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History of Dursley Male
Voice Choir
The Dursley Male
Voice Choir in its present form was founded in November 1978 and has
grown from 18 to over 80 members. It has been successful in competitions
on the BBC and HTV, in the UK and in Germany.
The Choir performs between 12 and 15 concerts each year, the majority of
them for charity. Some memorable concerts were those in Ireland as
visitors to the Cork Festival and in Germany when competing at the
Harmonic Festival Limburg. The Choir has performed with bands of The
Grenadier Guards, The Royal Marines and The Army Air Corps in Gloucester
Cathedral and Cheltenham Town Hall.
October 2004: The Choir joined 800 Choristers in The London Welsh
Male Voice Festival at The Royal Albert Hall, London
Christmas 2003: The Choir celebrated its Silver Jubilee with a concert
of Seasonal music at home in Dursley.
Spring 2003: The Choir returned to Canada to perform a series of
concerts in Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria, Nanaimo and Gabriola Island,
British Columbia. This followed the very successful concert tour in
1998, performing concerts at five venues throughout the Province of
Ontario to great acclaim. These tours will be remembered both for the
singing and for the friendliness and hospitality of the Canadian people.
September 2002:
Dursley Male Voice Choir were guests of the Band of the Grenadier Guards
at a joint concert in the Cheltenham Town Hall. The local press said:-
"...Praise must be given to the Dursley Male Voice Choir for their
excellent diction. Every word was clearly understood. Their attention to
detail in dynamic control, their tuning and their ability to focus on
their conductor, Barrie Cooper, were outstanding. Their delicious sounds
and soft lilting tone, which they contrasted with dynamic singing when
required, together with the poise that emerged in 'Let it be Me', marks
this Choir out as a gem of Gloucestershire music..."
October 2001: Dursley Male Voice and the town of Dursley hosted the
Yokohama National University Old Boys Glee Club from Japan at a joint
concert in the town. Their visit was part of the Japan 2001 Festival to
celebrate the arts and culture of Japan under the patronage of HRH The
Prince of Wales and the Crown Prince of Japan. Our visitors from Japan
made a CD including the music from all their joint concerts which is now
being distributed in Japan.
March 2000: The Choir participated in the 25th Anniversary service for
Headway International in Westminster Abbey attended by HRH The Duchess
of Gloucester. The next day we joined a 2000 voice Millennium
Extravaganza in Manchester.
In 1996 the Choir presented a concert at Gloucester Cathedral in
response to the Dunblane tragedy. A large audience joined in the tribute
which raised more than £3000 for the Dunblane Help Fund. In September
2000 the choir joined the Flowers Band in a Last Night of the Proms
concert which raised £10,000 for the Cancer Campaign by the Cobalt Unit
Appeal Fund in Cheltenham.
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