Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir - Our History
                        

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OUR HISTORY - CURRENT YEAR

For 2010 events - see our News Page

 

OUR HISTORY - LAST YEAR

 

2009 SUMMARY OF CONCERTS IN 2009
DATE LOCATION CONCERT DETAILS  
2009

 

 
Saturday 14th February      WORDSLEY

Holy Trinity Church

Charity Concert - joint concert with a touring Dutch male voice choir - Don Kozakken Koor. Also featuring Annie Hodkinson. Proceeds in aid of Beacon Centre For The Blind  
Saturday 21st March       DUDLEY

Dudley Concert Hall

Gentlemen Songsters Spring Concert - with guest stars The Rockin Berries and compère David Bartley  
Saturday 25th April       BRIERLEY HILL

Brierley Hill Civic Hall

Dudley MBC St George's Day Celebration Concert. With Maggie O'Hara, Annie Hodkinson, The West Midlands Fire Service Band and compère Don Maclean.  
Saturday 20th June      LICHFIELD

Lichfield Cathedral

English Association of Male Voice Choirs Massed Choir Concert - with guests Helen Withers and Jean Martyn and compère - Michael Collie.  Click here to view poster
Saturday 4th July       STOURBRIDGE

Gig Mill Methodist Church

Fund raising concert  
Sunday 13th September       DUDLEY

Dixons Green Methodist Church

Young Mens' Bible Class Anniversary Service  
Saturday 26th September      DUDLEY

Dudley Concert Hall

Gentlemen Songsters Autumn Concert. Special guest artist Hayley Westenra  Click here to view poster
Friday 2nd October      KIDDERMINSTER

Kidderminster Town Hall

Concert with other artists and groups in aid of Kemp Hospice  
Saturday 24th October      WALL HEATH

Dudley Kingswinford Rugby Club

Private function  
Saturday 31st October     LONDON

Royal Albert Hall

Festival of Brass and Voices Concert in aid of Cancer Research  
Thursday 12th November      DUDLEY

Dudley Concert Hall

Dudley Festival of Remembrance, with Maggie O'Hara, Phoenix West Midlands Brass and Mel Thomas. Proceeds for Help for Heroes  Click here to view poster
Friday 20th November      DUDLEY

Dudley Concert Hall

Concert with the Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defence of Kazakhstan. See www.militarymusicspectacular.com for details  Click here to view poster
Saturday 12th December      DUDLEY

Dudley Concert Hall

Gentlemen Songsters Christmas Charity Concert. Featuring Phoenix West Midlands Brass, St Dominic's School Choir and compère Annie Hodkinson  Click here to view poster
Saturday 19th December      PATTINGHAM

St Chad's Church

Wedding  

Further details of some of these concerts appear below :-

We staged a concert in Holy Trinity Church, Wordsley on Saturday 14th February 2009, when we were joined "on stage" by a touring choir from The Netherlands - the DON KOZAKKENKOOR (Don Cossacks Choir) - a Dutch choir which specialises in singing Russian music. This promised to be a fantastic start to our 2009 programme, and how right that proved to be

Also appearing with us at this event was local soloist Annie Hodkinson. Anne has appeared with us on many occasions in the past, and amongst all of the gentlemen on stage, she certainly added a significant amount of glamour

Once more, we decided to make this annual concert a charity event but this year, we wanted to contribute to a local worthy cause, and the Beacon Centre For The Blind in Sedgley was chosen. In addition to their regular need for funds, The Beacon Centre was, at the time, raising funds towards its new "second site" (which was officially opened later in 2009) 

 

          

To read about, and listen to Don Kozakkenkoor, click on the picture above - some of their website is written in English

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On March 21st, we hosted a Spring Concert in Dudley Concert Hall, when our guests were the well known group from the 60's pop scene The Rockin Berries a group who have been at the top of their profession for 30 years, and remain one of the top musical comedy groups in the U.K 

Formed at the beginning of the 60’s by guitarist Chuck Botfield, they spent a long period in Germany honing their skills for vocal harmony and comedy.

On their return from Germany to the U.K., after playing in German clubs for 8 hours a night, they were soon recognised as one of the slickest groups around.

They were quickly signed by Pye records which culminated in their first number one hit in 1964, “He’s In Town”.  Several gold and silver discs were earned as a string of hits followed their first number one, including "Poor Man's Son".

In 1967 they were invited to do a Royal Command Performance, and were only the second group to ever be invited on to the show, the first being the Beatles.   

In 1968 they returned to the Palladium as special Guest Stars on the Des O’Connor Show for a 28 week season.

They have since returned to the Palladium on several occasions as Guest Stars appearing with such stars as Tom Jones and Cyd Charisse.

Through the 70’s and 80’s they were one of the major attractions on the theatre and cabaret circuit, appearing in numerous summer seasons at all the major resorts, picking up many awards along the way, voted for by both club owners and the general public.

In the 90’s the ROCKIN’ BERRIES were at the top of their field constantly in demand at major cabaret venues and for corporate work, and they continue at this pinnacle today.

Our compère for the evening was Black Country Wordsmith, David Bartley.

Once again, our choice of a 60's Group as the star attraction at this concert proved to be a resounding success - one which may well be repeated on a future occasion

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BERT BISSELL MEMORIAL SHIELD

The winners of the 2009 award for the Bert Bissell Memorial Shield at the Dudley Festival of Music Drama and Dance were once again a choir representing St Dominics' School, Brewood.

