The History Of The Choir
Our Beginnings – 1963 in a Featherstone Front Room
Featherstone Male Voice Choir was born in 1963, in the front room of Mr Irvine Malpass on Kingsley Avenue, Featherstone. Originally known as the Featherstone Methodist Male Voice Choir, it started with around a dozen members, with Irvine both accompanying and conducting from his upright piano.
A Musical Partnership: Doris Collins and the Choir’s Early Growth
The arrival of Rev. Michael Collins at the local chapel brought new energy. His wife Doris – a gifted musician – stepped in as Musical Director, and under her leadership, the choir flourished. Concerts became regular fixtures in the local calendar, often shared with Irvine’s other group, the Featherstone Girls’ Choir.
A Setback… and a Revival
When the Collins family moved on, the choir lost Doris’s guiding hand and, for a while, struggled to stay afloat. Numbers dwindled, and the future looked uncertain. That was until a chance conversation between Irvine and local preacher Stanley Jones changed everything. Stanley – who would go on to become choir president – helped relaunch the group as the Featherstone and District Male Voice Choir.
With local musician Cyril Chilton taking over as Musical Director, the choir found a fresh sense of purpose. Membership surged to over 35 singers, and the group began to thrive once again.
A Line of Dedicated Leaders
From there, the baton passed through a line of passionate and talented Musical Directors: Geoff Trigg, Tony Elliot, and David Street, each bringing their own style and strength to the role. Arthur Hebb then led the choir for twelve memorable years before handing things back to Geoff Trigg in 2004.
The Shearings Years – Singing on the Road
In 1993, the choir entered a new era with sponsorship from Shearings Ltd, Europe’s largest coach company. Renamed the Shearings Male Voice Choir, and later the W.A. Shearings Featherstone Male Voice Choir, we had the opportunity to take our music further afield than ever before.
We’ve performed across the length and breadth of the British Isles – from the Cornish coast to the hills of Scotland and valleys of Wales – and travelled internationally to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, France, the USA, and Canada.
Lights, Camera, Harmony!
Our first taste of television came in 1997, singing on Yorkshire Television’s Tonight Christmas special. We returned in 1999 with a performance of the gentle carol Still, Still, Still.
We’ve also stepped into the studio twice – releasing our first album in 1995 and a second, Celebration, in 2003. The latter includes 22 tracks, from the stirring Cwm Rhondda to Jamaica Farewell and An American Trilogy.
Proud of Our Roots
In recent years, we were proud to appear on the My Yorkshire TV programme, singing in the Kinsley Hotel to commemorate the eviction of miners and celebrate the enduring spirit and support of the local community.
Choir History 2005 to present day
From the early 2000’s FMVC enjoyed a golden period under the direction of Paul Rhodes. As well as musicianship, Paul brought energy and dynamism to the Choir and numbers grew to a singing membership of 60 plus. Among the many highlights were tours to Ypres in Belgium to perform at the moving Last Post Ceremony, concerts at Wakefield Cathedral with the likes of Blackdyke & Grimethorpe Colliery Brass Bands, and singing on the pitch at Featherstone Rovers rugby league club
As well as increasing Membership, our Patrons scheme also thrived with Patrons enjoying an annual concert where as well as the choir special guests were invited to entertain our supporters.
Due to ill health in the family, Paul decided to step down. In 2019, we came under the leadership of our current Musical Director Edward Whelan. Under Edward - a very talented musician and virtuoso pianist - the Choir started 2020 in high hopes… then, COVID 19 hit. As the whole country went into full lock-down, the choir’s only way of rehearsal was on Zoom, which had many challenges (but did have the advantage of improving the IT skill of our membership). As the country slowly recovered, we planned to meet again to rehearse indoors, only for the guidelines to change again - choirs were only permitted a maximum indoor membership of six singers. Happily, our good friends Featherstone Rovers came to the rescue and allowed us to use their stadium to meet and rehearse outdoors.
Under the directorship of Edward and supported by our musical team of Elaine Oakley and Mandy Jones, the choir continues to thrive. Recent tours of Wales and Durham & the North East of England have been marked successes and particularly enjoyable.
A recent highlight was a Joint Concert with the Risca Male Choir that raised over £4k for tour local MND Charity.
