News

CONCERT WITH BRAINTREE VOICES, THE CHURCH IN GREAT NOTLEY, 10 MAY 2025

In addition to taking over the male voice choir last year, Sue Edwards also formed a new female choir, Braintree Voices, and in May the two came together for their first joint concert with the theme of Songs from the Shows.

BMVC opened with a long-standing favourite, Rhythm of Life, and concluded with another favourite, Anthem, from Chess. In between there were less well-known numbers new to the choir, such as Stars, from Les Miserables, Go The Distance, and Tell My Father.

Braintree Voices also mixed the familiar with the less known, starting with I'm Gonna Wash That Man, from South Pacific, and moving through the seldom heard Seasons of Love and You Will Be Found before concluding with a new song arranged by Sue, Strawberries in the Spring.

The evening featured solos from Chris Webb and Anne May and concluded with the two choirs combining for Any Dream Will Do and Thank You for the Music

CHRISTMAS CONCERT WITH BOCKING CONCERT BRASS, THE CHURCH IN GREAT NOTLEY, 14 DECEMBER 2024

It was a new venue for the choir this Christmas, a new church in a recently developed part of the Braintree district.

It was the first concert since Sue Edwards took over as musical director but she invited Paul Smith, formerly MD of the Chelmsford Male Voice Choir, to act as the guest conductor.

Paul led the choir in a selection of seasonal and non-seasonal songs, including old favourite An American Trilogy and new favourite Shut Up and Dance.

BMVC were joined by Bocking Concert Brass, who performed a similar mix, from All That Jazz to Elbow's One Day Like This in the first half and Yuletide Rag to Festive Frenzy in the second.

MUSICAL DIRECTOR

The choir have appointed Sue Edwards as their new musical director following the departure of Thomas Duchan. Sue was the choir's accompanist for a number of years. She is currently the musical director for the Players Theatre Company in Southend, accompanist and deputy MD for Chelmsford Male Voice Choir, and MD for Great Waltham Village Choir. Her musical life has meant that she has been MD for various musical theatre groups and pantomime groups within Essex. She has also spent time conducting Bocking Concert Brass and is a member of the Selion Swing Band.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT, CHRIST CHURCH, BRAINTREE,

2 DECEMBER 2023

Lyons Hall Primary School choir made a return visit as guests at the annual Christmas concert.

The school gave an impressive performance of well chosen lesser known festive songs such as Stable Under a Star and Winter Carol as well as We Don't Talk About Bruno, from the Disney film Encanto and the unseasonal but always welcome Walking on Sunshine, the Katrina and the Waves hit from 1985.

Guest soloist Amy Buchanan, whose engagement to BMVC's musical director Thomas Duchan was announced shortly afterwards, also chose some lesser known numbers, including I Wonder as I Wander and O Can Ye Sew Cushions.

BMVC as usual mixed the traditional - Behold That Star and The Saviour's Come - with the more upbeat Jingle Bell Rock and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and finished with the amusing Christmas ... in Around Three Minutes and The Twelve Days After Christmas.

ST PAUL'S CHURCH, BRAINTREE, 28 OCT 2023

The choir joined Hedingham Singers for a concert at St Paul's Church, Hay Lane, Braintree, on 28 October.

The two choirs - both under the musical direction of Thomas Duchan - performed their own sets and combined for two joint numbers, the Beatles' With a Little Help from My Friends and a medley of the Jackson 5's I Want You Back and ABC.

Hedingham Singers included a selection of Bacharach and David songs, such at This Guy's in Love with You and Close To You while BMVC offered recent additions The Wellerman and Viva La Compagnie as well as old favourites When the Saints Go Marching In and What a Wonderful World.

ST MARY'S CHURCH, DUNMOW, 10 JUNE 2023

A new community choir, Dunmow Big Voices, invited the choir to join them in their first concert, held at St Mary's Church, Dunmow, on Saturday 10 June. n Also appearing were soprano Nancy May and the Great Dunmow Primary School choir

50th ANNIVERSARY CONCERT, 20 MAY 2023

The choir's 50th anniversary fell in the middle of the Covid lockdown so the planned celebration concert had to be held over to 2023. The event was held at Christ Church, Braintree, a familiar venue to the choir and its supporters. The chairman of the council, Andrew Hensman, was invited and spoke eloquently both before and after the concert - and was then found entertaining on the piano while the venue was being tidied up! Councillor John Baugh, who had given the choir a grant towards recruitment, also attended, along with two former musical directors, Elisabeth Miller and David Wood

The songs chosen reflected the 52 years since the choir's formation. They included old favourites such as Men of Harlech, Nessun Dorma and When the Saints Go Marching In, and then came up to date with I'm Still Standing, Higher and Higher and the most recent addition, Shut Up and Dance. By special request of Elisabeth Miller, We'll Gather Lilacs was also included.

