27 Feb 2023 | Regional update
Lorraine (Lozza!) Nash is Surrey Harmony’s nomination for Unsung Champion 2022!
Lorraine is an incredibly supportive member both to the leadership team and her chorus friends. She is thoughtful, kind, caring and always there with a positive word of encouragement.
Lorraine has been a member of Surrey Harmony for over 25 years and sings in the lead section. She is a very practical, reliable, and spontaneous person, skills perfect for her chorus roles. She is part of the physical warm-up team, organizing the rota, and is always ready to step in with a tune and a routine when needed. Lorraine is also part of the fundraising team, contributing in many ways, including selling tickets and encouraging others to donate!
It is the little things that Lorraine does in the background, quietly and with humility that really shows why she is our Unsung Champion. Every year for convention she makes everyone a little gift, something that can be put in a pocket or pinned to a costume as a memento of that year’s performance. She is also hugely encouraging to new members and loves chatting with people and getting to know them. Lorraine makes a lot of effort to get everyone involved in groups and skits during retreats and other shared occasions.
Lorraine is also extremely creative, writing and taking part in funny skits as well as being an impressive rapper! Her tech skills came into their own during lockdown when she produced some very clever and hilarious video presentations for our various parties. Needless to say, we all love her quirky and sometimes bonkers sense of humour! As one of our chorus members says, “You always feel better after an encounter of any kind with Lorraine”.
Susie is a solid Mayflower through and through. She is at the heart of everything we do and can be 100% relied on to carry out any task thrown her way. Susie has just become our President for the 2nd time and we know we are in safe hands.
Susie has been singing Baritone with the Mayflower A Cappella Chorus for over 20 years and also sings Bari in Carousel Quartet of whom we are all extremely proud.
In her younger years Susie was in the RAF and now works in the supplies division of the MOD, so she has a military style which spills over to any chorus tasks she takes on, and benefits the Mayflowers enormously.
Susie is married to Dave and they have a lovely son Adam, and an even lovelier dog, Buster. Everyone in the chorus knows Buster because Susie invariably phones chorus members for a chat whilst out walking him, and we have all heard the words... 'Buster! put that down, you dirty dog!'
Susie is passionate about fund raising and has completed 5 Mighty Hikes with her close friend and fellow quartet buddy Sarah, raising over 5K for Macmillan Cancer Research. She has completed 2 Marathons (Washington and London) and is currently in training for this years London Marathon.
Susie loves socialising with friends, especially if a singalong is involved and the obligatory pint of course. Her skillset within the chorus is varied including, Baritone section leader, previous president, and now current president! keeper of the risers, recruitment officer and general all round 'good egg'. Susie doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve but you can be sure it's made of gold.
If Susie were a stick of rock, she would definitely have 'Mayflowers' stamped through her middle.
Our thoroughly deserving Unsung Champion - Susie Hyslop!
The very moment Karin entered a Singing Unlimited rehearsal in 2018, it was clear she was there to stay and would be playing an active role in the chorus! Her talents include a high level of creativity and superb digital skills. These digital skills especially, have helped to facilitate our rehearsals during the last challenging couple of years.
We are so proud of her and this is why we honour her as our 'Unsung Champion 2022!'
Right from the start Karin was dedicated to becoming part of Singing Unlimited, a chorus that, in her own words,’ has changed her life’. She was quick to learn her section inside out and – as a true baritone – kept track of everything. That was indicative of what we could expect from her in other areas.
Within the first 3 months she came up with the idea of creating an online“Who-is-who@SU” page, with pictures of all the faces, names and roles of the chorus members. She had stepped into a new group of women and based this on her own experience of getting to know them as soon as possible.
Within a year she was part of the PR committee, took part in designing a new logo and banners, helped to renew the website and emphasized the importance of the social media, just emerging in 2018. Tirelessly she helped members that needed guidance and who were willing to become more experienced in that area of social media. She wrote ‘how to use’-guides, for those who needed it. Other aspects of digitalization, e.g. installing an SU Google Drive for all members and music issues, and accessibility for all were enthusiastically supported by her (among others).
Important to mention are the oceans of time she has spent in shooting and organizing video recordings of the chorus – this has helped the director and all members to learn and rehearse. All categorized and labelled … like only a baritone can.
During the last two COVID years Karin has played an essential role in keeping the chorus rolling by hosting SU rehearsals via ZOOM sessions: an unexpected reward for all the work that had been done in the preceding years, where she had prepared SU for these digital eras to come.
Karin had an unfortunate accident last summer and broke her back, but after 2 months she lay on a mattress at rehearsal night because she didn’t want to miss a rehearsal. This is the type of person she is!
