Richard Hoyle
Dr Richard Hoyle was the choir's music director from 2000 to 2018. On the occasion of his hundredth concert, in May 2010, he wrote this appreciation of the cultural importance of male voice choirs, followed by a list of all 100 concerts.
Dr Richard Hoyle grew up in a musical family in Huddersfield, Yorkshire. He learned the piano at seven and played for local amateur operatic companies from his early teens. He studied music at Goldsmiths' College and the piano at Trinity College of Music and has accompanied singers for concerts, recitals and competitions at many venues. He was an enthusiastic baritone in several choirs and choral societies. Richard joined the CMVC as its accompanist in 1991. He became musical director in 2000, succeeding previous incumbent Ozzie Arnold, and has presided over the choir's dramatic growth and its increasingly ambitious repertoire. He can be an exacting task-master and is a keen competitor, but he never loses his infectious enthusiasm and sense of fun.
Richard writes:
In this country, male voice choirs were forged from the comradeship found in mining and manufacturing industry. If you have ever crawled along a dug out coal seam hundreds of feet underground, as I have, you will appreciate the tough working life of a miner in the years before the nationalisation of the mines brought stringent health and safety regulations. My own great uncle Thomas was crushed to death by the collapse of a coal seam in the Barnsley area in the 1930s.
Given these harsh conditions in the coalfields of Wales, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire, as well as the tin mines of Cornwall, it is easy to understand why men found solace by singing together; and not surprising too to discover that what they sang was mainly hymns. In the same way that a strong spiritual tradition emerged in the cotton fields of the USA, a tough physical existence in this life was easier to face through the aspiration to a better life to come.
This is the background of the male voice choir scene today. There are a number of choirs that still steep themselves in this tradition and continue to sing those very stirring hymn arrangements with emphatic 'Amens'; there are also some English choirs that appear to want to experience a musical naturalisation and become Welsh. Choirs must never get stuck in a rut. The glorious tradition of English choral singing and the tremendous expansion and diversification of repertoire now available for male ensembles cannot be ignored.
In the last ten years Croydon Male Voice Choir has developed considerably. While holding the 'Welsh tradition' in great respect, I have steered the choir, often against gentle resistance, towards more open waters. Our repertoire turns over gradually but insistently to the benefit both of the members' own musical development and of the entertainment of our regular audiences.
Although we occasionally sing in other languages my own penchant is for English. The interpretation of the sentiments of a song that can be conveyed directly to an audience through musical word painting is something that has always appealed to me and this choir's skill in expression is now one of its strong points.
The choir has very disciplined rehearsals. Technical challenge is deliberately mixed with easy sings. Banter is a regular feature between one song and the next and this is important - we might not be crawling through coal seams any more but we still have day-to-day pressures that need expunging and exorcising.
My aim is to take this choir forward. To do this we need to seek new challenges and regularly disturb our routine. The choir has grown substantially over the last five years and will soon reach a size that I wouldn't want to exceed. The camaraderie that we currently enjoy would weaken if we began to resemble a choral society - but recruitment remains important to us to ensure the choir's longevity and success.
As the choir develops, so does its musical director. Conducting technique, the exploration of repertoire, programme planning as well as arranging and composing opportunities are all progressing and this maintains my own interest and commitment to this choir. As long as the choir is willing to move forward with me I am happy to be at the helm. The success of any organisation depends on its avoidance of still waters.