In addition, solos were performed by Brian Bain, Chris Webb and Barry Young and Vince Horsman contributed a poem and a monologue, the poem being specially written for the occasion.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2022

The choir returned to Christ Church for the first time for some years for the 2022 Christmas concert, shared, also for the first time for a number of years, with Bocking Concert Brass

MARKET SQUARE 2022

The choir were invited to sing at Braintree Council's Christmas Community Event in the Market Square and earlier in George Yard.

JUBILATION CONCERT 2022

The choir joined with Hedingham Singers and the Essex Police Band to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 70-year jubilee at a concert in Halstead on 3 June.

The programme included songs in some way associated with the Queen, including those played at her wedding and coronation and others that were known to be favourites of hers.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2021

The choir returned to action after the Covid lay-off with a Christmas concert at St Michael's Church hall. Traditional Christmas favourites such as Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree, Joy to the World and Frosty the Snowman were well to the fore and we were joined by two young singers, Jenson and Elliot, who each did a solo spot and then joined for an arresting duet on Go Tell It On the Mountain.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT 2019

The choir's Christmas concert at Braintree Arts Theatre was shared with Notley Green Primary School in the afternoon and local jazz quartet, Midnight Oil, in the evening.

CONCERT WITH HEDINGHAM SINGERS

The choir's summer concert on 29 June 2019 was shared with Hedingham Singers at the Empire Theatre in Halstead, our first visit to the venue.

It was the first concert with our new musical director Thomas Duchan, who had also taken over the reins at Hedingham Singers and was therefore on stage throughout the evening.

The concert mixed the old and the new. The male voice choir included the sea shanty The Drummer and the Cook and Vaughan Williams’ arrangement of The Farmer’s Boy, as well as the Troggs’ Love Is All Around and Del Shannon’s Runaway.

Hedingham Singers’ set was taken from musicals and included A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman and the theme from The Godfather.

The choirs joined together for I Believe and Rhythm of Life.

ERNIE DAVIS 1944-2019

One of the choir’s basses, Ernie Davis, has died. He was 75 and had been with the choir for nearly eight years.

Ernie was born in Forest Gate, London E7, and moved to Witham as part of the London Overspill plan in September 1969. He remained in the same house for the rest of his life.

He first worked at Crittall Windows before moving to Lord Rayleigh’s dairies in Hatfield Peverel and later Unigate.

He and his wife Eileen had four sons, including the first child they looked after when they decided to become foster parents, who they decided to adopt.

Ernie was a keen runner in his youth and was still running up to a few years ago when he had a heart attack. He also enjoyed helping with his sons’ football matches as well as playing bingo in the Sun newspaper, where he once won a third share of £25,000.

Eileen died in 2010 and Ernie joined the male voice choir a couple of years later. He rarely missed a rehearsal or one of the choir’s weekend trips even though he had great difficulty walking in his later years.

The choir were very pleased and honoured to be asked to sing at his funeral.

MUSICAL DIRECTOR'S FINAL BOW

David Wood, who had been musical director of the choir for four years, retired after the April 5 concert at Bocking Village Hall.

The event was organised by his sister Anthea in aid of the Tabor Centre and in addition to the choir, also featured David and his brother Stephen, styling themselves ‘Steve and Dave’.

David performed four solo numbers, including Beyond the Sea and My Way, while Stephen played two piano solos, his own arrangements of Windmills of Your Mind and Alfie.

The Tabor Centre’s aim is to enable disabled members of the community to achieve a fulfilled life within their family and the local community.

6.4.19

CYRIL EATON 1934-2018

Cyril Eaton, one of the choir's second tenors, died in 2018.

Cyril had not been with the choir for long but had quickly built up friendships and livened many a rehearsal with his quick quips.

He was born on 24 October 1934 in Greater Manchester and lived in the area until he moved to Coggeshall in 2015. He worked in sales for Salford Electrical Industries, Texas Instruments and Sharp Electronics before he and his wife Barbara bought a newsagents, which they ran for six years, and later a greetings card and gift shop.

