Current News
News Archive

News
News Archive

 

_________

Gyllyngdune Gardens, Falmouth.

We held a very successful Summer Fete at the Gardens and sang in the Rotunda.

The weather was so very kind to us and all the people who attended

It was so hot we sang in our shirt sleeves - it was too warm for jackets and ties.

Thanks are extended to Paul Nesbitt and his band of helpers for all the hard work inmaking the day so very successful.

_____________________________

Saturday 14th May 2011
Paul Burley to Angela Renshaw
at Truro Cathedral

        

What a wonderful occasion when our MD Angela was married to
Paul Burley at Truro Cathedral.


She looked absolutely radiant and we wish them both
many, many years of great joy and happiness.



Some members of the Choir and Agnes Jane our accompanist outside Truro Cathedral with the happy couple

============================================

Well!  What a successful couple of concerts were put on at Camborne School
under the title "Echoes of an Age"
We had to do the same concert twice because the first one on 1st April was so oversubscribed, so in order not to disappoint anyone a repeat was the only answer.

Thanks must go to David Oates for his research on old Camborne, and to the way he compered the events.

Keep watching this space because I am sure there will be other events in the same style in the not too distant future.

28/4/11

=============================================================

 

Success at the Cornwall Cornwall Music Festival.

The Choir won its class at the County Music Festival on Friday  18th March 2011.
We performed three pieces

1.   Ave Verum Corpus
2.   Surely the Presence
3.   By Babylon's Wave

A very satisfactory outcome for the Choir and Angela Renshaw, MD.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

=================================

Far from 'Ome

A new concept for Male Voice Choir concerts.

On Friday evening, 19th November, the Choir entertained a sell out audience at Camborne Community College.

David Oates put together a programme of song with a power-point presentation of the Cornish emigration to Australia, South Africa and America during the 1800's. 

The evening commenced with the song of  the decline in Cornish Mining.

"For Cornish lads are fishermen and Cornish lads are miners too;
But when the fish and tin are gone, What are the Cornish boys to do?"


There were items from small groups within the choir and comedy solo items.  The audience was invited to sing, and did so with gusto, such old favourites as "The White Rose" & "Lamorna".

The evening concluded with everyone singing "Trelawny" followed by a pasty and cup of tea.

It was a very successful evening and there will be another themed evening at the same venue on Friday 1st April 2011.

Watch this space!

==================================================

At the Annual General Meeting of the Choir held in July two members were presented with certificates by Linda Jones, Secretary of the Cornish Federation of Male Voice Choirs, to mark 40 years in Male Voice Singing.

 

 

Rodney Grigg receiving his Certificate from Linda Jones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Danny Johns receiving his Certificate from Linda Jones

 

 

 

After the AGM the Choir celebrated its 70th Anniversary with a special buffet to which wives and friends were invited.

Angela Renshaw (MD) cuts the 70th Anniversary cake.

==================================================

                  70th Anniversary Concert               

              Be at Redruth Methodist Church on            
       Saturday 18th September 2010 at 7.30 pm        

Enjoy a great concert with us
together with Treverva Male Voice Choir,
Camborne and Mabe Ladies Choirs

   The fabulous Suzanne Manuell as guest soloist  

The whole evening chaired by Martyn Oates, BBC TV.

Programmes available from Choir Members at £7.50 each

===================================================

Côr Merched Glannau'r Gwendraeth.

What a concert we had with the Ladies from Wales at Camborne Centenary Chapel on Saturday night  (22nd May 2010).

They were a well disciplined, very tuneful choir with a very entertaining repertoire.

There is no doubt that the men of Holman-Climax Male Choir would be delighted to sing with them again.

====================================================

There is great sadness in the Choir at this time.  We have lost two of our good friends.

Les Campion, a Life Vice President, passed away. He was in his nineties and had retired from the Choir but during his many years he had served as Treasurer for almost 40 of those years.  His Funeeral is a Penmount Crematorium, Truro at 1.30 pm on Thursday 22nd April.

Rex Manhire, our current Treasurer, died suddenly last Thursday 15th April 2010.  He had been the Treasurer for several years and will be greatly missed by us all.  His last concert with the Choir was at Camborne Wesley Chapel on Sunday 11th April 2010 helping the Camborne Circuit Ladies celebrate their Anniversary.
His funeral will be at Camborne Wesley Methodist Chapel at 2.30 pm on Friday 30th April 2010. 

==============================================

Passing the torch to the younger generation!

