All we want for christmas is...

YOU!

Well, here we are at the end of another year - and what a year it's been!!  We've had a change of Chairperson, a re-shuffle of the committee and a whole lot of new songs to have fun with.  We've also won a trophy at Wadebridge Festival of Speech & Music and we've performed in places as varied as school halls, Christmas markets and care homes!  We've welcomed some fantastic new singers to our ranks and we've shown our phenomenal team spirit, with members temporarily switching sections when needed, to ensure we always make the best sound possible.  We are so proud of our singing family and we can't wait to see what 2025 brings!  And that's where YOU come in...

Wadebridge is incredibly fortunate to have all kinds of wonderful music groups on offer.  Whether you're looking to play an instrument or sing your heart out, there are a great many options to choose from.  We're proud to belong to such a wide-ranging musical community and we do our bit to give back - whether that's through our annual fundraising activities, or by singing in local care homes and hospices.  It's really important for us to be a part of our local music scene and to foster fantastic relationships with the groups around us.  That's why we're incredibly excited to be sharing the stage with Wadebridge Town Band on Friday 13th at Wadebridge Town Hall (7:30pm) and why one of the absolute highlights of this year's music festival was gathering in the pub with other local choirs afterwards and swapping stories!  All of these local music groups are joined by a common love, after all!

We also know that, with the wide range of musical options on offer, we have to be competitive.  That's why we keep our membership prices lower than many national singing organisations and why we continue to offer as much as we can in return - for example, we try to provide as much of our performance uniform as possible, rather than making our members buy it themselves, and we offer coaching and educational opportunities to our singers, so they can learn how to get the most out of their voices!  We are also entirely member-led.  That means that, whilst we do belong to a parent organisation (the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers, or "LABBS"), we are not run by a parent company.  Everything - from our music choices and costumes to our performance opportunities and how we perform the songs we sing - is chosen by our MD, committee and our wider membership.  We relish the freedom that gives us.  We are a team, proud to be doing things our way.

Another thing that marks us as different to some other choirs is our size.  There aren't a huge number of us - but that doesn't mean we don't make a big sound!  More Harmony are a close-knit group of women who pride ourselves on the warm, friendly atmosphere we foster at rehearsals.  We have members who openly admit to being shy away from the stage, but who've found their musical home with us and have absolutely blossomed in confidence as a result!  We don't see being a small singing group as a negative - far from it!  We see it as a wonderful positive.  Every single one of our members is valued, everyone feels like they're contributing towards the wonderful sound we produce and everyone knows one another and has a chance to make friends - you only have to look at how many social evenings we have during the year to see that we don't just love to sing together!  We've long said that whilst we'd like to grow the chorus, we want to keep numbers below 30, so we never lose that sense of familiarity amongst everyone - and nobody ever has to do that scary thing of walking through our doors to be confronted by a vast sea of strangers.  The welcome you get when you walk into Wadebridge Ambulance Hall has been described by our newest singers as "so incredibly warm" and "like walking into a room full of friends."  That's something we're deeply proud of and we never want it to change.  Again, we know there are bigger choirs around, where novice singers may well be happy to blend in until they feel a bit more confident.  That's fine!  However, rest assured that our small size never means you'll stick out like a sore thumb.  We sing together. 

Another thing we're proud of is the dedication of our members.  In a small group, as we mentioned, every voice counts and all of our singers know how important they are to our overall sound.  That makes our members feel valued, but it also offers them a challenge!  Singing a cappella - without a backing track to hide behind - means that it's vital we've learned our words and we're singing all the right notes (in the right order!).  We're firm believers that anyone can do what we do, but you have to throw yourself into it wholeheartedly.  Many of our members had no real singing experience before joining us and have become the absolute superstars they are through practise, enthusiasm and the nurturing support of our music team.  If you're up for the challenge, we've got the tools to take your singing to the next level! 

So, with a new year just around the corner and with lots of goals being set and resolutions made, we're glad to be a part of a community with a whole range of musical options to suit wannabe singers.  If you're looking to join a choir in 2025, whether it's just for fun or to really push yourself and find out just what you're capable of, you're not going to have to look too far find the perfect fit!  We just hope that you might consider trying us on for size... 

If what you're searching for is a warm, friendly group where your voice can make a big difference - and where you'll be able to challenge yourself to hit musical heights you never imaged - why not fill your 2025 with More Harmony?!

More Harmony return to rehearsals on Thursday January 2nd 2025 with a "soft reopening" and an evening of brushing up on the basics and finding where our voices fit best - ideal for new singers!  From Thursday January 9th we'll start working on our brand new repertoire.  To join us, simply turn up on the night, or email us for more info.