Cyril played both golf and crown green bowls and was also involved in amateur dramatics at his local church. He also sang in the Bolton Cancer Choir shortly before moving south and joining us in Braintree.

At his funeral, Cyril was described as ‘a colourful character who always saw the bright side of life. He was blessed with a very good sense of humour and enjoyed a joke.’ We saw that side of him during his time with BMVC. The vicar, the Rev Michael Child, added: ‘He was always extremely kind and generous. He was a wonderful man, a loving husband, dad and grandad and a loyal friend to those who were privileged in knowing him.'

FOUR CONCERTS IN NINE DAYS

With Eastwood Collieries Male Voice Choir

In a burst of spring-like activity, Braintree Male Voice Choir sang in four concerts in nine days.

Over the weekend of 5 and 6 May 2018, the choir were joined by Eastwood Collieries Male Voice Choir from Derbyshire, paying a return visit following the choir’s trip to Eastwood in 2016.

The common link was tenor Bernard Bonsor, who sang with Eastwood before moving south and singing for some years with the Braintree choir.

He has hung up his sheet music now, but was in the audience at the Sunday concert, where he was persuaded by his two sets of former colleagues to join them for a rousing finale of Morte Christe.

The Saturday concert was held at St Peter-ad-Vincula Church in Coggeshall, now a regular spring venue for the choir, but Sunday represented a departure from the norm, as the choirs headed to St Peter’s, Sudbury, for the first time.

There was some concern as to how many Sudbury folk would forsake the possibility of a barbecue in the back garden on a beautiful summery evening, but it was very gratifying that around 150 chose to do so.

Somerset

The following weekend, Braintree Male Voice Choir were the away team.

Just over half the members of the choir ventured southwestwards to join two local choirs for concerts in the Yeovil area.

On the Saturday evening, they were in East Coker, the village made famous in T S Eliot’s Four Quartets, where they joined the South Somerset Community Choir.

On the Sunday it was the turn of the Mill Singers to host a joint evening at the Milborne Port Parish Church.

Eyebrows were raised when it turned out that the Mill Singers’ uniform of red bow ties was identical to Braintree’s and there were suggestions that Braintree should invest in an away strip of blue ties….

Both evenings were again rounded off by singing in a local hostelry and by the news, announced by musical director David Wood during the evening, that Braintree Town had been promoted to the Vanarama National League.

Autumn Showcase At Shalford, October 2016

Photo by Sue Horsman

Posted on 18/10/2016 by Ron Fosker

Entitled Autumn Showcase, the evening mostly featured songs the choir had included in the May concert, but there was the added bonus of what David Wood joyously described as a 'world premiere'. It was his own arrangement of World In Union, the song from the Rugby World Cup 1991.

In addition to the choir numbers, Brian Bain sang the Mario Lanza song Be My Love, Ian Whiteside included two saxophone pieces, Vince Horsman entertained with his views of the choir in his alleged letter to his cousin while David Kelly took three songs out of the Flanders and Swan songbook, successfully encouraging the audience to join in with the ‘mud glorious mud’ chorus.

The choir’s two newest members, Cyril Eaton and Alex Reeve, both joined us on stage for the first time, in addition to Ian Hounslow, whose first appearance was in July at Shrub End, Colchester.

The evening was, in the words of the programme, ‘not only to raise funds towards new improvements in the church facilities but also to bring the community together’.

Mel Hodsdon 1950 – 2016

Posted on 18/10/2016 by Ron Fosker

The choir were deeply saddened to learn on the day of their concert at Bocking Village Hall in July of the death of baritone Mel Hodsdon.

Mel, who was 66, had been in the choir for more than ten years and for the past six years had been the choir’s press officer. As well as liaising with the local media, producing the design for the posters, flyers for concerts and compiling a regular newsletter, he contributed items on all choir events for this website.

Mel worked in the Home Office in London in policing and crime reduction areas before taking early retirement and then decided to take up singing again after 37 years. He had previously sung in his local church choir as a boy soprano, then with Wandworth School Choir and for a short time with the Westminster Abbey Special Choir. He sang with the school choir in St Paul’s Cathedral, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Westminster Abbey, Coventry Cathedral and even in the Oncertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Despite living with cancer for a number of years he was always positive and cheerful and will be much missed.

Spring Concert At Coggeshall, 2016

Posted on 20/05/2016 by Mel Hodsdon

Jazz Up Spring. St Peter And Vincula Church, Coggeshall with The Joy Ellis Trio. Saturday May 7

Church concert was a truly joyful experience

The jazz trio’s name echoed the mood of this concert, for it was truly joyful experience.

