UKHB 2025
Nottingham, 7 - 9 February 2025
The eighth annual UK Harmony Brigade 'Rally' will be held from Friday 7 February to Sunday 9 February 2025 at the "Jubilee Hotel and Conferences" on the Jubilee campus of the University of Nottingham.
Extreme Quartet singing is not new to the UK; the Extreme Quartets stream of the BABS Harmony College has been on offer every years since 2012. However, the harmony college stream is less intense (with 'only' six songs to learn), and with an educational objective to fulfil.
The full Harmony Brigade is all about the challenge and enjoyment of quartet singing, and participants are to come fully prepared on all songs.
With a random-draw quartet competition, a Saturday night show open to the public, and plenty of time for free quartet singing, the Brigade is an exhausting but very satisfying event for the quartet enthusiast.
The Venue
De Vere Jubilee Conference Centre Hotel
Kenyon Road,
Jubilee Campus of Nottingham University
Nottingham NG7 2TU
England
Directions: visit their website:
NOTE: Kenyon Road was fairly recently opened and your satnav may not find it. If you go to the Rose and Crown Pub on Derby Road (A6200), face the pub from the street and Kenyon Road will be about 50 metres on your left (in between an ancient wall and a modern building). This will take you to the hotel.
The Brigade
We welcome experienced barbershop quartet singers from all across Europe and the world. UKHB 2023 will start in the afternoon of Friday, 9th February, and run until after breakfast on Sunday, 11th February. Obviously, the singing will continue late into the night. The total basic cost of the Brigade is £xxx* (GBP xxx.00) per person, which includes music, learning tracks, two nights in a shared room, meals, coffee/tea, and use of the conference facilities. You may cancel your registration on or before 25 November 2023 (and receive a partial refund), but no refund is available for cancellation received after 25 November 2023 (see cancellation policy). Upgrade options for additional nights in the hotel, packages for accompanying family or guests, and single occupancy of a room are available and will be detailed separately after registrations are received. Your registration is not activated until you have made payment. *watch this space. prices will be posted later
Application to UKHB2023 will start in August 2023 and will close on 30 September 2023. On the application form, we will ask you about your singing experience, especially with regard to singing in a quartet.
UKHB is a mixed event, and we welcome both male and female singers. We will sing arrangements for male voices, but we have chosen the songs specifically for their mixed singability. That means the parts for tenor, lead, and baritone should be singable by both male and female barbershoppers. However, you need to choose your part based on your vocal range and not solely based on the part that you usually sing. Please check our FAQ for a list of typical ranges for each part. The women participating in the first UK Harmony Brigade sang tenor, lead or baritone, and this worked well for most of them.
We will sing a shared repertoire of twelve fun and challenging arrangements, which will be distributed electronically (sheet music and learning tracks) to all participants as of about four months before the Brigade, once the copyright approvals are received. This repertoire overlaps considerably with that of other Brigades. If you participate in any of the Brigades in the AXQHB, many of the arrangements you learn can be sung in other brigades.
For more detailed information and other questions please check our FAQ.
Policy for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults
The UK Harmony Brigade is committed to providing an environment for its activities that is safe and enjoyable for everyone. We have adopted a policy to ensure adequate protections for children and vulnerable adults.
Scholarship and Accessibility Programme
The participants of the UK Harmony Brigade have donated to a Scholarship Fund which allows us to help fund the participation of young singers and those with accessibility needs.
A reduced Brigade fee has been established for all participants who will be under the age of 26 at the start of the event (7 February 2025).
Financial assistance for attending the event is also available for a limited number of participants. The organising committee will determine the extent of financial assistance to be offered depending on the number and qualifications of the applicants.
To submit a request for assistance, go to our Scholarship and Accessibility Fund page
The Organisers
The UK Harmony Brigade is a registered CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation, number 1176276) with educational objectives, as a non-profit operation run by volunteers. And indeed, most people have found that participating in a brigade rally is an Extreme Learning experience!
Brigade Team
Lindley Gram : Overall Coordination; Trustee
Noey McElwee : Trustee; Singouts, Awards
Kevan Liebling : Trustee; Brigade Chorus; Member of Music Team
Liz Smith: Trustee; Treasurer
Colin Roper: Registrar / Membership
Sue Wilbraham : Head of Music Team
Karen Penketh: Member of Music Team
Liam Buswell: Pre-Checking / recordings
Martyn Lapworth: At-Brigade Checking
Kevin Barnes : Contest Coordination
Open: Marketing and Social Media;
Open: Show Producer
website: Lindley Gram
Learning Your Music
Music learning is a key element of preparing for Harmony Brigade. Find out more about using Audacity free multi-track software for this purpose
