How it started
A couple of dozen men responded to an article in the Rossendale Free Press and met at Spencer’s Café at 99 Bank Street, Rawtenstall, on March 14th 1924. It was resolved that “the Goodshaw Glee Union be disbanded and that the new choir be named the Rossendale Male Voice Choir”. Fred Tomlinson was appointed temporary conductor “until we get someone proper”. He was to remain as the choir’s conductor for the next 52 years! Exactly 100 years later we held the first of 6 centenary shows tracing this eventful history. With a carefully selected repertoire and the use of vintage radio, film and TV recordings, an audience of former RMVC singers, members of the Tomlinson family and our most loyal supporters saw, heard and the choirs journey through its first hundred years.
Competition Success
Within 6 months of its foundation the choir came third at Colne and in 1926 took first prize at the Wallasey Festival. It would be followed by more than 40 competition wins under Fred’s leadership. The pinnacle achievement was the unprecedented three consecutive first places at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod (1952-54). This extraordinary success was covered in the national and international press, and back in Rossendale the Parks Dept created a 3000 flower tribute in Rawtenstall’s memorial gardens. With 30 more wins under the leadership of Beatrice Wade, the choir maintained its reputation as one of the best in Britain.
Celebrity Concerts
In 1936 Fred established a 40-year series of Celebrity Concerts, bringing musicians of international fame to perform here in Rawtenstall. Stars like Geraint Evans and Owen Brannigan performed at the Picture House between engagements at venues including Covent Garden and the Royal Opera House. Associate members paid 2/6d (12.5 pence!) for entrance to three concerts a year. By 1937 the number of Associate Members had grown to 1,168 and it was proving difficult to find sufficiently large venues. Such was the success of these concerts that in the late 1930s Fred exchanged several letters with the Hollywood film star and world-famous bass baritone Paul Robeson, but a busy schedule prevented him from coming.
In homage to Fred’s ingenuity, our most high profile centenary show at the Bacup Royal Court theatre included a guest appearance by internationally renowned tenor, and fellow Rossendalian, Seán Ruane, who joined us onn stage to tell his own musical story.
TV, Radio & Film
In 1932 the choir made the first of over 30 BBC radio appearances and in 1958 performed in the documentary film The Waters Of Irwell. The 1970s brought TV success for three consecutive years on the BBC’s A Grand Sing competition, and in 1978 BBC Radio Lancashire broadcast a one-hour special called The Men from The Valley. Many of the choir’s conductors have contributed to the choir’s body of recorded work on LPs and CDs, and now the choir’s performances are enjoyed internationally thanks to YouTube and various streaming services. For our centenary, we produced a new CD “100 Years of Son” which featured pieces performed by todays choir as welll as classic tracks recorded by the men who celebrated the choir’s 50th anniversary. Fred’s youngest son, Fred Jr, sang in the choir for a number of years and went on to form the Fred Tomlinson Singers, performing the choral pieces in The Two Ronnies and Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Fred Jr was responsible for classics like The Lumberjack Song and SPAM. Sir Michael Palin was amongst the mourners at Fred’s 2016 funeral.
International Festivals
The choir have travelled widely to perform and compete. In 1963 two DC3 Dakotas were chartered to transport the men to Cork for the festival, which they won, and in 1973 the choir travelled by Aer Lingus 737 to the Koorsfestival in Holland. The choir sang The Two Roses on the tarmac, but because the pilot hadn’t heard it there was a repeat performance at 20,000ft! Many other exciting and memorable trips followed, including Killarney in Ireland and to our twin town in Germany, where excellent relationships were established with Bocholt choirs. In 2007 the choir was honoured to give a moving performance of Ave Maria at the Menin Gate in Ypres, just before the playing of The Last Post. In our centenary year we once again visited Belgium, with moving performances at the Menin Gate, war cemetries and the cathedrals of Ghent and Bruges.