The Wild Mountain Thyme was an example of the new venue’s different acoustics. The church gave a delightfully softer sound to all parts of the choir and clarity to their words.

Stand-in accompanist, Philip Prior, was anything but temporary, in terms of his musicality. His Verdi trills were exquisite and he threw himself into the populist numbers with admirable verve.

Musical director, David Wood, deserves praise not only for his very accessible programme, but also for his conducting skills and arranging talents.

In ‘Trains and ‘Boats and Planes’ he modulated his singer’s voices to great effect. He liaised superbly with his guests too. Their joint encore was a unique gem.

Apropos the Joy Mitchell Trio Trio, their smooth sound made for superb easy listening. From Joy’s seductive voice and effortless piano playing, scatting and seguing with percussionist Adam Osmianski and Ryan Trebilcock on double bass, their contribution to this successful concert made their journey from London much appreciated.

Report by Pat Rudkins, Braintree and Witham Times

Men Sing Aloud Workshop – Saturday 13th February 2016

Posted on 20/02/2016 by Mel Hodsdon

This was planned as a workshop held in Braintree town centre which would hopefully attract new singers to join in with the choir and raise the profile of the choir locally. The workshop was well advertised in the local paper, the town centre and around the parishes. Many thanks go to Ian Whiteside, Bob Challis and Ernie Davis who braved the early morning chill from 6am to 8am to hand out leaflets at Braintree railway station on a bleak Monday morning.

The event was held in one of the elegant conference rooms of the Braintree Town Hall Centre. Both experienced singers and beginners had been invited to join with members of the choir to learn a selection of pop song arrangements, folk songs and songs from the shows. These included “Will ye go lassie go”, “Trains and boats and planes”, “Yesterday” and “You’ll never walk alone”. In a break from singing, Vince Horsman recounted one of the tales of Cousin Tom, a fictional member of the choir which produced a lot of laughter. The workshop involved two learning sessions with a break for refreshments in the middle and then at the end a short performance of everything that had been learnt.

It was a successful and well organised event which everyone enjoyed. Eight new singers joined the choir for the morning and we hope that a few of them might like to become permanent members of the choir.

Singing For Life Concert At The Cliffs Pavilion, Southend On Sea. Sunday 31st January 2016

Posted on 18/02/2016 by Mel Hodsdon

The only rehearsal of all the singers two weeks before the concert at the Tabor Academy in Braintree heralded the main event at the Cliffs Pavilion, Westcliff on Sea. Assembling and organising 200 singers was no mean feat. Well done to all those in Leigh Orpheus and Braintree Male Voice Choir who made all the arrangements.

“Singing For Life” was a major charity concert where the Leigh Orpheus was joined by the Braintree, St Edmundsbury and Thurrock Male Voice Choirs and the Elliott Weight Trio, with TV weatherman Francis Wilson as compère. What a treat on a winter’s afternoon! A major concert, aimed at making as much money as possible for Prostate Cancer UK, with an audience of about 1000.

Under the direction of their MD Janet Walker and with Jacky Atkinson accompanying, eighty members of the Leigh Orpheus started the concert with “Gwahoddiad”. They followed that with “Flying Free”, accompanied on the flute by Evan Davis, and “When The Saints Go Marching In” (the end of which always catches the audiences out!). Then “She” again with flute accompaniment and finally with the choir members appropriately equipped with pirate accessories, “The Song Of The Jolly Roger”.”

Next Braintree Male Voice Choir, conducted by David Wood accompanied by Sue Edwards, sang five pieces: “Down By The Sally Gardens”, “Nessun Dorma”, ” What A Wonderful World”, “Unchained Melody” and finally “I Write The Songs” which had been specially arranged for their 40th anniversary in 2011.

To end the first half of the concert, St Edmundsbury Male Voice Choir took to the stage, directed by Mark Jefferson accompanied by Calvin Goymer. They started with “Aberystwyth” followed by “Sure On This Shining Night”, “Angels” and finally “Mustang Sally”.

The interval gave a chance for the choirs and audience to take a break and for our dignitaries who had kindly joined us for the concert, to be hosted for their refreshments by the Leigh Orpheus’s President, Sir David Amess.

The second half of the concert involved all the performers from the four choirs, with the men from Thurrock Male Voice Choir joining the three that had performed in the first half. About 200 men were somehow fitted onto the stage.