Eileen is a kind, very funny, generous, compassionate, thoughtful and much loved member of Aberdeen Chorus. Her contribution to chorus life over the years deserves all the recognition we can give her.
Eileen joined the chorus in January 1994. Over the years Eileen has sung bass in two quartets, Blue for You and Star Collection and now sings in an afternoon group of singers from Aberdeen Chorus called Silver Darlings. Another of Eileen’s talents is playing the ukulele in another small group from the Chorus.
Eileen has served on the Chorus team and of course the Region know her well from her days as Treasurer. She also organised the “medal party” every year, before Regional convention, and invited a group from Aberdeen Chorus around to her house for supper where they cut the ribbons and attached the medals to the correct ribbons for convention. Recently Eileen also took on the daunting task of scanning all the old Chorus scrapbooks going back to 1980, so that a Chorus history site could be constructed using the photos and newspaper articles.
At the moment Eileen collates all the regional dues for Region 31, keeping on top of payments and reconciling regional dues payments with international payments. On the Chorus’ return to live indoor rehearsals (no risers, masked etc) a Director’s Podium appeared in the rehearsal room. It turns out that Eileen had asked her husband, George, to build the Podium for our Director, Sophie, to stand on so we could all see her from wherever we were standing.
A big FAberdeen THANK YOU to Eileen for all the hard work and dedication she has given to the Chorus over the years. You’re simply the best!
Between October and January, Kim had to take some time away from the chorus due to personal reasons. Stella stepped up to the role of director full time and ensured the chorus stayed in a good place both vocally and socially. She took them through a busy Christmas schedule and really honed her directing skills during this period. She further highlighted how integral she is to the Millies. Without her taking over as director, Milltown would not have been able to compete at the Regional convention. She really kept them together during a difficult period and the chorus were in a great place when Kim returned in January. Every member of the chorus is very grateful to her.
Stella has been singing Barbershop for over 15 years and is a founder member of Milltown Sound Chorus. She used to be the president of the IVY League Youth Chorus and has most recently been the YWIH co-ordinator for the region. Stella is a great friend and is always doing things for other people as she has an absolute heart of gold. When not singing Barbershop, Stella will probably be found visiting the theatre to watch a play or musical or having a games night with her friends. She lives in Wigan with her boyfriend Jonny.
Jude has done brilliant work behind the scenes as wardrobe seamstress, fabricator of costume flourishes, and also as Secretary for years. Everything she does is done without any fuss or fanfare, she is truly an Unsung Champion!
Jude has been a member of Sheffield Harmony for ten years. She is a fun and loving character with a sense of warmth and a huge heart that can be seen through her work with the chorus.
She undertook Secretarial duties for years in a quiet and unassuming way that gets the job done without any fuss. She is also an excellent seamstress, making and adapting costumes for many chorus members, and has used her skills to make additional costume items that give our outfits that final flourish.
Jude welcomes all new members and has valued friendships with many of the chorus members. Both she and her husband Rob love to travel and have a keen interest in watching other barbershop choruses. Jude is also loving grandmother and Mum whose wicked and cheeky sense of humour only adds to her charm!
We are so grateful to have Jude as a member of our chorus and are delighted to have the opportunity to sing the praises of our Unsung Champion!
Always a willing volunteer, Carole surely is the embodiment of the phrase, 'if you want something done ask a busy person'.
Carole has worked tirelessly for the chorus in many different roles. She has served in the Management Team, both as secretary and communications lead as well as being an active member of the chorus Membership, Presentation and Social Teams. She proactively takes on the jobs that no one else might notice, including recording and reporting on attendance, maintaining communication channels, organising physical warmups and making sure we have licences for chorus music.
As a member of the presentation team she has led in the unenviable task of making sure members costumes are all in order, dilegently taking measurements and liaising with the dressmaker. Carole is also instrumental in maintaining morale and friendships as a regular member of our online coffee and chat forum.
For working tirelessly for Vocal Dimension and Region 31, and successfully juggling her responsibilities as VDC Baritone Section Leader and Assistant Director, Region 31 Team Coordinator and the DEI Council at International level. And for being our true friend.
