Below are the thoughts of three of our Convention first timers. Tom, Don & Stuart.

STUART BOLT

“How was my first convention?”, what can I say, it was a rollercoaster of emotions, hitting hard Friday morning walking into the auditorium, the rapid realisation of the task in hand and a quick mental note to check all possible toilet access routes…

Seeing the quartets on Friday helped get accustomed to the environment, watching our fellow Telfordaires take to the stage in various quartets, demonstrating exactly how it’s done. Being “encouraged” to sing in a quartet in a bar full of people from the convention, no pressure! All helped to steady the growing nerves.

Saturdays order of emotions started with nervous anticipation, chorus warmup and back to calm, nerves building again as you get changed and slowly make your way through the process, lined up, dry mouthed, ready to take to the stage… do not take a big swig of water just before going on, it doesn’t go anywhere, it just sits stubbornly right at the top… I’m sure something happened next that involved a stage, some bright lights and maybe some singing… Then you’re off, getting changed with a massive adrenaline buzz… As you take your first drink, the adrenaline slowly ebbs away, you relax and… But before you know it, we’re all in a pub sing off, culminating in a multi chorus finale, the people passing just didn’t know what had hit them, it’s a pretty special experience and would have been a great ending. For the Telfordaires to bring home two awards just made it that little bit more special. The shows were great as well!

In a contemplative 3.5 hours drive back to Telford on Sunday afternoon, the bottom line is that singing, ‘tis just one part, it’s a pretty key part, but the whole experience is so much more.

But you can’t do this without the rest of the Telfordaires! Not just at convention, but with the support, patience, guidance, direction, camaraderie, laughs and tolerance for really bad jokes… that you get from the whole Telfordaires family every week, it’s pretty damn great, I’m honoured to be part of the gang!

So, a more concise answer to the question, how was my first convention? Yeah, not bad thanks ?.

DON CLARKE

The only time I'd ever sung on stage was as a 12-year-old boy soprano in my school's production of The Mikado. My memory is a bit vague, but I do remember that I was just part of the chorus & was, for most of the night, obscured by the ample physique of the female star, a rather domineering middle-aged lady who'd been drafted in from somewhere & whose presence meant that my watching parents weren't even sure I was there!

Roll forward a few years to my days at university in Sheffield, & I tried out for the role of singer with some lads in my digs who were trying to record some post-punk type of track. I failed miserably, which was just as well, as they eventually became a band called Pulp, & a certain Jarvis Cocker brought joy to millions. Stardom was definitely not in my, er, stars.

And that was about it for my singing career. Until a few months ago, when someone told me about the Telfordaires. I'd been wondering about having a go at something such as a male voice choir, but hadn't thought of barbershop & was in complete ignorance of the group & the parent organisation, the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS), as, I think, are many people. I was referred to the Chairman, Garry, & soon found myself standing among their ranks, nervously feeling my way through a couple of songs, & trying to remember what rudimentary music-reading skills I'd had back in my school days.

From the first practice evening, I've always felt some nerves, & have been unsure whether I can actually sing at all. But by the end of each night, when we've warmed up, done some exercises & worked on whichever songs are on the menu, virtually without exception, I go home feeling elated. And it's getting easier.

Somebody mentioned the annual convention, 'Sing 2024', which was to be the 50th, to be held in Harrogate, & I thought, "Why not go?" I'd thought I may learn something & enjoy, it, not realising that there was going to be a competitive element to it- and was there? Not half! Saturday's on stage performance was to be in front of several hundred in the Convention Centre auditorium, including 14 judges, & broadcast live to a worldwide Youtube audience; we were one of 40 choruses. I'd been quite relaxed about the whole thing until we met up for our Friday evening meal, when I think I caught nerves from others & started to realise that, at least in the barbershop world, this was quite a big deal.

I'm writing this a few days after our heady success, as winners of the 'Best Small Chorus' shield, the first time (I believe) the Telfordaires have won that or any other outright trophy. As a newbie to the group & to singing barbershop, I'm really grateful to Dale Kynaston whose expert tuition & leadership got us to a great place. He really knows how to get a group of singers to 'peak' for a performance, & we all have to be grateful to him. And gratitude to my fellow Telfordaires; a more welcoming & supportive group couldn't be wished for.

The event itself was large scale & slick. We met early, to warm up & practice for an hour or more, change into our outfits for our 'end of the wedding' theme, practice again for 30 mins in the warm-up room, then stay quiet for a few minutes as we were led through the labrynthine Convention Centre, to wait backstage for our call. And I think it's true to say that most of us were able to embrace our nerves & perform well.

Afterwards, relief & elation again. We met in an outdoor bar across the street, where, nerves over, we entertained ourselves & passers by with popular songs from our repertoire, whether they wanted to hear them or not! I'm sure we feature in the instagram posts of several tourists & there was a lot of laughter. Great fun.

We had plenty of nice compliments during the day, & more elation when the results were announced that evening. So, from an extremely tentative beginning a short time ago, I seem to be a 'champion' singer of sorts, & that has immediately given me the injection of confidence for my future singing- exactly what I needed. My family is going to have to tolerate hearing our repertoire on repeat, whether THEY want it or not!

I & others have already booked for next year's convention. See you there!?'
 

THOMAS HEGARTY

Being a member of the Telfordaires, or any chorus, group, or band, has a tendency to create a bond; people working towards a common goal, lifting each other high, and putting 110% into the work we do. At the Telfordaires I can safely say we are a band of brothers, a community of people that strive for the best of each other.

Going into a convention like SING you’re adding more bodies to the pool, and sometimes this can dilute these aspects that bring us together as a chorus; but it didn’t. What I was able to experience at BABS’ convention was a melting pot of people coming together, singing, laughing, and lifting each other up. The community that BABS has bred from this convention is astounding. All weekend everyone approached each other and did what they love to do; if you didn’t know a song it was taught with patience, if you couldn’t get a part correct someone was there to guide you, and all in all, this community holds one another high.

As for the competition portion, everyone from all groups just got up and enjoyed themselves and put on a spectacular show with each group of contestants. I am extremely proud of all my brothers here in the Telfordaires; we worked together like a unit and instilled the aspects I mentioned earlier from touchdown in Harrogate to takeoff on the way home. From my experience from joining the Telfordaires until now, I’m thankful to everyone who encourages me to keep going and make a wonderful sound together.

One thing that stuck with me was when CottonTown came onto the stage, and did a beautiful memorial for the people they, and the BABS community, had lost. It was a beautiful homage to these people and what their contributions stood for in the British Barbershop community; and that’s when I knew that I had found a community I can be proud of. The future's looking bright for us, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do next year in Bournemouth

A huge thanks to them for sharing it with us and it was a blast to have them on board. Heres to many,many more .