About us

Cheshire A Cappella is a group of women of all ages and walks of life with one thing in common - we love to sing! It's well known that singing brings physical, psychological and emotional benefits; it reduces stress and increases feelings of well-being, it improves posture and breathing, boosts the immune system.... and it's a great way of meeting people and making new friends.

Here at Cheshire A Cappella we derive a huge amount of joy from singing together every week, working on practising and extending our repertoire of songs and improving our vocal and performance skills, and then going out to perform to a variety of different audiences. We work together in a supportive environment to achieve the best we can and have loads of fun along the way

Our Musical Style

We are a women-only chorus and we sing in unaccompanied (a cappella) four-part harmony. Many of the arrangements we sing are in the barbershop style, where the melody is surrounded by harmonies above and below, creating wonderful overtones. These arrangements are constructed so that the four parts support and reinforce each other, locking together to produce a characteristic ‘ring’ which is quite distinctive to the style. Visual presentation is important, so we learn every song by heart. The four parts are:

Leads - Generally sing the melody but with brief forays into harmony.
Tenors - Sing a high harmony part above the melody. Tenors need to be able to sing the high notes with a ’sweet’ tone that doesn’t distract from the melody line.
Basses - Sing the lowest notes, always below the melody. Basses don’t have to be loud, but they do develop a full, rich tone.
Baritones - Have roughly the same vocal range as the Leads (maybe not quite so high) and their notes may be either above or below the melody. It is technically the most challenging part but is also very satisfying.

Women with any voice range, from low to high, are able to find a suitable harmony part. Our repertoire varies from contemporary and pop to swing, jazz, ballads and songs from films and shows, together with some classic barbershop arrangements. Some of our songs are performed with choreography to enhance the overall musical presentation.

Performances and Competitions

The Chorus performs public engagements for a variety of functions, often around Christmas time. We are members of the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers (LABBS) and take part in their annual conventions which are hosted in different venues `around the UK, the last being in Harrogate in 2025. Previously we’ve competed in SABS (Spanish Association of Barbershop Singers) and travelled to Jersey for joint concerts with local choirs. We also perform locally with other choirs, and take part in music festivals, having won first place in the Choral Recital competition at Hazel Grove Music Festival in 2024 and received the Best Song award in 2025.