Hi! I’m Emi, I currently sing baritone with Three Crown Sound, although I used to sing tenor and will attempt to sing whatever part is needed – with mixed success.
I have been singing since the age of 9, first in a small community choir back in my home country of Belgium, then in the National Opera House Youth Choir until I left the country. I took a forced 4-or-so-year break from singing altogether. Upon arriving in Hull in 2016, a friend I met in the first few weeks mentioned he knew someone who was starting a barbershop society. Intrigued, I went along, was hooked, and sang with the Hull University Barbershop Society (HUBS) for most of my studies. That someone was Jack, our musical director, and HUBS was only the beginning of his bringing barbershop and a cappella singing to Hull.
I didn’t actually join Three Crown Sound from the start. I sang with HUBS at the first few Hull Barbershop concerts in, and heard the very first set TCS performed. Those ladies were giving it their all and so clearly having a ball, it was lovely to witness.
Eventually, I did decide it was time to join, and though neither barbershop nor Jack were new to me, I got the first rehearsal jitters. They quickly went away. As with every singing group I’ve experienced, particularly barbershop groups, everyone was friendly, warm, and there to have a great time. I quickly felt like I belonged, the main indicator of which were the fits of giggle I’d regularly end up in with other singers.
We were starting to hit our stride, building our repertoire and confidence as a group, even thinking of competing at the national convention in October, when lockdown hit. As a small group, we really felt the blow. We moved to Zoom rehearsal, and while I stuck with them for a few months, I decided to take a break upon starting my very intense teacher training last September. I knew how singing in a group made me feel, and Zoom did not match that.
I did regret this decision, and when it was announced in-person rehearsals were to start again, I – rather sheepishly – asked whether I could come back. I needn’t have even asked, and the moment we were all together again, it felt like no time had gone by at all.
I cannot overstate how grateful I am to the ladies for welcoming me with open arms – twice, for all the giggles, but also for those who kept going when I didn’t, and whose perseverance meant I still have TCS rehearsal to look forward to every week. We all work hard to learn our part and sing together as a group, and regardless of experience we very much are all equal. I am also eternally grateful to Jack for bringing barbershop to Hull, and by extension bringing singing back into my life. If you have read the previous blog posts in this series, you will see his name is something of a theme, with reason, though he will squirm and shy away from most praise. The work he puts in (deny it as he may) combined with his natural musical talent, love for barbershop and music in general, and ability to bring the best out of singers makes TCS what it is. He constantly pushes us to improve without ever putting anyone down or on the spot, and I strongly believe that is a huge part of the reason we now have such a lovely group of kind, warm, and dedicated singers.
I can’t wait to see where we go next, and I hope anyone who read this far will get a sense of how wonderful this little chorus of ours really is.
Emi
If Emi convinced you to come give it a go, have a look at our Joining Us page or send us an email at threecrownsound@gmail.com. We are also hosting a Come and Sing course in September, for more information have a look at our events page.