About Us
We are a men's barbershop chorus based in Norwich and are members of BABS: British Association
of Barbershop Singers. We meet on Wednesday evenings, at 7.30pm at Thorpe House School
having recently moved from nearby Langley Prep School. Barbershop singing was formally
introduced to Norfolk in 1975 as a result of an evening class set up at Wensum Lodge in Norwich
with the eight course members being conducted by Rosemary Kimmins. Very shortly after this the group formed themselves into the Norwich Barbershop Singers with Mrs Kimmins as their first Musical Director- a novel choice for an all male group, now some 35 years later we have another female Chorus Director, Carol Logan. We sing unaccompanied, four part, close harmony songs scored for tenor, lead, baritone, and bass voices. Many of the songs date from the latter part of the 19th century onwards and are special arrangements of popular songs of yesteryear. Now of course more modern popular songs are sung such as written by the Beatles, Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichael etc.
Our singing groups are in considerable demand and perform on request at a wide variety of venues ranging from residential homes for the elderly, Women's Institutes branches, Music Festivals, fund raising events, church concerts, private celebrations etc. The club also enters in the BABS Annual National Convention.
The club is always very pleased to welcome visitors at our rehearsals. Please use our “Contact Us” beforehand for fuller details or just "turn- up" at the rehearsal venue where you will be warmly received. We look for no immediate commitment from our visitors but just hope that they will find our brand of "a cappella" singing exciting and compelling, and make a return visit as a prospective member in due course.
Since those early days, the group has grown in numbers and has become affiliated to the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS). The more formal club name of the "Norwich Barbershop Harmony Club" has been adopted as well as the "Fine City Chorus"
