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“The Valley of Song”

…is how the Rossendale Valley in south east Lancashire is often described and it’s the home of The Rossendale Male Voice Choir.

Founded in 1924, by the late Fred Tomlinson MBE, who took a group of local singers and moulded them into one of the country’s finest male voice choirs. Winning many competitions and festivals, including the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen. Sharing a love of singing and music-making not only drives us to do our very best in the concert hall or in competition, but also generates strong personal friendships between members.

As you’ll have gathered, we’re 100 years old!

You can be part of it, so please get in touch. Whether it’s for a concert which will have an extra special atmosphere, sponsorship, media interest (including radio & TV), or to be a member of the choir as we embark on our second century of song, drop us a line.

Our Honorary Patron, Catherine Bott.

Singer and broadcaster Catherine Bott has kindly agreed to be our Honorary Patron during our centenary year (and perhaps a little longer!).

Catherine studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. After which she spent two years singing everything from Bach to Berio with the Swingles before beginning a distinguished solo career specialising in baroque music. Among her many recordings are Bach’s St. John Passion and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. She has also premiered and recorded works by contemporary composers Craig Armstrong, Jonathan Dove and Michael Nyman. She is a Fellow of the Guildhall School and an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.

Listen to the lovely message she recorded for us recently…

Choir Video Premiere

For several months now a tallented local videographer, Pat Duggan, has been stalking us!

He’s been there with us in pubs, at concerts, in our rehearsals and even in our homes! And he’s always had a couple of cameras and some sound equipment with him, capturing the essence of the choir, it’s history, character and the joy, fun and friendship of being part of it.

It’s a great insight into what the Rossendale Male Voice Choir is all about.

Enjoy!

In April 2022 we had our third visit to the fantastic Cornwall International Male Choral Festival, performing with top-class choirs from the UK and around the world.

We were honoured to have been asked to sing at the opening Gala Concert in Truro Cathedral, and here are a few videos from the live stream of our performances that night.

Anthem From Chess

Seal Lullaby

Drunken Sailor

Sing Your Way Home

Seize the Day

Can I say how much I enjoyed the whole concert

We had the absolute pleasure of seeing you guys in concert last night…you blew us away!

How amazing it is to be part of this choir! What a wonderful sound gentlemen!

You guys look like a wonderful group of friends, making great music and having a blast!

Our Musical Team

Matthew Thomas

Musical Director

Joining the Rossendale Male Voice Choir as Musical Director in 2015, Matthew has injected a new impetus into the choir and won the award for top conductor at the Cornwall International Male Choral Festival in 2017

Liz Baker

Accompanist

Liz has been accompanying singers since she joined the junior section of Manchester Mecca Bands as a teenager. After thirty years of sharing her love and enthusiasm for music with her piano and vocal students, Liz brings her versatile talents and dynamic performance energy to the Choir

Charles Crowley

Assistant Conductor

Charles joined the choir in 1987, singing with the First Tenors ever since. He is also the lead conductor of the Rossendale Festival Choir which is a mixed choir formed from members of the RMVC and the Rossendale Ladies Choir.

CONTACTS

Secretary: Peter Beetham, peterbeetham@hotmail.com

REHEARSALS

Every Monday at 7.30pm

LDS Church, Rawtenstall, BB4 6QX