Today’s Choir
Winners of the inaugural Lancashire Choir of the Year competition in 2022, today’s choir has around 65 members, with a broad repertoire ranging from choral classics to Oasis. The choir performs and competes locally and nationally, in a variety of venues from the Bridgewater Hall to valley churches, pubs and supermarkets, often as charity fundraisers. In March 2023 the choir was honoured with the award of a Certificate of Achievement, presented by the Mayor Councillor Anne Cheetham in recognition of the choir’s 100 years of success. The award celebrates the choir’s role as ambassadors for Rossendale and its contribution to the valley’s cultural life. It’s a wonderful privilege for the men of today’s choir to be able to honour the incredible achievements of their forebears and to launch the choir onward into its second century!
Our Musical Mentors
Fred Tomlinson 1924
Fred was born in 1893 and a passionate singer from an early age at school and church. On his return from service in WW1 he joined the Goodshaw Glee Union and was a founder of it’s offspring The Glen Quartet – a regular on Radio 2ZY and winners of over 80 competition prizes. Fred led the choir for more than 50 years, gaining the Freedom of Rawtenstall and an MBE for his Services to Music. He had an instinctive understanding of the correct shaping and expression of words, achieving a deeply moving tonal quality which he drew from the men with “those persuasive, expressive hands”. Fred, an ordinary man who worked at Ilex Mill all his life, achieved so much through a love for music and the vigour with which he inspired the choir. He was, in the words of his son Ernest “a genius”.
Ernest Tomlinson 1976
Ernest Tomlinson MBE was a professional composer and arranger, whose work brought him to the notice of the BBC in 1955 where he began broadcasting with his own light orchestra. Ernest’s career drew international recognition and two Ivor Novello awards. His work still features regularly on radio and on film and TV. He took over the leadership of the choir from his father in 1976 and his high standards brought three consecutive wins on BBC TV’s A Grand Sing. Ernest leaves a legacy of over 30 arrangements written specially for the choir, some of which feature on the choir’s Valley of Song CD.
Beatrice Wade 1981
Beatrice was an accomplished singer and music teacher, winning over 200 prizes at festivals. She revered words and would invest time researching each piece to find the perfect ‘word colour’ to express the musical intent of the arrangement. Beatrice knew how to get perfect voice production from the choir and would often implore “Nothing louder than beautiful, gentlemen”. She took the choir to over 30 more festival wins whilst also leading the Rossendale Ladies and Festival choirs.
Dorothy Stoddard 2005
Bringing over 30 years experience as an accomplished singer and highly respected music teacher, Dorothy had sung with the Halle choir for nine years, and retired in 2007 having led the men to further competition success and a memorable visit to Belgium, where they visited First World War cemeteries and trenches and sang at the Menin Gate. To mark her retirement, RMVC joined the Halle choir in a celebratory concert to mark Dorothy’s many years of service to music.
Dennis Kay 2007
Dennis brought an established reputation for his skill as Choral Director, which he applied assiduously to his time with RMVC. Those fourteen months saw the choir lift First Prize at Hazel Grove , record a CD at Clitheroe Grand Theatre, and a singing tour of Killarney and County Kerry.
Kate Shipway 2009
Kate spent a very productive 6 years with the choir from 2009, winning the Hazel Grove and Biddulph Festivals twice each, recording a CD and two Christmas Day concerts for Radio Blackburn, and baking lots of cakes. Kate also saw the choir join the memorial services for both Beatrice Wade and Ernest Tomlinson. She led the choir to both the Albert and the Bridgewater halls and celebrated the 90th anniversary of the choir with a cake that made the papers!
Matthew Thomas 2015
Matthew Thomas took the reins in 2015, and soon claimed prizes including Best Conductor and Song of the Competition in the Cornwall International Male Choral Festival, 2019. The choir’s repertoire now includes up beat contemporary pieces alongside sea shanties and soaring traditional male voice classics. Matthew’s vision for the future is of a choir that continues to flourish, entertaining and representing the people of Rossendale at home and abroad.
Michael Farnworth 1969
One of the longest-serving members, Michael followed his father and grandfather into the choir at the age of 16. Already a prize-winning pianist, he only sang with the choir for a year before quickly becoming the choir’s accompanist, a post he held for 53 years.
CONTACTS
Secretary: Peter Beetham, peterbeetham@hotmail.com