Churchdown Male Voice Choir
Our Purpose
The primary purpose of the Choir is to enjoy singing whilst raising money for good causes. We all intend to continue this long into the future with your continuing support of course!
Join Us
We practice on Monday nights at 7:30pm at the Churchdown Community Centre in Parton Road, Churchdown , followed by a social gathering at the bar! Join us!
2007 Choir Tour
July 7th 2007 - Singing in Bavaria
The Churchdown Male Voice Choir celebrated European Music Day with a concert in the heart of Bavaria. They were joined by Singvereinegung Miesbach, along with their Children's Choir and the Tegernsee Alpine Horn players in the Waitzinger Halle in the town of Miesbach, as part of the twenty-fifth anniversary celebration of the town's twinning with Tewkesbury.
The two choirs have very different sounds, Churchdown performing some popular English pieces such as Love Changes Everything, She and You'll Never Walk Alone, whilst Singvereinegung, with mostly ladies' voices, provided some traditional Bavarian folk songs. They came together at the end of the concert to sing in both English and German.
The choir also gave another concert the following evening at St Martin's Church in nearby Fischbacha and received a warm welcome from the Bavarian audiences, along with their soloists, soprano Sue Black and tenor Ralph Barnes.
The 85 strong group of Churchdown singers and supporters were entertained at a Civic Reception, where they were treated to a traditional Ox Roast along with members of the Tewkesbury Twinning Committee, during their week long trip to Bavaria. The party enjoyed a variety of excursions into the surrounding area, including visits to Salzburg and Innsbruck, King Ludwig II's castle at Linderhof and the medieval town of Landshut. They were also given a guided tour of the Weyham Wasserwerks, close to Miesbach, which supply water fresh water to the whole of the city of Munich.
It wasn't the Churchdown choir's first experience of Bavarian hospitality. Indeed their visit in 2005 went down so well that they were invited back especially for the twinning celebrations.
Andrew Chalmers, chairman of the choir, said:
"It's been a great honour and pleasure to represent the Borough of Tewkesbury in this way. We've enjoyed re-kindling the friendships we made two years ago and making some new ones. We're now looking forward to Singvereinegung's visit to Gloucestershire in August, when we will be able to return their hospitality."
Latest tour report: 2008 Choir Tour: Harrogate
From the archives: 2006 Choir Tour: Cornwall
From the archives: 2005 Choir Tour: Miesbach in Bavaria
