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Welcome to the website of Croydon Male Voice Choir
Southern England's most exciting male voice choir!
Registered charity number: 1112732
Choir pays WW1 tribute in Ypres
JUNE 1: The Croydon choir has paid its tribute to the fallen of World War One during an affecting and fulfilling visit to Ypres in Belgium, the location of some of the bloodiest fighting of the entire war.
The choir sings during wreath-laying ceremony at Menin Gate (photo JWT)
On Friday May 27, the choir took part in the regular Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate, built in 1927 to commemorate the 55,000 Allied soldiers who went missing in successive battles at Ypres. While wreaths were laid, the choir sang the moving valedictory Mansions of the Lord, followed by the equally poignant last verse of Keep the Home Fires Burning. Around 600 people witnessed the ceremony and a number told choir members afterwards how moved they were by our singing.
Choir heads for Ypres
MAY 3: The choir is preparing for its visit to Ypres, Belgium, which promises to be a memorable event. The choir will sing at the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate on Friday evening, May 27. On Saturday May 28 it will be performing a full repertoire at St George's Church, Ypres, which was built after the war to commemorate the fallen. More than one hundred choir members and supporters are already booked to make the trip.
Menin Gate, Ypres
The Ypres appearance follows a highly successful concert at Shirley Methodist Church on April 9, which helped to raise more than £1000 for the Hall Grange care-home charity.
Wales tour triumph
JUNE 6: The Croydon MVC scored a resounding success with its North Wales tour last weekend.
Richard Hoyle preps the choir at Chester, watched closely by Welsh tv
On Friday May 29 the choir sang at Chester Cathedral and members considered this a performance to rank with the Bath Abbey sing of 2011. “There was a good audience, the acoustics were fabulous, and we were on top form,” one said. The Chester performance also featured the first appearance of new choir pianist Frances Ringer.
Magnificent at Winchester
The Croydon choir enjoyed a magnificent evening singing in a mass-choir concert at Winchester Cathedral on Saturday (November 15). The concert, featuring five male voice choirs, was in aid of the Prostate Cancer UK charity and the key-note speaker was former England cricket captain David Gower OBE.
David Gower with our CD Those Magnificent Men
In his speech, David referred to the notorious occasion when he buzzed an England match in Australia in a Tiger Moth in 1991 and was fined £1000 by the England management. Croydon MVC presented David with a copy of our CD Those Magnificent Men and he joked about this in his final speech. David also praised “the magnificent singing of these magnificent men in this magnificent venue”.
Choir sings at Westminster wedding
The Croydon choir sang at the Westminster wedding of Julia Weatherill, granddaughter of the late Commons speaker Lord Weatherill, on Saturday September 7. Afterwards we received a letter of generous praise from the bride's father, Bernard Weatherill - extracts to be found below.
The happy couple with choir members after the ceremony
The wedding was held at St Margaret’s, Westminster, known as the parish church of the House of Commons. The Croydon choir sang Battle Hymn of the Republic, Benedictus, and Be Still My Soul – also known as the Finlandia Hymn.