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News
News Archive
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Home from the USA
What a wonderful experience we had during our
two weeks in Michigan and Wisconsin. Having landed at
Minneapolis on Monday 23rd July 2007, we coached to Calumet, Upper Michigan, in the
Copper Country where the 14th Gathering of Cornish Cousins
in USA had been arranged to coincide with our tour.
On the Wednesday 20 members of our party
re-created the morning dance as performed on Flora Day.
The difference being that the temperature was 35oC
(95oF)
Helston Flora Dance at Calumet led by Joy
Glasson (wife of the Choir Secretary) and David Bray
(Secretary Elect) both of whom are Helston born.
The first concert was in the Theatre at Calumet which
proved to be a sell-out.
During our time in the Upper Peninsula we also sang at
the Central Mines Methodist Church. This is now a
heritage building having originally been built by the
Cornish Miners. There is no electricity so our
accompanist Richard Reed had to play a harmonium!
After Calumet we went on to Mineral Point Wisconsin.
Another area where the Cornish Miners went to work in lead
mines. Here we found such places as Pendarvis, Gundry
House, Polperro House etc.
Holman-Climax Choir, on stage at the Opera House,
Mineral Point, Wisconsin
On leaving Mineral Point we travelled to Livonia,
Detroit, where again we had a wonderful reception.
One of the items we sang was the well known "White Rose".
In this item the two quartets combined to sing a verse and
the chorus in Cornish
Everyone who went on the Tour, Choir Members, wives and
supporters were agreed that we all had a wonderful time.
Finale at Livonia, Michigan
We arrived home after two weeks away, tired but very
happy.
August 2007
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Once again the Choir held
its AGM at the Lowenac Hotel, Camborne. The Choir has
had a very good year performing 21 concerts around Cornwall
and North Devon. One of the highlights was the
performance of "The Ballad of St Piran" words by David
Dearlove and music by our President Goff Richards.
This was performed in Truro Cathedral at the opening of the
bi-annual International Male Choirs Festival.
One Choir member, Trevor Hodge,
achieved 100% attendance at both concerts and rehearsals and
was presented with the "Garfield Martin" cup by the Chairman
Rodney Grigg.

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The chairman also presented Melville
Strike with a Certificate marking his 20 years service to
the Choir.

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Michael Gray, having served 30 years as a
top tenor in the Choir and becoming a Life Member was
presented with his tie to mark the occasion

