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Last night, guests were transported into a thrilling world of intrigue and suspense as we hosted our much-anticipated Murder Mystery Night, brought to life by the sensational talents of The Longton Players.

From the moment the doors opened at 7pm, the venue buzzed with excitement as attendees were welcomed and guided to their tables, ready to immerse themselves in an evening of clever clues, dramatic twists, and brilliant performances.

The Longton Players delivered a masterclass in live entertainment, blending humour, tension, and theatrical flair into a gripping "whodunnit" that kept everyone on the edge of their seats. Laughter rang out, suspicions were cast, and theories flew across the room as each guest tried to unravel the mystery.

Even more exciting, the evening wasn’t just about fun - it was also for a great cause. Funds raised from the event will go towards supporting our upcoming competition in Sweden this May, helping us bring our passion and talent to an international stage. Your support means the world to us!

We want to extend our deepest thanks to The Longton Players for providing such a fun-filled and unforgettable night. Their energy, professionalism, and ability to completely captivate an audience truly made the evening special.

To everyone who attended - thank you for joining us and getting into the spirit of the night. We hope you had as much fun as we did hosting it. Until next time… keep your detective hats handy. You never know when the next mystery will strike!

Today, we took on the Preston Guild Wheel walk as part of our fundraising efforts to help us get to the European Barbershop Convention this May - and what a day it was!

We were blessed with the most beautiful weather, and spent the day walking, chatting, laughing… and of course, breaking into song along the way! ?

A huge thank you to everyone who has sponsored us so far - your support means everything. We’re still collecting those precious pennies, so if you can spare anything at all, please donate and help us fly the flag for LABBS on the European stage in Sweden! ???

You can sponsor us here.

The Red Rosettes Show Chorus had the privilege of joining Russell Watson once more on his 2024 ‘Magnificent Buildings Tour’, this time performing in the breathtaking setting of Liverpool Cathedral. After a memorable performance with the world-renowned tenor earlier this year at Blackburn Cathedral, the invitation to return and share the stage with him again was a true testament to the choir’s talent and passion.

 

This highly anticipated evening brought together a stellar lineup of guest performers, including the powerful brass ensemble Derwent Brass and the soulful singer Nancy May. The collaboration added depth and diversity to the musical experience, creating a night to remember for both performers and the audience alike.

Liverpool Cathedral provided the perfect backdrop for this extraordinary event. Its towering arches and exquisite acoustics amplified every note, creating a magical atmosphere that resonated with the hundreds in attendance. From the moment The Red Rosettes took the stage, their harmonies filled the cathedral with warmth and emotion, complementing Russell Watson’s soaring tenor voice.

For the Red Rosettes, it was a moment of pride and joy. Known for our dedication to vocal excellence and vibrant performances, the chorus delivered a flawless set that blended seamlessly with Watson’s repertoire. 

One member of the chorus reflected, “Performing with Russell Watson is an honor in itself, but to do so in a venue as magnificent as Liverpool Cathedral is a dream come true. We’re grateful for the opportunity to bring our music to such inspiring spaces.”

We were all on tenterhooks at the end of last year as our amazing MD Emma McManus, was 38 weeks pregnant when we achieved 4th place at the LABBS Convention! Needless to say, we were all overjoyed when Emma and Paul celebrated the birth of their beautiful baby girl they have called Maisie Katherine. To say she was much longed for would be a huge understatement and the Red Rosettes, who comprise not only her mum, her Grandmother (Teresa Phillips) ,her Aunty (Laura Phillips), and her Cousin (Emily Dearden) have been totally besotted with every picture we have seen.

Maisie made her first public appearance at our Christmas concert , and needless to say, the broody chorus couldn’t take our eyes off her. Apparently she loves our Convention ballad but isn’t as keen on the up tempo!



We have been wonderfully supported by Deputy Chorus Manager, Teresa Phillips, and our music team members Helen Jones and Stacy Bridge who have kept chorus going, rehearsing ,directing and performing at all our Christmas concerts and singouts in Emma’s absence. Emma is now back directing chorus leaving Maisie in Paul’s very capable hands.

Singers from the Red Rosettes Show Chorus have set themselves a challenge to perform at 12 Bandstands across Lancashire on the 9th July. From Barrowford to Blackpool and 10 other places in between, the Red Rosettes will be travelling over 100 miles performing to celebrate being able to sing together again.  

