Our concert season starts with our traditional concert on St. David’s day which will be in support of St. John’s church funds on Tuesday, 1^st March at 8pm.

The choir ready for a new concert season.

Each of our concerts has a different programme for the night but it will be a selection from our 2016 repertoire which comprises the following songs.

Amen	An American Trilogy	This is the Moment
Anthem (from Chess)	Three Yugoslavian Folk Songs	Bring Him home
Unchained Melody	Bui Doi	By Babylon’s Wave
What Would I Do with- out My Music?	Calon Lân	Christus Salvatur
Climb Every Mountain	Divine Brahma	Fields of Athenry
Grandfather’s Clock	Gwahoddiad	Hiraeth
Home Upon The Hill	Llanfair	May Each day
Men of Harlech	Morte Christe	My Lord What a Morning
O Gymru	O Isis and Osiris	Pan For Nos Yn Hir
Portrait of My Love	Rachie	Rhythm of Life
When the Saints	Y Tangnefeddwyr

The repertoire demonstrates the variety of music which you can enjoy at one of our concerts. As you can see there are stirring hymns, songs from the hit parades of yesteryear or from the shows and musicals which we all love. Some are, of course in Welsh but also some in other languages which we have adopted over the years.

Our concerts usually involve a soloist as well and we like to give an opportunity to other musicians. For the St. David’s Day concert we are delighted to have a member of St. John’s church Melanie Walker who originates from Rugby but studied music at Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. This should be something quite different for us and our audience as Melanie plays the Marimba, a large wooden percussion instrument resembling a xylophone

We are also grateful to McCarthy and Stone, developers of the Paxton Court retirement homes for sponsoring the concert.

On the day before the St. David’s Day concert on 29^th February we will be performing a mini-concert on stage at the Torch Theatre. Singing will start at 7pm before the film screening of the film “Save our Choirs” The film is principally based on Blaenavon Male Voice choir. Despite the number of James Bond look-a-likes in the Tenby choir, we feature only in a small way but we were glad to help. The film is about the danger of decline in Male Voice choirs and how it can be prevented. A few years ago Blaenavon were struggling with a dwindling membership as they failed to attract new young members. The film tells the story of the choir's journey from the edge of obscurity to becoming the talk of the choral community. Like many traditional choirs, they failed to communicate with a changing digital world and had to completely re-think their strategy.

The film makers Focus Shift Films helped the choir which had been one of Wales' most successful choirs to claw their way back into the spotlight and go on to win Best British Choir at the Cornwall International Male Voice Choral Festival.

It is well worth coming along to enjoy this film if you have any interest in singing and especially if you have wondered whether being in a choir could be right for you. It is a chance to see why men join choirs, what the experience brings and how much they enjoy it. There is the added bonus of a free performance by Tenby Male choir prior to the screening.

Tickets are available from The Torch Theatre box office or their website.

If you can’t make it to see the film or our St. Davids Day concert but would like to know more about us then look at our website www.tenbymalechoir.org or Facebook account (just do an internet search for Tenby Male Choir Facebook).

Alternatively our secretary David Stewart-Walvin is always glad to receive a phone call from interested people on 01834 844926.

Tenby Male Choir – Film Stars?

The choir held its annual dinner on Sunday 25^th January at the Giltar Hotel. It was very well attended by choristers, partners and other choir supporters. Our president Roy Noble was present as usual and he was in fine form with his tales and reflections on many things relevant to male voice choirs.

Roy is always entertaining and gave an interesting after dinner speech with plenty of humour.  This was also the first official duty for new chairman Paul Varallo who thanked various members for their efforts during the past year and also gave out long service certificates to a number of members.

All members of the choir were pleasantly surprised with a commemorative crystal glass inscribed for the Tenby Male choir 40^th anniversary and accompanist Jill Williams “the best accompanist there is” in the words of Paul was presented with a bouquet of flowers by top tenor Joe Varallo.

An evening of really first class food and service was rounded off with a few of the choir’s favourite repertoire items and a good time was had by all.