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Dudley Metropolitan Borough's St George's Day celebrations took place in Brierley Hill, and we participated in their Celebration Concert on the evening of Saturday 25th April.

Also appearing in the concert were Maggie O'Hara, Annie Hodkinson, The West Midlands Fire Service Band and Don Maclean

Playing to a packed house, the assembled artists helped provide a fitting end to the day's celebrations in the Borough, with much fun fervour and flag waving

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ENGLISH ASSOCIATION OF MALE VOICE CHOIRS CONCERT - 2009

The Gentlemen Songsters had the honour of hosting the 2009 English Association of Male Voice Choirs' concert.

This concert was held in the magnificent setting of Lichfield Cathedral on Saturday 20th June 2009, and featured over 250 voices from 8 male voice choirs - was a resounding success.

Our guest artists at this event were the Wolverhampton-born soprano, Helen Withers, and Staffordshire-based concert organist Jean Martyn. Our compère for the evening  was one of our Vice Presidents -  BBC Midlands Today presenter, Michael Collie (whose Grandfather was once the Dean Of Lichfield Cathedral)

The following video news item appeared in the Wolverhampton-based Express & Star newspaper on Tuesday 28th April

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Autumn Concert 2009

We are pleased to report that we had a COMPLETE SELL OUT for this event. Well over 1000 members of the public crowded into Dudley Concert Hall to see our star attraction

HAYLEY WESTENRA

on Saturday 26th September 2009

All concerned agreed that the concert was a resounding success, not only because of the numbers attending, but also from the pure enjoyment of the entertainment provided

The following gallery is a selection of photographs taken during the concert by Karsten Vogel, who travelled to Dudley from his home in Germany for the event. Karsten is a member of Hayley's on-line fan club Hayley Westenra International -

LINK TO HAYLEY WESTENRA INTERNATIONAL - THE FAN'S WEBSITE

All pictures in this gallery courtesy of Karsten Vogel

The following pictures were taken by the Choir's official photographer Ralph Mason Photography

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Hayley at the rehearsal

LINK TO THE OFFICIAL HAYLEY WESTENRA WEB SITE

Hayley Westenra began performing when she was just 6 years old and made her first recording in a professional studio at 12.  She was still only 16 when she released her debut international CD, Pure. It rapidly became the fastest-selling debut album from a classical artist, and reached the Top 10 of the pop charts in 11 countries. Her albums have sold more than four million copies worldwide to date. “Pure” was certified by the official UK chart compilers as the best selling classical album of the 21st Century.

Her popularity and approachability have brought many opportunities, including offers to perform for royalty and Heads of State. She’s also UNICEF’s youngest-ever ambassador, an energetic supporter, both in awareness and financially, and after huge success with her ‘Bikes For Ghana Appeal’  Hayley revisited Ghana in 2008 where she started work on her second project – building water pumps. Hayley is proud to be the first official ambassador of Classic Fm Music Makers.

Hayley was  accompanied at this concert by Tim Evans on piano and Stephanie Benedetti on violin

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We appeared as guest artists in a concert in Kidderminster Town Hall on Friday 2nd October. The concert which was in the style of a musical revue was in aid of the Kemp Hospice, and we are pleased to report that the proceeds were well in excess of £1700.

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We took part in the Festival of Brass and Voices concert at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 31st October. The concert featured massed choirs of 1500 voices, plus the Grimethorpe Colliery and Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Bands - and was in aid of Cancer Research UK. It is anticipated that well over £100,000 will be raised towards this very worthy cause as a result of this concert

The above photograph was taken at the 2006 Festival of Brass and Voices

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In mid November we promoted and participated in the Festival of Remembrance in Dudley Concert Hall. We were supported by Phoenix West Midlands Brass, Maggie O'Hara and Mel Thomas. This event, in similar format to that which takes place in the Royal Albert Hall, was exceptionally well attended, and once again it was a pleasure to see the the assembled masses of war veterans, British Legion members, Sea Scouts and members of the general public. We can confirm that we raised the sum of £2000 which was donated to the "Help For Heroes" campaign.

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During the latter part of November, we were guest artists when the Central Military Band of the Ministry Of Defence of Kazakhstan appeared in Dudley as part of their UK tour, and we had the privilege, not only of singing a selection from our own repertoire, but also singing a number of items jointly with the  band. Once again, this was a most enjoyable concert.

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Saturday 12th December was the occasion of our final concert of the year - the ever-popular Christmas Charity Concert in Dudley Concert Hall. The concert featured the Songsters, supported by the Phoenix West Midlands Brass, and our compère Annie Hodkinson. We were pleased to be able to present cheques of £1000 each to the three charities which we were supporting this year - namely Camp Quality UK, The Motor Neurone Disease Association (West Midlands) and The Multiple Sclerosis Society (Dudley).

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OUR HISTORY - THE RECENT PAST

2005

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

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!!!

Even Neil has to rehearse!

New Vice-President, Michael Collie accepts his badge of office

Our three Vice-Presidents

Steve King takes the stage

As does his Big Band

A new recruit for our bass section

Soloist Lynn Dawes woos the audience

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!!!

Philippa Tomson with Santa

 

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

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2006

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

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  

Now we're singing

It's cold at the piano

What's funny about that?

John at the console

There's no McDonalds round here

Some of the audience

Manna from heaven

Rhys is a new recruit

Here come the fish & chips

Bostin fettle

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

Michael Collie, Tony Partridge and Joe Brandrick introduce Joy Brown of Action Heart

Joe Brandrick presents a cheque to Joy Brown

Joy accepts the cheque - proceeds from the sale of our second CD

Don Maclean - unexpectedly called back onto stage!