RICHARD'S FIRST HUNDRED CONCERTS - THE FULL LIST
In May 2010, Richard conducted his hundredth concert for the choir. Here is the list:
1 8 Jul 2000 St Lukes Sevenoaks
2 23 Sep 2000 United Reform Sanderstead
3 7 Oct 2000 Croydon Parish Church
25th Anniversary Concert
4 12 Nov 2000 All Saints Sanderstead
5 17 Nov 2000 Upper Norwood Citadel with Salvation Army band
6 2 Dec 2000 Shirley Methodist Croydon Welsh
7 15 Dec 2000 St George Shirley
8 17 Feb 2001 Shirley High School Croydon Rotary
9 24 Mar 2001 St May Magdelene Addiscombe
10 19 May 2001 St Margaret Chipstead
11 2 Jun 2001 All Saints Cheltenham with Churchdown MVC
12 16 Jun 2001 St Paul Woldingham
13 20 Sep 2001 White House, Upper Norwood
14 6 Oct 2001 Beckenham Methodist
15 18 Oct 2001 St Benet Orpington
16 15 Dec 2001 Christchurch Methodist Addiscombe
17 16 Feb 2002 Peter Kennedy Court
18 2 Mar 2002 Shirley Methodist Chennai Samuel Centre
19 16 Mar 2002 Shirley High School Croydon Rotary
20 20 Apl 2002 Holy Trinity Sth Woodham Ferrers with Swift Singers
21 8 Jun 2002 Fairfield Halls Festival of Male Voices HM Golden Jubilee
22 6 Jul 2002 West Wickham Methodist
23 28 Sep 2002 Addington Methodist
24 12 Oct 2002 Morden College Beckenham
25 15 Nov 2002 Upper Norwood Citadel with Salvation Army band
26 7 Dec 2002 Shirley Methodist Croydon Welsh
27 23 Feb 2003 Beckenham Methodist
28 22 Mar 2003 Shirley Methodist with Velvet Harmony
29 17 May 2003 Hayes Village Hall
30 19 May 2003 Arnhem Gallery Inauguration of Mayor
31 14 Jun 2003 St Margaret Chipstead
32 5 Jul 2003 Arnhem Gallery Inaugural Patrons Concert
33 18 Oct 2003 Shirley High School with Swift Singers Croydon Rotary
34 8 Feb 2003 St John Shirley
35 13 Dec 2003 Shirley Methodist Croydon Welsh
36 21 Feb 2004 St Mary Caterham
37 24 Apl 2004 Downe Church
38 15 May 2004 St John Old Coulsdon
39 5 Jun 2004 Richmond Methodist, Penzance with St Stythians MVC
40 17 Jul 2004 Croydon Parish Church Patrons Concert
41 25 Sep 2004 Holy Saviour Croydon
42 7 Oct 2004 Royal Hospital Chelsea
43 7 Nov 2004 All Saints Sanderstead Sanderstead Neighbourhood Care
44 4 Dec 2004 Hayes Free Church
45 11 Dec 2004 Shirley Methodist Croydon Welsh
46 7 May 2005 St Mary Hayes
47 1 June 2005 St John Old Coulsdo n with Blaenavon MVC
48 18 Jun 2005 Fairfield Halls F.Halls benefit concert
49 15 Oct 2005 Old Palace School Patrons Concert
50 19 Nov 2005 Tower of London
51 10 Dec 2005 Shirley Methodist Croydon Welsh
52 18 Feb 2006 Westerham Church
53 12 Mar 2006 St John Shirley
54 8 Apl 2006 Chelmsford Swift Singers, French and German choir
55 10 Jun 2006 Fairfield Halls Festival of Male Voices
56 8 July 2006 Cudham
57 3 Sep 2006 Shirley High School Croydon Rotary for NSPCC
58 4 Nov 2006 Whitgift School Patrons Concert
59 9 Dec 2006 Shirley Methodist Croydon Welsh
60 14 Dec 2006 Merstham Merstham Society
61 17 Feb 2007 St Johns, Old Coulsdon with Swift Singers
62 6 Mar 2007 Masonic Lodge memorial for Jim Diplock
63 21 April 2007 St James’, Kenley
64 5 May 2007 St Marys, Hayes for Demelza House
65 1 June 2007 Ascq, France 1st International weekend
66 2 June 2007 Nechin, Belgium
67 7 July 2007 Blaenavon, Wales Welsh weekend
68 29 Sep 2007 St George’s, Beckenham
69 27 Oct 2007 St.Luke’s, South Norwood
70 17 Nov 2007 St.Mary’s, New Addington
71 8 Dec 2007 Shirley Methodist Croydon Welsh
72 16 Feb 2008 Ralph Perrin Court, Beckenham
73 8 March 2008 Croydon High School Patrons’ Concert
74 19 April 2008 British Home, Crown Point
75 17 May 2008 Rotary Dinner, Arnhem Gallery
76 30 May 2008 St Mary, Barnsley Yorkshire Tour
77 31 May 2008 St George, Brockholes Yorkshire Tour
78 27 Sep 2008 St Francis, West Wickham
79 22 Nov 2008 St Mary’s, Hayes
80 11 Dec 2008 Merstham
81 13 Dec 2008 Shirley Methodist Croydon Welsh
82 21 Feb 2009 St Matthews, Chichester Road
83 6 Mar 2009 Tonbridge School Chapel
84 28 Mar 2009 St Marks, Biggin Hill
85 2 May 2009 International Competition, Truro
86 2 May 2009 Launceston Methodist Church Festival Joint Concert
87 3 May 2009 The Eden Project, Cornwall Festival Joint Concert
88 3 May 2009 Redruth Methodist Church Festival Joint Concert
89 16 May 2009 St Johns, Shirley Zimbabwe Appeal
90 3 June 2009 Whitgift School Patrons’ Concert
91 9 Sep 2009 St Martin’s, Dorking
92 10 Oct 2009 All Saints, Carshalton
93 14 Nov 2009 St.Mary’s Addington
94 10 Dec 2009 St Clement Danes’s, Strand RAF Christmas Concert
95 12 Dec 2009 Shirley Methodist Croydon Welsh
96 20 Feb 2010 St.Francis, West Wickham
97 13 Mar 2010 St.John’s, Old Coulsdon with Swift Singers
98 9 Apl 2010 Holland
99 10 Apl 2010 Holland
100 22 May 2010 St John’s, Eden Park, Beckenham
A history of the choir
When we entered the Truro International Competition in 2009, we were asked to provide a 500-word history of our choir. Here it is, brought up to date as at May 2013.
