EARLY DAYS
In a newspaper report, celebrating our Thirtieth Anniversary in 1973, the Society’s former president, Sylvia Horton-
The Otley Choral Group planned a concert version of Merrie England for the spring of 1944, inviting a Mr Sydney Parsons to conduct, but by the date of the concert (April 1944) the choir was already known as the Otley Choral society and seventy singers took part in the performance. Incidentally, we sang Merrie England again for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.
LONG-
That the choir has survived through difficult times (numerical and financial) bears witness to the enthusiasm and loyalty of its members but more
particularly, to the dedication, skill and energy of Charles Bainbridge who trained and educated the Society from 1946 until his retirement in 1980. Once again the redoubtable Sylvia Horton-
The Society has been blessed with other long-
One local family was represented for over 70 years in the choir – Mrs Doris Moxon (second soprano) was one of those founder members in 1943; soon after the war she was joined by her husband Cyril (tenor) who served as chairman of the society from 1964 -
MEMORABLE PERFORMANCES
Otley Choral Society has occasionally performed outside Wharfedale. In May 1984 choir members travelled to Otley’s twin town to share a concert with the Chorale de Montereau, performing Faurés Requiem and Vivaldi’s Gloria.
Nearer home, some members of the Choir spent two memorable weekends in Wensleydale singing in freezing conditions (and thereby earning a valuable fee for Society funds), as the Darrowby Choral Society in BBC Television’s ‘All creatures Great and Small’.
1953
Sally Robinson & former conductor Alan Horsey
COMMISSIONS
For our 50th Anniversary Concert in 1993 we commissioned a work from Andrew Carter. Musick’s Jubilee, based on a poem by Andrew Marvel, has since been widely performed in the UK and abroad.
The Diamond Jubilee commission, from Christopher Rathbone, was The World’s a Stage, a setting of a poem by Thomas Hardy and Shakespeare’s 7 Ages of Man.
Even nearer to home and with the help of the first of our lottery grants, we were able to perform Verdi’s Requiem at St George’s Hall in Bradford which fulfilled our ambition to mount a really big concert.
This memorable concert in June 1998 provided a platform for young soloists and involved the participation of young singers from Prince Henry’s Grammar School, St Mary’s Menston and Bradford Cathedral Choir.