Someone once said that the Cornish national instrument was the voice and in former times that was certainly so.  Wherever Cornish folk gathered, at home or in the distant mining camps of the world, at work or at leisure, they sang.  With Methodism as the established church in this far flung corner of Britain, they certainly sang hymns when in chapel, when gathered at sporting occasions or going up and down the shaft of the mine - they sang, with each voice harmonising with the other quite naturally – they didn’t have to be taught to sing, it was their birthright. Particularly at Christmas time they sang Cornish Carols, songs known only in the far west.  Interestingly, these are not truly Cornish at all but represent the remnants of the gallery music once sung throughout Britain before the advent of organs and suchlike in churches and chapels.  They were collected by a Cornishman, Davies Gilbert who wrote them down in the eighteenth century when local ad hoc choirs visited his home at Tredrea Manor, near St Erth singing traditional Christmas songs.  Often they had only two parts, the melody line and a bass part, then later Victorian musicians added other harmony lines.  These were the origins of some of the most well-known British carols – The first Nowell, for example owes its survival and popularity to Davies Gilbert.

The Cornish also have a rich repertoire of folk songs which often reflected the occupations and pastimes of the peninsula – miner, fisherman and farmer, they all had their own songs about aspects of their daily life, though sadly not in the Celtic language. 

Camborne folk still join as one to sing about that time in their history when “the ‘osses stood still and the wheels went around” as Trevithick’s first horseless carriage literally changed the history of the world and pubs fall silent throughout the county when someone strikes up the beloved “White Rose”. 

Some songs, which are claimed by the Cornish, are not local in origin at all – the popular “Little Eyes” or “Little Lize” was recorded in the USA in the middle of the twentieth century and is said to have its origins in North America.  Who knows, perhaps the regular passage of miners between America and Cornwall, saw its arrival on these shores.  These songs continue to be written and sung by groups like the Camborne based “Proper Job”– the evergreen St Ives songs made popular in the twentieth century by the Barber family and more recent songs like the evocative “Cornish Lads” by Roger Bryant, made famous when it was written on the wall outside South Crofty when it closed.

Sadly, recent years have seen the decline of the sort of community singing once so popular in Cornwall and a group of Cornish people are setting out  to reverse that trend and get people using their voices again.  After a year of consolidation with their new Musical Director, Angela Renshaw, the Holman-Climax Male Voice Choir are embarking on a series of initiatives to raise the profile of singing in the community and to encourage everyone, whatever their age, to learn and sing the songs of the Cornish.  They still perform in the traditional male voice venues of church and chapel but feel a great chunk of the population know little of the great choral traditions of their county.

Already renowned throughout Cornwall for her work with the Cornwall Boys Choir, Angela is at the forefront of a whole series of initiatives, starting in Cornish primary schools.  Recently, she and a number of members of the Holman-Climax Choir went into Bodriggy School at Hayle to kick start the process and get both children and staff singing. 

 

 
Angela Renshaw at Bodriggy School, Hayle

Choir member and Cornish Bard, David Oates, set the scene for the whole school by reminding them of the county’s long and illustrious history and focused on the story of The Mousehole Cat, which is essentially about the legend of Tom Bawcock, looking at its possible ancient origins around the shortest day of the year and the coming of light and the days of spring.  After a brief explanation of dialect terms like “morgy” and “clunk”, the men sang the folk song, “Tom Bawcock’s Eve” and invited the whole group to try the simple melody.  This was followed by another favourite of West Cornwall, “The Old Grey Duck”, sung to an old carol tune.  The group also sang the beautiful four part harmony, “Calm is the Sea” to show what can be achieved with a little practice.

David Oates explaining "Tom Bawcock's Eve" & "The old grey duck"

The junior boys and the choir members then participated in a workshop where the boys learned a piece well-known to the choir, “Goin’ to rise up singing” and sang the melody while the choir members provided the harmony. 

After a most successful afternoon plans were laid to build on the foundations made and the choir hopes to continue supporting singing in local schools.

This is just just the start for Bodriggy, and other Cornish schools, with public participation with Holman-Climax as an initial goal – watch this space for a revival of that great Cornish tradition, starting with the young people of the county.

David Oates  25 Nov 2009

=================================================

Agnes Jane - Special Birthday

Our Agnes, who has been accompanying the Choir for 39 years has celebrated her 80th Birthday.  After the concert at St Agnes, Cornwall on Sunday 11th October 2009 the Choir laid on a surprise celebration.