Don receives a gift of a Songsters' brolly - Swingin In The Rain??

New Vice-President Philippa Tomson receives her badge of office

The maiden speech

Oh no - I think she's going to sing

OK It's a deal

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

Arriving at Albert Hall for rehearsal

There's a bit of a queue to get in

Why isn't this queue moving

The baritones and top tenors

Bill Relton addressing the choir

There's our basses

Strolling down to Covent Garden for the Big Sing

The gathering of the troops

The Big Sing as seen from the ranks

Malcolm says "Watch the beat"

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

 

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2007

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.

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2008

CHARITABLE DONATIONS (see below for the 2008 Summary)

Following recent tradition, we once again organised the Festival of Remembrance held in Dudley Concert Hall in November (2008). The event, details of which appear below in Our Most Recent Concerts (click to follow the link), was a resounding success, and we are pleased to have been able to send a donation of £1750 to the HELP for HEROES charity.

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We were also pleased to be able to make a donation of £500 to the Black Country Talking Newspaper & Magazine. Bronwyn Hall represented the organisation when she visited one of our rehearsals to accept the cheque. The donation comprised a gift of £200 in memory of the late Mr Don Andrews, father of our former Musical Director Lynn Andrews, and a further £300 from Gentlemen Songsters charity funds.

Money Talks! Chairman John Bowen and Treasurer Bob Biggs hand over the cheque to the

Black Country Talking Newspaper & Magazine representatives

Click on the picture above to download an information sheet and application form for the Talking Newspaper

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Un-audited Summary of Charitable Donations

By the Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir During 2008

Ban Kamala School, Phuket (Tsunami)                                             £2000

Black Country Talking Newspaper & Magazine                                 £  500

Help For Heroes (Remembrance Concert)                                       £1750

Wordsley Team Parish                                                                        £  100

St John’s Ambulance Brigade                                                            £  160

Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Birmingham League of Friends         £2000

Wings (Wombourne) Special Needs Support Group                       £2000 

   Grand Total                                          £8510

The above figure does not take into account any funds raised and donated as a result of our involvement in joint concerts with other choirs (e.g The St George’s Day celebrations at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and the English Association of Male Voice Choirs Concert at Birmingham Town Hall)

SUMMARY OF CONCERTS IN 2008

DATE LOCATION CONCERT DETAILS

2008

 

Saturday 2nd February       WORDSLEY

Holy Trinity Church

Tsunami - The Work Continues -compère Adrian Goldberg - raising money for the Ban Kamala School, Phuket Thailand. Guest artists Summerhill Choral Society
Saturday 5th April   DUDLEY

Dudley Concert Hall

Gentlemen Songsters Spring Concert. Guest artist Jean Martyn (Organist). Compère Mel Thomas
Saturday 26th April     BIRMINGHAM

Birmingham Symphony Hall

Celebrating England - St George's Day concert - with other choirs and artists
Saturday 7th June KIDDERMINSTER

Kidderminster Town Hall

A "Four Choir Concert" with Kidderminster Valentines Ladies Choir to celebrate their 20th Anniversary along with Kidderminster Male Choir and the Malvern Singers
Sunday 22nd June     BRIERLEY HILL

Brierley Hill Civic Hall

Concert with other Black Country artists in memory of Dolly Allen. Proceeds to Mary Stevens Hospice and St Anthony's Cheshire Homes
Saturday 28th June       BIRMINGHAM

Birmingham Town Hall

Concert with the massed voices of the English Association of Male Voice Choirs hosted by Prof. Carl Chinn
Saturday 5th July SWINDON (Staffs)

St John's Church

Church Anniversary Concert

 

Friday 15th August Himley (Staffs)

Himley Country Hotel

Wedding

 

Saturday 30th August  Wall Heath

Roman Catholic Church

Wedding

 

Sunday 14th September       DUDLEY                 

Dixon's Green Methodist Church

Young Mens' Bible Class Anniversary Service
Saturday 27th September       DUDLEY

Dudley Concert Hall

Guest appearance at a concert hosted by Viva Musica with The Kidderminster Valentines and Summerhill Choral Society
Saturday 11th October      DUDLEY

Dudley Concert Hall

Gentlemen Songsters Annual Concert. Guest artists Langley Band. Compère Don Maclean
Thursday 6th November     DUDLEY

Dudley Concert Hall

Festival of Remembrance with Phoenix West Midlands Brass
Saturday 13th December       DUDLEY

Dudley Concert Hall

Gentlemen Songsters Christmas Charity Concert with Phoenix West Midlands Brass., St Peter's Collegiate School Choir and Harvey Andrews. Compère Michael Collie. Proceeds in aid of Wombourne Wings Charity and Birmingham Orthopaedic Hospital

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

Summerhill Choral Society

Chairman John Bowen with Rev Peter Jenkins and a photo of the re-built school

John says "You will pay to get out"

Two MD's (Andrew Biggs and John Walley) and a Chairman (John Bowen)

We have been sent some pictures showing some of the musical instruments purchased with our donations from previous concerts

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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.

Click on the above poster to link to Jean Martyn's Website

Here are some pictures taken during the evening

Vice President and Founder Member, Don Marsh welcomes new Vice President June Box

The VIP's - but where is the Mayor?

