Welwyn Harmony are affiliated with the Ladies Association of British Barbershop Singers (LABBS), an independent organisation for women whose primary purpose is to educate its members in the musical art form of a cappella, four part, barbershop harmony.

We have a chorus of around 36 members who come from a wide range of backgrounds and day time occupations including full time mothers, accountants, shop assistants, teachers, secretaries, pensioners, social workers to name but a few - but the one thing that we all have in common is . . .

We love to sing!

A Short History of Welwyn Harmony...

Back in 1989 a Barbershop Singer from Texas called Doris Ellis found herself living in Hatfield, England having married a British pilot. Missing all her Barbershop Singer friends she decided to look for a chorus in the area, but of course there wasn't a chorus within miles - not to be beaten she decided to start her own chorus! She enlisted the help of the Welwyn and Hatfield District Council who sponsored her activities so that the first show could take place. The inaugural show featured the then Sweet Adeline Gold Medallist Quartet "Whisperwood", the Purbrook Chorus from the West Country and  quartet  "Sound Innovations". A small intrigued audience turned up wanting to know what this "Barbershop for Women!?" was all about.

The seeds were thus sown for the birth of the "Garden City Chorus" under the direction of Mike Barratt. Six people turned up to the first rehearsal and in the following 3 years the chorus slowly gained strength.  We changed rehearsal venue to our present meeting place, The Vineyard Barns in Welwyn Garden City. We have since changed our name to Welwyn Harmony!

In 1992 we joined Sweet Adelines and we were presented with our Charter in May 2003 at Convention in Derby.  Welwyn Harmony moved from Sweet Adelines International to LABBS in 2006.  In 2007, at our first LABBS convention, we took home the 'Reading Barbarettes Trophy ' for the highest scoring novice chorus.