By Emma Morley

Last updated at 15:15, Friday, 05 February 2010

As Hilary Hodgson brings down the scrapbooks filled with programmes and pictures of Dalston Male Voice Choir it becomes evident why the choir has survived 25 years and is still going strong.

Derek Heyes, left, and chairman Gabrielle Blamire, with musical director Hilary Hodgson

Choir members Derek Heyes and Gabriel Blamires stand proudly in their uniforms as they start to reminisce about the good times with the choir and it is clear that the one thing that has kept them together is their sense of humour.

When it comes to talking about the business of the choir there is no doubt that they are all passionate about performing and proud of their achievements.

Sometimes the best ideas come about when they are least expected and it was at a New Year’s Eve party in 1984 when residents of the village of Dalston gathered around a piano for a sing-song that the idea of a male choir was first mentioned.

“Someone said that some of the men can really sing,” says Derek, a founder member and current treasurer. “A couple of weeks later we all got together to see what we could do.”

Hilary had been the piano player at the New Year’s Eve party and she was invited to be conductor of the choir she has continued as musical director ever since.

The first meeting was on February 10 1985 and once word got out about the choir the 17 members were asked if they would sing a piece in the interval of a Dalston Amateur Dramatic production the following month in the village’s Victory Hall.

Derek, a second bass, said: “It all mushroomed. So many people saw us and realised we were having a good time doing it that they wanted to join.”

This first programme include the songs John Peel, Road to the Isle and Shenandoah.

By June that year the choir had a full programme of songs for a concert in Dalston.

In the beginning the choir started singing in unison but eventually moved on to singing in four parts.

Hilary had tired of singing in unison and had decided that she would withdraw but it was her husband Geoff who suggested that the choir should be trained in four parts. He had said that she should only give up if they couldn’t or wouldn’t do this. However, the choir duly met this challenge and Hilary continued her role.

Hilary, who conducted Dalston Ladies Choir for 11 years, recalls: “The quality of the singing has improved and the choir members have gained in experience.

“I like to ring the changes. Music should be fun and it is nice to have something new on the go.”

Not all the choir members were able to read music when they joined so choir member Paul Robinson recorded Hilary singing the individual parts of the songs on tape for the members to listen to and learn.

“It depends on the particular song but it can take several months for the choir to learn something new,” said Hilary. “The choir now try to sing about half of the programme from memory.”

At its highest number membership has reached 42 and there are currently 35 members and it is Hilary’s job to keep them all in line.

“There are a lot of different personalities in the choir,” she says. “Having a sense of humour is crucial but I do have to be strict when it is time to get down to the hard work of rehearsing.”

There are still several founder members who have remained in the choir since 1985 – Derek Heyes, Michael Coulthard, David Dickinson and Brian Lister and Ian Turnbull was also a founder member but returned after a break from the choir.

Members of the choir don’t need to be residents of the village. Second tenor Gabriel Blamires, from Wetheral said: “We are always looking for new members to join but it can be difficult for people to find the time.”

As well as concerts around Cumbria and the north the choir has also performed further afield as part of larger male choirs at a Millennium concert at the Manchester Evening News Arena and in a “world choir” concert of 10,000 voices at Cardiff Arms Park in 1992, featuring Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey.

In 1994 some members travelled to Atlanta in America to sing at a world choir event. Derek says: “I remember we were on the tube after a concert and some of the men started singing. It was a spontaneous performance that was incredible because of the acoustics in the tube station.”

It was in June 1987 that the choir started to wear a uniform of black trousers, white shirts and maroon ties with a cockerel motif and a maroon pullover was added in 1994 and then in 2003 a new maroon blazer with an authentic Dalston black-red gamecock badge was introduced.

Over the years the choir has raised money for various charities, including RNLI, NSPCC and in 2004 13 choir members and supporters took part in a sponsored bike ride round the inner Solway which raised £1,568 for the Eden Valley Hospice.

The choir also raise £450 for Guide Dogs for the Blind in 1989, a year that also saw them singing for the first time at a wedding, in Thursby Church.

Members of the choir past and present will be celebrating the 25th anniversary with a dinner at Dalston Victory Hall on Saturday February 13 and more than 80 are expected to attend. A jubilee concert by the choir is also planned at St Michael’s Church in Dalston on June 13.

First published at 14:09, Friday, 05 February 2010
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk