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| 2008 |
Once again we appeared with other male choirs, and various artists in Birmingham Symphony Hall on Saturday 26th April in the annual event organised by the Birmingham St George's Day Association - details of which appear on their website http://www.bhamstgeorge.myby.co.uk Yet again this was a fantastic celebration of St George's Day, and everything English
A picture of the choirs and band on stage at Symphony Hall ++++++++++++++++++++ Dudley Concert Hall was the setting for our Celebrity concert:-
Click on the above poster to link to Jean Martyn's Website Our Spring (Celebrity) Concert in Dudley Concert Hall featured local concert organist Jean Martyn - seen here on the steps of the concert hall with some of our choristers. The evening was a tremendous success - Jean providing some splendid entertainment - not only on her concert organ, but also (at the request of the Mayor of Dudley, Councillor David Stanley) by playing in the styles of both Winifred Atwell and Russ Conway, on the Steinway piano. The compère for this concert was Mel Thomas. |
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We are pleased to announce that June Box has accepted an invitation to become a Choir Vice-President. June was our Accompanist for ten years, prior to handing over the reins to Neil Bolton, after which time she continued for a further two years as Assistant Accompanist. The Committee and Members are delighted that June has accepted this role, and we look forward to many more years with June "in the ranks"
TSUNAMI FUND RAISING
Once again we held a concert at Holy Trinity Church, Wordsley to continue our tradition of raising funds to assist in the musical education of the students at Ban Kamala School, Phuket - so badly devastated by the Tsunami three years ago. Details of the concert appear on the poster below
The concert was very well attended, and the audience were treated to a real feast of quality entertainment from all of the artists. We are pleased to report that we were able to donate £2000 to the school - which beat the amount raised the corresponding concert in 2007
A few photographic memories of the evening
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We have been sent some pictures showing some of the musical instruments purchased with our donations from previous concerts
In the early part of 1957, a young academic named Patrick Moore began a new television series on BBC Television called "The Sky At Night". He must have seen a rising star at that time, because in May of that year, nine men founded The Wall Heath Male Voice Choir - which later became The Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir.
CHARITABLE DONATIONS DURING 2007
We have been able to make the following presentations and donations to other organisations and charities during 2007 - our Golden Anniversary Year
Wordsley Team Parish (Holy Trinity Church) - £50.00
St John's Ambulance - £160.00
Compassion & Care International (Tsunami Appeal) - £1750.00
Friends of Oscar (Oscar Fradgley Appeal) - £500.00
SSAFA - Dudley Branch (Soldiers Sailors and Airmen Family Association) - £1850.00
St Dominic's School, Brewood (The Bert Bissell Memorial Shield Prize) - £100.00
Princess Diana Birmingham Childrens' Hospital Neurosurgery Ward - £2000.00
Children With AIDS Charity - £2000.00
A Magnificent Total of £8410.00
Our 2007 season commenced with a concert at Holy Trinity Church, Wordsley. Once again, we were performing in our "Tsunami - The Work Continues" concert. This was the third successive January concert - a series which commenced immediately after the Asian Tsunami disaster. Our first concert was used to raise funds to help in the re-building of the Ban Kamala School in Phuket, after which, we decided that we would like to continue fund raising for the same school, but to allocate any funds raised to the furtherance of musical education in the school, and to do this on an annual basis.
This year, we were assisted in the concert by the Senior choir and pupils from St Peter's Collegiate School, Wolverhampton. The school's choir were the winners of last year's Bert Bissell Memorial Shield at the Dudley Festival of Music Drama and Dance.
During the concert we were given a first hand report of progress in Phuket from the Rev Peter Jenkins who, along with Pastor Brian Burton, has been personally involved in the work in Asia.
We presented a cheque to the Rev Peter Jenkins,
and in recognition of our work in supporting this worthy cause, he presented the Gentlemen Songsters with a framed photograph of the rebuilt school at Ban Kamala
Once again at this concert, we were pleased to have the support of the BBC's Politics Show presenter, Adrian Goldberg, who acted as compère for the evening.
