Category: News

Mansfield & District Make Voice Choir is justly proud of its contribution to charitable work.

Not all of our concerts are for charity but, in terms of these types of events, the figures speak for themselves.

We helped to raise £700 for the Alzheimer’s Research Association  at the concert at Skegby Methodist Church back in March and £1136 for Notts  Women’s Aid in the joint concert with Amersfoort Mannenkoor at the Queen Elizabeth’s  Academy last month.

At the very successful National Association of Choirs ( East Midlands) Concert, where we shared the stage with four other choirs, raised £676 for NAC funds.

The joint concert at Toll Gavel Church, Beverley raised a whopping £1600 for Hornsea Inshore Rescue and we were happy that Hull Male Voice Choir were able to raise £300 for choir funds at our joint concert with them at Hull Guildhall.

All of that adds up to £4412- a fantastic achievement!

Still to come are the concerts at  St Augustine’s on 24 June ( for church funds) and the joint concert with The Dalesmen and St. Edmundsbury MVC in Derby Cathedral on 14th October – charity will be Treetops Hospice Care, Derby Rd, Risley.

All details of forthcoming concerts are on the Events page

“God’s own country”, according to Wikipedia, is a phrase that was first used to describe the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland, an area famed for the richness of its flora and fauna and the beauty of its landscape.

It has, subsequently, been used to describe  several other places including  Australia, United States, New Zealand,  Cornwall and, of course, Yorkshire. I say “of course” because it’s an expression  we  associate generally with a pronouncement of great regional pride on the part of our northern neighbours.

We have enjoyed God’s own country tremendously this weekend and especially to the wonderful market town of Beverley and to Hull, that great northern city.

We  take some pride ourselves from our weekend trip to East Yorkshire in terms of the quality of both of our performances. Mansfield & District Male Voice Choir had the opportunity to make music in two wonderful venues and share the stage with two other choirs who sing, as we do, with great passion and purpose.

“I thought the concert on Saturday was fantastic, your choir sang superbly and I think that made us ‘lift our game’. The joint numbers were a joy!” said Bill Leigh, Public relations Officer at Hull Male Voice Choir.

There has been some talk recently about the power of live music to bring healing to a wounded world. This, I think, was the motivation for the “One Love Manchester” Concert at Old Trafford last Sunday ( 4 June 2017) .

Our very own Paul Bennett ( compere on both evenings) made a comment about choral  music having the power to take us to “another place”.

The musicians, the singers and the members of the audience; we all knew what our compere meant. All of us had been there- God’s own country, a place of beauty and richness.

After a whirlwind May fortnight, choristers were actually allowed a few days off this last weekend!

The respite is short-lived, however, as choristers prepare for the Mansfield & District Male Voice Choir mini-tour of East Yorkshire next weekend departing Mansfield Civic Centre at 10.30am on Friday morning 2nd June.

We are very much looking forward to singing with two great choirs in two wonderful venues –  with Beverley MVC at Toll Gavel Church, Beverley and Hull MVC at the Guildhall, Hull. Full details of these concerts are, of course, available on the Events page.

Many of our choristers and their families are actively involved in all aspects of our community and one such couple is Gerald and Janet Houldsworth.

Gerald is a second tenor and has been a member of Mansfield & District Male Voice Choir for over 30 years. Janet is a loyal supporter of the choir who very rarely misses a concert. The couple have brought our attention to two local events taking place this summer.

On Thursday  6th July ( 10am until 12 noon) a  coffee morning is to be held at  the Turner Community Hall, Mansfield Woodhouse. “The coffee morning is a fund raising event in aid of Mia, a little girl who is currently receiving treatment for a brain tumour,” explains Janet

And on 8 July starting at 7pm, Gerald and Janet are inviting everyone to a Summer Concert to be held at St Chad’s Church, Pleasley Vale, Mansfield, NG19 8RN. The concert will be presented by The Dukeries Singers and admission ( including refreshments ) is £6.