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The Chairman thanked all the officers of
the Choir for their dedication and hard work and also those
many people who work behind the scenes to help keep the
Choir running smoothly.
We now look forward to our trip to
Michigan and Wisconsin at the end of July.
13th July 2007
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Accident - Stand in Accompanist
Unfortunately our accompanist, Agnes Jane, has had an
accident. She fell at home and has broken her left arm.
We hope that she will mend quickly and soon be back in her
usual place.
On Sunday 17th
June we performed a concert at St Mawgan in Pydar Church, nr
Newquay. Our MD accompanied the Choir and our deputy
conductor Andrew Thomas did the conducting. It all
seemed to work very well and provided a most enjoyable
evening.
The Choir is very
fortunate to have such talented people to lead us.
18 June 2007
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USA Tour
The Choir is now hard at work polishing up
the programmes for the forthcoming tour to America.
We will visit Calumet in Upper Michigan and Mineral Point
Wisconsin. Both places had an influx of Cornish hard
rock miners during the 19th Century, and their descendants
are still there.
After these visits we will be going to
Livonia for our final concert before returning home to
Cornwall.
For fuller details of concert dates etc
follow the link to 'Concerts' then 'Concert Dates'
24th May 2007
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Trevithick Day
A great day enjoyed by thousands in Camborne, bathed in
glorious sunshine, celebrating the age of steam and Richard
Trevithick's part in designing and building the first steam
locomotive.
Large crowds listened to the Choir perform near the
fountain in Commercial Square. They heard a good mix
of popular sacred and secular songs sung by the Choir,
conducted by Roger Wills GRSM ARCM, and accompanied by the
evergreen Agnes Jane.
The choir finished with a rousing rendition of Kenneth
Pelmear's arrangement of Trelawny and were joined by many in
the appreciative crowd.
29th April 2007
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
At the Annual General Meeting the Secretary, Ivor
Glasson, reported that we had had another successful year under the
direction of Roger Wills, ably assisted by Agnes Jane our wonderful
accompanist.
It is regretted by the whole choir that our
Musical Director, Roger Wills has announced his retirement from that
position from July 2008. He will be greatly missed by all Male
Voice Choirs in the County and elsewhere.
We now have the difficult task of finding a replacement.
The Chairman, Secretary and Publicity Secretary,
who had stated an intention of not continuing in their respective
offices, were persuaded to continue and so Rodney Grigg is the
Chairman, Ivor Glasson the Secretary and David Oates the Publicity
Secretary.
We now look forward to yet another great year of
learning and making music for all to enjoy.
July 2006
_________________________________________________________________
Well, Trevithick Day was a success for the Choir.
We sang for almost an hour beside the fountain in Commercial Square,
Camborne. The sun shone for most of the day although there was
a cold northerly wind.
The Choir had a fund raising stall, which was
manned, or should that be womanned, by wives and girlfriends of
Choir Members. The Choir is extremely grateful for their help.
We have also had some very good news. Our Musical
Director, Roger J Wills GRSM, ARCM, has been made an honorary life
member of the Cornish Federation of Male Voice Choirs. An honour
richly deserved for all the hard work and time he has spent in
training the massed Cornish Choirs for their Royal Albert Hall
appearances.
WELL DONE ROGER!

May 2006
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The Choir has been privileged to be asked by the BBC to record
two pieces for the Songs of Praise programme, which is broadcast on
Sundays in the late afternoon.
The recording by the Choir and Camborne Town Band, both,
incidentally, conducted by the Choir's Musical Director, was made at
Truro Methodist Church in early December 2005. It involved a
lot of hard work by all.
The two hymns we sang were both arranged by the Choir's
President, Goff Richards. They were "Let There Be Light"
(see the CD 'Proper Job') and "Take my Life and Let It Be".
We are reliably informed that the whole programme, which looks at
how people cope with disasters, e.g. Boscastle or the London
Bombings, will be broadcast on Sunday 15th January 2006.
A Happy New Year to All
December 2005
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WINNERS AGAIN
The result from The Camborne Music Festival was
great.
Holman-Climax Male Voice Choir sang
1. "Psalm 150"
by Goff Richards (our
President)
2. "Pange Lingua Gloriosi"
Bruckner arr. by W T Jones
3. "Amen - This little light of mine",
arr. by Alan
Simmons.
The adjudicator, Jeffrey Wynn Davies, complimented the choir on its choice
of programme (Thank you Roger Wills) and our performance. He awarded us first place with
a magnificent mark of 90.
In Second place was Four Lanes Male Voice Choir with 86.
The Choir was also awarded the cup for the best
choral performance and our MD, Roger Wills, was awarded the Baton
for best Conductor.
This was a very successful evening which rounded of
weeks of hard work by the Choir members and our wonderful musical
team, Roger Wills and Agnes Jane.
Now we look forward to Christmas
November 2005
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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
A successful Annual General Meeting was held on 29th
July 2005 at the Lowenac Hotel, Camborne.
The Choir has had another very good year under the
baton of Roger Wills, GRSM, ARCM, winning the shield at the
International Male Choirs Competition at Truro, for the best Cornish
Choir. There were two very successful tours, the first to
Northumberland and then in May of 2005 a return to Brittany.
In both locations the Choir was extremely well received.
We now look forward to another year building on our
success and trying to maintain steady improvement.
Four members share the Garfield Martin Trophy for
100% attendance at both rehearsals and concerts.
Ivor Glasson, Maurice Harry, Trevor Hodge and Ted Rogers.
The Officers of the Choir were re-elected which
echoes the stability of the Choir as a whole.
Following the A.G.M. there was a presentation
evening when Rodney Grigg, chairman presented Peter Thomas,
baritone, with a certificate to mark 20 years Service to the Choir.
William Waters, first tenor, was also awarded a
similar Certificate but was unfortunately absent.
The Chairman then sprang a surprise on Leonard Jane,
husband of our wonderful accompanist of 33 years, Agnes Jane.
Leonard has been elected an Honorary Life Member of the Choir for
all his support of the Choir and in particular Agnes over so many
years