Because 2007 was our Golden Anniversary Year, we decided to hold a series of concerts in celebration at venues around the Dudley borough. The first of these concerts took place at the church where the choir (The Wall Heath Male Voice Choir) was founded, and where it held its rehearsals in the early days - St Andrews Congregational Church, Wall Heath. A few things have changed since 1957. The choir is now called The Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir with a membership six times its original number; and we now rehearse at Stream Road Methodist Church, Kingswinford. One thing has not changed - our remaining founder member, Don Marsh, who, whilst no longer a singing member of the choir, is still a very active member and supporter, and who is one of our Vice-Presidents. Don acted as compère for the evening - using the opportunity to recount a few "old tales" about the choir and its members. The concert featured the choir performing a range of items representing the style and content of its repertoire during the half-century.
The next concert in the series took place in Stourbridge Town Hall. In addition to a wide selection of old and new items by the choir, there was a performance by the young people from the Side By Side Theatre Group, under the direction of Sue Wallin.
The Gentlemen Songsters have been proud to be associated with the Side By Side group over recent years, and we have been pleased to be able to support them by enjoying their performances, by performing on stage with them, and by helping raise funds to assist them in their various appearances at such events as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Once again, we were very grateful for our friend Adrian Goldberg, who generously agreed to be compère on this occasion.
We put in our customary appearance as part of a massed male voice choir at Birmingham Symphony Hall in the Celebrating England Concert, organised by the Birmingham St George's Day Association.
Well-known celebrity poet, Pam Ayres was our guest artist at Dudley Concert Hall in March
This was the third time Pam has appeared with us - and as a result of our friendship with Pam, she was made an Honorary Member of the Gentlemen Songsters on the last occasion we met. Unfortunately, on this third occasion Pam was suffering a very bad throat infection - but in true theatrical tradition - "the show went on" - and what a show it was
Helping keep order on stage during this concert was another great friend of the choir - local historian and radio celebrity Professor Carl Chinn.
Here are a few photographs taken during the evening
Our Anniversary Celebrations continued in May when we held a concert in Brierley Hill Civic Hall when our guests were The Bachelors featuring John Stokes. The compère for the evening was local man Doug Parker. During this concert, a collection was made to benefit Oscar Fradgley, a young boy from Kingswinford who was born without hands and feet.
John Walley took charge of the baton as Acting Musical Director at the end of May on the departure of Lynn Andrews.
We then performed in a joint concert at Walsall Town Hall in June when we joined with Warley Male Choir and the hosts, Shelfield Male Voice Choir in a massed male voice concert. Also appearing was the Walsall Borough organist, Peter Morris.
Later in June - we appeared in another massed male voice choir event at a wet-under-foot Tewkesbury Abbey with the other member choirs of the English Association of Male Voice Choirs. Yet again, there was another sell out at this annual event.
Steven Swindells joined us as Assistant Accompanist at the tender age of 16 during the summer of 2007. Even though Steven has now turned 17, he has still worked wonders for the average age of the choir!!!
Steven in Concert Dress and pictured at a recent rehearsal
And pictured again - this time with Accompanist Neil Bolton prior to our Annual Concert
Steven has already contributed to both rehearsal and concert piano playing, and we look forward to hearing more of his keyboard skills in the coming years
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain were our guests - this time at our Annual Concert in October, and what a concert it was - the "Sold Out" notice having to be posted a few days before curtain-up. Both the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and the Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir were on tip top form, as was our compère, Michael Collie.
The icing on the cake came towards the end of the concert when Michael Collie - using the magic of mobile phone texts, and his contacts within the BBC Sports Department - was able to announce the result of England's Rugby World Cup semi-final triumph over the French team.