What could be a more appropriate start for the Mass Choir than “Let All Men Sing”? This was followed by “Speed Your Journey” and “Softly As I a Leave You”. Mark Jefferson then conducted “My Lord What A Morning” with Calvin Goymer. Jan Walker returned to conduct “Morte Christe” before the choir took a break. The Elliott Weight Trio came on stage to change the mood and perform three jazz pieces.

Another major change of style followed as the Mass Choir started the next set with Faust’s “Soldier’s Chorus”, followed by “Every Time I Feel The Spirit” and” Some Enchanted Evening”, conducted by Braintree’s David Wood accompanied by Sue Edwards.

Then it was time for the Mass Choir’s final set. They sang ‘Rhythm Of Life’ skilfully accompanied on the piano, four-handed, by Mark Jefferson and Calvin Goymer and the final piece on the programme “With A Voice Of Singing” and it’s rousing “Hallelujah” ended the show.

The concert had been staged to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK and Ian Adamson, representing the charity, talked to the audience about the work of this important charity – especially important to many of the men on the stage, and in the audience of course.

Compere Francis Wilson took to the microphone to undertake the important task of the thanks. Firstly to the three accompanists, including Jacky Atkinson who had not only accompanied the Leigh Orpheus in the first half of the concert but had also accompanied the majority of the pieces in the second half. Then the Braintree and St Edmundsbury Musical Directors, Mark Jefferson and David Wood, and finally, to even greater applause, the Leigh Orpheus’s Musical Director, who had conducted the majority of the concert, Janet Walker.

Francis had done a fine job for us (as it turned out, outside of his comfort zone of cameras and auto cues) and the Leigh Orpheus’s Chairman, Martin Wood, presented Francis with a gift to thank him for his support for the cause and excellent compering.

The audience weren’t going home without hearing more and there was, luckily one more piece to come – again, for choir members, so appropriate – “What Would I Do Without My Music”.

The concert was a huge success with many saying that they would have liked it to have gone on for much longer. But, there was an additional success to come! As they left, our very generous audience put not only loose change, but £5, £10, and £20 notes into the buckets LOMVC’s had at the ready. The amount raised from this bucket collection? An amazing £1453!! This will be added to the money already previously raised by Leigh Orpheus, along with the proceeds of the concert itself. That promises to be an impressive sum of money to be sent to Prostate UK for it’s important work.

Many thanks to everyone who in any way helped to make this concert such a huge success, not forgetting the ladies of BMVC, Sue, Beryl, Jenny and Jean who organised the refreshments on the day for so many thirsty singers.

(This is an edited version of the report supplied by Leigh Orpheus Male Voice Choir for which we thank them)

Comments from BMVC members

“It was a great and exciting experience to sing in such a place like the Cliffs Pavilion with so many singers – it was exhilarating!

“Excellent concert yesterday. The choir whilst relatively small particularly on such a huge stage acquitted themselves well and our songs were really enjoyed by the audience. Nessun Dorma attracted particularly rapturous applause with someone even crying out Bravo!”

“Went very well. Most noticeable was our singing quality and our choice of moving and passionate pieces.”

“A long day but worth it for a great evening’s performance”

Golden Oldies (Goldies In Essex) Afternoon ‘Big Sing’ – Saturday 17th October 2015

Posted on 05/11/2015 by Mel Hodsdon

Wow – this was an afternoon to remember. The Goldies charity representative in Braintree, Rob Cadman, had approached the choir to join in with their ‘Big Sing’. I don’t think any of us realised how such an upbeat event this would be.

The Charity was started in the West of England by Grenville Jones, who is also MD of the City of Bath Male Choir and other choirs in Bath, and has now spread across England and Wales. What an energetic pair Rob and Grenville Jones turned out to be. As well as organising ‘Big Sings’, regular singing, smile and activity sessions are held locally. They are aimed at older, lonely and isolated people. In Braintree Goldies works in partnership with Greenfields Community Housing and this event was also supported by local Lions and Rotary Clubs. The wider charity is supported by the Lottery and the Fowler and Smith Trust.

Over 100 people turned up for our ‘Big Sing’ and more chairs had to be put out to accommodate everyone. The Goldies have their own Songbook, consisting of the top 20 songs voted on by those who take part in the sessions. These range from ‘Summer Holiday’ by Cliff Richard to ‘Dancing Queen’ by Abba. The afternoon started with ‘Summer Holiday’ sung by everyone – actions and dancing were encouraged throughout the afternoon. A great warm-up for the male voice choir. Everyone also joined in with ‘Delilah’, Bring Me Sunshine’ and ‘Que Sera Sera’.