The Red Rosettes Show Chorus is a female four part harmony choir who sing unaccompanied, traditionally known as Barbershop. Members come from across Lancashire to rehearse in Leyland, just off Junction 28 on the M6, each Wednesday night. We continually welcome new members and encourage female singers from all communities to come and have a go. There are so many health benefits to singing, in terms of lowered blood pressure, improved breathing capacity and immune system, as well as providing friendship and sense of wellbeing gained from being part of a group making a wonderful sound together. The pandemic stopped this from being possible to do for nearly two years and members missed it terribly. As only one person can talk at a time on most video streams, harmony singing was impossible to recreate through electronic means.  

Now back rehearsing fully the Rosettes have set themselves the challenge of completing a 10 hour tour of Lancashire Bandstands. Wanting to spread the word about this wonderful hobby, mixed with a love of performing, this project will still be a challenge for the Rosettes with over four hours of singing.  

Musical Director Emma McManus Says “It has been such a delight to get back to rehearsing and performing again,  the pandemic was a difficult time for everyone, we are looking forward to spreading a little joy around Lancashire with our performances and hopefully meet some people who’d like to come and have a go at singing with us”

This adventure would not be possible without the support of Lancashire bus company – Avacoach- who are helping us with the logistics of getting 30 singers to each location and all the bandstand venues who have given us permission to perform. 

If people would like to see us perform, or are looking for a new hobby and want to see what kind of thing we do before coming to a rehearsal then please do come along and hear us at one of the locations near you.
 

*Times are approximations subject to traffic

Pre pandemic the Red Rosettes were competing nationally each year and came 4th in the country at the last competition. We sing a variety of musical arrangements including modern, pop and more traditional barbershop songs.  The Rosettes have even had some songs specifically arranged for them by British arrangers. 

To help cover the costs of music copyright, arrangements and transport, the Rosettes will be busking their way around Lancashire. 

Donations to the community group can be made here. 

You can find more information about the Red Rosettes at www.theredrosettes.co.uk
or for any queries please email theredrosetteschorus@gmail.com

You can also follow us on the day on our socials
Facebook: @theredrosettes
Twitter: @rosettesred
Insta: @the_red_rosettes
Tiktok:  @theredrosettes
#Bigbandstandbonanza

During the Covid-19 outbreak, we’ve been rehearsing virtually and doing everything we can to keep singing and supporting each other through this difficult situation.

We recorded ourselves singing this song in our own homes, while thinking of the incredible job our keyworkers are doing. Many of our Rosettes are keyworkers. They are our heroes.

Derian House is our nominated charity this year and so with our video, we’re ‘Doing It for Derian’ and raising money for the children and young people at Derian House Children’s Hospice. The charity offers a vital lifeline for more than 400 seriously ill children from across the North West, helping them make happy memories with their families in the time that they have. In honour of our chosen charity you may spot we’ve included some Makaton. The Makaton language programme has been used with individuals who have cognitive impairments, autism, down syndrome, specific language impairment, multi-sensory impairment and acquired neurological disorders that have negatively affected the ability to communicate, including stroke patients.

The current Coronavirus outbreak has had a devastating effect on fundraising. Please help us support our local children’s hospice at this difficult time.

An incredible weekend was had in Harrogate at LABBS’ annual Convention. This year, we recorded our highest ever score, and were absolutely delighted to improve from 7th place, to 4th!

Each chorus crossing the stage works extremely hard to perform a package designed to entertain their audience, and we can all agree wholeheartedly that this year we put everything into our performance. Our music team went the extra mile in ensuring our singing was stunning, our dress committee literally travelled miles around the country to make sure we looked fabulous, and our performance team worked on guiding us towards a truly believable performance. Every Red Rosette did themselves proud. 

 As always it was wonderful to meet up with friends from across the country through our fabulous hobby. There were exceptional performances from GQ quartet; outgoing champions, The White Rosettes; BABBS Champions, Cotton Town Chorus and the QC Chorus, which our own Emma Mcmanus and Laura Phillips are now members of, due to their gold medal-winning performance with Soundhouse last year. 

Many congratulations to everyone that competed on the stage at Convention and especially to The Cheshire Chord Company, Crystal Chords and Spinnaker Chorus for their fabulous gold, silver and bronze performances. 

This has been a wonderful year for us, and we’ve been so lucky to be able to work with some outstanding coaches, who have guided us towards heights that we were only dreaming about a few years ago. Thank you to Hannah Barber for her fabulous choreography and to Rob Barber, Mo Field, Sally McLean and Doug Harrington for their inspirational coaching. A special thank you to LABBS for all the behind the scenes hard work in making the weekend possible and of course our fabulous friends and families that support us every week in our awesome hobby.