Pictured above is Michael Collie, who bought the coffee prior to some of the guys commencing their ukulele rehearsal session
We performed in Dudley Concert Hall at the annual Festival of Remembrance - alongside Phoenix West Midlands Brass, Doug Parker and Mel Thomas. This has become a "regular fixture" for the Songsters, and we are delighted to be able to help commemorate those who gave their lives in many conflicts over the years. The Festival, like that at the Royal Albert Hall, has a format combining a service of dedication with a light-hearted nostalgic end to the evening's events. We were able to present a cheque of over £1800 to the SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors and Airforce Family Association) from the proceeds of this event
We sincerely hope that we can continue to help Dudley's civic elders and the local British Legion in the perpetuation of this important ceremony.
Also in November, we appeared for the first time at Kinver Methodist Church- an event which raised money for the Methodist Homes for the Aged
As we approached the Christmas season, we joined with the Langley Band and other artists to perform in the Mayor of Sandwell's Christmas Carol concert at West Bromwich Town Hall
The final concert of our 50th Anniversary year was our Christmas Charity Concert - at which we were very proud to present cheques totalling £4000 to the two charities which we supported during 2007 - The Neurosurgery Ward at the Birmingham Childrens' Hospital, and the Children with AIDS Charity. Our guests at this concert (which was yet another sell out) were the Phoenix West Midlands Brass and the Under Eights Choir from St Dominic's School, Brewood. Local comedian Doug Parker once again proved what a good compère he is by getting everyone into the Christmas spirit, and ensuring the concert went without a hitch.
OUR HISTORY - THE RECENT PAST
The choir appeared in and performed at a total of 35 functions during 2005, which included six concerts in Dudley Concert Hall, one in Brierley Hill Civic Hall, a massed male voice choir concert in Birmingham Symphony Hall and another in Tewkesbury Abbey. We helped officially open the Royal Show at Stoneleigh, we performed three concerts on our five day tour in Holland, and we paid our respects to the fallen at the British Military Cemetery at Arnhem, and at the John Frost Bridge (A Bridge Too Far) - 60 years after the end of the Second World War. During the year we have appeared with three British Military Bands, and with the White Russian Army Band from Belarus. We have performed at the Mayor of Dudley's Charity Concert, and have been the guest choir at the Sandwell Civic Carol Concert in West Bromwich Town Hall, and we "Rode the Birmingham Wheel" in January. In our more local charity work, we have entertained the Brierley Hill Rotary Club at a St Valentine's Dinner, sung to the exiled Welsh at the Wolverhampton Cambrian Society's St David's Day Dinner, sung carols to the Brockmoor Arthritis Society, and the Russells Hall and Wordsley Hospitals Renal Unit - the list goes on.
We are pleased to report that the tangeable part of our charitable work has put well in excess of £8000 into local, national and international charities during the year, plus lots of other funds raised by the local groups themselves
Detailed accounts of the year's activity appear below
The tragic news which filtered through to us on Boxing Day, 2004, concerning the Tsunami disaster in Asia galvanised the choir into action at a time when we would normally be "resting our voices". We decided to do as much as we could with our talents to help raise funds for the disaster appeal. Our first event, in keeping with our tradition of singing in unusual locations was, with the help of World Tourist Attractions Limited, to "Ride The Birmingham Wheel" - a novel way of spending a Sunday afternoon!
On the following Saturday, we performed in a concert in Holy Trinity Church, Wordsley, and were pleased to raise £3,400 from these two events towards the fund. This money was augmented by a donation from the Geoff Hill Charitable Trust, and in conjunction with Geoff Hill, the Amblecote Christian Centre, The Stourbridge News and other local organisations - well in excess of £7000 was donated to the re-building of a school in Phuket.
Another Tsunami concert was organised by Dudley Entertainments Department in conjunction with Radio WM, as we appeared at Dudley Concert Hall with other local artists in a concert compèred by Adrian Goldberg and Jenny Jones - a further significant sum of money was raised on that occasion.