Neil Bolton, June Box, Mike Wells & John Walley

Our Interval Ice-Cream sales team

Jean Martyn - seen from on-stage

 

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"

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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

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We were invited by the Kidderminster Valentines ladies choir to join them on stage in  Kidderminster Town Hall on Saturday 7th June with the Malvern Singers and Kidderminster Male Choir to celebrate the Valentines' 20th Birthday. We sang a number of joint items with the other choirs, plus a few items from our own repertoire.

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We performed with a whole host of Black Country entertainers in a concert in tribute to the former Black Country comedienne, Dolly Allen - this concert took place on Sunday 22nd June at Brierley Hill Civic Hall, and coincided with the dedication of a "blue plaque" in Dolly's honour

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On June 28th, we had the privilege of singing with eight other member choirs of the English Association of Male Voice Choirs in the magnificent surroundings of the recently refurbished Birmingham Town Hall. It is traditional at these events that one choir acts as the host choir for the evening, and this year it was the turn of Birmingham Icknield Male Voice Choir. Our great friend Professor Carl Chinn was the host for the evening, and the event raised funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Also appearing with the 300-strong massed choirs were Birmingham soprano, Sharron Burns; Midland-based organist Keith Hearnshaw and the splendid Midlands Young Persons String Group, Bravura.

Picture courtesy of Birmingham Icknield Male Voice Choir

The concert was a fantastic success - just to hear the power of 300 plus male voices and the grand organ at full tilt was something to witness - but equally the power of 300 unaccompanied voices singing pianissimo - on a whisper. There were many hairs standing on necks on that occasion

Below is a picture of the presentation of a cheque for £2,200.00 to representatives of the MS Society - being the proceeds of the evening's event. The cheque was presented on behalf of the EAMVC by its Chairperson, June Bissell, together with members of Birmingham Icknield and Warley Male Voice Choirs at a joint concert they held in West Bromwich in November

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It was back to our roots (well almost) for a concert on Saturday 5th July in the pretty church of St John's in Swindon, South Staffordshire. This promised to be another good concert, and it certainly was - we turned out a large contingent of choristers and made the valley of the Smestow Brook resonate with sound. A second impromptu concert was held later in the evening in the bar of the Green Man pub in the village - and Alan, the landlord, was beginning to think that he might have to send for emergency supplies of Banks's Bitter!!

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Once again, we sang at the Anniversary of the Vicar Street Young Men's Bible Class in mid September - this year, however, was slightly different, in that the church premises at Vicar Street, Dudley, had been closed down a couple of weeks beforehand, and the service was held in Dixon's Green Methodist Church. Yet again it was a privilege to be invited to honour that anniversary.

One of the relics which has been preserved from the building at Vicar Street is a stained glass window depicting Bert Bissell, The plaque placed by the Young Men's Bible Class, The Dove of Peace and the Cairn at the top of Ben Nevis

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We appeared with Viva Musica as one of their guests in a concert in Dudley Concert Hall on Saturday 27th September. We were joined by two other choirs - The Kidderminster Valentines and Summerhill Choral Society. Each of the choirs performed a number of individual items, and the 200 or so voices joined together for some combined items. Former High Sheriff of the West Midlands (and TISWAS presenter) Peter Tomlinson was the compère for this event

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Our Annual Concert took place on the 11th October when our guests were the Langley Band together with compère Don Maclean.

Pictured on the steps of Dudley Concert Hall prior to the concert are Don Maclean and some of the choir and band members

   

Photos - Courtesy of Newsquest (The Stourbidge News)

See the poster below for further details on this concert

Click on the poster to link to Langley Band's website

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We have been working very hard during the summer months to bring some new music into our repertoire, and also polishing up some old male voice favourites which we have not sung for the last few years. We had an opportunity to showcase the results of our efforts when we presented the Dudley Festival of Remembrance on Thursday 6th November in Dudley Concert Hall. Local British Legion representatives were on parade, and the sacred part of the proceedings was led by local clergyman, Revd Michael Brain - leading up to the two minutes silence, the falling of poppies and the sounding of The Last Post.

Full details of this event appear in the poster below

As on previous occasions, we were supported by the Phoenix West Midlands Brass Band. Dave Hartley compèred the event, and local comediènne, Marlene brought her special brand of humour to the second half of the concert

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Phoenix West Midlands Brass were again on stage at Dudley Concert Hall with us in our final concert of the year - our Christmas Charity Concert on Saturday 13th December. Other artists who appeared in this concert were St Peter's Collegiate School Choir, Harvey Andrews and compère Michael Collie (one of our Vice Presidents). We were supporting the Wings (Wombourne) Special Needs Support Group and The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Birmingham League Of Friends at this concert, and were pleased to be able to present a cheque for £2000 to each of these charities

 

Click here for a few facts about Harvey Andrews

To find out even more details about Harvey Andrews - Click Here to go to his Website

 

BBC Midlands Today Presenter and Gentlemen Songsters Vice-President

Michael Collie

Phoenix West Midlands Brass - Click on the Picture to go to their Website

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OUR HISTORY - THE EARLY YEARS

1957

"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

WHMVC1957L.jpg (23681 bytes)

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

1958

The choir made its first appearance in the school hall at King Edward VI School, Stourbridge.

1959

Tom Simmons was appointed as Deputy Conductor..

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1960

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.

1961

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.

1962

Irene Cox was appointed as Accompanist.

1963

Albert Haynes was appointed Treasurer, a post he held for 22 years

1964

Noel J M Lee was appointed as Conductor, when business commitments meant that Tom Simmons had to leave the area

1965

George Porter became Deputy Conductor, a post he held until 1976, after which time he continued to sing with the choir.