Rodney Grigg presented Leonard Jane with his Honorary Life Member's
Tie.
Then came the surprise of the evening when our Vice
Chairman, Hiram Tresidder, announced to the Choir men and wives
assembled that Rodney Grigg had ably served the Choir as Chairman,
continuously, for 20 years, and it was felt that the occasion could
not be let pass without some recognition. He then presented Rodney
with an engraved silver salver to express the gratitude of everyone
for his dedication and hard work.

Hiram Tresidder - Rodney Grigg - Jean Grigg
The Choir now has a welcome break and resumes
rehearsals on Friday 2nd September 2005
July 2005
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BRITTANY 2005
Once again the Holman-Climax Choir
has been cementing relations between Brittany and Cornwall. The
Choir has just returned from a very successful concert tour of
Southern Brittany, based at the town of Ste. Anne d'Auray (which is
twinned with Camborne, Cornwall).
The Choir performed three concerts,
the first in the magnificent Basilica at Ste Ann d'Auray together
with two other male voice choirs, the second in the large chapel of
the convent in the same town. The third concert was performed
jointly with La Chorale Sylvia, in a church in Lorient.
All concerts were very well received


Holman-Climax Quartet
Trelawney Quartet
at Ste Anne d'Auray
at Lorient

The Choir in concert at Lorient, Brittany

Presentations after the concert at Lorient with
La Chorale Sylvia
We had many enjoyable evenings at
the Hotel Moderne in Ste Anne d'Auray. One of the highlights
was the appearance of the wives of Choir Members, wearing their
husbands uniforms, as the
'HOLMAN
ANTI-CLIMAX CHOIR'


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At our final social evening Rodney
Grigg, Chairman of Holman-Climax made a presentation to the
President of La Chorale Sylvia.

This was followed by singing - in
Cornish by - by another group from Holman-Climax Choir and Breton dancing by
members of La Chorale Sylvia.