June Box finally left us as our Assistant Accompanist during January - we thank her for her loyal service over the last twelve years
Romance was in the air during Valentine's week - as we sang a collection of love songs to the members of Brierley Hill Rotary Club after their Valentine's Dinner
A concert in memory of the late Jean Porter, wife of our long-serving second tenor, Jack Porter was held in Gornal Wood Methodist Church - when we were joined by the Haven Singers.
Again we had the pleasure of singing after yet another dinner - this time to the members of the Wolverhampton Cambrian Society at their St David's Day celebrations.
At the end of February we were delighted to be invited by Councillor Malcolm Knowles, Mayor of Dudley to sing at his Charity Concert (in aid of the Carers-2-Carers, and Dudley Deaf Childrens' Society charities). By way of a thank you, the Mayor invited the choir to his Parlour, for a guided tour of the council Chamber and Mayoral suite - some pictures from which appear in the following gallery
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The Council Chamber
In March we joined a massed mixed choir, and military bands at the National Indoor Arena in "Showfantabulous" - a concert celebrating 100 Years of Rotary International.
Our Celebrity concert Guests in Dudley Concert Hall this year were the Band of The Prince Of Wales's Division (Clive) - our "local" military band from Tern Hill Barracks in Shropshire. One of the highlights of this concert was for the band (who double up as a male voice choir) and the Gentlemen Songsters to sing Gwahoddiad together. This year's Bert Bissell Memorial Shield was presented during this concert to a different choir (The Folk Choir) from the same St Dominic's School as last year's winners.
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The Clive Band at The Royal Albert Hall
Well over half of the Songsters joined the massed male voice choir at this year's St George's Day Concert in Birmingham Symphony Hall.
We helped Kingswinford Community Centre celebrate its 40th Anniversary in a concert at the end of April
For the second successive year, we appeared at Dudley Concert Hall as guests of the White Russian Army Band at the start of their UK summer tour. The entertainment for the evening consisted of a spectacular selection of items, including music, Cossack dancers, traditional Russian military and folk music, soloists from The Bolshoi Opera,and dancers from the Belarussian National Folk Dancing Academy. We were very proud to have sung The Grand March From Aida with the band. This item gave our Musical Director, Lynn Andrews, an opportunity to conduct yet another military band (having practised on the Band of The Prince Of Wales's Division (Clive) Band a few weeks earlier!) Once again, the evening was a tremendous success, and we hope to be able to support the band on any of their future visits to the midlands.
Here are a few photographs of the concert
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The White Russian Central Band on stage with the Gentlemen Songsters
Tewkesbury Abbey was, once again, the venue for the massed male voice choir concert of the English Association of Male Voice Choirs during June, and on the first Saturday in July we appeared in a summer concert in Brierley Hill Civic Hall, when local Black Country Comedienne, Marlene was our guest. The hall was arranged "a la social club" with the audience sitting relaxed-style around tables in the auditorium - an arrangement which seemed to be appreciated by many, and which added to the atmosphere for the event.
On the following morning we participated in the opening ceremony of the Royal Show at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. This was the second year in succession at this event - but on this occasion, thanks to our prudent purchase of a batch of Gentlemen Songsters Umbrellas, we were not subjected to the monsoon experienced in 2004 - a reminder of which appears in the following photo gallery
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Early in the day at the bandstand
Once again, we had a splendid day at the show, and enjoyed our various performances during the day. We were very pleased to meet up with our Honorary Member, Pam Ayres who happened to be visiting the show on the same day.
At the end of August, a party of 79 Gentlemen Songsters, wives and supporters went to the Netherlands for a five day / three concert tour, staying in the coastal resort of Noordwijk. We performed concerts in the Groete kerke (Big church), Monnickendam, the Oude kerk (Old church), Zeist, and in the Englese kerk (English Church), Amsterdam. All three concerts were played to very full “houses”, and we certainly gained the impression that our Dutch audiences were very appreciative of our singing.
