On Friday 13th December The Decibelles held their second annual Christmas Concert.
The church was bursting at the seams and we had to find more chairs for people than we anticipated.
We would like to thank the Mayor of Kettering, Keli Watts for attending and sharing the evening with us.
Jayne Chambers for coming along as Mrs Claus and helping with the raffle, spreading festive cheer and your charity talk.
To Carl & Susie for their continued support and belief in us.
To Big hire uk for the illuminated letters. They always make our staging look special.
To the guest performers Stefan White, Kim Chamberlain, Vicki Becks, Georgina, The Piano Trio and our wonderful accompanist Tom Carter.
To Kettering Town Silver Band for accompanying the congregational carols and your contribution to the evening 🎵
The local businesses who donated to our wonderful raffle who helped raise so much money - Manvell Farm Tearoom & Fisheries, Rock Up Rushden Lakes, Wacoal Europe Factory Shop, Paradise Island Adventure Golf - Rushden Lakes, Asda, Rushton Hall, Jo-dee’s Hair Nook, Ise Garden Centre, Tea Lab Company & Nails by Karen
Wow! Well what can we say?! Without our followers, we wouldn't be able to help raise money for such wonderful causes.
From this event alone we raised £1625 for KGH's Twinkling Stars Appeal.
This now brings our total for the year, over three events, to £4463!!! Which is just truly phenomenal.
This is now our final event for the year, and we return on January 9th to start working hard towards two big competitions!
The Decibelles were invited along to sing festive tunes at KGH on Sunday 1st December.
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and hope we spread some Christmas joy to patients, staff and visitors.
Thank you for having us.
The Decibelles sang at the second Kettering Remembrance Concert held on Saturday 9th November at Kettering's Fuller Baptist Church. It was an evening filled with music and verse to celebrate the sacrifice of our armed forces. We performed In Flanders Fields and Holy Holy Holy. To listen to these please visit out gallery or our YouTube channel
We performed along side others choirs - Seagrave Singers, Sound Sensation and Wollaston Singers. Rohan Platts played the harp phenomenally. Plus soloists - The Tenor, Kim Chamberlin & Georgina Stock. Bobby Crick played Last Post and Reveille on the bugle.
The evening raised £325 for the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity.
We are truly so very humble and lucky to be sponsored. Our first treat for the choir was personalised tote bags! Don't they look fabulous!?
The surprise was well received by the Decibelle Ladies.
This will now become part of the welcome pack to new ladies joining us upon completion of their trial.
These wonderful bags were created by the fantastic Susie at Angel Cottage Designs. Go check her out!
Friday 4th October 2019 saw The Decibelles first Charity Gala.
We welcomed Kettering's Mayor Keli Watts, and Deputy Mayor and Mayoress James and Lorraine Burton.
Jayne Chambers, Head of Strategic Corporate and Community Fundraising for Kettering General Hospital, also attended and gave a speech on the plans for the bereavement suit.
The Gala was held at Kettering Park Hotel & Spa and we were looked after tremendously.
We would like to thank Big Hire Uk for once again illuminating the stage for us, however this time it was for us to dance the night away rather than sing. We would also like to thank them for providing the fantastic photo booth.
With everyone's support, we raised £1388 on the night, bringing our total this year to £2838 for Kettering General Hospital's Twinkling Stars Appeal.
Please join us at our Christmas Concert on Friday 13th December at Rothwell's Holy Trinity Church to help raise even more money for this amazing cause.
The Decibelles excitedly welcome Tom Carter on board as our new accompanist.
Tom is 19 years old and now the youngest in our group. He enjoys playing solo repertoire but is also a member of a jazz band, a folk band and a piano trio. Tom recently showed his skills behind the piano at the Mayor's Music Festival in April and wowed the audience with his ability.
Tom will be joining us during his gap year, after which he is hoping to go to a music conservatoire.
We very much look forward to the next 12 months.
The Decibelles held their second summer concert on Saturday 13th July. We had over 171 people in the audience, who made it possible to raise such a tremendous amount for our chosen charity of the year - KGH'S Maternity Bereavement Suite.
We were so very grateful to KGH's Charity Fund for their support, and for organising Carolyn, who is a midwife at KGH, to come and give a brief talk to the audience explaining what they are aiming to achieve.
We would like to extend our thanks to the guest performers who also made this happen - Alivia Kennedy, Vicki Becks, Rhythm Belles, & Stefan White. And not forgetting Liam who played the guitar so wonderfully at the start of the evening.
A big thank you to Big hire uk for the amazing illuminated letters.
Also thank you to Bosworths Garden Centre for helping us decorate the stage with lovely flowers.