1966

A "Grand Concert" was held in the Wall Heath Community Centre. This was a precursor to our Annual Concerts. On this occasion, our guests were Edith Poles (Soprano) and Arthur Mallen (Tenor)

1968

We produced our first recording during this year, and we held our first Autumn Annual Concert. The picture below was used on the cover of the l.p

 

1969

We were invited by our great friend, the late Bert Bissell MBE to sing at Vicar Street Methodist Church, Dudley, for the Anniversary Service of the Young Mens' Bible Class (of which Bert was Class Leader) This has become an annual event in the Choir's calendar ever since.

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1970

Janet Lawton became our Accompanist. Janet still has a close association with the Choir, and is a Vice-President. Local comedian, Tommy Mundon made a second appearance with the choir at our Annual Concert as Guest Artist

1971

The Choir was invited to sing at The Ideal Homes Exhibition at Bingley Hall, Birmingham (the site of the present Birmingham Symphony Hall)

1972

Our guests at the Annual Concert were Betty Banks and the folk group "Gemini 3"

1973

The Choir's popularity had grown, and it was necessary to move the location of our Annual Concert from local church halls to the 900-seat Brierley Hill Civic Hall. Our guest artists on this occasion were Herbert Bowen (tenor) and Harry Millward (bass)

1974

We produced our first stereo LP, extracts of which were broadcast on Radio Birmingham. We have also featured in radio broadcasts elsewhere in the England and Scotland, and in the USA and Australia. We have also appeared live on television from BBC Pebble Mill in Birmingham

1975

Sopranos, Beryl Hill and Rosemary Ashman were the guest artistes at the Annual Concert

1976

This year's Annual Concert saw soprano, Catherine Smith, and comedienne, Dolly Allen as guest artistes

1977

Tommy Mundon appeared again at the Annual Concert - this time with the soprano, Marylyn Troth. David Lloyd George was appointed as the Choir's first President on completion of his extended period as Chairman. Sadly he died in the same year.

1978

The Gentlemen Songsters Male Voice Choir became the first choir to sing on the summit of Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain - see the picture below. Janet Lawton was appointed Deputy Conductor

1979

We commenced our annual spring Celebrity Concerts in our new "home", the 1060-seat Dudley Town Hall. Our guests on this occasion were Maryetta and Vernon Midgley, accompanied by their mother, Gladys. We have since performed on many occasions with the Midgley family, and have forged strong relationships with these "stars" of such radio programmes as Friday Night Is Music Night

The following picture of the choir, outside the ruins of Dudley Priory, was taken at the end of the 1970's

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1980

Maryetta and Vernon Midgley were again our guests, and the choir visited Scotland for a concert tour

1981

Our Celebrity Concert guests this year were The Fairey Engineering Brass Band

1982

We held two special events to celebrate our Silver Jubilee year. The first was a concert at which our guests were again Maryetta and Vernon. The second was a massed male choir event, at which we were joined by choristers from Bridgnorth, Cannock, Cradley Heath, Kidderminster and Wolverhampton. The soprano, Angela Beale also joined us at the latter event

1983

Janet Lawton retired as our Accompanist, and was appointed as our first Vice President. She was succeeded at the piano by Susie Bourne. It was in this year that Noel J M Lee was promoted from Conductor to Musical Director

1984

The Cambridge Buskers were our guests at the Celebrity Concert, and we also held a concert at which our guests were The Peninsula Womens' Chorus from Palo Alto, California, USA

1985

We sang with massed choirs at the National Association Of Choirs (Group 11) at Bedworth Civic Hall. Later in the year we appeared in the "Massed English Male Choirs Concert" at the Royal Albert Hall in London

1986

This year saw the "twinning" of Dudley with Fort William in Scotland, and the choir was invited to perform at the civic ceremony in Scotland. During the year a joint concert was held with the "Worcester Chorus" from Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. At our Christmas Charity Concert, we raised £1,710 towards the BBC's Children In Need appeal. The following picture was taken at one of the choir performances during 1986

1987

We were invited to participate in the 21st Anniversary celebrations of the Canoldir Male Choir at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre Arena. We also visited Mark in Somerset for a concert in the village church. Our connections with other male choirs were extended again at our Celebrity Concert when the Tredegar Male Voice Choir were our guests - we continue to enjoy a close association with them today

1988

The choir's first major international tour took place in 1988 when we visited New England, USA, giving concerts in Sturbridge, Worcester and Manchester in Massachusetts, together with a performance at Cape Cod. The visit to Sturbridge coincided with the 250th anniversary of the founding of the town by former residents of Stourbridge, England. We were also pleased to play host to the "Bremer Singkries" from Bremen, Germany. Our association with Bert Bissell MBE was cemented when he was invited to become President. Moira Anderson was our guest at the Celebrity Concert.

1989

Children In Need featured again in our fund raising this year when we appeared at a massed choir event in Luton. Our international travels continued when we paid a return visit to the Bremer Singkries' home city and were pleased to have the opportunity of singing in Bremen Cathedral. Our second Vice President, Rev Donald Anderson MA BD HFC was appointed.

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1990

We hosted a number of visitors from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and the Royal Doulton Band were our Celebrity Concert guests. Second Tenor, Graham Hancox, was appointed Deputy Conductor - a post he held for three years before he was "transferred" to Wolverhampton Orpheus Male Voice Choir as its Musical Director.

