ABOUT US
The Mendip Male Voice Choir is a choir led and supported by professional musicians with many years of choral and vocal experience and currently we sing about 12 performances each year for the enjoyment of audience and choir members alike. Our repertoire encompasses a wide range of musical styles, including light and popular songs, traditional British and American tunes and sacred music and we sing in a wide range of venues. Performances sometimes with other choirs are often a means of raising money for charities and during the course of the year we would expect to help raise in excess of £10,000 for a wide variety of causes.
For example in 2023 the choir ran a campaign called '20 men needed' to attract more men to join the choir with the joint aim of raising money through sponsorship of the individual new members for Prostate Cancer UK. Through the sponsorship and our Christmas concerts we raised over £5,700 for that particular charity.
The Choir is itself a registered charity and a member of the National Association of Choirs.
Kate Courage is our Musical Director who we welcomed back to rejoin the choir as Musical Director in March 2024. Kate studied Music and English Literature at University and has taught, directed, conducted, and composed for many choirs, groups, and schools, including twice conducting at the Royal Albert Hall Schools Proms with a massed choir of 500 children singing two of her songs.
Kate Courage
Following Phillip Evry's retirement, another gifted pianist has taken over as our Accompanist from our autumn season 2024. Dominic Irving studied composition and piano for four years at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, graduating in 2009 with a 1st-class BMus Honours degree. In 2011, he completed an MA at Bristol University and from 2012-2019, he was the Musician in Residence at Dauntsey's School, Devizes.
He is actively involved with other choirs and orchestras in the South West, and is a published composer, with his recent work including ‘Hi-Tech Etudes’, a
two-volume set of modern piano compositions aimed at young players.
Dominic Irving
We welcome applications from professional musicians who would be interested in joining us during a performance as a Guest Soloist. Please get in touch with the Musical Director - musicaldirector@mendipmen.co.uk
The choir has a Council who are elected every year at our AGM and work hard to support the choir and develop its potential. The current council members are:
Chairman - Richard Luscombe
Vice Chairman - Peter Bradshaw
Secretary / Asst. Sec - John Taylor / Simon Gyde
Membership Secretary - Andy Nicholls
Concert Secretary / Asst. Concert Sec. - Simon Martin / David Sperritt
Treasurer / Asst. Treasurer - George Beechener / Alex Jackson
Publicity Officer & Data Protection Officer - John Kendall
Website Officer - John Barnard
Stage Manager / Asst. Stage Mgr - Martin Dymond / Geoff Pulsford
Librarian / Asst. Librarian - John Hack / Mike Downing
Archivist - John Daintith
Wardrobe Master - Rob Thain
Safeguarding & Child Protection Officer - Fred Lacey
Please use our 'Contact' page to get in touch.
Section Leaders
One of the choir members from each section acts as Section Leader to liaise with other singers from their section.
First Tenor Section Leader / Deputy - David Phillips / Rob Thain
Second Tenor Section Leader / Deputy - Jim Attwood / Geoff Pulsford
Baritone Section Leader / Deputy - Bryan Hussey / Nick Furzland
Bass Section Leaders / Deputy- Robert Pemberton / Alan Burbridge
The Choir is delighted to acknowledge the support of the following Individuals:
Honorary President
Brian Attwood
Vice Presidents
Geoff Pulsford
Terry Phillips
Choir Patron
Sir Michael Eavis - CBE
Contacts for any Concert enquiries or use our Contact page
JOHN TAYLOR
SECRETARY
secretary@mendipmen.co.uk