Whilst in Holland, we took the opportunity to visit Arnhem, pausing to visit and sing at the John Frost bridge over the River Rhine at Arnhem where in 1944, allied paratroopers from the 2nd Paratroop Batallion under the command of Lt-Col John Frost held the bridge, pinned down by the enemy for seven days in a bitterly fought campaign which lead to great losses of allied forces - eventually the bridge was deemed "A Bridge Too Far", a name which became the title of the film depicting the story.
Whilst in this area, we also be visited the Ooseterbeek British War Cemetery to pay our respects to the many British, Commonwealth and Polish troops who lost their lives here -our visit taking place just a few days after the 60th Anniversary of VJ Day
It was the evening before our visit to Oosterbeek that we learnt that Albert Evans, one of our travelling Second Tenors, had lost a comrade in the fighting near Arnhem, and Albert had never visited the area since those dark days. We were pleased to be able to help Albert locate his comrade’s grave in the cemetery. Another Second Tenor in our party, Jack Porter also saw service at Arnhem, and likewise it was his first return visit since the war. As our small and moving tribute to our two colleagues, and to those who fought in that campaign, we sang Morte Criste at the entrance to the Cemetery.
As a finale to a very successful tour, we added to our list of performances in more unusual locations – this time by singing three numbers on board the P&O Ferry, The Pride of Kent
Here are just a few of our memories of the tour
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On our return, we joined the Kidderminster Valentines (a ladies choir) in a joint concert at Kidderminster Town Hall - to celebrate the hall's 150th Anniversary.
Our Annual Concert took place as usual in Dudley Concert Hall in mid October, when our guests were the Steve King Big Band, together with their regular soloist, Lynn Dawes. The Songsters took the opportunity for this concert to add some "swing" numbers to their already varied repertoire - so numbers such as Chatanooga Choo Choo, Begin the Beguine, Ain't Misbehavin, and Moonlight Serenade had their first Songsters' airing. A few photographs from this event appear in the following gallery
It was at this concert when we formally presented his chain of office to our new Vice-President, Michael Collie of BBC Midlands News. Michael and his wife, Gaye, have been very supportive of the choir since we first met him a few years ago when he acted as compère at one of our concerts. It is worth noting that he attended one of our rehearsals and passed his initiation audition with flying colours - we are looking forward to hearing him sing the news on the telly!!!
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Once again, we appeared on stage in Dudley Concert Hall in the Borough's Festival of Remembrance - other artists who participated were The Phoenix West Midlands Brass, ex-Stutz Bear Cat Steve Baggott, Tony Palmer and Mel Thomas. As in last year's festival, the first half of the evening was a very moving act of remembrance, followed by a light-hearted second half, which culminated in the singing (many times) of "Land of Hope and Glory" - accompanied by much flag waving - a very memorable event.
As always, Christmas was a busy period with some concerts to entertain local groups, and our participation in the Sandwell Civic Carol Concert along with the Langley Band, at West Bromwich Town Hall
Our guests at this year's Christmas Charity Concert were The Side By Side Theatre Group, The St Dominic’s School (Brewood) Folk Choir, The Dudley Metropolitan Wind Orchestra, and our compère was Central TV’s Philippa Tomson.
Pictured below - compère Philippa Tomson getting ready for the concert!!!
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Side By Side evolved from the Learning For Life Drama course at Stourbridge College in 1997. The members of the group have become the first group of amateur actors with learning difficulties to achieve awards and recognition in a wide range of areas in the performing arts. The connection between the Songsters and Side By Side extends beyond our joint stage appearances – The Songsters’ newly appointed Vice-President, Michael Collie is a Patron of Side By Side.
St Dominic’s School Folk Choir is the second choir from that school to have won the Gentlemen Songsters-promoted “Bert Bissell Memorial Shield” at the Dudley Festival of Music Drama And Dance, and we were pleased that they accompanied us on stage to perform their winning number from that contest at the Festival earlier this year.