On 29^th February at 7pm in the Torch Theatre there is a screening of the film “Save our Choirs” in which Tenby Male choir feature in a small part. The film is principally based on Blaenavon Male Voice choir. A few years ago they were struggling with a dwindling membership as they suffered like so many other male voice choirs to attract new young members and of course in such circumstances choir’s age and lose members as a result. The film tells the story of the choir's journey from the edge of obscurity to becoming the talk of the choral community. Like many traditional choirs, they failed to communicate with a changing digital world and had to completely re-think their strategy.

With the help of film company Focus Shift Films this choir who had been one of Wales' most successful choirs clawed their way back into the spotlight and went on to win Best British Choir at the Cornwall International Male Voice Choral Festival.

This film offers guidance to other choirs in a similar situation and can inspire the choral community to evolve in a digital world.

It is well worth making a date in your diary to come along and watch the film if you have any interest in singing and especially if you have wondered whether being in a choir could be right for you. It is a chance to see why men join choirs, what the experience brings and how much they enjoy it.

The choir will be attending on the night of the film along with other local choirs and it is hoped that the choirs will perform in the foyer of the theatre so you should have the double enjoyment of live performance and the film. It’s a great chance to find out about choirs generally about any of the local choirs specifically and to understand more about choral life. Its not just about singing but it is a fulfilling and enjoyable social life with a variety of different forms of performance and plenty of travel.

Tickets are available from The Torch Theatre box office or their website.

If you can’t make it to see the film but would like to know more about us then look at our website www.tenbymalechoir.org or Facebook account (just do an internet search for Tenby Male Choir Facebook).

Alternatively our secretary David Stewart-Walvin is always glad to receive a phone call from interested people on 01834 844926.

Tenby Male Choir – The choir says goodbye to Bobby

It was a sad occasion for the choir on 13^th January when they attended the funeral of long serving and senior choir member Bobby Turnbull at the age of 94. The funeral took place in St. Mary’s church. As part of a very moving service the choir sang Ely Jenkins prayer and after the service the choir formed around the coffin of their friend and choir member to sing Speed Your Journey. They then led the funeral procession out of the church to form a guard of honour in persistent rain as the coffin was carried out.

Bobby had become a member of the choir shortly after his cherished wife Mary passed away in 1989. He missed her very much and being in the choir helped him significantly with his recovery from that sad occasion. He was made a Life Member of the Choir some years ago in recognition of his exceptional service and commitment to the Choir. One of the tasks he is remembered for amongst many is as the guardian and salesman of choir cassette tapes for one of the choir’s earlier recordings. He had the spirit of the British Bulldog and applied this to the custody of the cassettes.
 

Bobby lost his own father as a young lad and was brought up by his mother and at the age of 14 he entered work in the coal mines of his Durham home at Horden Colliery just before the start of the World War 2 and so will have played his part in the critical extraction of coal to fuel the factories so crucial to the war effort. Not long after commencing work in the mine Bobby “misinformed” his employers about his age so that he could qualify for work at the much more dangerous and demanding coal face simply because it earned higher wages.

In the early 1950s however the coalmines of the North East came increasingly under the threat of closures and so Bobby moved his family to Nuneaton for security and also better conditions in the NCB mining accommodation. During his time in the North East Bobby had trained and raced greyhounds and also bred budgerigars and canaries. He had to give up his “Kree” of birds when he moved but he did take with him one canary and a budgerigar with one leg!!  In later years in the midlands he worked for Dunlop and for Jaguar but in retirement moved to Tenby.

He was very much a family man with two daughters Mary and Margaret who blessed him with four grandchildren Joanne and Elizabeth and David and Stephen. Stephen read a very emotional eulogy as part of the service.

In 2003 he joined a few of Tenby choristers on a Tour of Eastern States of USA, to support the dedication of the British memorial to 9-11. The Tenby choir members were part of an invitational choir named 'the Comrades Choir and sang in Washington with the US Army chorus, in Boston with the Sangefest Male Choir.

During that visit the Tenby members decided to make the most of their visit by walking to many of the landmarks and sights of New York but after the first day Bobby suffered numerous blisters.  In a display of that “bulldog spirit” referred to earlier he simply changed into sandals and continued to walk.  Apparently he didn’t think he would ever have another chance to come to New York and so he was not going to miss out on the sightseeing.

Bobby will be long remembered and much missed by the members of the choir.