Swindon Male Voice Choir

Swindon Male Voice Choir has had a very successful charity fund raising month to close the choir’s season. In the final three concerts of the Choir’s year, it has helped to raise an amazing £12000 for very worthwhile charities.

The first event staged at Swindon’s Oasis Leisure Centre on 19th June was specially staged to support ‘Help for Heroes’. 47 Swindon Male Voice Choristers, with the Band of the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (The REME Band), under their Director of Music Captain Richard Watterson entertained an audience of about 700 who, judging by their reaction, really enjoyed the concert. Highlights included performances by 14 year old Alice More, when with the choir she enchanted the audience with an arrangement of ‘Hero’ – as made famous by Mariah Carey, and ‘On My Own’ from Les Miserables. The Band’s demonstrated superb musicianship with sensitivity as the Choir and Band presented a moving arrangement of ‘Hymn to the Fallen’ from the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’.

The evening was all to generate funds to support ‘Help for Heroes’, enabling the Choir and Band to present a cheque for £5000.

Photograph by Graham Palmer (SMVC)
SMVC and The REME Band - Help for Heroes Concert 19th June 2010

The last two concerts of the choir’s season were performed during a ‘mini-tour’ of Ireland between the 16th and 19th of July 2010. After an early Friday morning start from Swindon, the journey to Wexford, Ireland was slow, taking 3 hours to get to the west of Bristol as the M4 was closed due to an accident! However we reached Fishguard in time to board our ferry for Rosslare and we arrived at the delightful Slaney Manor Hotel with 20 minutes to get changed and ready for our first concert.

This concert was performed at Kinsella Castle, a unique reconstruction on the site where a twelfth century Norman Castle once stood in the grounds of Slaney Manor Hotel. Our hosts for this concert were members of Wexford Male Voice Choir, and what a lovely friendly choir!

A large and enthusiastic audience was entertained by our choir, together with our hosts for the evening the Wexford Male Voice Choir and the Glentree Traditional Group of Musicians. It was during the concert we learned about ‘Ish Time’ ie. the Concert will start at 8 ‘ish’ in fact it started at about 8.20 pm ‘ish’ which meant that everybody who turned up late ‘ish’ had a seat! The quality of the singing by both Choirs was of a very high standard and the Glentree Musicians captivated us with a foot tapping selection of Irish Music. The Concert ended with two joint items when the 70 choristers of Swindon and Wexford sang ‘Speed your Journey’ – conducted by Greg Currid and ‘An American Trilogy’ conducted by Max, all to rapturous applause and a standing ovation to end a memorable evening. The concert was in aid of the Cottage Autism Network Wexford and 3500 Euros (about £2900) was raised on the night.

Photograph courtesy of Wexford Male Voice Choir
SMVC and the Wexford Male Voice Choir ready for the first combined item and no time for a rehearsal!

On Saturday we travelled to Dublin via Wicklow and Bray. At Bray our Director of Music - Max Brockman-More and Bass 2 - Terry Morris, were interviewed on a local radio station to promote the evening concert supporting the Children’s University Hospital in Dublin. We were able to listen to the interview on the coach and were pleased with the publicity the radio station was able to give to both our choir and to the concert.

This concert was held to raise funds for the Radiography Department of the Children’s University Hospital in Dublin. Providing the entertainment in addition to our choir were The Lambay Singers from County Dublin and four members of ‘Damsha’, an Irish Group of professional dancers. A large audience appreciated the contrasting entertainment provided for them. On the night the concert had raised about 3500 Euros on the night but with other subsequent donations, 5400 Euros (near to £4500) has been raised to date.

So after a hectic couple of days we were able were able to have a Dublin sightseeing day on Sunday and we travelled back to Swindon on Monday ready for our summer break.

The next choir open rehearsal is on Monday 13th September 2010 and will be held in the:
Function Room, New Century Club, Gorse Hill, Swindon SN2 8BU.
Monday evenings – 7.30pm to 9.30pm
New members are most warmly welcome.
Contact: Gordon Smith – 01793 822495

Brian Routledge Chairman of SMVC

Useful Weblinks:
Wexford Male Voice Choir	http://www.wmvc.net/
Damsha	http://www.damhsa.ie/
Cottage Autism Network, Wexford	http://cottageautismnetwork.blogspot.com/
Children’s University Hospital	http://www.templestreet.ie/
Slaney Manor Hotel, Wexford	http://www.slaneymanor.ie

