Having had a very limited experience of Barbershop singing and not knowing anyone on the course, I was a little bit apprehensive about attending BABS Harmony College. I had been to see the Thames Valley Chorus beforehand and was extremely impressed by the standard, commitment and enjoyment that the group enthused. So despite my apprehension I was quite excited and curious about what to expect.

I arrived late on Thursday evening, the night before the course started, and was happy with my room and the surroundings. Being on my own, I decided not to stay in my room so I went for a stroll around the Worcester College campus. It was not long before I heard the sound of Barbershop singing coming from people outside the bar. I went to investigate as well as buy a beer and enjoyed listening to the sounds from many quartets that had set up home in various places. It was here that I spoke to a few people and found them very approachable and friendly. Beer drinking, socialising and lots of singing 'til the early hours of the morning confirmed for the rest of the weekend. This was my kind of course.

Part of my reasons for attending the course was to gain experience and enhance my existing skills on a-cappella singing, vocal training and directing. I took the Basic Directing and Singing 2 mini-streams, both of which where professionally taught, well run, organised, informative and enjoyable. In both groups there were many people of varying experience and skills and in both sessions the course took this into consideration and differentiated where possible as well as bearing in mind our individual needs and goals for coming on the course. Quite quickly a good rapport was built up in the classes and we all became comfortable in each other's presence. This happened especially with the Basic Directing course as it was very practically based which involved everyone having a go at conducting in front of each other. Needless to say many of us made mistakes but this proved to be an excellent learning curve for all involved and was a great icebreaker.

As I was on a teacher scholarship many people that I met on the course were extremely interested in discussing the issue of education. I was taken aback by the ideas and enthusiasm that many people shared with me about getting the younger (and older) generation to sing. I was also extremely impressed by much of the work that BABS itself aims to do. I spoke to many of the pioneers in this field like Glenn Chaney, Mike Lofthouse and Wilf Pattison and was extremely impressed by what they had achieved and their ideas for the future. Some of the out-reach projects that I heard about over the weekend seemed to be excellent and realistic for the short and long term.

The Saturday concert was probably the highlight of the weekend. I was so impressed to see such a quality, range and variety of acts, all of which were entertaining. The most important thing was that the quartets and choruses gained a lot from performing and enjoyed it. If there was one main thing that I noticed above all over the weekend, it was the very close community of the Barbershop world. Despite there being such a wide range of barbershoppers with varying abilities, from the amateurs to the professionals, there seemed to be little sign of any form of elitism or resentment between different groups and choruses. Everybody was there for the same reason, which was to further develop their skills and enjoy themselves.

Since I have been back from the college I have already been in liaison with the Thames Valley Chorus over possible future projects. Our aim is to get some members of the Reading chorus to come into my school to perform and work with some GCSE and A Level music students on a-cappella singing and harmony.

I would like to thank BABS and Reading Barbershop Harmony Club for providing me with this opportunity to learn about a-cappella singing in such a great environment.

Ryan Lester Music Teacher
Theale Green Community School, Reading