Just a point separated us from the winners as Red Rosettes competed for the first time at Ramsbottom Music Festival.

The senior choral class was a small one but we were delighted with our performance of Hallelujah and Anything Goes (although the moves on the latter were a little truncated due to lack of space!). The judge made some complimentary comments and commended us on our set.

The winners were youth choir Encore from Bury, with Happy Voices from Bolton taking the third spot. An enjoyable afternoon!

This year, we hoped to improve on last year’s score, and a place of eighth in the country. Bournemouth International Centre was the setting, and an added bonus of hosting the European competition made this year’s event a bumper competition.

Making it an even more exciting affair was the fact that our chorus’ own MD (musical director) Emma McMannus, and her sister, Laura Phillips, were competing in the national quartet competition. A quartet includes four singers: a bass, baritone, lead and tenor, and expectations were high for ‘Soundhouse’. After qualifying for the semi finals with a huge score which put them way ahead of the second placed act, they breezed into Thursday’s final.

Joining Emma and Laura on stage were bass, Hannah Barber, and lead, Sally McLean. Their performance in the final brought many audience members to tears as the tender message of their ballad was mixed with the ringing chords which set the barbershop style apart.

Nevertheless, a tense wait for results had their watching chorus members on the edge of our seats. After the bronze and silver medal winners were called, finally the words we had been waiting for rang around the auditorium: “and the gold medal is awarded to…. Sound house!”

All their hard work had paid off and the girls were elated. Speaking the following day, Linda Corcoran, one of the previous Musical Directors of the Red Rosettes said ‘it was only a matter of time’ before Emma and Laura were awarded the gold medals their talent deserved.

While most gold medal wins would include celebrations well into the night, for Emma and Laura, after enjoying their win for a few short hours, their focus turned to the chorus competition the following day.

Although we weren’t on stage until half past two the Friday afternoon, our day began early with hair styling and stage make-up application, before the first rehearsal at 9am, and the second at 11am. The competition is serious business, and knowing that Emma and Laura had just been declared the national champions, made us all the more determined to perform to the highest standard.

With stage outfits on, photos taken, voices warmed up and final rehearsal time used, we prepared for our precious minutes on stage. Anyone who has ever been held before going on stage in front of an audience knows the thrill of anticipation, the nerves and the excitement. This is what the Red Rosettes had been preparing for for months.

As the curtains opened, our stage outfits of navy blue dresses with tassels, sequined tops and matching sparkly shoes gave a sense of unity, matched by the smiles of every member of the chorus. We opened with the ballad, ‘If Ever I Would Leave You,’ a tender love song taken from the musical Camelot. After accepting applause, we changed the mood to one suggesting a rather ‘prim and proper’ air to match the opening of the show tune, ‘Anything Goes’ and this time spins, clicks and dance moves were added to create a feast for the eyes (we hoped!) as well as the ears.

With appreciative applause from the audience, we really felt we’d done well, but had to wait till the following afternoon to discover our scores. Regardless, spirits were high as everyone felt we had done an excellent job.

We had the pleasure of sitting through the rest of the chorus competition and enjoyed watching the reigning national champions and the European champions – The White Rosettes – but it was a tense wait to find out how our own performance compared.

As well as enjoying the wealth of talent on show, the we took turns to sell some special raffle tickets. After the passing of Laura and Emma’s sister, Katy, in 2015, the family set up a special fund to help with the education of young barbershop singers, and this year were grateful to be offered a bespoke nativity scene, carved by master craftsman Ian Mitchell, to be used as a raffle prize over convention weekend. Thanks to the generosity of the barbershop community, the Red Rosettes managed to raise £400 for the Katy Phillips Young Barbershopper of the Year Award and Bursary. The winner of the beautiful prize said she would ‘treasure it’ for years to come, leaving the Rosettes delighted that it had gone to such a good home.

After the success of the raffle, we anxiously waited to find out if we’d improved on last year’s performance. Finally, while getting ready for the Saturday night show (which Emma and Laura would be performing in as quartet champions) the news came through: seventh place! Improving on our score and place from last year left us ecstatic, as we felt we’d really done ourselves, and our MD, proud.

