The Big Cheesy Quiz Night!
Date Posted: Mon, 24 Mar 2025
The second annual event of the year, The Viva Quiz Night , did not disappoint. Looking suitably sparkly in gold sequins our host's Amy and Michelle appeared to be competing for who could throw the most well known quiz show catchphrases into their compair duties! With 120 contestants making up 15 teams the team names become even more inventive. ‘Shane’s Angels’ took home shiny new wooden spoons, while the likes of ‘Mark, 2Gazzers and a Packet of Crisps, ‘Whiskeypedia’ and ‘There’s Something About Mary’ were closely beaten by ‘Norfolk 'n' Good’ with the whole team receiving a goodie bag each.  We kicked off the evening with two table rounds; a logo round and grouping four word with a less than obvious connection. Four of us were baffled by them, but others on our team slayed it! There were 8 other rounds, including famous landmarks, music and general knowledge, with an interval of 30mins, for Viva it bust out a couple of tunes, and the raffle. To say the hampers and prizes are top notch is an understatement. And the two young gentlemen I met later in the car park were more than delighted with their prize of a large hamper of beer!  Of course refreshments are important. With nibbles waiting for us on the tables all we had to do was hold up our ‘Drinks Please’ card. A Viva in a pink sequined hat was with you in seconds and back with your drinks lickety quick! Once again we have to thank all our loyal friends and family for supporting us, and helping us to raise £2836.72!!!  |
Viva Retreat 2025!
Date Posted: Wed, 5 Mar 2025
| The sleepy picturesque village of Lingfield got a treat (whether they wanted it or not!) last weekend. Not only did we bust out a few tunes at the Star Inn, but also in the bar of the Lingfield Park Marriott Hotel! The whole chorus spent the weekend together, on our annual retreat. The daytime was spent working hard on our songs for the National SAI competition in Sheffield this coming May. Our team gave us fun physical and mental warmups, followed by calming mindfulness. Then our awesome Director worked on our vocal skills and put in place some moves that make the package so exciting. After an exhilarating day, it was time for a well-earned G&T followed by a delicious meal at The Star. They did us proud. It’s not easy serving over 50 ladies who have so much to chat about, although they were jolly grateful for assistance from a few of our members. Having not sung for a couple of hours we entertained the other customers for ten minutes or so. Then we transferred to The Marriott Hotel for more fun and games and a bit of dancing, which we can never resist when we all get together. At these retreat parties we entertain each other, with singing and skits, but we couldn’t possibly tell you about those....! After breakfast on Sunday, we were back at work, with our wardrobe team and Director making sure that our stage outfits were on point. We then watched several videos to help us understand more about the visual element and vocal colour we are working towards. All too soon it was time to leave the creative bubble, and warmth of our Viva family, and head home to where toilets have to be cleaned and washing done. Never mind, we will be back together again on Thursday evening. And May is not so far away, when we will be celebrating together again.  |
Viva Acappella welcomes Nicky Salt as our new permanent Musical Director!
