TOP CHESTER CHOIR HONOURED BY THE QUEEN

One of Chester's top choirs has been honoured by Her Majesty The Queen as it celebrated a major milestone with a gala concert at Chester Cathedral.

Members of Chester Male Voice Choir, under the musical direction of conductor Rodney T Jones with accompanist Helen Jackson, were joined in the historic surroundings of Chester Cathedral for the concert by special guests, current National Brass Band Champions, the world renowned Foden's Band and their Musical Director Michael Fowles as they celebrated the choir's 80th Anniversary.

The Choir, originally formed in 1941 as the Cestrian Male Voice Choir by Fred Warren had planned to stage the celebratory event last year but it had to be delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions. 

The evening was compered by the President of Chester Male Voice Choir, Matt Baker BEM. Principal guests included The Lord Mayor of Chester, Cllr. John Leather. The idea of staging the special concert was originally instigated by the late Mike Heathcote prior to lockdown but Mike who had been a member of the choir for 50 years sadly passed away in 2020. 

The concert, which opened with the choir performing a special arrangement of The National Anthem in honour of The Queens Platinum Jubilee, included a variety of popular music from both the choir and band including Bring Him Home From "Les Misérables", Anthem from "Chess", The March from the Pines of Rome, Benedictus, I'll Walk With God and Bohemian Rhapsody. A special finale saw Chester Male Voice Choir combine with Foden's Band to perform Speed Your Journey from "Nabucco" and Morte Criste, much to the delight of the large, appreciative audience who had crowded in to the Cathedral for the special occasion. 

During the evening, Compere Matt Baker read out a special letter which had been received by the Choir from Buckingham Palace, sent on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen in which Her Majesty sent her congratulations to the choir on the occasion of their 80^th Anniversary and sent them her very best wishes during their milestone year. The choir were also honoured recently when members of the bellringing teams from Chester Cathedral and St Mary's-without-the-walls church Handbridge performed a special "Quarter Peal" at Chester Cathedral to mark the special anniversary.

A special commemorative souvenir programme produced by the choir's Events Secretary John Walsh in conjunction with Majestic Publications was on sale during the evening with a grand total of £550 being raised and split between Claire House Hospice and The Clatterbridge Cancer Charity.

Speaking about the concert and celebrating 80 years, Chair of the choir Blair Wilson said "The Anniversary Concert in Chester Cathedral was a special and memorable occasion. We are delighted to be celebrating 80 years of the choir’s history and recognising the work of so many people over that time in making the choir such a success.  The choir has such a rich history and to be able to perform the concert to celebrate that history was an honour for all our current members and music team, to whom we are extremely grateful. To be able to share the occasion with Foden’s Band was truly amazing and to hear music from both the choir and the band fill the Cathedral was wonderful.  We had such a wonderful audience, this was certainly a concert we will never forget. Our thanks go also to our President, Matt Baker, who agreed to compere this concert and in his usual charismatic way, was magnificent.  We were pleased to be able to donate all of the money from the concert programmes to Clatterbridge Cancer Charity and Claire House, charities which are close to many of our hearts."

Choir President Matt Baker said "As president of The Chester Male Voice choir it was a total privilege to compere such an occasion in which the choir celebrated an incredible milestone in their ongoing journey. Moreover, the performance was brilliant, and their choice of guest performers in the Foden's Band was an absolute treat. I was mesmerised by the band; their music was breath-taking and a perfect compliment to the superb singing."

Chester Male Voice is always looking to welcome new members to swell its ranks and anyone interested in joining them can learn more via their website:

www.chestermalevoice.com 

...where details of future concerts and events can also be found.

Pictured -Chester Male Voice Choir with Musical Director Rodney T Jones during the choir's 80th Anniversary concert at Chester Cathedral.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    (Will Hay/W777 Photography)