Helping the music go with a swing at this concert was the Dudley Metropolitan Wind Orchestra, conducted by Craig Sprostan and Tony May . This is one of the many local band groups in which Craig has an active involvement, and is made up from young musicians from schools within the Dudley Metropolitan Borough.
Our compère for the evening was Philippa Tomson from Central TV News. Philippa commenced a career in journalism, and graduated to become Chief Reporter at the Express & Star before joining Central Television in March 2002. She claims she likes eating good food and working it off in the gym, dancing and reading biographies. She didn’t do any of these when she last appeared with us as compère – it was hoped that this time she was going to dance - no such luck!!
The two beneficiary charities for our Christmas Concert were the “Wings” charity - a Wombourne–based charity supporting, and providing respite care to autisitic children and their families, and the Codsall-based “West Midlands County Air Ambulance” - both very deserving causes, which we are proud to support - and we were able to present a cheque of £1000 to each charity on the night
On the following Monday evening, we hosted a Soiree in Himley Hall where we met with, and entertained a number of our loyal regular supporters in a "free and easy" social evening
At Christmas 2004, we were all saddened to hear and see the tragic news from Asia in the days following the Tsunami which hit that region. As part of our efforts to help provide funding for the relief effort, the Songsters had a “sing in” on the Birmingham Wheel, and we organised a concert at Holy Trinity Church, Wordsley—and we dedicated the proceeds to a specific fund to rebuild a school in Phuket - the Ban Kamala school. Our contributions were added to other funds collected locally, and we are pleased to be associated with the Rev Peter Jenkins of Amblecote Christian Centre in that project.
We decided to hold an annual event to raise further funding to assist in the running of the school, and supporting the many children who attend the school, many of whom were orphaned as a result of the disaster. The funds raised will be utilised in the development of musical education at the school—by the purchase of instruments, books, musical teaching etc.
The first of these repeat concerts entitled "Tsunami - The Work Continues" took place on January 21st at Holy Trinity, and we were very honoured to have Adrian Goldberg of Radio WM as our compère at this event. Thanks to everyone concerned, we are pleased to report that we raised over £2,300 at this concert
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Adrian Goldberg
We held a 12 hour Sing-In at Gig Mill Methodist Church at the beginning of February. On this occasion our objectives were purely personal - we needed to raise funds to kit out the choir with a new set of uniforms, so we decided that a sponsored sing-in would help us on our way. We were grateful for the advanced publicity we received from both the Stourbridge and Dudley News, and the Express and Star for this event. Not only did it help us bring in an audience, but also it attracted a lot of interest from potential suppliers of new uniforms - and in addition we have made contact with some potential new choir members
Thank you to all who supported us at this event
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We were asked by The Worshipful The Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Ian Kettle to perform in his Charity Concert, and were joined at this concert with Black Country comedian, Tommy Mundon and local soloist Jane McWilliams. The Mayor's chosen charities this year were Orbis (Sight Saving Worldwide) and the Support Group for Pain Relief at Russells Hall Hospital. We are pleased to report that over £1000 was raised on the occasion
The Worshipful The Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Ian Kettle
Dudley Concert Hall was the venue for our Celebrity Concert when our guests were The Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain. This fascinating group of musicians have enjoyed a very rapid rise to fame and we were delighted to have engaged their services for the evening - and what an evening it was!!!! Both the Gentlemen Songsters and the Ukulele Orchestra were on top form, and some very favourable comments have been passed to us from a large number of our audience.
We were pleased to present the Bert Bissell Memorial Shield, contested at the 2006 Dudley Festival of Music Drama and Dance to the choir from St Peter's Collegiate School, Wolverhampton. Two representatives from the choir attended our Celebrity Concert and received the Shield, Certificate and a £100 cheque on behalf of the choir.