1991

Our Celebrity Concert guest artiste on this occasion was Mary O’Hara, and we were honoured to perform in front of Her Majesty The Queen on the occasion of the International Olympic Committee meeting at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. This was one of the very first major events held at this impressive conference and entertainment complex. We were invited to appear at a concert in aid of the Royal Institute For The Blind in Torquay - an event which was repeated some twelve months later

1992

Massed male voice choir events were on this year's agenda as we appeared in Peterborough Cathedral. We were also present at the first "World Choir" event with 6,500 male choristers, Dame Gwyneth Evans, Dennis O'Neill, Oliver Sammons, Tom Jones and the massed bands of the Guards Division at Cardiff Arms Park. It was at the end of this year that Susie Bourne retired as Accompanist, and was replaced by our fourth lady Accompanist, June Box.

1993

Susie Bourne was made an Honorary Member for services to the Choir. Shrewsbury Abbey was the venue for our first major event of this year - again as a massed male choir event. We participated in a further "World Choir" performance, this time with 8,500 voices, and Shirley Bassey as our "support act".Our Celebrity Concert this year saw guests the HM Band of the Royal Marines

1994

The Midgley's were our Celebrity Concert guests, and the award winning Besses O' Th' Barn Brass Band appeared at our Annual Concert

1995

Again we hosted a party of visitors from Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and our celebrity guest for this year was another well known "voice" from Friday Night Is Music Night, Valerie Masterson

1996

A social evening with Tredegar MVC started the year, which also saw us perform a concert in Launceston, Cornwall, and host a joint concert with The Band of HM Coldstream Guards. Our fifth lady member, Lynn Andrews was appointed Deputy Conductor

1997

During this, our "Ruby Anniversary" year we celebrated with an Anniversary Dinner at which our guests were  Joe and Joy Brandrick of Brandrick Holdings (our sponsors for the year) and the Midgley family.  Maryetta and Vernon Midley were the stars at our Gala Concert the following evening. A party of choristers climbed Ben Nevis and laid a wreath on behalf of Bert Bissell at the summit peace cairn which he had founded on VJ Day. The choir also performed an impromptu concert at the summit. Bert was present at the foot of the mountain to welcome the climbers back at the end of the day - this was to be Bert's last visit to "The Ben" with the choir. The Warley Male Choir were guests at our Annual Concert, together with local artists who had appeared with us over the forty years. Lynn Andrews took charge as Musical Director in November

1998

Our guests at the Celebrity Concert were the Central Band of the Royal Air Force. In May, we had a very successful five day singing tour in Normandy, France, during which, we performed an impromptu concert at the request of Mme Gondree, in front of her cafe at Pegasus Bridge, the first building in France to be liberated by the allies on D Day in 1944.

A small collection of pictures taken outside Cafe Gondree

Neil Bolton was appointed as our Deputy Accompanist and John Walley as Deputy Conductor. Brixham Male Voice Choir were our guests at our Annual Concert together with the Bedworth Brass Band. Choir President, Bert Bissell passed away at the age of 96.              

1999 Our first engagement in 1999  was to pay our respects at Bert Bissell's memorial service.We appeared in concert with The Sandwell Youth Band in Dudley, and  with St Cecilia's Singers at a concert in Cannock. Our Celebrity Concert guest was the Bass Baritone Willard White. The Corbett Hospital League of Friends benefitted from a concert at Holy Trinity Church, Amblecote. We had a weekend trip to Torbay, performing with Brixham Orpheus Male Voice Choir in All Saints Parish Church. We hosted a joint concert with the Band of the Prince Of Wales's Division (Clive) in Dudley Town Hall. We appeared on BBC Midlands Today's "The News Makers" programme.

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2000 Pam Ayres was the guest at our Celebrity Concert. We had another European tour, this time to the Moselle region of Germany which included a short recital in Cologne Cathedral.

Pictured above are the choir and supporters on the steps of Cologne Catherdral

Vice President, Rev Donald Anderson passed away during 2000. We helped Vicar Street Methodist Young Men's Bible Class celebrate its 75th Anniversary when the speaker was President of The Methodist Conference, Rev Inderjit Bhogal. We joined the English Association of Male Voice Choirs at their annual massed choir event in Worcester and the guests at our Annual Concert were the Aldbourne Brass from Wiltshire. We appeared at Birmingham Symphony Hall with Icknield Male Voice Choir at their Centenary Celebration Concert, where the compère was Dr Carl Chinn. We also appeared in Dudley Technical College Hall at a concert in aid of Dudley Festival of Music .We again played to a packed house at Dudley Town Hall at our Christmas Charity Concert, and we performed in a Christmas Concert at New Road Methodist Church, Tipton. A few members of the choir "appeared" on a live Radio WM broadcast  - on the Carl Chinn show

