On the 2^nd October, 1946, a group of men from the Rowbarton area of Taunton met at 6 North St. (at that time the offices of the District Labour Party) to discuss the formation of a male voice choir. During and immediately after World War Two, attempts had been made by Avimo Limited and Taunton Trades Council to establish such a choir but without success. The new choir was called The Wessex Male Singers and was the idea of Councillor Fred Norris but development was due to its gifted first conductor Jeffrey Tottle and the first accompanist Betty Morrison. The first President was Victor Collins M.P. later Lord Stonham.

Over the years the number in the choir has fluctuated considerably. In 1955 membership had fallen to 15 but by 2005, membership had risen to 50 strong and 45 singers took the stage at the Annual Concert at The Tacchi Morris Centre. Membership increased further in 2006 and had reached 60 for the Diamond Jubilee Concert in 2006 at The Brewhouse Theatre.

During the early years of the choir one of the highlights was The Bristol and District Massed Male Voice Choirs Concert at the Colston Hall. The choir participated in these events from 1950 to 1962 and the concerts featured soloists such as Cynthia Glover and Sandy McPherson. In 1951 the choir took part in a Festival of Britain Concert featuring five of Taunton’s leading music societies. In 1962 the choir changed its name to Taunton Male Voice Choir to strengthen ties with the town. In 1974 the name was changed once more, this time to Taunton Deane Male Voice Choir, in an attempt to broaden appeal.

The Choir may be considered a success as it has increased in size and appeared at increasingly prestigious venues and has outlived all other male choirs and madrigal groups in the area. In the past the Choir has bought up the music of local choirs that went out of existence. Our Librarian, Alan Richards, smiles when he sees music priced at 1d and 2d in our stock. The prices nowadays are likely to be more than £2 per copy and stretch the Choir finances considerably.

Musical Directors seem to have their own individual ways from being familiar to strict disciplinarian. Most of them have tried various means to persuade choir members to sing without their music copies in order to follow direction and communicate with audiences. Francis Burroughes, Musical Director 1993 – 2006, achieved this aim at the 2005 Annual Concert and the improvement in performance and presentation was undeniable.

At one AGM the possibility of introducing discreet voice testing for new members was raised but this notion was soon abandoned! All voices are welcome for relaxed, informal and enjoyable singing on Wednesday evening rehearsals at the Temple Methodist Church schoolroom in Taunton.

Old photographs feature the choir dressed in a variety of uniforms from formal dinner suits with white shirts and bow ties (no pullovers!), to dark suits, blue shirts and dark ties. The current uniform is navy blazers with Choir designed badges and ties, white shirts and grey trousers. However, the decision to adopt this uniform took around 43 years! You simply cannot rush a male voice choir.

When Chris White left as Musical Director in 1992 after 14 successful years in post, the Choir struggled for a while until the appointment of Francis Burroughes in October 1993. At this point the choir was down to 27 nominal members, which included several men who no longer sang regularly with the choir. Through much hard work and publicity drives membership grew to 47 within a couple of years. The Choir’s appearance and performance also improved.

In May 1992 and 1993 the choir appeared at The World Choir Event at Cardiff Arms Park alongside Dame Gwyneth Jones, Tom Jones and Dennis O’Neill. A further major event occurred in May 1995 when the Choir sang at the V.E. Day celebrations in Hyde Park with Elaine Paige, Hannah Gordon, Cliff Richard and Vera Lynn - an inspiring and memorable occasion.

The Golden Jubilee season in 1995 -1996 presented an opportunity to effect some changes in the way the Choir functioned. The Annual Concert was traditionally shared with Wellington Silver Band and held at St. Andrew’s Church in aid of Abbeyfield Homes. After much discussion it was agreed that the Golden Jubilee Annual Concert would feature the Choir alone and be held in a prestigious venue with the proceeds going exclusively to Choir funds. The concert was held at The Brewhouse before a capacity audience that included all the surviving past conductors of the Choir and the widow of Jeff Tottle, the Choir’s first conductor. The season ended with the Choir organising a Massed Gala of Male Voice Choirs at St. George’s Hall in Exeter when over 300 singers participated.