Date Posted: Mon, 3 Mar 2025
| Viva Acappella has a major update... and there's no turning back now. We are thrilled to announce that Nicky Salt is our new permanent Musical Director. Her barbershop credentials are next level - she brings a wealth of experience having sung in an international top-three quartet (Finesse), is a sought-after coach all over Europe, and has even picked up an award for being basically awesome at spreading the joy of barbershop. Oh, and she’s an emcee, a judge, and a specialist in vocal performance and psychology - pretty much a barbershop superstar. (I know, how lucky are we?!) Just over a year ago, Nicky stepped in to lead Viva Acappella, and from the very first wave of her hand, we knew - this was the beginning of something special. It didn’t take long for us to realise she wasn’t just a great director; she was one of us, part of this terrific sister act. How could we be Viva Acappella without Nicky? And how could Nicky continue to share her barbershop magic around the world without a chorus of her own to call home? Together, we’ve already shared two competitions (and medals!), and as we prepare for this year’s Regional Contest, we knew it had to be official. We’ll step onto that stage as one—because Nicky Salt is Viva Acappella, and we are hers! Welcome home Nicky!  |
Christmas Concert 2025
Date Posted: Wed, 11 Dec 2024
 What could possibly be better than the annual sell out Viva Christmas Concert? Well, an added matinee performance with a special visit from Santa, who loves acapella singing as much as we do! We had two wonderful performances to a completely full church. We are always so grateful to St George’s Church, were we rehearse in their hall weekly, and use their beautiful church for our Christmas show. The acoustics are perfect.  Our friends and family are amazing and so supportive, they always turn out on such a chilly evening. Vivas aren’t just great singers, we can knock out great cakes and festive treats as well. And with a grand selection of drinks, hot, cold and mulled wine, everyone leaves full of the Christmas spirit. Our show programme is always very varied. With an interesting mix of repertoire songs in the first half. In the second, two of our medal winning quartets entertained us. Vivacity with a gorgeous rendition of ‘Mary Did You Know’, and Muddy Stilettos with ‘Luck Be A Lady’ and ‘Please Come Home For Christmas’. Once again, this year we had a brass band from the Salvation Army, who always add so much to the atmosphere with their wonderful festive renditions, and at a Viva Show you don’t just get to sit and listen! Oh no! The fabulous Nicky Salt our Musical Director, who puts us through our paces every week, also whipped the audience into shape for a couple of final carols. We had a very competitive audience version of the Twelve Days of Christmas, immense fun and chocolate prizes.  Having raised in excess of £8,000, we want to thank you all for coming! This year’s charity donation was to The Stroke Association. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, see you at our next event, The Quiz Night on the 15th March. |
Viva in Southern Ireland........
Date Posted: Sun, 10 Nov 2024
| Written by one of our newest members, Ruth Of course I had watched and celebrated with Viva when they won gold in Spain, but this time I was actually going to be a part of it too! The Viva chorus is full of wonderful ladies, all working in various teams. The travel arrangements and accommodation were booked without a hitch, at least without a hitch to the rest of us, despite differing individual requirements. Some of us arrived a day early and were able to wander into Killarney and explore the delightful surroundings, as well as familiarise ourselves with the hotel and the weekend agenda. The Gleneagles Hotel is large, with plenty of bookable rooms. Round every corner new music bathed our ears from choruses having final rehearsals - it was all becoming very real!  Quartet competition day was upon us and I was keen to learn all I could. My first lesson and maybe small shock to the system, was that the auditorium - where we would be competing - was just huge! I was soon in the swing of things though, and began to see the differences, not just in sound produced, but the individual performances. When I joined Viva, my music training had been very traditional and so the performance part of barbershop was completley new - I had a lot to learn! The day was made more exciting because we had three of our very own quartets performing - they were fabulous! After an early night it was competition day at the Irish Association of Barbershop Singers (IABS). The day was planned to a 'T' by our amazing Presdient and Musical Director and ran like clockwork. There was time factored in for early morning exercise for those who wanted that and then, after final makeup, hair and outfits were complete, we were in to our very final warm-ups; physical, mental and vocal. We were ready!  Every lady in Viva is enormously supportive of everyone else. It is an amazing environment to be part of. So, was I nervous? No, not really....excited for sure. Once in place on the risers, with the lights on us and our MD as our focus, there was nothing else to think about. We were all very proud of our performance, we gave everything. We were delighted to take the Silver medal behind an enormous and fabuous mixed chorus, who have previously placed 4th in the world. We were in a good place! .jpg) What was the very best part of the competition day? So many wonderful parts, but perhaps the Afterglow. In every corner of the hotel there were groups singing. We were totally relaxed and joyous, making music with our own chorus and with friends from other groups. What is not to love?  |
Viva Did Calpe!
