Brothers in Libera (former & current)

[Sue]

There are at least 10 pairs of siblings who I know.

Currently there are:

the Madine-brothers Matthew & Joshua,
Collins-brothers Jude & Luke,
Barrington-brothers Henry & Jonathan,
Leggett-brothers Alexander & Samuel - where I have to say that the elder Samuel has already left Libera.

Then there are the former:

the Cole-brothers Thomas & Oliver,
Vereycken-brothers Michael & James & another called Sam Vereycken (info from 2002),
Akpobome-brothers Sere & Mine,
Geraghty-brothers Steven & Daren,
Baron-brothers Alexander & Chris,
Winter-brothers Matthew & 3 other siblings: Andrew Winter, Clive Winter & Ron Winter (info from 2002)

[Sue]

Some information about the Baron-brothers, Alex & Chris

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[youtube][/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]

[Sue]

Now we can speak about the Smart-brothers, Alfie (Alfredo) & Bertie.
I think Alfredo left the Libera concert choir in 2010 & younger brother Bertie joined the concert choir in November 2011.

Smart-Brüder.JPG (62.55 KiB) Viewed 12698 times

Smart-Brüder.JPG (62.55 KiB) Viewed 12698 times

[kay]

a real family affair at times isn't it? with the Madine boys, Sam and Alex and Jacob. I believe this is what sets Libera apart from other choirs/groups not only are there siblings and cousins but from what I see all the boys treat it as one big family

[viabuona]

Now we can speak about the Smart-brothers, Alfie (Alfredo) & Bertie.

Hm, I don't think so. There was some interview or talk that they are not related.
But I don't remember me where it was

[Sue]

Viabuona, that was about Lucas Wood, they asked him at meet & greet if he is related to Jakob De Menezes-Wood but Lucas said he isn't.

[viabuona]

Viabuona, that was about Lucas Wood, they asked him at meet & greet if he is related to Jakob De Menezes-Wood but Lucas said he isn't.

Yes, you're right - I have mistaken it. In this post Choirfan says that Alfies brother is now in the Choir.

[Liberation]

In 1976 there was a "Choirboy of the year" won by Jonathan King.
There also was a Curtis King. Maybe someone knows more ?

The 1995 video of the "Libera" - remix shows Kit Weston
There also was a John Weston, he sang with the Angel Voices on Elton John's "Live Like Horses".

[Sue]

In 1976 there was a "Choirboy of the year" won by Jonathan King.
There also was a Curtis King. Maybe someone knows more ?

Was this the St. Philips Boys'Choir era?

[Liberation]

I believe it was the "St. Philip's boys choir" era.
I can't remember where I have the name "Curtis King" from, I collect all the names which I came across in the past 8 years
On the internet or cd booklets etc. But I never mentioned the details where I came across that name so, I can't find the source anymore,
It's not in the cd-booklets.

[Sue]

Okay, now we have new siblings in the LIBERA stage choir:

Collins-brothers Jude, Luke & Gabriel (a fourth brother is on the way, but not yet on stage);
Ustynovych-Repa-brothers Michael & Mark;
Menezes-brothers Michael & James

[Sue]

To add the fourth Collins-brother, his name is Samuel Collins. All 4 here:

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Collins-Brüder.jpg (79.54 KiB) Viewed 11007 times

[wpgoalie03]

Message error

[bamboo]

There are at least 10 pairs of siblings who I know.

Currently there are:

the Madine-brothers Matthew & Joshua,
Collins-brothers Jude & Luke,
Barrington-brothers Henry & Jonathan,
Leggett-brothers Alexander & Samuel - where I have to say that the elder Samuel has already left Libera.

Then there are the former:

the Cole-brothers Thomas & Oliver,
Vereycken-brothers Michael & James & another called Sam Vereycken (info from 2002),
Akpobome-brothers Sere & Mine,
Geraghty-brothers Steven & Daren,
Baron-brothers Alexander & Chris,
Winter-brothers Matthew & 3 other siblings: Andrew Winter, Clive Winter & Ron Winter (info from 2002)

I believe Ron Winter is Andrew Winter's son. Not sure if Matthew & Clive are related to them.

[Amie_Hill]

From the Libera Historical Timeline, Part One

Testifying to Libera’s appeal to young singers, even those with an “inside view,” a remarkable number of brothers (and cousins) have appeared within the Angel Voices/Libera group, with sibs appearing either sequentially or simultaneously. In late 2012, members of the Libera Dreams Forum site counted 13 sets of brothers and four groups of cousins appearing onstage between 1987 and 2013. Another two sets appeared in 2014-15, and eight more sets in 2016-2017.