The Choir had two sessions interspersed with sessions with the Goldies. The Choir’s favourites obviously hit the right note with the Goldies because they joined in with them as well. Favourites such as ‘Nessun Dorma’. ‘I write the Songs’, ‘Unchanged Melody’ and ‘What a Wonderful World’ were well liked.y

A particular highlight of the Goldies was ‘I am the Music Man’ by Black Lace as this included lots of actions which the choir jopined in with as well – including “clap your hands in the air”, “play the piano”, “play the bagpipes” and play the Dambusters”. There was a good selection of sandwiches, cakes and drinks for the break and, by the time it came for the end of the Big Sing, everyone felt that it had been a really fun afternoon which had lifted everyone’s spirits. If you get a chance to go along to one of these events in the future – don’t miss it.

Photography by Jackie Kelly

Colchester Military Wives Choir And Braintree Male Voice Choir Raising Money For Charity – October 2015

From left to right The Mayor of Colchester, Councillor Theresa Higgins, Sally Leung, MD of Colchester Military Wives Choir, David Wood, MD of Braintree Male Voice Choir, Graham Thornton, President of Rotary Club of Colchester Trinity, Ian Dewis of Braintree Male Voice Choir and Liz Mullen, Compere and radio and TV broadcaster

Posted on 01/11/2015 by Mel Hodsdon

Musical cooperation hit a high note at an inter-choir event in Colchester on the evening of Saturday 24th October. The ladies of the Military Wives Choir (CMWC) joined with Braintree Male Voice Choir (BMVC) in providing a memorable evening of musical harmony, titled ‘It’s a Grand Night for Singing’.

Presented by Colchester Rotary Club (Trinity) whose District Governor and Assistant Governor, Mr and Mrs Terry Dean attended, the concert took place in St Botolph’s Church. Held to support the Colchester Cancer Centre the campaign chairman, Sir John Ashworth attended as did the mayor of Colchester Theresa Higgins and her husband Professor Peter Higgins.

In front of an audience of over 350 Liz Mullen of Garrison FM/BFBS cheerfully hosted the evening. Liz was ably assisted by the two musical directors Sally Cheung (CMWC) and David Wood (BMVC). Sally and David had supported Braintree MVC’s Ian Dewis in developing the evening’s programme.

The combined choirs raised the rafters straight away by singing the evening’s title song ‘It’s a Grand Night for Singing’ – a taste of things to come.

The ladies started their part of the evening evocatively with Sting’s ‘Fields of Gold’ followed by ‘Skyfall’, made famous by Adele and a certain Mr J Bond, esquire.

In their part of the programme Braintree’s singing of ‘Bring Him Home’, from Les Miserables was extremely moving and caused a few wet eyes in the house. The Colchester ladies’ rendition of Bette Midler’s ‘The Rose’ was beautifully sung with the melody moving across the choir like a fresh Autumn breeze.

The two choirs joined in the complex combined piece ‘Ave Maria’ and ‘I Believe’. This was challenging but showed how well the two choirs work together.

This evening was brought to a close in an appropriate manner with an encore met with ‘Thank You for the Music’. An apt finish which the audience could well have echoed!

Afterwards Liz Mullen said that she felt it was “a huge privilege to hear the Braintree Male Voice Choir not just on their own but in conjunction with our own Colchester Military Wives Choir”. Speaking for the Colchester cancer centre Sir John Ashworth said that it was a most heart-warming and energising boost to the campaign.

Finally the audience trailed away into the night feeling uplifted but wanting more. Something which both choirs should delight in!

Report by Vince Horsman. Photography by John Williams of Redwood Photographic, Colchester

Great Notley Singing Songs From The West End – 10th October

Ron Fosker

Posted on 15/10/2015 by Mel Hodsdon

The choir had been asked via Ranleigh Attwood, one of our basses, to put on a concert to raise funds for Marie Curie. His daughter was one of the members of the Braintree Fund Raising Group for the charity.

With Sue Edwards at the piano and David Wood in charge, the choir assembled in the modern community centre at the heart of Great Notley. The choir opened the concert with a Rodgers and Hammerstein number “It’s Grand Night for Singing” and the first set ended with everyone’s favourite, “Nessun Dorma”. The choir had a short rest whilst Ron Fosker stepped up as the first surprise solo item and sang one of Nat King Cole’s songs “Let There Be Love” which was very well received by the audience.

