Swedish singing adventures

In early May 2025, we enjoyed our first ever Swedish adventure at the European Barbershop Convention – a competition held every three years - in the delightful town of Helsingborg.

Organised and led by SNOBS – the Society of Nordic Barbershop Singers – the schedule included women’s, men’s and mixed choruses and quartets from all around Europe.

Competing there was an invitation-only honour, as a result of our Gold medal performance at the Sweet Adelines Region 31 contest in Sheffield the previous May. But our participation was an active choice to expose ourselves to new influences and performance styles. We were delighted to maintain our scores from Sheffield and also gained so much in terms of new ideas and possibilities to further enrich and enhance our performance skills. It was truly inspiring to witness such incredible quality over the course of the weekend.

With two new VDC members enjoying convention for the first time, it was also a great opportunity to bond as a group, spending time with each other over Fika (a Swedish tradition of afternoon coffee and cake), trading views on the acts, and singing for fun in the bar with fellow barbershoppers staying in the hotel, as well as interested locals who kept asking for more!

Another wonderful opportunity presented itself when we were selected to open the evening’s entertainment at the Olle Nyman Memorial show. Our rendition of Rammstein’s Engel - in German - was enthusiastically received by the audience. Our song selection was a deliberate honouring of all those choruses who consistently sing in English when it's not their mother tongue. For our second song, we joined forces with Heartbeat Chorus to sing Reflection, a beautiful ballad from Disney’s Mulan. Directed first by Val and then part-way through by Nancy Kelsall, Heartbeat’s Director, it was truly a special moment to bring our separate preparations together for the first time.

So, thank you Sweden – we had an absolutely fabulous, fun and uplifting time!