Once again, a large contingent of the Songsters participated in the Celebrating England Concert held in Birmingham Symphony Hall on St George's Day. We were part of a 200-strong massed male voice choir, taking a leading role in the choral content of a very emotional patriotic concert - which also included a significant contribution from our local Morris Men from Sedgley, and accompaniment from the local brass band, Sovereign Brass.
Black Country comedians, Aynuk and Ayli, were our guests at our Spring Concert, held in Brierley Hill Civic Hall in May.
It was a great evening's entertainment, combining the best of Aynuk and Ayli's humour with the singing of the choir, together with vocal solos by Lynn Andrews and piano solos by Neil Bolton. At one stage during the concert, the choir discovered that Ayli had infiltrated their ranks - it was soon rectified, however, when they realised that he was a better singer than they were - we wondered why we were suddenly sounding a lot better!!
We were deeply saddened to hear of the passing away of Ayli (John Plant) towards the end of 2006 after a short illness. He will be missed not only by the choir, but also by many thousands of Black Country folk.
In early June, we jumped into a couple of charabancs and trundled off to the West Country, donning our surfing gear, and staying for a weekend in a very sunny Newquay, Cornwall. On the Saturday evening we joined forces with the City of Truro Male Choir for a concert in Newquay Parish Church. All agreed that the weekend had been a roaring success, and the concert and subsequent hospitality shown by the men of Truro was first class - this is definitely one weekend to be repeated (home or away)
In June we joined the other member choirs of the English Association of Male Voice Choirs on stage in the Great Hall at Birmingham University for a massed male voice choir concert, other artists who appeared with us on that occasion were Second City Sound.
Back on our own territory, we presented a concert at Stream Road Methodist Church, Kingswinford as part of their flower festival in celebration of the church's 40th Anniversary
Once again, we were invited to lead the singing at the opening ceremony at the Royal Show in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire - at which Her Royal Highness Princess Michael of Kent was in attendance. We also performed in the bandstand in front of the Royal Pavilion at intervals during the day
Our Annual Concert in Dudley Concert Hall took place in October when Don Maclean was our special guest. Don had recently passed over the reins of Good Morning Sunday on Radio 2 to Aled Jones, but is also known for his earlier appearances as compère of both Crackerjack and the Black And White Minstrel Show.
In the West Midlands, Don is often to be seen appearing in Birmingham in shows such as "Go and Play Up Your Own End", and in Malcolm Stent's "A League Apart". He also has a long tradition of appearing as a pantomime dame. Needless to say, the Gentlemen Songsters are very proud to have helped Don's career along - he has become so much more famous since he appeared with us last in the late 1990's in the then Dudley Town Hall - and after this year's show he is destined to go on to bigger and better things!!!
Don was recently heard to say "Appearing with the Gentlemen Songsters was something you did only once in your life - like being baptized or watching the Charlotte Church chat show on TV. But I'm absolutely delighted to be appearing with them again"
- BUT HE DID AND HE WAS!!
OUR NEW VICE-PRESIDENT
We were pleased to announce the election of Philippa Tomson as one of Vice-Presidents. Philippa, who has acted as a compère for us on more than one occasion, trained as a journalist with the Express and Star in Wolverhampton, and subsequently came to our attention as one of the regular presenters on ITV's Central Tonight programme. She left Central TV to take up an anchor role presenting Tyne Tees Television's local evening news programme - following in the footsteps of the "everlasting" Mike Neville. Philippa was presented with her badge of office onstage during the Don Maclean concert,
A few pictures from the Don Maclean concert
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October always signals the start of the Songsters' busy concert period. Quickly following our concert with Don Maclean were a series of major concerts in a variety of locations:-
On Sunday 22nd October we appeared with other choirs as guests of the West Mercia Police Band in a concert in Birmingham Symphony Hall, This concert raised funds for the Birmingham Children's Hospital - a cause which we ourselves decided to support (along with the Children with AIDS Charity) in our 50th Anniversary Year in 2007. The other choirs who participated in this concert were a contingent of Welsh Choirs (Ebbw Vale, Cwm, Abertillery Colliery and Beaufort Male Voice Choirs) with some local support from the West Midlands (Canoldir, Shelfield and Warley Male Choirs). Also appearing were the Tredegar Brass Band, and the CBSO Childrens' Choir
Later in October, we appeared as guests of the White Russian Army Band (from Belarus) in a concert in Dudley Concert Hall. This was the third successive year we have appeared with this band (formerly known as the Red Army Band). In addition to the band, there were soloists and dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet.
