Market Harborough Choral Society 1967 to 2024

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The idea of a town choir came late to Market Harborough. Throughout the 19th Century and well into the 20th, music in the town focused very much on church and chapel choirs. There were attempts to found a separate town Choral Society in the 1890s, during the inter-war years and in the 1950s, but all floundered after a few years.

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The idea of a joint church choir performance of Handel’s “Messiah” was mooted when the Assembly Hall at Robert Smyth Grammar School was opened in the mid-1960s and with the support of the Free Church Council Paul Wright, Head of Music at the Grammar School, was asked to direct. Over 100 singers took part in the concert on 9th December 1967. Such was the audience demand that another performance was given two days later.

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This success lead to the formation of a new choir in 1968 - the Market Harborough and District United Choir - and the presentation of regular concerts. A performance of Haydn's “Creation” was given in November 1968 and in December the first Christmas concert was held at Welland Park College, which became the Society’s regular rehearsal and concert venue.  Sir Michael Tippett, who had close links with the Leicestershire Schools Symphony Orchestra, agreed to become the Society's first President. The choir began to perform with professional orchestras and singers and the name was changed to Market Harborough Choral Society in 1972.

Paul Wright stepped down in the summer of 1973.  Local violinist Leslie Howe took the helm for a period before David Johnson was appointed as Musical Director from February 1975. Under his guidance there followed 19 years of consolidation and growth. The current pattern of concerts became established with four regular concerts in each year - two of them devoted to the classical choral repertoire together with the Christmas carol concert and a summer event, lighter in character.

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The Society sang with professional musicians including Orchestra de Camera and later, the East of England Orchestra. Other guests included the Harborough Band with whom many joint Christmas concerts took place and the Society welcomed a series of celebrity guest performers to these concerts. In November 1980 BBC Radio Leicester sponsored and recorded a concert featuring the world famous Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida playing Beethoven’s 2nd Piano Concerto while the Society sang his “Mass in C” and “Choral Fantasia”.

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When David Johnson left at Christmas 1993, Peter Marshall, Head of Music at Robert Smyth, was appointed to the position of Musical Director and concerts often took place at the school.

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The appointment of Anselm Kersten as Musical Director in 1998 brought a new approach to take the Society into the new Millennium. The Society’s programmes became more eclectic and populist. Performances of the classics such as Messiah, Creation, the Requiems and Masses still took place (including some new challenges such as Puccini's “Messa Di Gloria”) but there was more mixing of old and new, traditional and modern, classical and pop during the season - sometimes in the same concert!

The singers and audiences responded well to the variety and breadth of a typical season, with performances taking place largely in the Methodist Church, the Christmas concert in the Jubilee Hall and, occasionally, when a large orchestra was called for, at Robert Smyth.  In 2007 the Society gave a 40th anniversary performance of Karl Jenkins' “The Armed Man” and his Requiem was performed in 2011. With Gareth Malone promoting singing on TV, suddenly singing in choirs became very popular again and the Society's membership expanded significantly.

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The choir responded readily to invitations to sing at weddings and other private functions and became more integrated with the local community than ever before. Carol singing in the pubs and hotels of the town for charity became an annual feature and a series of very popular themed concerts became established, enhanced by a specially decorated hall and refreshments.

 

In 2013 the choir made a very successful visit to France to perform several concerts in the district of La Ferté-sous-Jouarre (twinned with Market Harborough). Inspired by the many war memorials, Richard Blewett wrote a special piece for the choir, “Your Country Needs You” to commemorate the century of World War One.  This was performed in an unforgettable concert featuring Karl Jenkins' “The Armed Man” accompanied by the Harborough Band at Robert Smyth in November 2014.  

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In January 2015 the choir made its first professionally recorded CD called “From Remembrance To Rejoicing” featuring Christmas carols and launched in October 2015.

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The Choral Society continues to thrive, as does choral singing in the UK.  Its programmes recently have contained not only the best loved classical choral works but also the works of contemporary choral composers such as Eric Whitacre, Paul Mealor and Bob Chilcott. Solo voices from within the choir are used in concerts on occasions and small groups from within the choir often perform items. Young performers in the Market Harborough area are regularly offered a platform for performance at concerts. The choir has taken full advantage of social media in its Facebook and Instagram pages and has regularly posted concert recordings to its YouTube channel.

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The choir had to suspend operations in 2020 when rehearsals for Howard Goodall's “Eternal Light” were well under way.  The Covid epidemic stopped activities for about 18 months, with the choir resuming again in September 2021. Since then several important matters have occurred, the biggest of which was in 2023 when Anselm Kirsten stood down as Musical Director after 25 years in the post. He was succeeded by our new Musical Director Emma Trounson who has brought to the choir scope, imagination and vivacity. Our performances under her go from strength to strength.