CREWE MALE VOICE CHOIR
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ABOUT US
Founded in 1957. The Crewe Male Voice Choir began with 18 members, many from the former Rolls Royce Merlin Singers. The autumn of that year saw their first concert. Now the choir regularly gives 12 or more concerts a year. Over the years the choir earned a reputation for polished performances in a wide range of musical styles. In past years it had considerable success in a number of competitions held at Blackpool, Morecombe, Llandudno, Chester the Wrekin and others. Today its main strength lies in concert performances. Highlights in the choir's history include organising the first Massed English Male Voice Choir Concert staged at the Royal Albert Hall in London, participating in the 500 Men concerts at the Free Trade Hall Manchester and with The World Choir - Ten Thousand Voices at Cardiff Arms Park in 1992 and 1993. Celebrities Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Dennis O'Neil and others sang on these occasions. The choir has also featured on BBC Radio and Television and has several recordings of items from its extensive repertoire. In 2007 the Choir released their first Cd - "Rhapsody in Crewe" see Records below. In the U.K. Crewe Male Voice Choir has performed at many venues throughout our home county of Cheshire, in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Wales and on the Isle of Wight. Further away the choir has undertaken overseas tours to France, Holland, Belgium and Germany. During their tour of Germany the Choir have established a firm friendship with the "Germania Chor" from Bischofsheim, one of Crewe's twinned towns. Over a period of 13 years the choirs have taken part in exchange visits and joint concerts. 2006 is the 15th Anniversary of the signing of the Twinning agreement with Bischofsheim. During April 2006 the choir travelled to Gibraltar as guests of the Band of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment. Their programme included two formal concerts. One a public concert in the King's Chapel in the city and also in local schools, restaurants and in the open air in the city's main square. During this week the choir managed to find time to fit in trips to Spain and Tangiers. The week was both a great success and a provided a wonderful time for the choir and their supporters who enjoyed the hospitality of the people of Gibraltar. In 2008 we visited Dzierzoniow situated in the Lower Silesia area of Poland. Having flown from Liverpool to Wroclaw we travelled by coach to meet our hosts at a civic reception at the Town Hall. Dzierzoniow is a delightful and picturesque little town. We soon found that the residents were also very friendly and welcoming. During our time there we visited the City of Wroclaw touring several of the many churches. Once again we were very impressed by the friendliness of everyone we met. On the Saturday we visited Swidnica to see the Wooden Church of Peace before continuing on to the Cathedral for the first of our Concerts. On the Sunday we were privileged to be invited to sing during Mass at the Church in Dzierzoniow. Following the Mass we gave our second concert to the congregation. Later on the same day we were invited to a Barbecue held on a sports arena adjacent to our hotel. On our last day we visited the mountainous area to tour the caves at Walim before returning to Dzierzoniow where we gave our final performance at the local cultural centre. Another wonderful experience for the choir members and their wives having made more friends whom we hope we shall meet again in the near future. During the year we performed several more concerts some in familiar venue and a couple to new audiences. On a more sombre note the choir lost one of it's longer serving members, Bernard Ashmore. Bernard had sung with the choir for longer than most can remember but also he served on the choir's committee. Not least as the Stage Manager. In his memory the choir performed at St. Peter's Church Crewe to a full house. Our year ended with a rush of several Christmas performances in Crewe, Nantwich and at Alvaston Hall Hotel.
In this year of 2009 we have performed nine concerts: Firstly at the Crewe Golf Club and the second at Marshfield Bank Community Centre. Two more concerts in Nantwich were in aid of the Air Ambulance and Cystic Fibrosis. These were followed by a concert held in St Michael's Church in Coppenhall, Crewe, which was performed jointly with Normid 2000 Brass Band and in September we sang in Wheelock in aid of St. Luke's Hospice. Our big one the Annual Concert was given at Crewe Lyceum Theatre in front of an almost full house. Our guests featured TV celebrity Denise Leigh along with Stephan Andrusychyn. Judging by comments after the concert the evening was a great success. In October we joined with Audlem Voices also conducted by Jenny Collis -Smith, for a concert in Audlem's Parish Church. Again the post concert comments were complementary. It is true to say that both choirs enjoyed the occasion and look forward to joining together again sometime in the future. Our final concert of the year to celebrate the coming of Christmas took place at Nantwich Methodist Church. The programme consisted entirely of carols and songs with a Christmas theme. In May we celebrated a very special birthday for our oldest member, Henry Curry who was 90 years of age. This is was held at the Plough, Eaton were we enjoyed a splendid meal and then sang a selection of pieces chosen by Henry. Congratulations to Henry and we look forward to celebrating your Centenary in 2019. It was with a great sense of loss, that we marked the death of our former accompanist and friend Norton Wardhaugh at the end of July. Norton's contribution and commitment to the choir were beyond measure. He will be sadly missed by members and all who knew him. May he rest in Peace. Later in the year we also said farewell to three more members, all were friends whom we shall miss greatly. They were Tony Sadler, Gordon Lester and Ken Sutton. May they Rest in Peace. And finally our year was brought to a close with a Christmas Party social evening in Crewe. This included a sumptuous buffet, a raffle and of course a sing song. 2010 is promising to be an exciting time for the choir and we would welcome new recruits. Any man who can sing in tune, enjoys the company and fellowship of other men and the enjoyment of singing would be most welcome to attend our practices. These are held on Monday evenings starting at 7.30pm. at the Crewe Library. We are looking for voices in each of the four parts so if you are interested why not come along, ask for Jenny, listen and then join in. The year started with regular practices on Monday evenings at Crewe library. Our first concert was at St. Mary's Church Nantwich with the Lions Youth Brass Band with the proceeds in aid of the church restoration appeal. Nest came what has become a regular on our calendar. That is our concert at Marshfield Bank Community Centre. Judging by the audience's response they enjoyed a programme of mixed music. The choir enjoy singing here and appreciate the refreshments that are so generously provided.
See the page "Concerts" for our future schedule.
Musical Director: Jenny Collis - Smith
Why not come along and listen to us ? You will be most welcome.
Accompanist: Ian Garner
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© Crewe Male Voice Choir Registered Charity : 1017441 Webmaster: Dennis Large Last edited 08/03/2010
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One of the pleasant surprises at the beginning of 2009 was that of being selected for an award of The Mayor's OSCARS for "The Best Performers of the Year 2009". The photograph shows the Mayor of Crewe & Nantwich presenting the Oscar to our Musical Director Jenny Collis-Smith . The awards were sponsored by Air Products. 
Chairman: Cliff Walker 
Crewe Male Voice Choir is funded by subscription and performance fees so we value the support of our audiences. We are also currently seeking the sponsorship by local companies. Coverage of the Choir's activities are provided by local radio and press. 
