A Not-to-be-missed Charity Concert in aid of The Ark Cancer Charity. Free entry but donations requested. Concert by Basingstoke Hospital MaleVoice Choir and Mansfield and District Male Voice Choir. All the favourite music sung by these spectacular choirs, led by Dai Ogborn and Ian Grice. Accompanists: Paul Wright and Margaret Ball
In 2019 the Mansfield and District Male Voice Choir celebrated its 75th anniversary and the mayor conferred the Honorary Freedom of the District to add to the right, gained in 1966, to bear the Mansfield Coat of Arms on its uniform in recognition of its ambassadorial role in promoting the town.
Formerly a very successful competition choir winning first prizes on no less than 58 occasions at various Regional and National competitions the choir now performs a wide variety of music including popular songs, musical theatre numbers and male voice choir standards. The Choir, by invitation for the fourth time, will sing at the Welsh Association of Male Choirs at the Royal Albert Hall, London (April 2024) and regularly sings “away from home” with other choirs and we are delighted to performing again with Basingstoke Hospital MVC. This will be our second visit and is timed perfectly as a concert on our return from a weekend on the Dorset coast where we shared a stage with Dorset Police Male Voice choir.
Our choral weekend away was borne of strong fellowship between male voice choirs. One of our past Chairmen Mr. Walter Pitchford (deceased) has a son living in Bournemouth who has colleagues in the Dorset Police MVC and we were invited. Our connection with Basingstoke Hospital MVC is a congenial Irishman, Mr. Gordon Blanc and friend of Dai Ogborn. Gordon was a member and Chairman of both Basingstoke Male Voice Choir and Mansfield and District MVC during his singing career. Naturally, we have fond memories of Walter and Gordon.
The choir is proud to support charities local to our area and our efforts have raised over ed £30,000 in the last ten years and we know Basingstoke Hospital MVC live the same values; no doubt our concert will yield welcome funds to the choir’s chosen hospital charity.
Ian Grice has the longest association of anyone with our choir having been a chorister since 1985. He became Deputy Musical Director in 2008 and Musical Director in 2018 and explains ““We know we must continue to progress so that the Choir will be here in another 75 years. We also know we must bring variety to our concerts and offer something for everyone; young, old and all those in between.” We are in the safe hands of Ian, our enthusiastic, personable and talented “Choir Man”.