The choir’s second set of songs included two from Les Miserables” “I Dreamed A Dream” and “Bring Him Home” and finished with “Anthem” from the musical Chess. This was the first time that the choir had performed the latter two songs and they led us nicely into the interval. There was a good array of light refreshments for everyone, as well as a chance to win prizes in the raffle and tombola.

Suitably refreshed, the choir began the second half with “Rhythm Of Life” (a choir favourite) from Sweet Charity and ended with a medley of songs from “Oliver”. The second surprise solo item turned out to be Ran Attwood who sang one of his daughter’s favourite songs from Les Miserables: Javert’s song, “Stars”. He gave an emotional performance and rightly received a huge round of applause – not a dry eye in the house.

The final set by the choir included “Speed Your Journey” from Nabucco by Verdi – another first, in recent years, for the choir and ended with “Bui Doi” from Miss Saigon and “I Write The Songs” of Barry Manilow fame.

Another very successful evening’s concert and we learnt that almost £600 was raised for the Marie Curie charity. If you would like to join the Braintree Fundraising Group, contact Debbie on 07973734878.

Goodbye To Barrie

Posted on 14/08/2015 by Mel Hodsdon

Many of the choir said goodbye to Barrie at his funeral at the Three Counties Crematorium on Tuesday 21st July 2015′

Thanks to Brian Bain for his following memories of Barrie:

“Barrie (Willy) Watkins left school in the early 1950s and I knew him from about this time. He helped out at Doves the Bakers in Bocking and made cakes and iced wedding cakes – there was no end to his talents! He then joined the army, based for a time in Gibraltar, serving until 1960 when he worked in a local plastics factory. After that he joined the building trade which is where he had a bad accident falling off scaffolding and breaking both feet.

Barrie joined the choir in the mid to late 1990s and had a powerful baritone voice. He was certainly a ‘powerhouse’ for the choir and performed solo pieces on occasions. Underneath all the fun, he was a great supporter of the choir and over the years sold hundreds of tickets for our concerts. He used to take part in the local voluntary scheme picking up elderly and infirm Braintree residents and transporting them around and he would never miss an opportunity to sell his passengers concert tickets. He was a good drummer for a group in which I was the lead vocalist and went round playing in local pubs. Barrie did a superb impression of Billy Eckstein and he used to do a lot of karaoke – one of his favourites being ‘Chantilly Lace'”.

Barrie was a one-off and always full of fun. I am sure that those who have been in the choir a long time will have many great memories of his exploits.

I remember Barrie as a great joker – he always had us in fits of laughter and often got us into trouble with the MD. He even made the MD laugh sometimes. He always lightened up any situation, no matter how serious or how difficult the occasion was. When I first joined, Barrie, as the Choir’s Uniform Manager, soon had me fitted out with all the necessary clothing which he did extremely efficiently.

At a very emotional meeting earlier this year, Barrie arrived at the start of a rehearsal and explained to everyone what was wrong with him and how he planned to spend his remaining days up to the end of his life. I can’t begin to think how much courage and bravery it took to do something like that in front of the whole choir. What a guy!

We all miss him deeply – there will never be another Barrie.

We intend to hold a concert next year dedicated to Barrie and hopefully include some of his favourite songs.

Concert All Saint’s Church, Shrub End, Saturday 11th July 2015

Posted on 24/07/2015 by Mel Hodsdon

The choir was welcomed to this attractive little Victorian Colchester church by the vicar and chairman of the local church friends committee. The church was well filled with a friendly and appreciative audience.

MD David Wood’s introduction included an explanation that although entitled “Music from the Shows” our offering would include a broader although equally enjoyable selection.

We started by raising the roof with a lively “De Animals are A’comin” followed by a vigorous “Viva Tutti”. We followed this energetic kick off with the rest of our summer programme.

John Walker amused the gathering with his Stanley Holloway monologue “Three Ha’pence a Foot” detailing the relationship between Noah and his local timber merchant.

During the interval tasty refreshments were provided for the choir by the church and were much appreciated. When the programme resumed we started with a rousing rendition of “Morte Christe”. Half way through the second half David Wood reprised the “Master Singer’s Weather Forecast” much to everyone’s amusement.

Finally David led the audience in applauding Hilary Morgan for her splendid accompaniment. All in all an excellent final concert of the season in front of a good natured crowd.