Date Posted: Tue, 16 Apr 2024
Viva Acappella travelled to Spain.... won gold.....and had the best time on tour achieving it! On Saturday, the 4th of April, Viva took to the stage at the Barbershop of Iberia Association Convention (BiBA). The auditorium was full of fellow competitors, whilst at home, friends and family logged onto the live webcast on YouTube to watch us. The competition was the culmination of three months of intense rehearsals and planning. We travelled to Calpe on Spain's coast either individually, or with family in tow, or in small groups. The excitement started to build days before, as WhatsApp enabled us to keep in touch, check details of travel and logistics, and just make each other giggle with our mad preparation antics!  Not only did we need to be on point with our music and choreography, but also with our black costumes complete with sequins, our Viva pink lips and nails, fake tan, bronzer and earrings. The AR Diamante Beach Hotel and Spa was fabulous with a spacious reception area and restaurants, bars and pools and only a stone’s throw from the beach. We had fun sharing comfortable rooms with other chorus members and wherever we went, we were constantly bumping into barbershop friends and making new friends along the way.  Competition day is both intense and exciting in equal measure and as we were number 17 on stage, we had ample time to prepare thoroughly with a substantial breakfast along with some exercise, yoga on the beach and fresh air.    We helped each other get ‘Glammed-up’ with makeup, false eyelashes and hair and before long we were together to warm up our voices and tune into each other. Time seemed to speed up then as we headed backstage for the final 20 minute practice.... then we walked out onto the stage to a fabulous welcome and began to sing. Our seven minutes out there were exhilarating and joyful and the standing ovation for both songs was very, very moving. Since our appearance was towards the end of the day, we only had a short time to wait for the results and were delighted when we were announced as the winners of the international competition. Of course, there was a short celebration and time to congratulate the other competitors, followed by a swift turnaround and a mad rush for an early dinner.  We were delighted to be able to join the other winners and sing again in the show that evening, after which we gradually started to unwind as we met in the bars to sing with other barbershop enthusiasts before retiring to a private room to party, but we can’t tell you about that, because what happens on tour stays on tour!  If this sounds like the sort of adventure you’d enjoy, then come along one Thursday evening and watch us rehearse. We would be delighted to see you! All the details about our rehearsal venue and times are on in the Visit A Rehearsal page on our website |
Viva Quiz Night
Date Posted: Mon, 11 Mar 2024
We don’t just sing and dance at Viva!We have brilliant social events too.
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An Acapella Christmas Cracker
Date Posted: Tue, 2 Jan 2024
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Tag Along with Viva Acappella
Date Posted: Tue, 12 Sep 2023
We are always delighted to welcome visitors to our Thursday evening rehearsals. But a couple of times a year we create a special evening just for them. Thursday, the 7th of September was one of those special evenings. We welcomed over 30 lovely ladies, some were friends or family of Vivas and some had found us through social media. With around 80 people in our hall on a very hot evening, we started with an appropriately modified physical warmup from Helen T. We have five Helens in our chorus already, and hope to recruit a few more! We did a clapping exercise to wake up our brains and give us all a good giggle before moving on to a number of exercises to warm up our voices and help us to tune in with each other. Next Helen W , our musical director, taught us all a beautiful tag, which is a small snippet of a song, usually from the end of the song. We learned three further tags by splitting into groups and forming a “tag Carousel”. our two assistant directors did a great job with the smaller groups rotating between three rooms. Each group learned a different one then performed their tag to the other two groups, some with added choreography! All the tags were totally new to the Vivas so we were learning along with our guests. The evening flew by, but we couldn’t let all those talented women go home without a cuppa, some home-made cake, and encouragement and information about how to become a Viva. We very much hope to see them again soon. |
Convention 2023
Date Posted: Sun, 21 May 2023
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Viva Acappella's Christmas Concert
Date Posted: Fri, 10 Mar 2023
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