Choir History

The first 50 years: the following article was published in the magazine of the National Association of Choirs in 2017.

A Golden Summer of Song

One night in 1967, a group of men dressed in smocks, gaiters and fake beards, gathered together at Newchurch village concert to make music and entertain at their first ever public performance. Calling themselves the Hart’s Ash Male Voice Choir, they were men from the local area who were drawn together through a shared passion for song and general companionship. Fifty years later, and the name may have changed and the smocks may be long gone, but the members of Newchurch Male Voice Choir still entertain, albeit in a slightly more serious manner. This summer, to celebrate their Golden Jubilee, they are holding a special concert at Medina Theatre.

The ‘Golden Jubilee Serenade’ on Wednesday 16th August (7pm) will include songs sung by the choir over the last fifty years, from popular favourites such as Rhythm of Life to more traditional numbers such as Morte Criste. Joining the choir will be a variety of Island guest artistes, including First Act Theatre, violinist Nancy Filby-Borrett and soprano Harley Mackness.

Throughout its fifty year history the choir is proud to have raised tens of thousands of pounds for various charities including the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, RNLI, Action on Hearing Loss, IW Society for the Blind and many more, with several of the causes having a personal connection to members. It has also produced two albums, the second of which marked the 40th anniversary, and members even found their ‘inner festival goer’ by performing on the main stage at Bestival in 2009. The choir has been lucky enough to be invited to sing with Aled Jones at the Isle of Arts Festival in Ventnor, and can even claim to be the first non-Cornish choir to have performed at the Eden Project.

As well as singing at a range of venues across the Island, the choir has toured to various places around the country and sung with a host of visiting choirs. It has had the privilege of performing in such venues as Bath Abbey, Christchurch Priory and Winchester Cathedral, and has given concerts on the Island with choirs from Wales, Cornwall and even Australia.

In the summer of 2001 Roy Bevan, who has been a member of the choir since 1982, agreed to act as the choir’s ‘caretaker’ conductor until a ‘proper’ MD could be found; he is still ‘caretaking’! Since 2015 the choir has been very fortunate to have the wonderfully talented Cate Clark as its accompanist.

As an indication of its popularity, the choir’s numbers have increased considerably from about a dozen in the early years to around three times that number today, and new members from across the Island are always welcomed. The repertoire ranges from traditional male voice songs, some sung in Welsh, through numbers from the musicals, old and new, to modern pieces such as New York, New York, and You are so beautiful / The wind beneath my wings. There is no requirement to be able to read music or have any previous singing experience, just a willingness to join together with a friendly bunch of people to produce a vaguely tuneful sound each Friday night. Fake beards are optional….