Gordon
Having read Ann’s engaging piece about her ‘journey’ to the Harborough Singers, I was inspired to share my own experience.
Singing has been part of my life since childhood. I have belonged to church choirs, chamber choirs, madrigal groups, choral societies and have even been in a few musicals. I first joined the Harborough Singers in 1980 after receiving a phone call at work from the choir’s original conductor, Barry Clark. “I understand you sing bass,” he said, “and we are looking for a few more mature voices in the male section,” he explained. I had never spoken to him before and still have no idea how he knew I sang. I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of the ‘more mature’ comment. I was 31 at the time! But under Barry’s leadership, the choir was into competitions in a big way and in 1980 most of its members were just out of the youth choir age bracket. So they could now take in oldies like me. It was always a good choir and I must admit I was flattered to be invited. So I went along to the next rehearsal and I remember being petrified! Everyone was friendly enough, but I did feel pretty old! I’m fairly sure I was the oldest member. The music was lovely and the sound the choir made, even in those days, was a joy to be part of. But I was genuinely frightened of spoiling it.
As I have already mentioned, competition was the keyword in those days. We were always chasing choral championship titles and our quest took us to such prestigious venues as the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, the Royal Festival Hall and the Buxton Opera House. I loved it. The only thing I didn’t like was the ghastly red shirt I had to wear.
At the time I was Deputy Editor of the Harborough Mail and in 1984 I was promoted to Editor, which was great, but it took up a lot of time and my weekends became more precious than ever. So reluctantly, I decided to pull out of the choir. I still sang in St Dionysius Church Choir, so my vocal cords were not totally redundant. I was Editor of the Mail for eight years, followed by jobs in Peterborough and Rugby, though I still lived in Harborough and with David, my partner, attended as many Harborough Singers’ concerts as possible.
I often wondered about re-joining and I remember mentioning it to Margaret Blades at a concert one evening. “Well, why on earth don’t you?” she said. It was the 2017 Christmas concert with Sam West that finally persuaded me to take the plunge. I was particularly impressed by the singing that year and afterwards had a word with Tim, who, of course, was as accommodating as ever.
And so it was that in early 2018 I made a comeback after a 34 year break. And do you know, even though the membership has changed dramatically in those intervening years, I reckon I’m still the oldest! It’s a privilege to be part of the Harborough Singers. It really is. The musical experience is second to none. Let’s hope we can all get back together before too long.