At the after - concert supper, laid on by the Lifeboat Guild, the Choir Chairman, Hiram Tresidder presented Agnes with a gift from the Choir and a card signed by all the members.

The Musical Director, Angela Renshaw presented Agnes with a lovely bouquet of flowers.

Shortly afterwards Agnes cut her magnificent birthday cake, made by Dawn Williams (choir member's wife).

12th October 2009

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The concert at the packed Hall for Cornwall on Tuesday 15th September 2009 in the presence of the Duchess of Gloucester was an occasion not to be missed.

This concert was in aid of the TR14ers.  Young people from the Camborne area who dance.  They design and choreograph their own dances and are so full of energy. An example of what young people can do if provided with some support.

The concert also featured Camborne Youth Band, Camborne Town Band, Camborne Ladies Choir and Holman Climax Choir.  Each performed alone and at the end all came together to sing Trelawny.

It was an evening full of energy, music and fun.

16th September 2009

==============================================================

 

Christmas Greetings

from

Holman-Climax Male Voice Choir

 

A couple of pictures from our recent concert at the Hotel Bristol, Newquay where we helped in raising over £1,000 for the R.N.L.I.

 

The Choir - Full of Christmas Cheer.

 

 

Our Musical Director in Festive Mood!!

==========================================================

 

The Choir held its Annual General Meeting at the Lowenac Hotel, Camborne on Friday 25th July 2008.

The Chairman paid tribute to the work of our retiring Musical Director and looked forward to new challenges with our new MD Angela Renshaw.

Our long serving Secretary, Ivor Glasson, has retired from office and David Bray has taken on that task.  Ivor was also presented with a certificate to mark his 40 years service to the Choir.

Billy Mitchell and Philip Walters were made Life Members recognising 30 years service to the Choir and were presented with their special ties.

A Certificate for 20 years service was presented to Reg Williams and Roy Edwards who has retired from the Choir was made an Honorary Life Member

John Harris and Peter Williams were presented with Certificates from the Cornwall Federation of Male Voice Choirs for 40 years Singing in Male Choirs in Cornwall

Daphne Skinnard, BBC Radio Cornwall, receives a cheque for £3,000 from Choir Chairman, Hiram Tresidder, for the Precious Lives Appeal (Children's Hospice in Cornwall). This wonderful amount was raised at the Farewell Concert for Roger Wills at Redruth Methodist Church on 12th July 2008

==================================================

 

Roger Wills,

Our  Musical Director has now officially retired from his post.


There was a wonderful Farewell concert at Redruth Methodist Church on Saturday 12th July 2008, when the Choir, conducted for the last time by Roger, sang to a capacity audience.

 

The Choir was joined by the five times British Champions, Camborne Youth Band, with guest soloist Karen Hurn..

 

All proceeds went to the BBC Radio Cornwall's Precious Lives Appeal to build a Children's Hospice in Cornwall.

 

Thank you Roger for your skill, patience and dedication over the past 18 years. We wish you well in your retirement.

 

====================================

We have a new Musical Director


Angela Renshaw

The beginning of 2008 sees exciting changes for one of Cornwall’s top male voice choirs, Holman-Climax.  The most significant of these sees the appointment of a new Musical Director with an established reputation.  Angela Renshaw, already well-known in the county for her work with both choirs and the county music service takes up the baton from renowned Cornishman and bard, Roger Wills.  Both will work together for a period of time before Angela takes full charge in July

Angela originally came from North West Leicestershire, a coal mining area, and feels very much at home in Cornwall with it’s great mining heritage which gave rise to the tradition of male voice singing. She studied for a degree in Music at Leeds, where Violin, Piano and Voice were her areas of study. Following on from this she took a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, in Music.

She set up and directed a Cornish Primary Boys Choir and Cornish Young Male Choir for the 2007 International Male Voice Festival working with over 250 boys in this exciting project. As a result of the success of the Boys Choir, she was approached to set up a Cornwall Boys' Choir which is funded by the Music Service and supported by the International Festival Committee and the newly appointed Artistic Director, Peter Davies.

We look forward to more good years under Angela's direction

8th February 2008
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our New CD is now available and can be ordered on line or from any member of the Choir.

 


The list of songs on this CD can be found by clicking on
Music Repertoire

 

All CD's are priced at £10 +£1.50 p&p

 

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

 
 

Site Designed and Hosted by || jump media ltd.