The Close Harmony GroupDirected by the Director of Music, Tim Venvell, this is a group of about 12 senior students who possess advanced singing skills (entrance is by audition only), who sing a range of a capella songs in a generally lighter vein.  Two generations of Singers Limited have sung in the finals of the National Festival in the last five years, the latter group ending up singing at the TUC Conference in Brighton to entertain the delegates. They appear regularly at concerts, and occasionally sing for community functions in Wycombe. Rehearsals are twice a week at break.

A Close Harmonist writes:

"Love singing? Have no social status or reputation to lose? Maybe the school’s close harmony group, or ‘Singers Limited’ as it is affectionately known, is for you.

Basically, the close harmony group is a group of around 10 senior boys who meet two breaktimes a week to sing such well renowned classical masterpieces as ‘When Pa Was Courtin’ Ma’ and ‘Postman Pat’.

Singers Limited are always a popular item at the school concerts, with a varied program including slow, calm soloistic numbers (‘Nightingale in Berkley Square’), some faster solo numbers (‘Trickle Trickle’) and classic barbershop hits such as ‘Mister Sandman’ and ‘Who’s That Coming Down The Street?’.

We have been fairly successful at competitions such as the National Festival of Music for Youth, reaching the finals in Birmingham two years ago, and were asked to sing at the annual TUC conference in Brighton in 2006, where we witnessed Tony Blair make his last speech to the TUC Congress as Prime Minister.

To join Singers Limited, you need to be a confident singer, capable of singing your own line next to someone else singing a different one, possibly very close to yours (hence the term close harmony!). You also need not to be ashamed if you have to perform actions that make you look like a complete idiot; last year we went as far as creating a van out of our bodies and ‘driving’ off the stage!"

Jacob Reading, Yr 13

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