Confluence

Shades of Blue

The jazz a capella singing group that became Shades of Blue was set up with the specific intention of filling a gap in the town. There is a thriving Choral Society, (80 people), a chamber group for more experienced singers, and the nearby Yeovil Chamber Choir, but nothing for young people interested in singing. The other main idea was to run a quality group specifically for young people who had a real interest in music and reasonable singing ability.

On 21st January 1999 an open jazz a capella workshop was held at the youth club in Wincanton. Ten girls attended the group, and despite the unsatisfactory venue for the workshop due to noise from the surrounding rooms, the workshop went well. Some of the girls were too young, and not able to cope vocally. Because of the clear aim of the group, the ones who stayed were the ones who were keen to be challenged vocally.

The group met weekly. The first sessions were slow to get started as attendance was haphazard. However, even if only a few girls attended, the work was good and concentrated, and it gave people a chance to get to know each other.

After a few weeks, a letter was sent to the girls outlining that their commitment and motivation was paramount to make the group successful, and that they had to decide whether they really wanted to be involved. The group settled at a regular figure of eight singers, aged between 15 and 18, singing in four-part harmony.

Their confidence grew weekly. The group was very diverse, and the girls come from different schools in the area. However, their enjoyment of singing together united them as a group with it's own identity, unrelated to school or background.

One girl's father commented: 'When I go to pick up Holly on Monday night, I can hardly believe my ears, they sound so wonderful. I don't know how Helen has got so many good singers together, it is so hard to get young people to participate'.

They first performed in 1999 as part of the Fish Cabaret. This was a turning point for them, not only because they were enthusiastically received by the audience, and had a lot of complimentary feedback about their performance, but also because they found themselves suddenly feeling under-rehearsed and nervous about performing in front of such a large audience. During the rehearsal after the cabaret performance Helen discussed with the group the direction they would like to take, whether they would like to do more performing, whether they were happy with the music they were singing and so on. They became very interested in voice work, and in improving their individual voices, as well as the sound of the group as a whole. Staying true to the river, they also chose the name Shades of Blue for themselves (the girls chose to wear shades of blue for concerts).

Despite heavy school commitments (nearly all eight girls were taking their GCSEs) they attended rehearsals regularly, and performed at two community concerts during one week in June. Eight very different personalities, from various schools and colleges, during rehearsals they became a group with a strong identity of its own.

Since Kirsty Holland began singing with the group her confidence has increased significantly, and her voice has developed. She now has singing coaching from HP outside of the jazz sessions, to help her vocal development. Her mother recently commented that she felt Kirsty had gained a great deal of self-confidence in the year she had been singing, and that she was thrilled that Kirsty had found something which she loved doing and felt good at.

During 2000 and 2001 the group stabilised at five members Bryony Biles, Laura Baldry, Kirsty Holland, Kate Pearce, Farah Winning, with the addition of Holly Holman when available.

The six girls performed at Confluence's Rain Cabaret in May 2000 as well as Music at the Source at Stourhead and concerts in local community venues outside of their involvement with Confluence. They joined with Shreen Harmony for a concert at Mere Literary Festival. The organiser, Adrienne Howell, wrote "those who missed it are kicking themselves - though I don't think we could have got anymore into the Lecture Hall".

The group recorded a promotional CD at the end of 2000. Their commitment to the group has stayed, and all of the girls have matured since the group was started. Kate Pearce writes: "All the people I have met through the project seem happy and genuine, its very important when working with people".

Recent bookings, such as an appearance at Terra Firma restaurant in Shaftesbury, has prompted more interest from local promoters, but many of the girls are now studying for A levels, and some intend to go to University in the autumn, so they are considering ways in which they might continue to perform, possibly during vacations.