Alistair may be amongst the youngest people to sing with Hallmark over recent years, but don’t be fooled; in fact, he has a wealth of barbershop experience and an enviable track record of success that stretches back more than twelve years. 

Music has always been a part of family life for Alistair.  For as long as he can remember, his dad would go out to sing barbershop on a Wednesday evening then, in 2010, his brother Ollie, started with what was to become Ouse Valley Chorus in Huntingdon, and was immediately hooked.  Initially, Alistair wasn’t convinced he would follow suit.  Then, in 2012, after moving to Bristol, he asked if he could join Ollie at a weekend rehearsal of the National Barbershop Youth Chorus; within a month he was on the stage at BABS Convention in Southport!

Since getting into barbershop, Alistair has sung with a total of five choruses, including two each in Bristol and Sheffield, and one in Manchester.  It’s surely no co-incidence that all have had their fair share of success resulting in a clutch of medals, including four golds.  Amongst the highlights of his barbershop career, Alistair lists attending 2018 Internationals in Orlando with Great Western Chorus, where he got to see Tagline winning Britain’s first ever Barbershop Harmony Society medal, a silver, in the youth quartet contest.  Famously, he competed with four choruses and one quartet at Harrogate this year, adding a gold, a silver and two bronzes to his medal tally. 
   
As you might expect, there came a point on Alistair’s barbershop journey where a change of voice part was called for.  The transition was gradual at first, allowing Alistair to sing both tenor and bass parts for a couple of years.  Then, waking up one morning with a heavy cold just before Christmas in 2015, he found that he could no longer sing tenor.  Since then, he has developed into a fine bass with a wonderful bright sound, and has gradually extended his range upwards.  

When he came to Sheffield in 2020 to study civil engineering, Alistair was not the first member of his family to have lived in the city.  He can trace five generations in one branch of his family tree to Sheffield, including a great grandfather who was a lifelong Sheffield United supporter.  Alistair is proud to follow in his great grandfather’s footsteps as a Blades fan, holding a women’s team season ticket for a year after watching the women’s Euro semi-final in 2022.  He is also a follower of Formula One, and is technologically proficient, having built his own computer.  Somehow, Alistair has found time to support the running of both Hallmark (as Membership Secretary) and Crucible Vocal Project, alongside his studies, singing and other hobbies! 

We were all very sorry when Alistair had to return to Bristol recently, making attendance at Tuesday rehearsals somewhat impractical.  However, the good news is that he will continue with Horizon and intends to return here to find work in 2025, so we look forward to welcoming him back then as a regular member of our chorus.