We had a most enjoyable time and look forward to
many more concert tours.
June 2005
Well, we've done it again.
At the International Male Voice Choir Festival we
won the cup for the best Cornish Choir in the Class of "Choirs over
40 voices" and the shield for the best Cornish Choir in the whole
competition.
Roger Wills was pleased with the Choir's
performance which was very well received by the large audience in
the Hall for |Cornwall.
The Choir was placed fourth overall with
the winning choir from Latvia and the second placed choir from
Germany.
We are now getting ready for our tour to
Brittany at the end of May 2005, which should be another terrific
experience.
1st May 2005
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21 April 2005
The Choir is at present rehearsing
for the International Male Choirs Festival, based at Truro.
The competitive part takes place on Saturday 30th April 2005 in the
Hall for Cornwall.
In the morning and early afternoon
the choirs of under 40 voices compete and the larger choirs,
including us compete later in the afternoon.
Agnes and Roger discuss the finer points of the
music.
Roger Wills makes the choir work hard at rehearsal.
We are also involved in the International Concert
which also takes place in the Hall for Cornwall at 7.30 pm on the
Saturday night.
21 April 2005
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Tamworth Ladies Choir
This comparatively modern Choir from Staffordshire visited
Cornwall just after Easter 2005. It was formed in 1990 and
has visited Germany and Holland. The Choir has also performed
in concert with Neath Male Voice Choir in South Wales
They appeared with Holman-Climax Choir at St Agnes
Methodist Church on Thursday 31st March.
It was an excellent concert. The Tamworth Ladies sang an
impressive and varied repertoire. They are a good and
entertaining choir. Anyone who didn't go to this concert
certainly missed a treat.
We sincerely hope that this will not be their last visit to our part
of the world.
31 March 2005
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Reg
& Freda Williams from St. Agnes
On
Friday 25th February 2005, Reg Williams, long serving bass in the
Choir, was presented with an inscribed Carriage Clock by
Rodney Grigg, Chairman, to celebrate his Golden Wedding Anniversary.
On
Saturday 26th February 2005, Reg & Freda had a wonderful party
for family and friends at the Miners and Mechanic's Institute at St
Agnes to celebrate the occasion.
27th
February 2005.
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Since
Christmas one of our more senior members, Eddie Penlerrick, has
decided to retire after well over twenty years with the choir. He
was invited and has accepted to become an Honorary Life Member of
the Choir in recognition of his services. Eddie was presented with
his Honorary Life Members Tie, and his wife with a bouquet of
flowers by the Chairman, Rodney Grigg.
On
Saturday 5th February 2005, the Choir's Annual Dinner Dance was held
at the Lowenac Hotel, Camborne. This proved to be an excellent
evening, well organised by member Maurice Harry.
The
Choir is now busy rehearsing for the Male Voice Choirs Festival to
be held at the Hall for Cornwall on Saturday 30th April 2005.
This
will be the second festival - Holman-Climax Male Voice Choir came
third overall and were adjudged to be the best Cornish and British
Choir. We would like to retain that title and do our best to
win the overall competition but it is of a very high standard.
February
2005
Our New CD is now available - cost £11 + £1.50 p
& p.
For details of how to order go to
RECORDINGS
then ORDER
ON LINE.
The title of the CD is "The River of Life"
which is taken from one of the tracks of that name. The
River of Life was written by Goff Richards, a Cornishman with a
worldwide reputation for bands and choirs, he is also the Choir's President.
CONTENTS OF CD
1. SURELY THE
PRESENCE Wolfe - arr. Roger Wills
2. THE RIVER OF LIFE
Goff Richards
3. IN SAINT
PAUL'S Arthur Warrell
4. LOVE
DIVINE Stainer - arr. Roger Wills
5.
SANCTUS
Gounod - arr. Littlemore
6. NIDAROS Daniel Protheroe
7. BY COOL
SILOAM arr. Hugh S Roberton
8.
TRESKERBY Monty Pearce
9. HAIL TO THE
HOMELAND Kenneth Pelmear
10. PROPER JOB (Solo Sydney Mitchell)
Dearlove
& Richards
11. KINGS OF
SWING
Porter/Walter/Miller/Warren
- arr. Alan Simmons
12. CORNWALL (Tune Myfanwy)
Parry - Tom Watters
13. THE DAY THOU GAVEST Schofield
- arr. Roger Wills
14. AN IRISH
BLESSING
arr. Roger WIlls
Copies of the CD are available from all Choir
members and will be on sale at our concerts
Awards and Achievements - 2004
At the Annual General
Meeting held on 30th July 2004 Rodney Grigg, re-elected as
Chairman, was pleased to present the Garfield Martin Cup
for best attendance at both concerts and rehearsals to four members
of the Choir who each achieved a magnificent 100% record.
They
were Don Kinver, Ivor Glasson, Rex Manhire and Peter
Thomas.
Ivor Glasson was
re-elected Secretary (Click on CONTACT for details)
At the Annual
Presentation Evening, held in the Lowenac Hotel, Camborne,
after the A.G.M. there were several awards.
The Chairman
presented Bob Hickman with a Certificate to mark 20 years as
a full singing member of the Choir.
Four men were
honoured by being made Life Members of the Choir having completed 30
years as full singing members. All four joined the Choir in 1974,
which is a long time ago, but to those four men the years have
passed very quickly. The Chairman presented David Wedlock, Ted Rogers, Gareth Rees
and Peter Williams with with their 'Life Member's Ties'.

