About us
A small but very friendly group of 21 talented singers, Signature has gone from strength to strength since forming in early 2003.
Although Signature is a young chorus, it has rapidly acquired a reputation for excellence in singing challenging close harmony, which has prompted numerous invitations to perform on the national and international stage.
2010: SNOBS Convention, Stockholm
2010 looks to be an exciting year for Signature, which sang at the Woodley Music Festival in March and the SNOBs (The Society of Nordic Barbershop Singers) convention in Stockholm in May. We also competed in the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year competition (our first audition in Harrow went very well on May 22, but sadly didn't make it to the category finals this time).2009: LABBS Convention, Cheltenham
Highlights of 2009 included winning the silver medal at the LABBS (Ladies' Association of British Barbershop Singers) annual convention at Cheltenham in October (and picking up the Small Chorus Trophy!) and achieving the accolade of Choir of the Year at the prestigious Bournemouth Music Festival in July. We also scooped several prizes at the Woodley Music Festival. Enigma, our award-winning quartet, also snapped up a silver medal at the LABBS convention in the quartet competition.2008: BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year
2008 was also a very exciting year, with highlights including an appearance in the category finals of BBC Radio 3's Choir of the Year competition at the Royal Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool on November 7th. Sadly, we didn't make it through to the grand final in London in December, but we had a great time on stage!
2007 proved equally exciting! We had a fantastic weekend at Holland Harmony's 25th anniversary in Veldhoven in the Netherlands, and sang at the British Association of Barbershop Singers (BABS) annual convention in Scarborough.
Highlights of 2006 included performing at the BinG! barbershop convention in Dortmund, Germany, which earned Signature a standing ovation for its high-octane version of Hooked on Classics!
However, its crowning achievement was winning the gold medal at the LABBS annual convention in Harrogate, attaining the highest marks in singing and presentation and picking up the Small Chorus Trophy.
Our md: Paul Jeanes
Our extremely talented md Paul Jeanes studied conducting, composition, organ and piano at Trinity College of Music, where he scooped up a series of prestigious prizes including the Chappell Composition Prize, the Harold Clarke Prize for Accompaniment and the Rotary Club of St Marylebone Award for Musicianship.
Paul has conducted numerous operas and shows including:
- Remix for The Baylis Programme at English National Opera
- The Albatross, an opera by Diana Burrell for Trinity College of Music
- Iolanthe and Princess Ida for Imperial Operatic
- Anything Goes and Guys & Dolls for University of London Opera
Paul is a highly accomplished organist, pianist and accompanist. He performs regularly with tenor Stephen Brown in recitals across the UK and Europe and has performed in master classes with Dame Sarah Walker and Thomas Allen.
He also has several radio and television broadcasts to his credit including the première of a new piano concerto for The Performance Channel's Young Composer of the Year.
All pictures courtesy of Louis Ramsay