The theme of the Saturday night party was ‘star for a night’. We relished the opportunity to wear ball gowns and red-carpet-worthy dresses for the evening, and every member wore a ‘star tiara,’ although it was Emma and Laura who boasted the best accessories: a shiny gold medal each, which they added to the following day, with European gold medals – an outstanding achievement. They weren’t just stars for a night; they’ll be barbershop stars forever!

Our annual retreat was another huge success this year as we were put through our paces by one of our former musical directors, the multi-award-winning, Linda Corcoran. After directing the Red Rosettes for nearly ten years, Linda has the kind of connection to the chorus that goes beyond the demands of a coaching role, and her presence is always so magical. She certainly pulls no punches, and never has time for tip-toeing around any issues that we need to correct, demanding the kind of commitment to the craft that has seen her own barbershop chorus, The Great Western Chorus of Bristol, claim gold medals in their last two national competitions.

We worked incredibly hard on our Convention Package – the two songs that we will compete with in Bournemouth on the 27^th of October – and felt the kind of tingles that make you grin from ear to ear – without even being told to as part of the performance!

When we lost our Katy, over two years ago now, Linda created a beautiful arrangement of one of Katy’s favourite songs, Songbird, and it was our honour to have learnt it and worked on it; performing it in front of Linda was nerve-wracking on so many levels. The fact Linda was able to pick out a number of tuning and timing issues to correct and spend time on meant we could concentrate fully on the craft, before a final run through when we were told to feel the music in our souls. It was a gorgeous gesture from Linda to give us a song to sing that will forever keep Katy’s spirit with us and when we finished our rehearsal at 4pm, the rainbow that appeared outside was another reason to believe that we truly do have an angel watching over us.

As if running the Red Rosettes AND the Red Rose chorus AND working tirelessly as a nurse wasn’t enough for our awesome MD, Emma McMannus, she’s also chosen this year to compete in the quartet competition at this year’s European Barbershop Convention in Bournemouth. Joining her is our brilliant Baritone, Laura Phillips, who was alongside Emma and their late sister Katy when they won a bronze medal the last time they competed. Bringing the bass, is Hannah Barber who graciously lent us her husband for a number of brilliant coaching sessions over the Spring, and has the kind of voice that just makes you tingle. Singing lead is barbershop royalty Sally McLean, who has led her chorus, The White Rosettes, to eight national gold medals and two European gold medals among may other notable achievements. Together, they make up Soundhouse, and although we’re pretty biased here at the Red Rosettes, they are brilliant.

In order to make it to the semi-finals and finals on Convention stage, each quartet must compete in ‘prelims,’ the first round of competition where only the top sixteen quartets go through. A few car’s worth of us took the trip to Nottingham to support our girls, and as soon as they hit their first note, we were entranced – along with the rest of the audience. Singing a beautiful ballad and a glorious version of Doris Day’s ‘Chocolate Sundae on a Saturday Night’ left the audience in rapturous applause and expectations were understandably high.

When the contest drew to a close, we eagerly awaited confirmation that they had made it through. After hearing the names of fifteen quartets being called, we could hear the murmurs throughout the audience: ‘What about Soundhouse… Where are Soundhouse…. Are they disqualified? What on earth!’ We prepared for the worst, only to have the tension released by their name finally being called. Fantastic! Being drawn last also meant they would be the final singers in the semi-final on Thursday 26^th October. If they are able to match or better their huge prelims score of 77.6%, they will surely put themselves in a great position to get a medal. But with the standard of singing throughout the country so high, only practice, persistence and striving for perfection will do. They’ve got the attitude and determination to do it – and the full support of every Red Rosette!

This year, we have been supporting the North West Children’s Support Group, a charity nominated by one of our members.

The charity offers local children with various disabilities the chance to go on trips away – giving them a chance to enjoy each others’ company, have days to remember, and allow their parents and carers a level of respite.

The charity also offers holidays to siblings of children with disabilities, to provide a break from their responsibilities as young carers.

One of our brilliant basses, Vicky Haslam, explained her decision is nominating the charity this year:

“I have been involved with the charity for over 20 years, since being a volunteer carer as a teenager, I am now involved in the running of the charity as a committee member and holiday leader. All Our staff are volunteers and work hard to raise over £50,000 each year in order to provide holidays and day trips to a large number of local children, as well as providing training for our volunteers”.

In place of our normal rehearsals on Wednesday evenings this December, we each donned Christmas jumpers, Santa hats, reindeer ears, fairy lights, and anything else that wouldn’t fit on the tree, and spent one evening at Preston Train station and one around the pubs of Leyland.

