Help Barry Male Voice Choir celebrate 110th anniversary (From Barry And District News)

Help Barry Male Voice Choir celebrate 110th anniversary

12:00pm Sunday 23rd September 2012 in News By Sharon Harris

BARRY'S longest surviving cultural organisation will raise a conductor's baton to many more years of song, when it stages its 110th anniversary celebration concert next weekend.

Barry Male Voice Choir members have continued in fine voice through two World Wars, the rise of radio and television, conductors passing on batons, free flowing French wine - and even survived after the secretary's mother-in-law was left behind before a coach-trip to Fecamp in 1968.

The organisation started when 12 young men from Tynewydd Road Congregational Church formed the Barry Dock Glee Party, soon to become known as the Barry Male Voice Choir.

Singers emerged as the town's population grew, and there was a need for social entertainment in the town other than that offered by the then 'dubious' attractions of Thompson Street and Dock View Road!

Founder and conductor D. J. Thomas and deputy conductor E.L. Powell were both teachers at High Street school and the choir's first year was documented as a resounding success - with the 30-member choir winning its inaugural first prize of £6 in the Sunday School Union Eisteddfod at Wood Street Congregational Church, Cardiff.

The first annual concert took place in April 1904 at Romilly Hall with tickets priced between one and three shillings and in 1906, the choir's name changed to Barry Male Voice Choir.

The singers enjoyed success at various competitions and Eisteddfodau, but contests then took a back seat in favour of charitable concerts following the outbreak of the First World War.

The choir, now a registered charity, provides entertainment via performances at local churches and venues for the benefit of various charities.

The group also plays at weddings, birthdays, funerals and other occasions and has been a special link between the twin towns of Fecamp and Rheinfelden.

Former choir chairman, the late Gareth Howe, in the group's centenary year, said: "The choir is an important part of the life of the town.

"There are no other cultural organisations that have served the town for so long and so well, and have brought so much distinction to the name of Barry."

The group, whose members range from 17 to 85 and include Musical Director Dorothy Connell, is keen to recruit new singers and has appealed for talented Barry men to join them and publicly air their voices.

Choir member and spokesman Gareth Jones, said: "The concert and anniversary is a special occasion.

"We are proud of our legacy."

Barry Male Voice Choir is currently holding an exhibition at Barry Library, King Square.

For details about the choir, visit www.barrymalevoicechoir.co.uk or phone 01446746387

* Barry Male Voice Choir`s 110th Anniversary concert will be at St Helen`s Roman Catholic Church, Wyndham Street, Barry, at 7pm on Friday, September 28.