Choir bows out on a high note (From Worcester News)

Choir bows out on a high note

12:40am Thursday 19th January 2012 in News

A COMMUNITY choir has called it a day after more than 40 years due to a lack of younger voices.

Colwall Singers bowed out with their A Village Christmas concert last month.

The group, which was formed by Sylvia Jarvis in January 1968, went on to raise more than £11,000 for a variety of charitable causes – some £5,000 of that coming in the last five years.

Originally known as the Colwall Ladies Choir, the group had 18 founding members and its first concert raised £12 16s for the Save the Children Fund. Numbers grew to 28 by the end of the first year and that figure remained the average attendance over the years.

The group’s final performance came in Colwall Village Hall on December 13 and was held in aid of the Borrowers Toy Library, Malvern.

Secretary Elizabeth Boocock said the choir wanted to go out on a high despite the bad news.

“It was a hard decision for the choir members to make to disband, but they felt the time was right. Very few younger voices were joining even in view of the upsurge in choral singing at the moment. The choir wanted their last concert to be a happy event, which celebrated the life of the choir.”

As well as playing at an array of churches, halls and residential homes, the choir led the singing and supported the Women’s World Day of Prayer in Colwall every year.

Some notable achievements in its history include winning the Evangeline Anthony Cup at the Hereford Festival for the first time in 1976 and appearing on the same year’s harvest festival edition of the BBC’s Songs of Praise. After its final concert, which featured the only remaining founding member Ann Lechmere, both Ron Ward, who has been the choir’s conductor since 1977, and Margaret Roy, who provided musical accompaniment, were presented with gifts for their services to the group.