This report was written by Vince Horsman and photos taken by his wife Sue as Mel Hodsdon was away.

‘ Make A Cheerful Noise’ Concert At St Peter’s Church, Bocking, Saturday 13th June

Posted on 01/07/2015 by Mel Hodsdon

The choir took part in another successful concert with the St Peter’s 16 and special guest Stephen Wood who provided us with some superb piano playing. His pieces included a Medley from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story and the Waltz from Khachaturian’s Masquerade.

St Peter’s 16 sang some truly harmonic pieces such as ‘O Radiant Dawn’, Song of Mary’ and Howard Goodall’s ‘Love Divine’. The male voice choir brought out some favourite songs from it’s repertoire including ‘Unchained Melody’, ‘I Write the Songs’, and ‘Bui Doi’ and sang nearly half it’s pieces without music – a big step forward. Both choirs sounded wonderful in the fantastic acoustics of St Peter’s Church.

Both choirs joined together to perform ‘Hallelujah’, the final chorus from Purcell’s ‘Oh Gog, thou art my God’. The evening was rounded off with the audience joining both choirs to sing ‘Jerusalem’. A very good size audience and hopefully a good sum raised for church funds.

‘Sing And Swing’ Concert On 9th May 2015

Posted on 02/06/2015 by Mel Hodsdon

This was the first concert with David Wood as our Musical Director. He had taken over as MD at quite short notice at the beginning of April. He is a long standing member of the choir and has much experience as a conductor and in music generally. The Sweeting Swing Band joined us for the concert and provided some lively numbers’

For once the weather was kind to us and the audience turn-out was good, although there were some empty seats at the back. The choir sang a number of pieces which were new to the repertoire, such as ‘De Animals a-Coming’ (a spiritual and comic piece about Noah’s Ark), ‘Plaisir D’Amour’ (a classical French love-song) and ‘Blowing In The Wind’ (written and made famous by Bob Dylan)’. These were in addition to favourites such as, ‘Unchained Melody’, ‘Bui Doi’ and ‘Nessun Dorma’.

The Band played some popular numbers, for instance: ‘Big Spender’, ‘Mr Blue Sky’, ‘Skyfall’, ‘Music’ by John Miles and a big hit with the audience and choir, Status Quo’s ‘Rockin All Over The World’. Although a smaller group than some bands, they produced a big sound and were well received by the audience.

A very enjoyable evening for everyone.

Want to hear more of the Choir or missed out on the last concert – then come to St Peter’s |Church, St Peter’s Road, off Bocking End in Braintree on 13th June at 7.30pm when the choir will be performing in a summer concert of choral and piano music “MAKE A CHEERFUL NOISE”‘ also, clear your diary for Saturday 24th October, 7.30pm at St Botolph’s Church, Colchester when the choir will be singing with and alongside the Colchester Military Wives Choir in aid of the Colchester Cancer Centre Campaign.

Hear The Music

The choir recently performed at St Botolph’s Church, and a video sample of the event can be viewed below. The performance was recorded by William Leung.

Our new CD has now been released to celebrate the choir’s 40th Anniversary. Amongst a number of well known favourites and songs performed in the early days of the choir, there is a piece written especially for our Anniversary celebration by Andrew Goddard – “I Write The Songs” originally sung by Barry Manilow.

1. When The Saints Go Marching In – Traditional. Arr Denys Hood

2. Over The Rainbow – Arlen & Harburg. Arr Mark Hayes

3. Delilah – Reed & Mason. Arr Goff Richards

4. What A Wonderful World – Weiss & Thiele. Arr Gwyn Arch

5. Ave Maria – Caccini. Arr Alwyn Humphreys

6. Bui Doi – Boubil & Schonberg. Arr John Trent Wallace

7. The Boar’s Head Carol – Traditional. Arr Alice Parker and Robert Shaw

8. Do You Hear What I Hear? – Regney & Shayne. Arr Harry Simeone

9. I Write The Songs – Johnston. Arr Andrew Goddard

10. She – Aznavore & Kretzmer. Arr Alan Simmons

11. The Fishermen Of England – Dodson & Phillips. Arr Montague F. Phillips

12. Softly As I Leave You – De Vita & Shaper. Arr Alan Simmons

13. Irish Blessing – Traditional. Arr Andrew Goddard

Please contact Richard Sillett on 01376 584092 if you would like to buy a copy of the CD, priced at £5 each. He will confirm the total cost including postage and packing. Copies will also be available at each of our concerts. See the diary page.