And for the raffle... We were truly overwhelmed by the generosity of so many local businesses - Rushton Hall, The Overstone Arms, Pytchley, Potbelly Brewery Limited, Topnots Hair & Beauty Studio, Wacoal Europe Factory Shop, Wicksteed Park, Tenpin, Rica Coffee Lounge & Bistro, Kettering Music School - ISM MUSIC Academy, The Blitz Tea Room and Jazz Lounge, Paradise Island Adventure Golf - Rushden Lakes, That Studio Tattoo & Piercing Corby, John Lewis & Partners, Chris George The Estate Agent, Butter Cup Baking Cakes And Cupcakes, Laser Maze Wellingborough, The Tollemache Arms, Harrington Park House Pub and to Active Support Service Ltd who rallied around and supplied a big box of goodies!
To say that our concert was a success was an understatement. Thanks to the generous audience members, we raised a fantastic amount of £1450 for KGH's Maternity Bereavement Suite.
We hope you join us in December for our next big concert to raise even more money for this worthy cause.
The Decibelles attended the Holcot Summer Fete to help raise funds for St Mary and All Saints Church in Holcot. This was organised by one of our own Decibelles, Julie.
The event was well attended and raised in the region of £2000!
The Decibelles held a charity cupcake event at their rehearsal in support of the Alzheimer's Society. Donations made by the choir raised a whopping £163.40! This was from the delicious cakes, a mini auction and book sale.
We are thrilled that the amount we raised could pay for two people with dementia to attend Singing for the Brain® sessions for one year, where they and their carers can come together for an hour each week to sing and dance with music.
We were thrilled by a visit from the Mayor and Mayoress, James & Lorraine Burton, during our rehearsal on Thursday 9th May.
As next week sees their last week in term, they came to offer their thanks for our support with their charity music festival on April 27th. The event raised over £1200 for the Mayor's three chosen charities.
We would like to also thank them for their support, kindness and generosity over the past year. It has truly meant a lot to the choir.
On Saturday 27th April The Decibelles were invited to perform at the Kettering Mayor's Charity Music festival. The evening was filled with a plethora of musical talent from the borough. This included St Peter's School choir, a violinist, pianists, choirs and soloists of all genres.
As the Mayor and Mayoress, James and Lorraine Burton's term in office comes to an end, the event was put on to raise money for his three chosen charities:
- ACE
The evening was a thorough success and was filled with so much talent it filled almost 3 hours! The Parish Church was filled to the rafters!
We would like to thank the Mayor and Mayoress for their support and encouragement throughout their term.
The Decibelles were invited to sing at the 'Spring is Sprung' concert on the 13th April 2019 at the Desborough United Reformed Church with Kettering's Mayor and Mayoress in attendance.. The choir sang a selection of five pieces that they performed at the Oundle Festival of Music and Drama.
There were many other performers on the night, singing pieces ranging from operatic to country. There was even a surprise performance on a ukulele!
The evening was a great success, and helped raise over £500 to go towards the church's lighting renovation work and the Desborough Heritage Centre.
On Saturday 6th April 2019 The Decibelles competed in their first competition at the Oundle Festival of Music & Drama.
The choir entered four categories. There was an abundance of competition this year, with some classes having 8 choir entries! In fact, so much competition that there was need for two venues and two adjudicators.
Community Choirs - 87 - 2nd place
"Pure sound. Excellent diction. Beautifully blended. Promising young choir."
Show Songs - 88 - 3rd place
"Great facial expressions. Fantastic pronunciation in a fast-paced piece. Hushabye Mountain was beautiful."
Part Songs for Women's Voices - 83
"Mermaid's Lament very well executed."
Scared - 82
"Impeccably done; great use of dynamics."
We are delighted with the feedback, and we can work on the critique for next year. We are now an award-winning choir!
Whilst competition singing may seem daunting, it can be a very exciting experience. It brings the choir closer together, as you are all working towards the same goal of 'being the best that you can be'.
We feel it's important to support local competitions to keep them alive for future generations. Sadly, they can close and this happened to Kettering & District Eisteddfod after more than 100 years due to lack of support.
We would like to thank everyone for their support, and to those that came along on the day.
The Decibelles celebrated their 1st birthday in style on the 28th March 2019. In such a short time, the choir has gone from strength to strength and the future really is very exciting.
The choir invited friends and family along to celebrate, and for them to listen to the choir showcase their pieces for the upcoming competition at the 101st Oundle Festival of Music & Drama.
The OFMD was founded by Lady Millicent Lilford from nearby Lilford Hall. Because it was halted during the war years, 2018 marked the 100th festival event since it was founded in 1909.
It began as a music festival with classes for local choirs and ensembles. In 1968, Speech and Drama classes were added.
We were delighted to welcome a representative from Kettering Mind to accept a cheque for £1286.40.
Thank you again for your continued support and generosity.
Last night's rehearsal saw the choir vote for the charity which they wish to support throughout 2019.
This year The Decibelles will be supporting Kettering General Hospital's Maternity Bereavement Suite - Twinkling Stars Appeal.
The choir is proud to be supporting such a remarkable charity that offers support to people during such a tragic time.
We look forward to seeing you at our events to support this cause.
Kettering General Hospital
Copyright © 2023 The Decibelles - All Rights Reserved.