Thanks to the generosity of the public, we were delighted to raise over £300 for the NWCSG over the two evenings. It was a joy to sing together and a wonderful way to bring out year to a close.

2016 marked the 40^th anniversary of LABBS, with over 30 choruses from England competing against each other to be crowned the national champions.

This year The Red Rosettes performed ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow,’ beautifully arranged to create a variety of emotions within the watching audience, then ‘Anything Goes’ provided a lighter atmosphere, with hours spent painstakingly learning and improving a range of dance moves performed by the front row of the chorus in the space on the floor of the stage, and by the ladies on the ‘risers’ in their own small space on the raised steps.

After achieving an excellent 9^th place in 2015, we had been working incredibly hard to improve our score of 71.9%. Performing second at the competition meant it was an anxious wait for the final results but it was all worth it – posting a score of 72.4%, finishing in 8th place.

Added to the excitement this year was the chance to sing Queen’s epic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ with over 2000 other barbershopers, each having perfected their section of the four-part harmony. There was also a chance to interpret the ‘Ruby Anniversary’ dress-code for the Saturday night. After wow-ing the crowds with what we believe were ‘ingenious’ jelly-fish costumes last year for the ‘under the sea’ theme, this year saw us in a troop of personalised birthday hats, customised with fairy lights for candles. After working so hard towards the competition performance, the socialising that happens on the Saturday night is always a chance to wind-down (or wind-up, if you’re so inclined!)

With this being the 40^th anniversary of the founding of the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers, a variety of special celebrations took place around the country. A ceremonial ‘Beacon of Harmony’ was passed between every chorus in the country, who took turns to host a neighbouring chorus for an afternoon, an evening, or a day of celebration.

Here are the write-ups of our celebration, which we submitted to the LABBS website in order to chart the journey of this historic document.

Receiving the Beacon from Blackpool Soundwaves

Sunday 25^th of September saw the Beacon change hands from Blackpool Soundwaves to The Red Rosettes of Preston. Coming together at the Harris Museum, right in the heart of Preston, both choruses had the opportunity to entertain both each other and the general public – lucky enough to enjoy learning about the rich history of Lancashire with a snapshot of all that the two choruses of Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers had to offer.

What the museum lacked in acoustics, the chorus members made up for in performance and many audience members commented on the levels of enjoyment evident on the faces of each performer. To perform in such a beautiful, imposing space was a thrill and a privilege; a fitting venue for a historic event.

After performing a selection of songs to each other, the choruses came together in a rendition of two of the polecats: Heart of My Heart and Lets sing Again. The first demonstrated the sheer beauty that a short simple ballad can create, and the second was the perfect way to express how barbershop brings us together in rehearsals, competitions, friendship and celebration.

The honour of signing the Beacon of Harmony fell to the youngest member of the Red Rosettes, Evie Phillips; and the member with the most experience, Mary Sheryn (who the chorus will be wildly cheering on when she receives her long service award at convention this year – one of four members to be recognised).

What better way to round off the event than with tea and cake – a special 40^th Anniversary cake to honour the achievement of LABBS. With the excitement and tension of Convention just around the corner, it was such a delight to meet up in the spirit of friendship and harmony in order to share our enthusiasm and joy of such a wonderful hobby.

Passing the Beacon to Cheshire Chords

The Red Rosettes proudly delivered the Beacon to The Cheshire Chord Company on the 28^th of September, at our regular rehearsal venue of Leyland Methodist Primary School. A few members of Cheshire Chords had done all they could to avoid the teatime traffic, arriving for the evening get-together in good time, at 3pm! But that simply meant they had plenty of time to enjoy the sights that Leyland and the surrounding area had to offer.

With the arrival of Councillor Linda Woollard ( The Mayor of South Ribble) and her husband, the evening began. The Red Rosettes kicked off proceedings with three songs from our repertoire, led by our MD Emma McMannus. While singing ‘The Way We Were’ there were glances among the audience, and we soon found out that Cheshire Chords had planned to sing the gorgeous ballad to! The sentiment of looking back fondly on memories of long ago seemed so suited to the occasion. The sixteen members of Cheshire Chords, led by MD Jo Braham, delighted their receptive audience with songs ranging from Elbow’s ‘One Day Like This’ to a Fleetwood Mac crowd-pleaser.