The earliest known of these are Jonathan and Matthew Arthey, both Angel Voices singers in 1987.

The Winter brothers, Matthew, Clive, and Ron, participated chiefly in the 1980s and '90s. Their dad, Andrew (now a member of the Libera managerial staff), Ron, and Clive all appeared as adult singers (on Libera's Free CD and elsewhere) as late as 2002. Close on their heels are the Geraghty brothers, soloists Daren (c. 1990-1997) and Steven (1997- through his present role as staff member, assistant musical director, and instrumentalist).

The Baron brothers, Chris and Alex, were part of the Angel Voices-to-Libera transition in the late 1990s, and Alex appeared as an adult singer as late as 2004. The Beston brothers, Alex and Simon (the latter continued as an adult singer, staff member and instrumentalist) were also in the mix around this time.

Three Vereycken brothers, Sam, James, and Michael, were part of the group over a long period, ranging from Sam in the late 1990s to James (2001-2006) to Michael (2005-2009)

The Cole brothers, Oliver and Thomas (both 2006-2009), were part of the 2007 Leiden concert DVD, and joined and left the group simultaneously.

The Barrington boys, Jonathan (2005 - 2012) and Henry (2008 - 2014), sang at opposite ends of the vocal range for four years, with Jonathan exiting the stage in 2012 to become a staff member. Luke Collins (2009 - 2013) and his younger brother Jude (2010 - 2014) were in a similar situation in 2012. Their younger brother Gabriel (2013-2018) was already a mini-boy in spring of 2013 (the Guildford Cathedral concert of that year was the very first instance of three brothers performing together in Libera). Gabriel sang as a full Libera member on the 2013 Christmas DVD, as did Jude, though Luke had left the group. Samuel-Francis Collins, the youngest of the four brothers, became a mini-boy in 2014.

Mine Akpobome (2008-2011), and little brother Sere (2008-2010) appeared in England-based concerts and videos, but never went on tour. Alfie Smart (2008-2010) left before younger brother Bertie Smart (2011- 2013; 2014-2015) arrived on the scene. Bertie took a year off in 2013 and returned in 2014, leaving in 2015. Michael Ustynovych-Repa (2010 - 2013) was joined by little brother Mark, who became part of the touring group in 2015, but left that same year. Finn Wood, the younger brother of Lucas Wood (2011-2016) became a mini-boy in 2014 and began touring in 2016. A third brother, Theo (2016-2018) joined them.

Cousin clusters have included Tiarnán Branson (2006-2013) and Oliver and Thomas Cole; Flynn Marks (2008-2011) and James Threadgill (2008-2011); and Matthew Rangel-Alvares (2009-2015) and Marc Alvares (2012 - 2019)

But by far the most fascinating family configuration to most Libera-watchers was the Madine-Leggett-De Menezes-Wood clan, which, for a brief moment in 2012, boasted six active Libera members. The group included the Madine brothers, Josh (2005- staff) and Matthew (2010-2017); their cousins (also brothers) Sam Leggett (2004-2014); and Alex Leggett (2006-2013); (these "long-timers" continued to return for special concerts); plus two more cousins, Jakob De Menezes-Wood (2006-2012) and Michael Menezes (below, 2011-2016). In 2013, Michael's little brother James Menezes (2014-2017) performed in his first concert in May of 2014.

In 2016, four sets of brothers appeared in the February tour to the Philippines: Lucas Wood (2011-2016) and Finn Wood (2014-2016); Alex Montoro (2012- 2018) and Mathias Montoro (2015-); Michael Menezes (2011-2016 )and James Menezes (2013-2017); and Josh Madine (2005-Staff) and Matthew Madine (2010-2017).

In late 2016, four new brother combinations arrived on the scene: Sam Wiggin (2011-2017) with brother Victor; Lucas Wood with yet another sibling,Theo; Rocco Tesei (2012-) with little Romeo; and Taichi Shinokubo (2013-) with Koji. This brought the number of 2017 Libera sibling pairs to eight (counting the Madines).

By the end of 2017, Laurence Taylor (2016-) and Leo Barron (2015-) had been joined by miniboys Nicholas Taylor and Ethan Barron.