Emma’s affinity with performing began with Amateur Dramatics. She joined Surrey Harmony in 2002, discovered barbershop and the die was cast! In 2009, Emma and her fellow singers in the quartet Encore! began to consider forming their own chorus. In January 2010 Vocal Dimension Chorus was born and just over a year later VDC chartered with Sweet Adelines. Under the leadership of Valerie Taylor and Emma, who is Assistant Director, VDC has enjoyed success in competition, culminating in two silver medal performances at Harmony Classic in recent years. Emma is also the baritone section leader with VDC and is currently Region 31 Team Coordinator. She serves on the SAI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council, a role very close to her own heart. Emma approaches these roles with confidence, good grace and humour, never short-changing any of her responsibilities in favour of the others. She is admirably well-organised and a self-confessed spreadsheet geek! Somehow Emma has also found time to sing baritone with Virtual Q, a quartet formed during lockdown, whose competition debut will be on the Warwick stage. Emma’s life is intrinsically bound up with barbershop, so perhaps it was no surprise that she met her wife Fran on the VDC risers and even proposed to her at the 2019 International Education Symposium in Manchester! In Emma’s own words, “in front of about 500 of my closest friends!”. Vocal Dimension – and Sweet Adelines as a whole – are incredibly lucky to have Emma’s talent, support and friendship.
During Lockdown Ann Created the Heartbeat eNewsletter. She manages the team and Edits, contributing entertaining ideas. The Newsletter forms a light hearted connection with Chorus, our alumni, friends and family.
Hilarious, never attention seeking, Ann gets the job done with humour, grace and the occasional beer !
We’re singing your praises
Today and all days, yes
Ann Jones we’re
Featuring YOU
Ann Jones
Makes no bones
About what she thinks
Straight as a dye
She’ll never lie
Looks in your eye
no blinks
Behind the scenes
She’s often seen
Helping, supporting
Ssshhh ing, exhorting
Our own Unsung Hero
Always puts thought in
Tough but kind
Fair of mind
Fit and fast
Made to last
Loves beer and walks
Never talks ( ahem )
Keeps us on time
Never a whine
She loves a book
She’ll give you “a look !”
Writer, reader,
Newsletter Leader
Manager, Editor, friend
Unsung perhaps
Hilarious Lass
She’s odd but she’s ours
She works hard for hours
Respected, bossy with Sass
Under the radar
the Newsletter team are
using creative sharp minds
Front page is your drive
Shine light on your Life
and thank you
You’re one of a kind
Ann Jones,
we love your bones
You are witty warm and wise
You stay on the down low
If you think it you say so
So now it’s your turn to shine
Huge Get up and Go
Our “Sung” Super Hero
Loyal to Chorus and
Newsletter Team
When something needs done
You’re always the one
Held in our highest esteem
Ann the Spotlight’s on you
Thanks for all that you do !
Heartbeats own Superhero ❤️
Ann Jones Here's looking at you Kid !
Katherine is one of our assistant directors and executes her role with patience and good humour. She has calmly and quietly taken a huge part in the chorus leadership for years, making big contributions to our performance and musical direction.
Katherine joined London City Singers in 2015 and quickly became a dedicated and inquisitive part of the baritone section. After a while she became the bari section lead, and then our joint assistant director.
In ‘real life’, Katherine is a Lecturer in Chemistry Education at King's College London. She brings her natural ability to teach and mentor into chorus life too. She runs fun warm ups and vocal tech sessions, always with her trademark patience and positivity. Katherine puts a lot of work and preparation into everything she does for London City Singers, but makes it look easy and never expects recognition. She also has the longest regular commute to rehearsal of all our members.
Katherine created our ‘intent’ Slack channel – a place where we share what we plan to focus on in our personal practice each month, and motivate each other. She also took the lead on creating a performance plan for our medal-winning performance at SABS in 2017. She has a knack for tapping into the chorus psyche and putting into words how we all feel about a song.
A popular chorus game is making Katherine laugh – she has been known to fall off her chair laughing!
Our fabulous joint team leaders have worked tirelessly dealing with covid restrictions, returning us to in-person rehearsals, introducing the "vizbiz" (video newsletter), and live-streaming rehearsals. They’re always cheerful and approachable with amazing ideas and can-do attitudes. A truly dynamic duo!
Sarah has been a member of FVC since 2005 and sings tenor. She is married to Graeme and has three children, two at University and one who is about to finish school. She also has a beloved dog, Sandy. Sarah and Graeme run their own IT business. Sarah has competed in two quartets as well as many regionals and internationals with FVC. She has served on the FVC management team many times. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys walking her dog, running, gardening, and outdoor swimming. Sarah is always cheerful, approachable, hard-working, friendly and willing to help.
Carole-Anne has been a member of FVC since 2011 and also sings tenor. She is married to James and has two young children. She works in a demanding job as a social worker. Carole-Anne is a member of Element quartet (who won 4th place regional medals on their debut in 2018), the epic trio Black Velvet, and has competed in many regionals and internationals with FVC, in our front row. She regularly serves on the management team. She makes epic video montages for the chorus and organised many online FVC social events during the covid lockdowns. In her spare time (what spare time?!) she enjoys yoga. Carole-Anne is a true force of nature and always gives 100% to everything she does for the chorus.