Peter Williams Rodney
Grigg Ted Rogers David Wedlock
Gareth Rees
The Musical Director,
Roger Wills GRSM, ARCM. has led the Choir for 12 years and
during that time our wonderful accompanist Agnes Jane has
played at every concert.
The Chairman was pleased to
make a presentation to her to mark this achievement.
The Choir has had
another successful and happy year and is looking forward to the next
year when they hope to compete in the International Male Choir
Festival at Truro at the end of April, as well as performing several
concerts.
The Choir now breaks
for the month of August and rehearsals start at Camb orne School and
Community College on Friday 3rd September 2004
All visitors are
welcome - Come along and listen - you may like to have a go
yourself.
HOLMAN-CLIMAX
FLIES THE FLAG FOR CORNWALL
A FRIENDSHIP that began 40 years
ago has resulted in a concert tour to the north of England for one
of Cornwall's best loved male voice choirs.
Back in the 1960s, Camborne
schoolteacher and Holman-Climax choir member, David Oates, left West
Cornwall to start teacher training. At college he met, and
immediately became friends with, another young man, David Pope, from
the opposite end of the country - Northumberland.
After sharing a flat for three
years, they lost touch until recently, when David and his wife made
the 500-mile journey from Cornwall to Northumberland for a long
overdue reunion. But it was a reunion with a difference, because the
couple took 45 members of Holman-Climax Male Voice Choir along with
them.
The choir has a strong tradition
of touring and has represented Cornwall in Europe and the USA, as
well as in Britain.
David Oates met David Pope for
the first time since 1969 in the beautiful setting of Durham
Cathedral, and the choir sang in front of the ancient and imposing building to an enthusiastic audience.
The choir went on to give three
more concerts in County
Durham and Northumberland.
Singing high in the hills of Northumberland, close to
Hadrian's Wall, added an extra element of enjoyment to
Holman-Climax's trip to the Northeast.

Some members of the Choir at the Beamish Chapel
This
was followed by a concert in the reconstructed Wesleyan Chapel in
Beamish Folk Museum. The culmination of the tour was a performance
in the county town of
Morpeth, where representatives of
several male voice choirs from the area were present.
The choir was pleased and
surprised at Morpeth when two Cornish exiles stood up in the
audience and greeted the choir with the traditional cry of
"Oggie, oggie, oggie". That warmth and friendship was
cemented when the choir-chairman, Rodney Grigg, presented a plaque,
on behalf of Camborne Town Council, to me mayor of Morpeth.
David Oates said: "What
began as a reunion between old friends became a highly successful
vehicle for carrying the traditions and culture of Cornwall far
beyond its borders. The choir from the Cornish heartland of Camborne
and Redruth flew the flag for Cornwall in the North-East and
established links that can, hopefully, be built on in the future, to
the mutual advantage of both areas."
David
Oates: 16th June 2004
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TREVITHICK DAY - 2004

The Choir was in fine voice at Trevithick Day on a
wonderfully sunny day.

Under the watchful eye of our Musical Director Roger
Wills we entertained a large crowd.

