A little bit about me - I am a 37 year old IT Consultant and have lived in Harpenden - Herts for 12 years. I am Married to Cathy and have 2 Children. As well as Barbershop I'm a keen Sportsman who enjoys Running, Swimming and Triathlon.
One of my favourite types of music is Doo-Wop vocal harmony from the Rock 'n' Roll era around 1955-1961. Great Black and White groups with names such as The Harptones, Cleftones, Marcels, Orioles singing uptempo songs and Ballads. It is the love of this music (and singing it) that drew me to Barbershop and joining the Kings of Herts Chorus in February 2007.

My first (and definitely not last!) BABS College was a great experience and more then lived up to my expectations. Everyone I mentioned it to in my Chorus said "You'll Love It, Its Fantastic" and they were not wrong. Even Thursday evening soon after arriving was really enjoyable as I got to join in some gang and quartet singing and listen to Pitch Invasion performing under lamplight in the University Grounds - Inspirational!

I had done my best to ensure I learned the words for the 3 College Songs from the excellent teach tapes, and a recent performance by Shannon Express of 'Do You Hear The People Sing' when they came to visit the Kings of Herts really helped my interpretation of the song.

The Chorus stream was directed with real enthusiasm by the 5 guys which was infectious
and always made you want to perform at your best whenever the Pitch Pipe sounded. We all worked very hard at the 3 College songs in sometimes very warm conditions (Shorts and Sandals on the list for next year!) but also had great fun along the way. Paul Cousins was a great section leader for the Leads…"Never Louder Than Beautiful"…we will remember!

Mike O'Neill's direction, education and insight into the BHS in the U.S were very interesting and the breakouts sessions with various faculty members were excellent opportunities to learn more Barbershop Craft. I have been a keen Swimmer for many years and its incredible how many elements there are to improve stoke technique and the same applies to Barbershop Singing. Harmony College really opened my eyes as to many of the technical elements of voice improvement - Soft Pallet positioning, Diaphramatic Breathing, Posture, Ways to Improve resonance etc. and I took all of these tips away for me to build on.

Above all it was a great opportunity to meet, talk to and of course sing with members of other Choruses from all around the UK - even in the queue for Dinner! I thank the foundation for helping towards my attendance and really look forward to next year's College.

Just One Gripe!….As a first timer from the minute I got into Worcester Town Centre to when I eventually got into my room was a nightmare. The directions to the University were very poor, the suggested 'free' car park was actually 'pay and display' and as for finding my room well…after about half an hour I ended up getting security to assist me. So please next year can you ensure that reception to finding room experience especially for first timers is reviewed to make it a bit less stressful.

Ronan McArdle