Westerton Male Voice Choir came about because a sodden bowling green prevented members of the Westerton Bowling Club from playing, one day in 1957. Some of the thwarted members gathered round a piano in the pavilion and were so pleased with their efforts that they decided to set up a choir. They had a ready-made conductor in Jim Roseweir, a willing accompanist in Margaret Thrustle and a convenient rehearsal space in the Bowling Green Pavilion. An annual subscription of two & sixpence (12.5 pence) was agreed and The Westerton Male Voice Choir formed.
By 1961 WMVC had sufficient confidence in itself to stage an Annual Concert in the Village Hall - a corrugated iron structure with remarkably good acoustics. This established the choir as an important part of community life in the village and the Ratepayers' Handbook listed WMVC in its entries of Focal Points alongside the Church, the Drama Club, the Country Dance Society, The Co-Op shop and The Bowling Green.
Soon, 'outside' engagements began to be undertaken. The choir's ability to fulfill these was soon noticed by secretaries of local institutions which could stage such an event. Since those early days, WMVC has never lacked a demand for its entertainment.
With the retiral of Jimmy Roseweir in 1966, Gavin Settle took over and served the choir for thirty years. As conductor, Gavin, a self-taught musician, saw a great blossoming of the choir's repertoire and it's ability to draw guest artists such as soloists Linda Finnie in 1974, Isobel Buchanan in 1975, George Macllwham (flute) 1981, Geoffrey Haydock and Penny Smith 1988.
In 1990 Margaret Thrustle retired, having been with the choir since it's beginning and was replaced by Joyce Avery and eventually Catherine Scott.
After the loss of Gavin Settle 1996 and before the arrival of Bryan Marshall in 1999, two conductors helped fill the gap - Tim Redman from BBC's Religious Department and and Ian McCallum who also ran his own long-established Kilbarchan Singers.
With Bryan Marshall came a much younger approach, as befitted a young graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Bryan's contacts included composer Michael Brawley who not only brought along his Big Band but undertook the commission of setting five famous pieces of poetry to music for a Male Voice Choir - poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, Walter de la Mare, William Henry Davies, Siegfried Sassoon and Spike Milligan. These pieces became a main feature of the Choir's 45th Anniversary Concert whose title was taken from the last line of Sassoon's poem 'The Singing Will Never Be Done'.
In 2007, the 50th year was celebrated in great style - ten gigs, 'A Golden Christmas' concert featuring flautist Rachel Leggett, the recording of the choir's first album for over 20 years - 'Brothers, Sing On' - a Civic Reception with the Provost, a 50th Anniversary Dinner and the 50th Anniversary Concert with special guests Geoffrey Haydock (clarinet) and Penny Smith (piano).
From its humble beginnings in the corrugated iron Village Hall, the move to a larger venue for the Annual Concert heralded the broadening of the choir's ambition to entertain in the whole of the local community and not simply in it's original village setting. WMVC's sphere is now the whole of Bearsden and Milngavie District, West of Scotland and beyond. The singing will never be done.
By 1961 WMVC had sufficient confidence in itself to stage an Annual Concert in the Village Hall - a corrugated iron structure with remarkably good acoustics. This established the choir as an important part of community life in the village and the Ratepayers' Handbook listed WMVC in its entries of Focal Points alongside the Church, the Drama Club, the Country Dance Society, The Co-Op shop and The Bowling Green.
Soon, 'outside' engagements began to be undertaken. The choir's ability to fulfill these was soon noticed by secretaries of local institutions which could stage such an event. Since those early days, WMVC has never lacked a demand for its entertainment.
With the retiral of Jimmy Roseweir in 1966, Gavin Settle took over and served the choir for thirty years. As conductor, Gavin, a self-taught musician, saw a great blossoming of the choir's repertoire and it's ability to draw guest artists such as soloists Linda Finnie in 1974, Isobel Buchanan in 1975, George Macllwham (flute) 1981, Geoffrey Haydock and Penny Smith 1988.
In 1990 Margaret Thrustle retired, having been with the choir since it's beginning and was replaced by Joyce Avery and eventually Catherine Scott.
After the loss of Gavin Settle 1996 and before the arrival of Bryan Marshall in 1999, two conductors helped fill the gap - Tim Redman from BBC's Religious Department and and Ian McCallum who also ran his own long-established Kilbarchan Singers.
With Bryan Marshall came a much younger approach, as befitted a young graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. Bryan's contacts included composer Michael Brawley who not only brought along his Big Band but undertook the commission of setting five famous pieces of poetry to music for a Male Voice Choir - poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, Walter de la Mare, William Henry Davies, Siegfried Sassoon and Spike Milligan. These pieces became a main feature of the Choir's 45th Anniversary Concert whose title was taken from the last line of Sassoon's poem 'The Singing Will Never Be Done'.
In 2007, the 50th year was celebrated in great style - ten gigs, 'A Golden Christmas' concert featuring flautist Rachel Leggett, the recording of the choir's first album for over 20 years - 'Brothers, Sing On' - a Civic Reception with the Provost, a 50th Anniversary Dinner and the 50th Anniversary Concert with special guests Geoffrey Haydock (clarinet) and Penny Smith (piano).
From its humble beginnings in the corrugated iron Village Hall, the move to a larger venue for the Annual Concert heralded the broadening of the choir's ambition to entertain in the whole of the local community and not simply in it's original village setting. WMVC's sphere is now the whole of Bearsden and Milngavie District, West of Scotland and beyond. The singing will never be done.
SINGING FOR OTHERS
At the heart of our singing is a cherished tradition, fundraising for charity, which is carried out with great enthusiasm. Over the years we have donated in excess of £75,000 to a wide range of good causes. Each year we select a charity, local or national, to receive a donation. Our chosen charity for this year is
While we are often given a small donation to cover music and travel cost to our gigs, we do not make a charge for performing concerts. This allows our hosts to raise the maximum amount for their own group or project. In the last sixty years we have been privileged to contribute to the following organisations. We hope that the small part we have played has helped. Please visit their websites and have a look at the important work they all do.
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St Andrew’s Hospice – www.st-andrews-hospice.com
St Vincent de Paul Society – www.ssvpscotland.com Scottish Motor Neurone Association – www.mndscotland.org.uk Tak Tent Cancer Support – www.taktent.org The Boys Brigade – www.boys-brigade.org.uk The Maxie Richards Foundation – www.maxierichards.org The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice – www.ppwh.org.uk Yorkhill Children’s Foundation – www.yorkhillchildrensfoundation.org North Parish Green Washing Society + Many church and local groups in West Central Scotland and beyond! |
Beatson Cancer Charity - www.beatsoncancercharity.org
Revive MS Support - www.revivemssupport.org.uk Kidney Kids Scotland - www.kidneykids.org.uk Cancer Research UK - www.cancerresearchuk.org Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) – www.chas.org.uk Erskine Hospital – www.erskine.org.uk Leukaemia Research – www.leukaemia.org Riding for the Disabled Association – www.riding-for-disabled.org Royal National Lifeboat Institution – www.rnli.org.uk Samaritans – www.samaritans.org St Margaret of Scotland Hospice – www.smh.org.uk |