In March 2000 the Choir was invited to sing at the Male Voice Millennium Extravaganza at the Manchester Evening News Arena in Manchester in aid of Help the Hospices and St. Anne’s Hospice Greater Manchester. This proved to be an unforgettable experience and was greatly enjoyed. The Choir organised a Millennium Male Voice Gala at Wells Cathedral in September 2000 when almost £3000 was raised for Cathedral funds. About 400 singers took part in this worthy cause. The Choir’s next prestigious appearance was at Jersey International Choir Festival in 2001 where the choir was third in the male voice section.

Arguably the most enjoyable event was The Yorkshire Festival of Music at The Royal Albert Hall in November 2003 when over £100,000 was raised for Cancer Research. A mixed choir of almost 2000 choristers, and two brass bands, captivated an appreciative audience that filled every seat in the house. This proved to be an incredible experience and we are delighted to have been invited to participate again in November 2006 (we just hope we will be allowed to sing ‘She’s A Lassie From Lancashire’ this time!) Over the years the number of concerts performed has increased steadily and presently we participate in about 15 a year. In 1997 over £2000 was raised by the choir for local charities and good causes. In 2005 this figure exceeded £3500.

The Choir now holds a couple of social evenings a year in which all the entertainment is provided by its members. A wide variety of acts include soloists, duets, groups, instrumentalists, monologues, etc. In addition, a feature of the end of season annual concert is the ’Afterglow’ community singing in the bar afterwards.

As part of a development plan expressing a vision for the future of the Choir, devised by current Chairman, Tony Slavin, to improve singing and performance, attract new members and raise public awareness of male voice singing, a series of Male Choral Workshops were held during the summer of 2004. The workshops were tutored by guest conductors Sheila Harrod, of the Kentwood Show Choir, Swindon, and Allen Coles, Conductor of the Budleigh Salterton MVC, Devon, in addition to our own Francis Burroughes and Val Hill. Despite a worrying lack of initial interest (when we almost cancelled the project) the whole thing was a great success and we succeeded in recruiting fifteen new members, as well as, we hope you will agree, improving the performance of the Choir.

During the following summer, 2005, the Choir again organised singing classes, this time under the direction of our MD, Francis Burroughes and assisted by Valerie Hill. It proved to be a productive summer and another seven choristers joined the choir.

On our Diamond Jubilee Year 2005-2006 the Choir was associated with four Somerset charities: SURE, Somerset Cancer Care, Somerset Association for the Blind and the Children’s Hospice South West. Concerts were performed for each organisation in Taunton, Burnham, Wells, Minehead and Yeovil with all the proceeds going to the individual charity. Additionally, the Choir donated £1000 from the proceeds of its Diamond Jubilee Concert on 10^th June 2006 at the Brewhouse, Taunton, to be shared equally between the charities. The Choir also maintained a full concert programme for the year assisting many other worthy causes in its fund-raising efforts.

Our most worthy Musical Director, Dr Francis Burroughes, retired following our Diamond Jubilee Concert after ‘enduring’, as he puts it, the Choir for more than 14 years. He has inspired and motivated the Choir, dedicated himself beyond what could be reasonably expected of anyone, and guided us towards singing a broader and more interesting variety of songs. His will certainly be a hard act to follow.

The current season got under way in September 2006 and we ‘discovered’ another five new singers in our midst following a very brief and direct campaign. The membership, on paper, stands at 65 now and if the enthusiasm of the newest recruits is anything to go by then the future looks very bright indeed. If the swelling numbers and the appointment of a replacement MD develops satisfactorily then quality of performance should improve immeasurably.

We are, however, looking forward, beyond our Diamond Jubilee Year, with a great deal of optimism and enthusiasm.

Many people have made outstanding contributions over the years:-