Pokarekare Ana” to “This Is Me” and “A Million Dreams”, both from the movie The Greatest Showman. And the hilarious “Blew by You”, featuring soloist Philip Davies, brought the house down. The Queen Bees also featured a terrific range of songs: from a beautiful version of “The Sound of Music” to the tongue-in-cheek “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend”, and a saucy rendition of “Hey Big Spender” as an encore. Our thanks go to the amazing Queen Bees for coming over from Southampton to join us, and to help make it a wonderful evening’s entertainment. |
12 th July: a joint rehearsal with the wonderful Spinnaker Chorus and their MD John Palmer. A much more energetic physical warm-up than usual (thanks to the athletic Nicky Best) that left most of the guys gasping for breath, followed by a vocal warm-up with our own Steve Morris. Each chorus then took turns on the risers. Great to hear Spinnaker in action - one of the country’s top barbershop choruses. Pleased to say they enjoyed listening to Solent City as well, and our comedy number “Blew by You” went down a storm. And then to the pub next door where both choruses worked their way through their repertoire! A really fun evening – lovely singing, lots of humour and banter….and cake as well! A real privilege for us to share the risers with such a terrific chorus for a couple of joint numbers. |
This was an evening to remember for Solent City. Competing at the Fareham Music Festival, the guys picked up THREE trophies, achieving some spectacular marks along the way. This was the third year in a row that the chorus have won top prizes at Fareham. In the Adult Choir category, Solent picked up the Hills Cup, with a ranking of “Distinction” from the adjudicator, the celebrated opera singer and music coach Maria Jagusz. Eight members drawn from the chorus, competing as “the Ferrets”, then triumphed in the Barbershop Ensemble category, winning the Cabin Crew Acapella Cup. Ms Jagusz awarded the Ferrets an “Honours” rating, a rare and prestigious achievement in music festivals. There was yet more success for Solent in the Barbershop Chorus category, where they won the Acapella Cup with another rating of Distinction. Among many positive comments, Ms Jagusz commented on Solent’s “lovely sense of performance” and “the super blend of voices”. She also loved the originality and humour in the performance, notably in the songs “Blew by You” and “My Girl”. Remarkably, the guys also came second in three further song categories. In each case we were pipped by a wonderful new ladies ensemble from Southampton, the Queen Bees. |
It was great to have James back singing with the chorus on Wednesday and he was also presented with his long service pin to recognise 20 years as a member of BABS. Well done James! |
Wow - what a week for Solent City! |
This was the first time that Solent had competed at Chichester, but they topped the Male Voice Choir category, for which they were awarded the Oriana Cup, and also claimed first prize in the Barbershop Choir category. Adjudicator Christopher Field was especially impressed by Solent’s performance in the Male Voice class, awarding a Distinction and commenting on the choir’s “beautiful resonant sound” and the “wonderful rhythmic security”.
|
The chorus are proud to be performing at the Light Up A Life service at Holy Trinity church in Fareham. The service is in support of Naomi House and Jacksplace hospices for children and young adults. The service will start at 7pm. |
The club held its Annual General Meeting on Wednesady at which the new committee was elected. It turned out to be the old committee but welcoming Philip Davies as our new Vice Chair. Our re-elected chairman, Ian Barbeary also awared a 20 year long service pin to Colin Bird: And finally, the chorus members voted for Andy Douglas as our new Barbershopper of the Year : |
The chorus took a night off from normal rehearsals to vist a pub or three in Old Portsmouth and sing some songs. |
This was the second year in succession that Solent has won a top prize at Fareham. Adjudicator Angela Rowley awarded a “highly commended” rating on the performance, praising the beautifully blended singing, the dynamic variation, and gave a special mention to the delicate tenor line in all three songs. |
|
Our dear friend Gabriel Dooley sadly passed away unexpectedly just before Christmas, aged just 60. Gabriel joined Solent City Chorus in 2011 after attending a Learn to Sing course run by the club. After receiving his 10-year pin from BABS last year, Gabriel’s reaction was: “I only signed up for a 6-week LTS course. I’m not sure what happened – I must be a slow learner”. A proud Irishman, Gabriel was passionate about his singing and loved the “craic” of being with the other guys in the chorus. In recent years he commuted daily from Portsmouth to London where he was a senior engineer on the Crossrail project: he would take the train home in the evening and jump into a taxi at the station to arrive just in time for rehearsal. On the risers his style was distinctive and idiosyncratic, as Gabriel himself was the first to acknowledge. With his eyes invariably tightly closed as he sang, he was always a challenge to the MD. But with that wonderful cheeky smile, enormous charm and gift of the blarney, we all loved him. The Chorus sends its sincerest condolences to Gabriel’s widow, Kay, and their fourchildren. At his funeral on 17th January, Solent City members past and present sang “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”