2001 Our 2001 Celebrity Concert guest was the Black Country comedian, Tommy Mundon. At this concert, we presented a new award in memory of Bert Bissell, The Bert Bissell Memorial Shield, to be presented annually to the school choir showing the most promising performance of a piece of music whilst participating in the Dudley Festival of Music, Drama and Dance. The first winners of this award were the Moseley Park School Harmony Group from Bilston.We appeared in concert at Dudley Technical College Hall as part of the Dudley Festival of Music, Drama and Dance.We joined in concert with the Kingswinford Ladies Singers, to mark the retirement of their Musical Director, Gwen Browne (who is married to Geoff Marsh, one of our bass section). We participated in a concert at Dudley Kingswinford Rugby Club - an organisation which seems to be vying for nomination as the GSMVC Nursery Club.We performed in a joint concert with Dormston High School Choir at the school's new theatre in Sedgley. We were the host choir at this year's concert of the English Association of Male Voice Choirs in Pershore Abbey. The guest organist on that evening, was Paul Carr. The guests at our annual concert in Dudley Town Hall were Bedworth Brass. During this concert, we gave the "world premier performance" of the newly published arrangement of "The Mountains Are Calling Me Home" - dedicated to the memory of the late Bert Bissell.The final event of 2001 was our Christmas Charity Concert, when our guests were the Dudley Metropolitan Schools Band, and the Moseley Park School Harmony Group.
2002

Our first concert in 2002 was at St John's Church, Swindon, South Staffordshire.The Bert Bissell Memorial Shield was won for the second time by the Moseley Park School Harmony Group. Our Celebrity Concert guest was Nigel Ogden. At Easter, we toured the Algarve, raising funds for the local Volunteer Fire Service, and the Salvation Army. We joined with the Side By Side Theatre Group at a concert in Stourbridge Town Hall, raising funds for them to travel to Edinburgh to participate in the International Festival . We were the guests of Halesowen Handbell Ringers at a concert in Halesowen. Pam Ayres was the guest at our Annual Concert. This concert was marked by two very special events - Pam was elected as an Honorary Member of the GSMVC (the first such member of the choir); and we also launched our first CD "Do You Hear The Songsters Sing?" - part of the proceeds of which were donated to Mary Stevens' Hospice. We appeared on stage at the CAMRA Dudley Winter Ales Festival in Dudley Town Hall, and two weeks later we participated in one of the Christmas Special Evenings at the Black Country Living Museum. We were joined at our Christmas Charity Concert by the Langley Band, Moseley Park School Harmony Group, Rev Suzanne Newton, and Mark Bolton (of Carlton TV Sport).

2003

Our first performance in 2003 was at the end of a St David’s Day Dinner held by the Wolverhampton Cambrian Society.Our Celebrity Concert in Dudley Town Hall saw us perform with The Bachelors, featuring John Stokes – the final item of this concert was a special arrangement of “I Believe” featuring the choir and The Bachelors together. At this concert, June Box announced that she was retiring as our Principal Accompanist after 10 years - to be replaced by Neil Bolton, who was promoted from Assistant Accompanist. We were pleased that June agreed to stay on as our Assistant Accompanist for the foreseeable future. We were also pleased to unveil our new Roland Digital Piano at this concert. It has enabled us to widen the repertoire of the choir, and enhance our performances. We were pleased to help dedicate another new musical instrument - the organ at Gig Mill Methodist Church. Gig Mill is our “second rehearsal home”, and is attended by a large number of our members, and their organist is our Deputy Conductor, John Walley. On St George's Day, we participated as part of a massed male voice choir, together with the Brummagem Glorishears Morris Dancers and the Wooley Pritchard Sovereign Brass Band in a concert in Birmingham Symphony Hall. The concert, initiated by Professor Carl Chinn, was a resounding success. In July, we sang at Dudley Wood Methodist Church for their Flower Festival Weekend. Once again, we were pleased to take the stage at Birmingham Symphony Hall as one of a number of local choirs, adding up to 500 voices, in a concert organised by the West Midlands Police Male Voice Choir. Having helped close Dudley Town Hall (for its refurbishment) in spring this year, we were pleased to be the promoters and performers of the first concert at its re-opening in October - the occasion of our Annual Concert, when our guests were Tommy Mundon and brass virtuoso, Mike West. Approaching Christmas, we joined Warley Male Voice Choir and The Sandwell Band in concert at West Bromwich Town Hall. The compère at this concert was BBC Midlands Today’s Michael Collie. The next seasonal concert was one of our regular appearances at St John’s Church, Wolverley. Two of the more “local” events during December were attended by a smaller section of the choir – the first of these was at a gathering of the patients and families of The Wordsley Renal Unit (Corbett Hospital) and the second as the post lunch entertainment at the Mary Steven’s Hospice Luncheon Club’s Christmas lunch. Michael Collie was called to duty once again as the compère at our Christmas Charity Concert at Dudley Town Hall, where we were accompanied by the Malvern Hills District Brass Band, and supported by the Mayfield Preparatory School Boys’ Choir (winners of the 2003 Bert Bissell Memorial Shield). Our two charity beneficiaries at this concert were The Friends Of Chernobyl’s Children, and The Side By Side Theatre Group. At the end of this concert, the Choir was pleased to bestow the status of Honorary Member on Michael Collie. All good things come to an end, and it was at the end of 2003 when Don Marsh, our only remaining founder member announced that he was to retire from singing. However, no one escapes that easily, and to honour Don's 47 years of singing membership, the Committee voted Don into Life-Membership of the choir, and also elected him as a Vice President - an honour befitting his years of loyal service to the choir. We hope that our association with Don will continue for many years to come

