Association
of British
Barbershop
Singers
LABBS was established in 1976 and now, with approximately 1,900 members in 48 choruses, is the leading Association of lady barbershoppers in the UK.
2009 sees an "open" Convention, in Chelthenham, Gloucester, with 33 choruses and 17 quartets competing. A wonderful weekend of fun, singing and friendship beckons - do come along and join us!
2008 Quartet Champions - NoteOrious
♪ Helen Lappert – Bass
Helen is Amersham A Cappella’s Musical Director. Helen joined Chiltern Harmony in 1998 and was instantly bitten by the bug of barbershop singing (try saying that after a few glasses of wine). Shortly after joining, she became the lead section leader and later formed a quartet called “Cheek to Cheek” who sang together for 3 years, entertaining at many functions and winning awards at the LABBS national convention.
♪ Alison Moore - Lead
Hailing from a Barbershop family, Alison started singing in this style 2001 in Arizona and joined the chorus in September 2004. She directed her university choir and subsequently attended BABS Directors College. Ali was a member of the County Youth Choir and Hemel Hempstead Theatre Company and is one of the founder MDs with The IVY League (the National Youth Barbershop Chorus).
♪ Astrid Shepherd - Tenor
Astrid spent her childhood in Wales and therefore had a very musical upbringing - competing in local and national eisteddfods. Before she joined Amersham A Cappella Astrid she had sung in classical choirs including the Royal Choral Society (based at the Royal Albert Hall) and also performed as a soloist at weddings, funerals and functions of various kinds.
♪ Rose Hopkinson - Bari
Rose gained a music degree from Reading in 1998 and she is also a professional piano tuner. She has sung with a Jazz vocal group within a big band and also with an early music sextet. Rose joined Amersham A Cappella in 1998 as a refreshing change from conventional choirs and was a founder member of the quartet 'Cheek to Cheek' who won awards at the LABBS national contest.
LABBS Champions for 2008
Directed by Denise Lines
The group is an award-winning chorus; taking gold or silver in every national competition it has entered. Cheshire Chord has also performed and competed internationally in Ireland, Germany and Holland where, in 2003, they were awarded the European Championship and again more recently, they were the 1st place champion Chorus at the LABBS convention in October 2008 and in March 2009 were awarded 2nd place European Silver Medallist Chorus at the European Convention in Holland.
Next convention: 31 October - 1 November, 2009
Cheltenham Racecourse