Community Choirs Concert Now 21 Years Old

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32116, 11 October 1969, Page 17

Community Choirs Concert Now 21 Years Old

The twenty-first Christchurch community choirs concert sponsored by the Christchurch Civie Music Council will be performed on October 16. One choir, the South Brighton Choral Society, has been in every concert since the first one in the Radiant Theatre, now the Repertory Theatre, on November 9,1949. With the South Brighton Choral Society in the first concert were the choirs of Hay’s, Ltd, the Addington Workshops W.E.A. and the Risingholme Community. The conductors were J. A. Ritchie, Albert N. Wilson, Clifton Cook and G. B. Couch. The other five choirs taking part this year will be the Addington Workshops Choir, the Aeolian Choir, the Christchurch Junior Choral Society, the Christchurch North Townswomen’s Guild Choir and the Somerfield Singers. The Addington Workshops Choir has taken part every year except 1955; the Hay’s, Ltd, Choir took part every year until 1964, being represented by the firm’s Junior Choir for the last six of those years; the Risingholme Choir has participated every year except this year- when it had other engagements for the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Risingholme Community Centre. The Aeolian Choir first took part in 1951 and has sung every year since. For three years the Christchurch area Federation of Townswomen’s Guilds was represented by the Somerfield Choir and later by the Christchurch North Guild Choir. In 1967, the Somerfield Guild

Choir became the Somerfield Singers under Mrs Myra Thomson. When the Hay's, Ltd, Junior Choir stopped taking part the gap was filled by the large Christchurch Junior Choral Society under George Martin. Conductors with long records with the various choirs are Mr E. Voyce (Aeolian Choir 1951 to 1969, except for 1965 when the choir was conducted by Mr C. Shaar); Mr Clifton Cook (Hay’s, Ltd, Choirs, 1949 to 1964 except for 1952, when Mr L. Harris took his place; and Mr A. Wilson (Risingholme Choir, 1949 to 1968, except for 1951 when Mr K. Newson conducted.) On two occasions the Christchurch Orchestral Society also took part in the concert, conducted by Mr F. John in 1956 and Mr S. Delany in 1960. During the 21 years many compositions by New Zealand composers have been sung, and many young pianists have gained experience from accompanying the various choirs. For a number of years the feature of the concerts was the final item of massed choirs, for which conductors have included Professor Vernon Griffiths, William Hawkey and Professor J. A. Ritchie. The number of choirs taking part in recent years has prohibited massed items. This year’s concert in the Caledonian Hall will include in the programme folk and traditional songs, madrigals, sea shanties, spirituals and the song cycle, “A Spring Garland,” by Eric Thiman, to words by English poets from Shakespeare to Robert Bridges.