But where would we be without the wonderful talents
of our own Agnes Jane - our first lady.
26th April 2004
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The Choir has hosted the visit of the Swedish Ladies
Choir
VOX FEMINA
They shared a concert at St Uny Church, Redruth
on Friday 30th April 2004.
On Saturday night 1st May 2004 they held a
reception at the Crossroads Motel which was a very successful
and enjoyable event.
If you want to read more about this visiting choir
go to
www.voxfemina.cjb.net
23 March 2002
CONCERT AT REDRUTH
On Sunday night (7th March 2004) Holman-Climax combined with Four
Lanes Male Voice Choir and guest euphonium player John Hitchens in a
great occasion ar the Redruth Methodist Church, to commence the
celebrations for Four Lanes Choir's 60th Jubilee Year. The
concert was ably chaired by Martyn Oates (B.B.C.) whose father and
brother sing in Holman-Climax and whose cousin sings in Four Lanes.
The Choirs sang well together under the batons of Roger Wills
(Holman-Climax) and Ronald Brown (Four Lanes) and was extremely well
supported.
The evening was tinged with sadness as this will be the last
combined concert with Holman-Climax when Ronald Brown will
conduct. He retires later this year and will be greatly missed
in the Male Voice Choir and wider musical field.
There has always been a very good rapport between the two choirs
(except on competition day) and hopefully this will continue.
10 November 2007
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It's now only a short time to Christmas and the Choir is busy
rehearsing for the Christmas Engagements.
The first engagement was the Annual Carol Concert at Paynters Lane End
Chapel with the Springfield Singers on Monday 1st December.
What will they think of next?
"I saw mummy kissing
Santa Claus" ended the first half of the concert on a light
note, with Ivan Barnes and Peter Williams providing the festive
characters!
Another event should be fun this year, that is our involvement in
making the Radio Cornwall recordings for broadcast on
Christmas Day and Boxing Day. This takes place at Truro
Cathedral on Tuesday 16th December 2003.
Tickets are available through Radio Cornwall.
Our Christmas CD is a wonderful Christmas present and readily
available. (go to RECORDINGS)
2nd December 2003
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Another year of success for
prize-winning choir.
The
month of August sees a break from rehearsals for the acclaimed
Holman-Climax Male Voice Choir and an opportunity to review the past
year. At their recent Annual General Meeting, officers of the Choir
reported on another highly successful year.
The
highlight of the year was undoubtedly their performance in the
International Male Voice Choir Competition held in Truro in May
where, in competition with premier choirs from all over Britain and
Europe, they were recognised as the best Cornish choir, the best
British choir and came third in the international competition
singing against choirs containing men who were training as
professional musicians.
All
this took place against a background of a busy programme that
included a prestigious concert at the Hall For Cornwall with the St
Keverne Youth Band and pride of place in the Cornish Proms Concert
that showcased the best musical talent in the county.
Another
first for the choir happened as a result of hosting the Sylvia Choir
from Sainte Anne d’Auray, Camborne’s twin town in Brittany who
came and sang with Holman-Climax in November 2002. They invited
Holman-Climax to visit Brittany and in May this year, fresh from
their success at the Hall for Cornwall, the choir spent a week in
the Department of Morbihan, in Southern Brittany. The choir has a
real taste for touring and plans are already being discussed for a
tour of Southern Ireland next year and a return to the USA in 2007.
There
has been individual success, too, in the choir, with the Chairman,
Rodney Grigg being invested with the highest honour afforded by the
St John Ambulance, which he has served for many years.
A
significant milestone was reached, too, by the choir’s longest
serving member, George Skewes, who has celebrated sixty years with
the choir. George’s long and faithful service was recognised by a
the choir at the cutting of a suitably inscribed cake and the
presentation of mementoes marking the occasion.
The
choir’s vice-chairman, Hiram Tresidder also had thirty years of
service with the choir recognised and he spoke warmly at the AGM of
the great comradeship he had experienced over the years. At the
other end of the age range there was success, too, with the imminent
departure of youngest choir member, Tom Hosking, to study music at
Cardiff and the return of twenty one year old member, Andrew Oates,
after his graduation with a BA degree from Exeter University.
The
choir was pleased to present also this year, the launch of its
web-site under the supervision of choir member Peter Williams, who
ensures that this exciting venture is kept full of up to date
information and it has already been the vehicle for orders for
CD’s from overseas. All information about the choir, including
engagements can be found there by either putting
"Holman-Climax" into a search engine or going directly to www.holmanclimaxmalevoicechoir.co.uk
The choir also recognised, once again, the debt
owed to the Musical Director, Roger Wills, ably assisted by his
deputy, Andrew Thomas. Roger’s mastery of his craft is recognised
throughout the county, and further afield, and supported by the
seamless playing of the choir’s accompanist of thirty years, Agnes
Jane.
At a time when many choirs seems to present the
same repertoire, Holman-Climax look to be constantly adding fresh
pieces to their repertoire and recently presented to the public for
the first time a complicated piece "The River of Life"
composed by the choir’s President, Goff Richards. In addition to
this, there are a number of other new arrangements by Roger Wills
and other composers in preparation at the weekly rehearsals. In his
annual address to choir members, Roger Wills spoke of his pleasure
at the success the choir had experienced under his guidance and made
particular mention of the social aspect of the choir and felt that
the close relationships between members, whether at concerts or more
informal gatherings, was one of the marks of success of the
organisation. There was a quiet satisfaction, too, with the steady
flow of new, and younger, members.
At the AGM a warm welcome was extended to all who
wished to sample male voice singing at the Friday night rehearsals
at 7.30 p.m. that re-commence in September. Anyone interested should
contact Publicity Officer, David Oates, on 01209 716559.
A LIFETIME OF SERVICE
After the
Choir's AGM held on Friday 26th July 2003 the members all went to
the Lowenac Hotel, Camborne for a special presentation
evening.
Each year
presentations are made to members for long service of 20 years,
and life membership for 30 years of service.
This year
was very special because George Skewes, baritone, celebrated 60
(SIXTY) years of singing with the Holman-Climax Mlae Voice Choir.
.jpg)
Rodney
Grigg (Chairman) - Joyce & George Skewes
George
joined the Climax Choir, as it was first known, in 1943 under
Edgar Kessell and has remained a stalwart member of the Choir ever
since.
The
dedication George has shown is rarely found nowadays and the
members of Holman-Climax Choir are very proud of his magnificent
achievement.
______________________________________________________
Press Release 17th June 2003
Prize winning choir
visits Celtic Cousins.
Following their success at the recent
international male voice choir festival in Truro, top Cornish choir,
Holman-Climax, have just completed a successful week’s tour of
Morbihan in Southern Brittany. The tour commenced in the regional
capital, Vannes, where an audience of over five hundred were
enthralled by the precision and control of their singing. A standing
ovation at the end was followed by a reception given by the Male
Voice Choir of Vannes and plans were discussed for other joint
ventures in the future.

