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The name can be off-putting can’t it? For many people, ‘Male Voice Choir’ evokes images of men in blazers standing on a windy hillside singing Men of Harlech. But not all men’s choirs are like that and Bournemouth Male Voice Choir certainly isn’t. Not only is our music diverse – spanning everything from Palestrina and Poulenc to Take That and Queen – but the range of venues we sing in and the diversity of our members’ interests means that BMVC has something for everyone.
In 2010, the choir sang with a ladies choir from Wales, welcomed soloists from local opera companies, schools and colleges, and shared the stage with an international singing star in the largest concert hall in the south of England. And, yet, we’ve also sung in a convent, a parliament building, a distillery and with a traditional folk group in a country pub – all in the same weekend! |
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The choir’s origins can be traced back to 1922, when the newly-formed Bournemouth Labour Choir sang on the Town Hall steps at a reception for the mayor. Later, the Bournemouth Male Voice Choir was born out of a merger of the Labour Choir with the Springbourne Choir, who sang in a local Non-Conformist church.
In recent years, the choir has performed in almost every concert venue in Dorset and, as part of the Welsh Association of Male Choirs, has sung at the Royal Albert Hall, the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, the Dome in Atlanta, USA, and (as part of a 10,000-strong choir) at the old Cardiff Arms Park. The choir won the Cheltenham Music Festival in 2007, competed in the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in 2008, and won two prizes at the Larne Music Festival in 2009. The choir has recorded two CDs – ‘One Moment In Time’ (2004) and ‘Sing For Your Life’ (2009). The full choir has around 55 members and we perform about ten concerts each year. There’s also a smaller group called ‘Mainly Men’, who sing at venues not large enough for the main choir. Many of our concerts are for charity and, since 2004, we have raised over £60,000 for various good causes. |
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