Alison Thompson, One-To-One Vocal Coaching Expand Alison has been a barbershopper since 1995 and a Singing Judge since 2010. Judging has taken her to Holland, Spain, Ireland, Canada and the USA. She has been on the faculty for LABBS and BABS and is currently Education Officer for LABBS as well as being Musical Director of Norwich Harmony.
Dale Kynaston, College Manager Expand Dale is the current BABS Director of Music and Education. Click here to read more about Dale.
Frank Salter, Personal Development Stream Leader Expand Frank joined BABS when he joined Hallmark of Harmony in the winter of 1991. A few weeks later he joined the newly formed Grand Central Chorus where he still sings. He has been to International Convention at New Orleans with Hallmark in 1992, Pittsburgh with Grand Central in 1994 and Atlanta with Grand Central in 1998. He has served for many years as Bass section Leader in Grand Central and also for a while as deputy Chorus Director. Additionally, he has been Director of both Heart of England Chorus and Three Spires Harmony. He first served on the Harmony College Faculty in 2004 teaching the use of the “Virtual Singer” software package from Myriad, but moved the following year into the singing stream. Frank loves to work with the voice and in more recent years at Harmony College has worked in one on one coaching sessions which he finds both intense and rewarding.
Neil Firth, Directing Stream Leader Expand Neil has been involved in barbershop since 1983. He was Assistant Chorus Director of Preston Red Rose Chorus and Sound Association in Sale before becoming Musical Director of the six times BABS Chorus Champions, The Cottontown Chorus in May 2007. He became their front line Director in May 2008. In his first year as Director, he led them to become IABS International Chorus Champions, Radio 3 Adult Choir of the Year, European Silver Medallists and BABS Chorus Champions for a third time. In 2011 in Llandudno, he directed them to their fourth Gold Medal placing. Neil has sung in a number of competing quartets, including 1997 finalists Wall Street, 2001 Champions Matrix and 2011 Gold Medallists Crossfire. In July 2010, Neil took Cottontown Chorus to the Barbershop Harmony Society International Chorus Contest in Philadelphia where he achieved impressive 14th place amongst the best choruses in the world. Neil is heavily involved in coaching choruses and quartets both male and female up and down the UK and is especially open to bribes of curry and alcohol when selecting his coaching jobs.
Pippa Goodall, Online Bookings Manager Expand Pippa is the current BABS Director of Finance. To read more about Pippa click here.
Rhiannon Owens-Hall, One-to-One Vocal Coaching Expand Rhiannon lives in North Wales and is now in her 47th year as an active barber-shopper as singer, director, coach and judge. She has directed choruses within LABBS and BABS winning several gold, silver and bronze medals as well as gaining 2 quartet gold medals. She is Singing judge for BABS and LABBS and is the current Category Director. She has judged at barbershop competitions in Holland, Germany, Ireland and in America as a member of the BHS International Shadow Judging panel in 2014 and as a member of the Shadow Judging panel at the BHS Mid-Atlantic District quartet and chorus competition in 2015. She has also judged several non-barbershop singing competitions in the UK. She has coached in Holland, Germany, Spain, Ireland, South Africa and the US.
Sam Hubbard, Music Theory Stream Expand Sam has been engrossed in the world of ensemble singing ever since joining his school choir as a young boy. He is an enthusiastic and experienced participant in many different styles of vocal music, including classical choral music, vocal jazz, and (of course) barbershop harmony, which he got hooked on by accident whilst surfing YouTube as a teenager. Nowadays, Sam is active in the barbershop world as a quartet singer, arranger, music judge (with the BABS C&J Team), and late-night tag teacher. He sings with the chorus Hallmark of Harmony and is a member of their music team. As an arranger, Sam writes customised material for quartets and choruses across BABS, LABBS, and Sweet Adelines International. In 2018, he attended the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Harmony University as a recipient of their Lou Perry Arranger Scholarship. Sam studied music and mathematics in a joint-honours BSc course at the University of Leeds, graduating in 2017. The musical half of this degree had a focus on theory, which remains one of his chief interests. Sam is a huge advocate of the value that learning music theory can have for barbershoppers, and is passionate about sharing music theory with other people.
Sean Bui, Directing Stream Expand Sean is an experienced conductor, composer, and singer, with a background in music editing, having worked for Oxford University Press before focusing on a freelance conducting career. He read Music at Royal Holloway, University of London, where he received both his undergraduate and Master’s degrees. During university he joined The Choir of The Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor Great Park, subsequently becoming Composer in Residence in 2008 and Assistant Director of Music in 2009. In 2011, Sean co-founded Quire Voices. A chamber choir known for their unique and engaging performances, they perform to a high standard and have been featured on Classic FM alongside The Band of The Household Cavalry as well as performing alongside The Orpheus Sinfonia and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Sean subsequently became the Musical Director of Spelthorne Choral Society in 2015 and diversified his conducting when he became Chorus Director of The Royal Harmonics and The Knights of Harmony in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Sean regularly conducts other project-based choirs during the year, including The Royal Automobile Club Choir and Marlow Choral Society and was Assistant Director of Music for the Windsor Castle Pantomime production of ‘Aladdin’ in the Waterloo Chamber, Windsor Castle. As a professional singer and singing teacher, Sean has a keen interest in vocal technique, having participated in training with Janice Chapman and Ron Morris at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His past solo performances include the ‘Mozart Requiem’ and ‘Great Mass in C minor’. Sean formerly sang lead in the barbershop quartet Royal Standard having previously won a gold medal with his quartet First Edition at the IABS Convention in 2017.
Shanna Wells, Marketing and Website Manager Expand Shanna is the current BABS Director of Marketing and Communications. To read more about Shanna click here.
Simon Arnott, Arranging Stream Expand Simon studied Music at Bristol University, focusing on performance and composition. After training to become a teacher and working in schools across Bristol and London, Simon is now a Deputy Director of Music in an independent school in South West London. Simon is an accomplished composer and arranger having written for a variety of ensembles. Simon arranges in many choral styles and he has arranged for a number of barbershop groups within the UK and beyond. Simon has been performing barbershop since starting in school and has worked with a number of award-winning groups. He currently directs Meantime Chorus and London City Singers and sings with the quartet Trailblazers, creating many custom arrangements for these groups. You can find out more about Simon and his work at www.simonarnott.co.uk.
Stuart Lines, Personal Development Stream Expand A longstanding BABS member, with over 45 years in the Association, Stuart has a long history with Harmony College, running many courses, carrying out individual vocal coaching and acting as stream leader. His particular interest is in singing and sound production and he has been a certified Singing judge for more years than he likes to remember. After singing with the Chess Valley club for many years, he is now a member of Spirit of Harmony. He has competed in various places round the world, including at International with Grand Central, where he also sang for a number of years
The Locksmiths, College Chorus Stream Expand The Locksmiths are the 2018 BABS Quartet Champions and are made up of Andrew Walker (3x BABS Quartet Champion and Director of LABBS group Affinity Show Chorus), Zac Booles (2x BABS Quartet Champion, Ex-Director of Grand Central Chorus and current director of SAI R31 Chorus Ignite), Simon Lubkowski (2020 BABS Barbershopper of the Year, Director of Tuxedo Junction, Lux A Cappella, The Collective Virtual Choir and Director of Music at De Lisle College in Loughborough) and Jason Pole (Tenor Section Leader and Vice Chairman at Tuxedo Junction and self diagnosed Barbershop addict!).The group have a wealth of experience both within Barbershop and within education and are thrilled to be taking the first virtual Harmony College Chorus!