|
Solent City’s festive season got off to a sparkling start with two gigs on Wednesday 1 st December. In the morning the chorus performed for the NHS Retirement Society in Cosham, singing a selection of repertoire songs in the first half and then a mixture of carols and Christmas songs in the second half. Tim Coney, the society’s Branch Secretary, said the concert had been really enjoyable and had brought some much-needed Christmas cheer to his members. Then in the evening Solent City enjoyed a return visit to Denvilles WI in Havant, after a gap of more than two years due to the pandemic. Another terrific evening of repertoire songs and carols concluded with an impromptu rendition of Jerusalem. The chorus were pleased to welcome back Peter Mumford to their ranks: a former Music Director of Solent City, Peter has rejoined as a singing member in the bari section. We were also thrilled to have Philip Davies (lead) and Chris Franks (bass) make their debuts with us - both joined very recently following the learn to sing course. Both were really buzzing at the end of the evening and said they’d had a great time. “But”, said Philip, “it was a bit daunting when we lined up and I was suddenly facing all those ladies.” Philip - all we can say is well done and don’t worry, it’s only very occasionally that they start throwing things at us….. |
Another fun-filled evening, this time performing for the Bidbury Mead WI. Great facilities, including a rehearsal room with acoustics to die for, a warm and enthusiastic welcome from the Bidbury ladies, and Richard on sparkling form as usual with some impromptu banter. Lockdown meant it was almost two years to the day since our last visit, but an evening well worth waiting for. |
The 2021 Learn To Sing course came to an end with a concert for family and friends. The delegates and chorus sang the song we had learned together - Pokarekare Ana - and the chorus also performed some of our rep songs for the audience. More photos from the concert are here: Learn To Sing 2021 Photos |
Solent City maintained their winning run with another trophy on Friday evening 22nd October, this time at the Fareham Music Festival. The chorus won the Peter Fielder Memorial Cup for best adult choir, achieving a “commended” ranking, and came narrowly second in the Barbershop Chorus category.
|
A really fun evening for all of us in Solent City as well, and a big thank you to the Totton ladies for their friendship and hospitality. |
We are running a free Learn To Sing course over six Wednesady evenings starting on 29th September. All levels of experience are welcome. | |
For more information, see: | https://www.solentcitychorus.com/dbpage.php?pg=LearnToSing |
Ian Barbeary was nominated and elected unanimously as our chairman at the club AGM on 15th Sept. I'm sure you'll all congratulate Ian on his election to the post and we thanks him for standing. This is Ian's second stint as our chair and so we are in safe hands for the next year. |
As is traditional we voted for our Barbershopper of the Year at the AGM on 15th September and this year the award was jointly won by Ian Ayres and Dave Potts. Congratulations to them both. Here you can see the John Beck trophy being awared to them by our newly elected chairman, Ian Barbeary |
Finally, finally after all these months we got together again for our first sing out since March 2020. We were invited to sing at the East Meon Village Festival which was a celebration of the easing of lockdown restrictions.It was an open air event so we were competing with other attractions such as the beer tent ,the hog roast and children’s races. Nevertheless our singing was really appreciated: “Just to say thanks so much for your wonderful performance yesterday " “Thank you for bringing your delightful choir on Sunday .Very accomplished indeed and I greatly enjoyed listening to them “ See what you are missing ! Contact us if you would to hear our distinctive sound at your special event |
We are getting ready to meet again in person - starting with outdoor rehearsals, preparing for indoor rehearsals as regulations are relaxed and even thinking about singing to audiences. We'll post more information here as soon as events are arranged. We have started to take preliminary bookings for some sessions so if you would like us to sing for you please get in touch via e-mail to |