Members of Colne Valley Male Voice Choir celebrated well-earned success at The Eskdale Festival of the Arts in Whitby at the weekend.
After months of hard work under the expert leadership of musical director Thom Meredith, around 50 of Colne Valley’s singers competed in three classes against fierce competition from across the region.
Singing a mix of sacred and popular music, including the festival’s set piece for the Male Voice Choir class ‘Do you hear the people sing?’ from world-famous musical Les Misérables, Colne Valley took home three prizes – 1st place in the Male Voice Choir class, and 2nd places in both the Sacred Music class and the Recital class.
“We couldn’t be happier with the result,” said Thom (below). “It was a pleasure to be part of such a wonderful festival and to enjoy performances from so many excellent choirs.
“The Colne Valley men have shown incredible dedication and commitment over the past few months, so it was great to see all our hard work pay off.”
Amongst those contributing to the success on stage were a dozen singers who recently joined after taking part in the choir’s ‘Let All Men Sing!’ initiative – a community choir project that encourages men with no musical experience to give singing a try.
Success at the Eskdale Festival tops a busy year for the new recruits, who have been diligently learning music in between concerts and growing in confidence week-on-week.
Fresh from success in Whitby, the choir returns to rehearsals in Slaithwaite, turning their attention to their next upcoming engagement – ‘Music & Memories’ at St John’s Church, Golcar, on May 12.
This special concert will showcase ‘The Keith Swallow Piano’, which was gifted to the choir following the passing of their legendary former accompanist last year.
Now, with new accompanist Christopher Pulleyn, the choir looks forward to delighting audiences with a mix of new music and old favourites as they continue their proud legacy of music-making in the Colne Valley.
For more details of CVMVC’s upcoming events, including the ‘Music & Memories’ concert, visit the choir’s facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/colnevalleymvc/
Main image by: Chris Wilson