2004 2004 commenced with a concert where we appeared as guests of the Phoenix West Midlands Brass in Brierley Hill Civic Hall. We were so impressed with the band, that we invited them to join with us as our guests at our Annual Concert. In April, the choir went back in time to the Sixties, and performed a selection of music from that era in the first half of a very successful concert in which Gerry and the Pacemakers appeared as the Celebrity Guests in the second half. All the Gerry "favourites" were performed during the evening, and many of the audience were so moved as to start dancing in the aisles of Dudley Town Hall - most definitely a first at a Gentlemen Songsters' concert.The Bert Bissell Memorial Shield was won this year by St Dominic's School, Brewood, Staffordshire, and representatives of the choir attended our Celebrity Concert to receive the trophy. April 23rd saw a large contingent from the choir join a 300-plus male voice choir at Birmingham Symphony Hall for this year's celebration of St George's Day. On a beautiful spring evening in mid May, we performed at St John's Parish Church, Swindon (South Staffordshire) in celebration of their 150th Anniversary. A few days later, we were again on stage in Dudley Town Hall - this time with Cradley Heath Male Voice Choir as a joint support act for the first night of a twenty-night UK tour by the White Russian Army Band. On a chilly Friday evening at the beginning of July, we all boarded the land train operated by Dudley Zoo, and took our supplies of gas and air up to the top of the hill where Dudley Castle is located, and we sang in the grounds of the castle as our contribution to this year's Dudley Arts Council Showcase. The evening concluded in the semi-darkness as we sat on the land train descending the hill all singing lustily "The Runaway Train" We were very honoured to be invited to participate in the opening ceremony of the 2004 Royal Show at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire at the beginning of July. In addition to taking a significant part in the opening dedication service, we also appeared in the band-stand and in other locations around the showground at intervals during the day, including a short recital on the lawn in front of the Royal Pavilion before an audience of invited guests and dignitaries. The first part of this performance was foreshortened by a torrential downpour and thunderstorm which saw us uproot the choir, the accompanists, our Musical Director and the electronic piano to take what little shelter was offered under the pavilion's verandah. Tewkesbury Abbey was the magnificent setting for this year's massed choir event with the other member choirs of the English Association of Male Voice Choirs - over 300 voices singing to a packed audience in the surroundings of this splendid former Benedictine Abbey. Two local concerts were performed – one in aid of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution at Holy Trinity Church, Wordsley – where in excess of £1000 was raised. The second of these concerts was held to celebrate the 155th Anniversary of St Mark’s Church, Pensnett. The big news in the Autumn was the notification from the Charities Commission that the Choir has been accepted as a Registered Charity - a status which we hope will benefit both the choir and the many charitable organisations it works with. Our Annual Concert took place in the re-named Dudley Concert Hall, when our guests were Phoenix West Midlands Brass, and the compere was ITV Central News's Philippa Tomson. This special evening also included a presentation of a cheque to Mary Stevens Hospice for the money raised to date in the sale of our first CD, and we launched our second CD The 60's & More From The Songsters - this time we will be donating £1.00 from every sale to Action Heart. We were pleased to be able to assist the Dudley Metropolitan Borough Entertainments Department by participating in an Open Day at Dudley Concert Hall - giving a short Saturday afternoon recital. The consensus of opinion was that the afternoon was a success - offering the full spectrum of activities held in the concert hall to the general public in a free and easy "come and have a look" style. In mid November, we were again on the Dudley Concert Hall stage - on this occasion participating in the Borough's Festival of Remembrance - and singing yet again to a packed house. Our "rehearsal home" - Stream Road Methodist Church was in need of funds to help refurbish its grand piano, so the Songsters offered to put on a concert at the church to help raise some of that money. The proceeds were a magnificent £950, which almost covered the entire refurbishment cost. One other local church which has hosted our rehearsals from time to time, Gig Mill Methodist Church, was the promoter and beneficiary of a fund raising concert during November. Again we were delighted to be able to help out on this occasion.The first weekend in December was busy, with two more local concerts - the first on the Saturday evening at the Amblecote Christian Centre proceeds of which were in aid of the local Ladies' T.L.C. group. This was followed on the Sunday afternoon, by what has become an annual event - a seasonal concert in the company of the local renal patients group. As usual, late December was a busy time, with our charity concert at Dudley Concert Hall, Our guests were Sam Robinson, The Side By Side Theatre Group, St Dominic’s School Choir (winners of this year’s Bert Bissell Memorial Shield competition), and the Dudley Brass Ensemble, The compère for the evening was BBC Midlands Today’s Michael Collie. As usual, two local charities received donations (of £1000 each) as beneficiaries of the proceeds of the evening. This year, the charities were Bushey Fields Hospital, Dudley and the Jasmin Machine Fund. This concert was followed a few days later by a soiree held in Himley Hall, when we socialised with, and sang to a large number of invited guests. This novel idea of entertaining some of our many friends seemed to be well received, and gave us the opportunity to mix more informally with our supporters in some very pleasant surroundings. This will not be the last of such occasions                                                                       One of the charity beneficiaries at the 2004 Christmas Charity Concert was the Jasmin Fund. As a baby, Jasmin Greatholder was seriously ill, and spent many weeks in The Princess Diana Birmingham Children's Hospital, followed by many subsequent visits for various forms of treatment. In their gratitude for the care and support given to Jasmin, her family decided to start the Jasmin Fund to help provide essential equipment for the hospital. We were delighted to be able to help towards that fund last year, and are pleased to show a few pictures of Jasmin with the SATS Monitoring Machine which was purchased with the donation we made to the hospital. We are also delighted to say that Jasmin has made a wonderful recovery, and is "mixing it" with all the others - especially with her one year old brother Ben

Jasmin with a serious demonstration of the SATS Monitor

A close-up of the SATS Monitor (and the GSMVC Plaque)

Jasmin - this time with a smile on her face

Click on the thumbnail images for a detailed view

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