A picture from the 2005 concert with the White Russian Army Band
To complete a busy weekend, we sang in a concert at Zoar Methodist Church, Gornal, Dudley on Saturday 28th October - being joined on this occasion by the Kingswinford Ladies Choir. This concert was to celebrate the centenary of the current church building.
We participated in the Festival of Brass and Voices in London's Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 4th November. This concert was a fund raiser for Cancer Research. On the following morning the choristers descended on Covent Garden for a more "impromptu" performance - something like 1000 buskers!!!
A few photos of the preparation for the concert, and of Sunday's Big Sing
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In total the organisers were able to present a cheque for £95,000 to Claire Marshall, Cancer Research UK's Fundraising Manager and we were very proud to be part of this hugely successful event
Later in the week - on the Thursday evening - we took our place back on stage in Dudley Concert Hall in Dudley's Festival of Remembrance - this is another of our regular bookings
On Saturday 18th November, we participated in a concert organised by the Brierley Hill and Kinsgswinford Branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in Holy Trinity Church, Wordsley, Stourbridge. Joining us in this concert were the Tenby Male Choir - appropriately in 2006, since this is the year when the RNLI stationed a brand new design of lifeboat (the Tamar Class) in Tenby as one of two inaugural stations for this class of lifeboat.
We appeared in Gornal again - this time at Dudley Road Methodist Church in a concert raising funds for Action Heart
The last major concert of the year was our Christmas Charity Concert in Dudley Concert Hall. Appearing with us at this concert were Phoenix Brass and St Peter's Collegiate School Choir from Wolverhampton. Our compère for the evening was our newly-appointed Vice-President, Philippa Tomson. This year's chosen charities were the Dudley Hospital Kidney Patient's Association and Wolverhampton Coronary Aftercare. We were able to donate £1000 to each of the charities on the night
OUR HISTORY - THE EARLY YEARS
"The Wall Heath Male Voice Choir" was founded in May 1957 with nine members, Harry Ord as Conductor, and Ralph Brookes as Accompanist. At Christmas, the choir held its first Carol Concert in aid of charity - raising just over £20. We regularly raise approaching £4,000 for local charities at the same event now.
The following picture, which came into our possession recently, courtesy of former member John Trafford, was taken in late 1957
Our research to date has named the members as follows
Back row:- Don Marsh, Harry Round, John Trafford, Noel Lee, ??, Fred Abbiss, Dennis Lord
Middle row:- Bert Hough, Malcolm Mees, Alan Hough, David Lloyd-George, Harold Ashman, Les Lester, Jack Lawley, Alex Payton
Front Row:- Tom Simmons, Stan Murray, Frank Painter, Joe Pioli, John Millward, Harry Ord (Conductor), Ralph Brooks (Accompanist), Bill Astley, Fred Trafford
If anyone can help identify the remaining member, we would be most grateful
The choir made its first appearance in the school hall at King Edward VI School, Stourbridge.
Tom Simmons was appointed as Deputy Conductor..
Our sole surviving founder member, Don Marsh, was appointed Secretary, a post he held for 21 years. David Lloyd George commenced a seventeen year period as Choir Chairman. Noel J M Lee was appointed Accompanist.
The present title of "The Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir" was adopted and Tom Simmons was appointed Conductor with Noel J M Lee as his Deputy Conductor.
Irene Cox