King’s Ely’s a capella group to compete in national competition

King’s Ely’s all-boys a cappella group has qualified for a prestigious competition.

The King’s Barbers, who celebrated their 25th anniversary last year, have made it through to the National Youth a Cappella Competition. The contest is taking place at the University of Birmingham in April as part of the national a cappella competition, which is open to university groups.

Entries for the contest were submitted by video and judged by a panel to assess which groups should qualify. This is the second time that the King’s Barbers will have taken part in the competition, and last time they were runners-up.

Members of the King’s Barbers are all former cathedral or college choir choristers and they sing everything from timeless classics to contemporary a cappella songs. Former members have sung in some of the most important and successful groups in the a cappella scene, including All the King’s Men and Out of the Blue.

Head of Voice at King’s Ely and founder of the King’s Barbers, Peter North, is understandably proud of the boys. He said: ‘The boys are on fine form at the moment and seem to be looking forward to the day with their customary enthusiasm. When I started the group 26 years ago, my main aim was that we should have fun singing. The sheer enjoyment that the boys get from their singing continues to shine through year on year and I wish them all the best for the competition on April 14th.’

To find out more, search for ‘King’s Barbers Ely’ on Facebook and Twitter. For more information about King’s Ely, go to www.kingsely.org.