On Saturday 31^st October at the Royal Albert Hall, Swindon , the eighth Festival of Brass and Voices 2009 was staged. This Festival, staged every three years is dedicated to support of Cancer Research UK , and the target for fundraising from this Festival for 2009 is £100,000. Swindon Male Voice Choir has had a very successful charity fund raising month to close the choir’s season. In the final three concerts of the Choir’s year, it has helped to raise an amazing £12000 for very worthwhile charities.The first event staged at Swindon’s Oasis Leisure Centre on 19th June was specially staged to support ‘Help for Heroes’. 47 Swindon Male Voice Choristers, with the Band of the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (The REME Band), under their Director of Music Captain Richard Watterson entertained an audience of about 700 who, judging by their reaction, really enjoyed the concert. Highlights included performances by 14 year old Alice More, when with the choir she enchanted the audience with an arrangement of ‘Hero’ – as made famous by Mariah Carey, and ‘On My Own’ from Les Miserables. The Band’s demonstrated superb musicianship with sensitivity as the Choir and Band presented a moving arrangement of ‘Hymn to the Fallen’ from the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’.The evening was all to generate funds to support ‘Help for Heroes’, enabling the Choir and Band to present a cheque for £5000.

Featuring Male and Female choirs drawn from across the UK , a total of almost 1600 ‘Voices’ gathered for the Festival. The renowned Brighouse and Rastrick and Grimethorpe Bands provided the ‘Brass’ input to the Festival.

Swindon Male Voice Choir (SMVC) and Thamesdown Ladies Choir (TLC) were very proud to be invited to participate in the 2009 Festival, and have worked hard over the past year to learn the music for the occasion to give their support to the fund raising effort for Cancer Research UK .

As reported to your offices (September 27^th) on 27^th September 2009 SMVC and TLC staged the South of England rehearsal for this concert at Grange Community Centre with 460 singers travelling from Cornwall in the West, Kent in the East, and the West Midlands in the North to rehearse and practice for this unique event. The choirs were able to familiarise with singing in such large number and were able to gain a feeling of the exceptional choral event that was to follow at the Royal Albert Hall.

made their way to London , entirely at their own expense, and met for full and final rehearsal at 10.00 am on Saturday morning. The Royal Albert Hall is an exciting choral venue, one of those places where a singer would strive to be able to perform – second only to the Sydney Opera House! It is almost impossible to describe the emotion of being part of a choir of 1600 voices as you start to sing the very first item of the day. An immense moment for every person on stage, one which SMVC and TLC will remember for a lifetime.

Rehearsals for such events are hard and this was no exception! Joined by the combined bands later in the morning, there were some ‘wobbly’ moments for us all. However under good choral and musical direction these moments were rehearsed ready for the evening concert.

The evening concert saw a complete sell out of the Royal Albert Hall. The atmosphere of anticipation was ‘electric’ and it was a wonderful moment when the choirs, bands, and the Royal Albert Hall Organ started the concert together. An amazing sound!! No other description fits. The music for the choirs included such pieces as ‘With a Voice of Singing’; Mendelssohn’s ‘Lift Thine eyes to the Mountains’; Mozart’s ‘Gloria’ from Twelth Mass; Handel’s ‘Hallelujah Chorus’; ‘My Guy’; ‘Didn’t it Rain’; and many more – even the choirs whistling as the bands played ‘Colonel Bogey’! The performances were of the very best and will leave lasting memories for every participant.

The Festival never lost sight of the commitment to Cancer Research UK , and a most poignant moment of the night was the singing of the well known hymn ‘Deep Harmony’ with a ‘Twinkler’ tribute to the memories of those who have lost the fight against cancer. Every person in the Royal Albert Hall had paid an extra £2 to buy a ‘Twinkler’ lapel badge and it was the ‘Twinklers’ that gave light as the singing of ‘Deep Harmony’ came to an end in total darkness. A very emotional and moving tribute indeed.

The Festival ended in very upbeat mood in true ‘Last Night of the Proms’ style with everyone in the Royal Albert Hall on their feet and singing ‘ Land of Hope and Glory’. A brilliant end to a first class Festival of Brass and Voices 2009!

Members of SMVC and TLC are still ‘walking on clouds’ – such was the emotion and excitement generated by taking part in this very special Festival.

SMVC and TLC very proudly stood with 65 other excellent choirs and sang their very best, working with two of the UK ’s very best Brass Bands. Swindon ’s name was held high, and even received special mention in the concert programme in tribute to the choir providing the facility and organisation for the South of England rehearsal – an immense task in its own right.

Approximately 500 of the choristers who stayed overnight in London , gather at Covent Garden at lunchtime today and gave another 45 minute performance to the amazement and delight of a very busy Covent Garden Market. A brilliant end to a highly rewarding weekend for SMVC and TLC.