Over the summer holidays the Barbs gained two new members in, Claire Morgan who is now one of our lovely Basses and Gemma Redson who has joined our very talented Baritones.


Speaking about her introduction to the Barbs as well as the audition process Claire Morgan said: "I heard about the Barbarettes through a friend (Sue, Baritone) who was already a member. Her love for going is what interested me to try it out!"

"The audition process wasn’t as scary as imagined, and I really enjoyed singing within a small group. Having a fellow bass member in the audition to support me, helped to ease my nerves and gave me confidence as I had support if I was to have a mind blank! I really enjoy singing with the Barbs, the music is so varied and up beat. Love the dance moves and everyone has been so welcoming and such great fun."

Gemma Redson also spoke about how easy she found the whole audition process. "I’ve taken part in various music activities my whole life, and love singing. I stumbled onto the website of the Barberettes. Their rehearsals were local, and at a time that I was free."

"The website seemed professional and the photos certainly showed people having fun. I spotted that they had recently performed in Woodley and thought I would reach out. I went along to a rehearsal and was enthusiastically welcomed."

"The first rehearsal was a lot of fun, and there were certainly more dance moves than I was expecting! Everyone was so chatty and I was made to feel more than welcome. I was given a track to learn for an audition and given more information about officially joining. In my previous choir, we always had the music with us for concerts, so while I was, and still am, a bit nervous about learning everything by heart, I was challenged to not use music for my audition and surprised myself by how much I could remember. The audition was in a small room with just a few other members and wasn’t as scary as I thought it could be! I was delighted to be told I had passed and the support from everyone else when this was announced to the group was amazing."

"Since then, I’ve got access to the members area of the website where there’s every resource I could ask for, been added to a Baritone whatsapp group, and learnt as much as a I can. There’s never been any pressure to learn quicker than I can, and everyone has been so helpful and friendly. I’m even now starting to learn some of the dance moves. I’ve certainly never been in a choir quite like the Barberettes but not only is it fun, but the quality of singing and the performances is incredible and I can’t wait to join my first sing-out."

Whilst Claire and Gemma may be new members they have both been amazing additions to their sections. 

The Barberettes are always looking for new members so if Claire and Gemma's experiences have interested you and you think you might like to come and give us a go, or just come and see what we get up to on a Wednesday evening, then why not come along at 7:30pm. To let us know of your visit, or for more information about what we do, contact Jo Poulter on 07917 205605 or email thebarberettes@gmail.com