History

The Manchester University Barbershop Chorus was founded in 2010, under the esteemed leadership of Antoine Kaiserman. From 2011-2012 the chorus expanded under Tom Jarvis and Matt Church and boasted around 15 regular singers. In October 2012 Pippa Goodall set up a Ladies' Barbershop Chorus, and in mid-2013 the two choruses combined to become an official society - the Manchester University Barbershop Singers (MUBS).

In 2012, some members of the mens chorus competed as members of Sheffield's Hallmark of Harmony in the BABS National Chorus Competition in Southport, gaining a Bronze medal, before going one better in 2013 in Bournemouth and coming second. In 2014, Hallmark of Harmony won Gold, with some Mantunian Way members competing with them.

In 2014 MUBS went to the BABS convention for the first time, with Mantunian Way competing in the chorus competition finishing in third place with a chorus of 29 men under the direction of Ben Ferguson. MUBS has returned to perform at BABS convention each year since, notably coming 7th in 2016 under the direction of Seb Marshall.

For the last few years, some members of Ultraviolet have competed on stage with Stockport's Crystal Chords, coming 4th in the 2015 LABBS Chorus competition and 3rd in 2016.

The 2017/18 academic year marked MUBS' 5th anniversary as a competing society, and Mantunian Way went on to compete in the 2018 BABS Convention, achieving 7th place, winning Division 2, and receiving the Cambridge Scroll trophy for the Most Improved Chorus.

In the 2019/20 academic year, Mantunian Way & Ultraviolet became less prevelant due to COVID-19, with the main focus of MUBS being placed on the mixed-youth chorus aspect. In order to keep the society going, MUBS rehearsed online via. zoom, with members recording individual parts in order to be edited together and be uploaded to the YouTube channel as a virtual choir. 

During the international lockdown of COVID-19, MUBS still rehearsed via. zoom and eventually held a virtual concert in 2021 (which is available to watch on YouTube). This act was testament to how passionate our members felt about barbershop and our community, and was a remarkable display of determination to keep society activites persisting. 

MUBS competed at the SingBABS 2022 Convention in Harrogate after lockdown restrictions loosened with 20 singers! MUBS ranked 6th place in the mixed chorus contest, scoring a total of 66.8%. This was the start of in-person rehearsals, and under the first-time direction of James McClean. 

Starting the annual tradition, MUBS competed again at SingBABS 2023 in Bournemouth with 31 singers under the direction of Ciaran Wilson, placing 5th and scoring 72.7% in the mixed chorus contest, which was a 5.9% improvement from the year before, earning MUBS the BABS Most Improved Mixed Chorus Award for 2023. 

MUBS competed again the next year, at SingBABS 2024 in Harrogate with 37 singers! Once again under the direction of Ciaran Wilson, MUBS ranked 7th place in the mixed chorus contest with a score of 72.6%, which was almost identical to the previous year's score. This year, MUBS won the LABBS Entertaining Award for 2024. 

Continuing the tradition, MUBS competed at SingBABS 2025 in Bournemouth with 25 singers, under the first-time direction of Dylan Gunasekera and Bella Kanjoo-Parsons. MUBS placed 5th this year with a total score of 72.4%, also earning the BABS National Best Mixed Small Chorus Award for 2025.