We finished the performance section of the evening with both choruses mixed together, initially performing ‘Hey Soul Sister’ – complete with moves that Cheshire Chords picked up within seconds of learning! Lazy Day was performed with its usual bounce, before Theresa Phillips led us all in a rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, chosen specially to mark LABBS’ 40^th Anniversary. Councillor Woollard remarked on how much she enjoyed our version, with her husband in full agreement. Finally, Jo Braham went through the anniversary tag with each section, before recording the full version. Out of ‘the laughter, the friendship, the glamour and the bling’ (as well as ‘the harmonies we sing’) it certainly felt like laughter permeated each stage of the evening.

The LABBS 40^th Anniversary cake was then cut by Councillor Woollard, and gratefully eaten by all in attendance, accompanied by tea and coffee, and chatting and laughter, before we waved off Cheshire Chords, who carried the Beacon on the next stage of its journey.

Annually the Red Rosettes compete in a national female barbershop competition. This year it was held in Bournemouth. Although the competition is the main focus of the weekend there’s also a lot of fun and a little bit of bonkers thrown in. This year was a particularly special year for the Rosettes, our performance was going to be us honouring our beautiful MD who was taken from the world and her fabulous family way too soon, earlier this year. The six hour coach trip flew by with our bus quiz, singing songs in service stations and learning four part, under the sea, tag, as part of our party piece for the Saturday night party. We arrived in Bournemouth in time to watch the quartet competition, and have a rehearsal that helped get us focused for the competition the following day.

Saturday – Competition day! – with rehearsals, sorting hair, make up, nails, dresses, 5pm came around very fast. Blessed with glorious sunshine, we had a great day for competition. We sang our socks off, under the direction of Emma McManus and we came 9th out of 32 choruses. A top ten chorus, we are so proud.

Saturday night is always party night at Convention and we had lots to celebrate, with this year’s theme being, ‘By the sea’ we went as a bloom of Jellyfish. Clear umbrella’s, fairy lights, organza and bubble wrap transformed into a floating jellyfish parade. We had a fabulous night, singing under our umbrellas.

Sunday was by no means a quiet day, we took part in a sing with the champs session – last year’s winners run a singing workshop – and a room full of people singing in harmony, they even sang a song in tribute to Katy, our much missed MD.

It was a very emotional weekend filled, with love, laughter, and a group of friends pulling together and crying together on occasion, always looking after each other.

A fitting end to the weekend was our Chorus Manager being awarded the Gillian Depledge-Lowe award. Barbershop is full of awards for singing, music, presentation, scores, however this award is about being someone who continually goes above and beyond for others, supporting their fellow barbershopers. Without the strength shown by our chorus Manager, who lost her youngest daughter earlier this year, when the Red Rosettes lost their MD, we would not have been able to achieve what we did this year. We owe her so much and are in awe of the amount of love she gives everyone else when she is the one who should be looked after, not us. Constantly motivating and looking after the Red Rosettes, if you would like to see how amazing human beings can be then look no further than our chorus manager, Teresa Phillips, but hands off she’s ours and we ain’t letting go!

If you fancy joining our Rosette family and being part of this crazy Barbershop world, get in touch.

We had an amazing coaching session with one of the top international barbershop coaches, singers and directors last week (14th May). Doug Harrington’s performing career spans nearly 40 years and has taken him, together with his 3 older brothers (known as The Harrington Brothers) to over 25 countries around the world singing Gospel, Country, Pop, Big Band and Barbershop. He holds 5 international medals (including a gold medal) in Barbershop quartet singing, both with his brothers and with the Second Edition (one of the world’s most influential Barbershop quartets). During his career he has performed with artists such as Johnny Mathis, Chet Atkins, Barry Manilow, Dizzy Gillespie, Isaac Hayes, Pat Boone, Debby Boone, Vince Gill, Diana Krall, Rosemary Clooney and Amy Grant.

In 2006 Doug founded Zero8, a Stockholm-based men’s choir, and has served as director from the start. Thus far, Zero8 has performed in Sweden, Holland, Germany, Spain and the United States and released three critically acclaimed albums; all produced by Doug. In the world of Barbershop he has led the group to consecutive Nordic Championships every year since 2008, a European gold medal and a 4th place finish in their latest appearance at the World Championship. In 2009 Doug was invited to be a guest conductor/atelier leader at the choral festival, Europa Cantat, held in Utrecht, Holland. This Summer they compete in the international Barbershop Championships in Vegas.

The Red Rossettes were very honoured to have him coach us, and learnt so much, almost to the point of brain explosion! Consequently we are a very enthused and inspired Team RR at the moment. A great start to the build up to national competition this year.