In Concert in Vannes
On the Sunday the choir joined with the
celebrations to mark ten years of twinning between Camborne and
Sainte Anne D’Auray and sang in the great basilica of Sainte Anne
to over a thousand people from both Cornwall and Brittany. Such was
the power of their singing that many were moved to tears by the
rendition of pieces like "How Great Thou Art" and the
inspirational "Sanctus", by Gounod, that gained such merit
at the recent international festival. The great cathedral-like
setting was the perfect environment for such emotion packed pieces
and the great congregation stood and demanded more.

In the Basilica at Ste Anne D'Auray
This concert was followed by a
"Festnoz" – a typically Breton evening – provided by
the hosts. That concluded with Bretons and Cornish participating in
the wonderful circle dances still kept alive in this corner of the
Celtic world. The next afternoon the choir sang in the chapel of a
nearby convent to a capacity audience of retired nuns who were
enthralled by the sound. The tour concluded with a concert in the
acoustically perfect basilica in the ancient town of Hennebont where
choir, soloists and quartet again received a rapturous reception and
another standing ovation. The choir’s performances received
glowing reports in the regional daily paper, Ouest France, and firm
friendships were formed with many of our celtic cousins. With its
established reputation for concerts, competition work and touring,
both in North America and Europe, the Holman-Climax Choir has
further enhanced its reputation with seamless performances carried
out with a choir of only forty voices compared with its normal
singing strength of sixty to seventy.
More important, though, in this
land where reminders of Cornwall were obvious in every place-name
and custom, were the friendships forged with the music makers. The
warm summer evenings were filled with the sound of informal
get-togethers, impromptu joint performances, and convivial glasses
raised to further links and exchanges across national boundaries.
David Oates, Publicity Secretary.
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