The Croydon Male Voice Choir has been singing for nearky 40 years. From modest beginnings, it has become a choir that is firmly established in the local community, benefits a range of local and national charities, and aspires to the highest musical standards. Yet it has always retained a sense of sociability, enjoyment and fun.
The choir at Bath Abbey, 2011
The choir grew out of a schism in the Croydon musical world. In 1975, David Neal, a member of the L.J. Singers, led a 12-strong breakaway group which set up the David Neal Gentleman Songsters. Mr Neal died two years later to be succeeded as leader by Phil Ratcliffe, and the choir was promptly renamed the Croydon Male Voice Choir. It secured sponsorship from the local South Suburban Cooperative Society and rehearsed in the Co-op HQ canteen. It sang ballads and pop songs, and performed in dinner jackets, raising money for causes such as local hospices and homeless charities.
The choir lost its sponsors when the Croydon SSCS closed down. It found new premises in a pub, the Cherry Orchard. It replaced the dinner jackets with vee-necked pullovers (think Val Doonican) and recruited members by advertising in local newspapers and newsagents. Its musical renown was spreading and in 1990, at the third attempt, it won the prestigious Morriston Orpheus prize, awarded in competition for the best choir in southern England.
The 1990s brought further change and growth. The choir adopted its current uniform, silver/blue jackets and a maroon tie with a Croydon motif. It moved to its current rehearsal rooms at Sandilands, home of Addiscombe Cricket Club (happily equipped with a bar). It acquired a new musical director, Ozzie Arnold, and staged a mass choir concert - the first of many - at Croydon's Fairfield Hall. It embarked on further tours, to Cornwall and South Wales and continued its fund-raising work on behalf of local and national charities.
In 2000 the choir acquired its fourth director, Richard Hoyle, previously the choir pianist. Under Dr Hoyle's dedicated and exacting leadership, our standards have continued to rise and our repertoire has become still more varied and eclectic. We sing English and Welsh hymns, spirituals, British and American folk songs, songs from the great musicals, and classic opera pieces. We renew our repertoire constantly in order to surprise our audiences and present our members with fresh challenges.
We have regularly supplied singers for the choir at the Remembrance Day concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, in the presence of H.M. Queen. We have toured to Wales, Cornwall, Yorkshire and notably Lille, where we performed before French and Belgian audiences. In November 2007 we sang at the memorial service for Lord Weatherill, former Croydon MP and Speaker to the House of Commons.
In the spring of 2008 we conducted a successful tour of Yorkshire and in the autumn we attracted an audience of around 500 for our Foyer performance at the Royal Festival Hall. We took part in the International Choir Competition and Festival in Truro in 2009, achieving a creditable fifth place in the main competition. We toured to Holland in April 2010 and have conducted further tours to UK venues. We have more than 70 members and have just recorded our seventh CD, a delightful selection of secular and religious songs and carols for Christmas.
In June 2012 we hosted a 400-voice mass choir Jubilee concert at Croydon's Fairfield Halls that was widely acclaimed as a triumph. Since then we have staged joint concerts with choirs from Canada and Australia. We feel that we are going from strength to strength and have concerts booked through 2015 and into 2016. We look forward to exicting challenges ahead!