Our Committee Derek Parr Chairman Joined in 1975 and currently sings Baritone Why did you join the choir? “Having resigned from a church choir because of the time demands of a young family, I decided to join HMVC at the insistence of a friend of mine who was an established member of HMVC. At the first rehearsal I attended I knew that I had made the right choice.” What is your most memorable moment since joining the choir? “It’s impossible to pick one moment. We had an unequalled run of success in the Northern Male Voice Championships, and singing as the winning choir at the evening concert at Huddersfield Town stays foremost in the memory, but there have been lots of memorable moments.” Alan Gaskell Honorary Secretary Joined in 1990 and currently sings Baritone. Alan held the position of Treasurer for 18 years and took up the position of Honorary Secretary in 2009. Why did you join the choir? “I was invited by Chairman, Derek Parr, after hearing me sing in church. I declined for sometime pleading pressure of work and my perceived inability to sing well enough. However, after accepting an invitation to a concert I was overwhelmed by the magnificent sound and joined immediately. From then on I have enjoyed wonderful camaraderie and been privileged to be part of a brilliant choral experience with Haydock, and jointly with many other choirs.” What is your most memorable moment since joining the choir? “Being part of this unique organisation has provided too many memorable moments to select just one, e.g. Singing in the Royal Albert Hall, Cologne Cathedral, St. George’s Hall and twice being part of the “World Choir” at Cardiff Arms Park. Competing in numerous prestigious music festivals also features highly, especially winning the Male Voice competition at the Elgar Festival in Worcester Cathedral and twice in the Isle of Mann Festival. Touring to the USA, Germany and France were also wonderful highlights. However, watching adjudicator, Dame Janet Baker tap her feet, bounce in her chair, and clap her hands in pure enjoyment as we performed in the evening competition at Worcester will live long in my memory.” Graham Melling Concert Secretary Joined in 1974 and currently sings Bass. Why did you join the choir? “I was persuaded by an existing member to join. I come from a musical family, and the friendly way I was greeted helped to ease my way.” What is your most memorable moment since joining the choir? “There are many, but winning the competition at Huddersfield is a huge buzz. You can’t beat that feeling!” Ian Lewis Librarian Joined in 2012 and currently sings Tenor One. Why did you join the choir? “I had recently taken early retirement and was looking for something new to do and saw and advert for the choir in a local supermarket and thought, “I can do this!” What is your most memorable moment since joining the choir? “On my first trip to the Isle of Mann Festival we were all asked to perform something on the Friday night. We hit them with Psalm 126 and it was so obvious from the reaction to this that we would win our section, and so it proved.” Mike Danvers Non-executive member Joined in 1992 and currently sings Second Tenor. Why did you join the choir? “I am a close friend of Derek Fordham. At a social event, 27 years ago, a group of us, with Derek’s encouragement, began singing together. Surprisingly at that time I really enjoyed it. With Derek’s encouragement I came along to rehearsal and the rest is history! I had a spell of about 10 years out of the choir due to work commitments and started again about 5 years ago. Love it!” What is your most memorable moment since joining the choir? “In my first period with the choir I really enjoyed the Northern Male Voice Choir Championships at the Huddersfield Town Hall. We came 3rd and 2nd place in the two times I went. Since re-joining the choir the highlight for me was the Isle of Mann, performing the challenging pieces, finishing second, and, of course, the wonderful camaraderie! It was a wonderful social occasion. Roll on this coming October!” Stan Anderton Registrar Joined in 1974 and currently sings Baritone. Why did you join the choir? “Having three brothers already in the choir, they persuaded me to join. After three months I joined the committee and except for two short breaks I have spent over forty years either as welfare officer or registrar.” What is your most memorable moment since joining the choir? “There have been many. Winning the Northern Championships at Huddersfield. The concert at the Theatre Royal at York with a choir of 89 singers, and the tours abroad.” Nicholas Garbett Webmaster Joined in 2018 and currently sings Tenor One. Why did you join the choir? “After watching HMVC perform the ‘Bless em’ all’ concert at St. Helens Town Hall in 2018. What a spectacular and poignant evening that was. It was that evening that I decided to give it a go after some encouragement. A month later I joined! I’ve grown up surrounded by the love of music, playing the piano, organ, conducting and have been playing with Brass Bands since a young age. Joining Haydock gave me the opportunity to try something new and meet new people.” What is your most memorable moment since joining the choir? “Well… what can I say? A double win at my first singing competition at the Isle of Man Festival of Choirs 2019 can’t be bad! The sheer passion and determination of the men right from the very start of our first rehearsal led us to victory, not only winning the Male Voice section, but the overall Festival Champions. Singing on the stage at the Villa Marina was my Royal Albert Hall. The men sang with such great passion on both occasions. Our performance was capped off in style as we took off our ties and unbuttoned our jackets for our final number, New York, New York. At that point I was buzzing! We were up against some stunning choirs in the finals. As the result was announced, “And the winner of the 2019 Isle of Man Festival of Choirs is… Haydock Male Voice Choir!” I was in completed shock! I remember at that point jumping up and down, hugging people, shaking hands and even crying with joy, I just couldn’t control my emotions. What an experience I will never forget.” Haydock Male Voice Choir is a charity registered in England: 1041470. Cookie Policy | Privacy Policy | Website by EasyMediaUK