Worcester Male Voice Choir was formed in 1987 from the Worcester Police Choir. The Choir continues to grow in stature and strength and currently has around 60 choristers, comprising the First and Second Tenors, Baritones and Basses, who come in from Worcester and surrounding towns and villages. We welcome new members to the choir and to the ‘Friends of the Choir’ our priority tickets mailing list.
Our repertoire develops constantly and covers a range of genres from operatic and musicals to folk and shanty, is mainly in English and also includes other language numbers in Welsh, French, Italian and South African for example.
Our rehearsals are Monday and Wednesday evenings in Worcester city centre under the energetic leadership of our Musical Director, Scott Woolfenden who is constantly encouraging us to improve our technique and extend our library of pieces arranged for male voices. He is expertly supported by our accompanist James Jarvis.
The choir is well travelled and we have sung on the Continent, in Ireland, Wales and throughout England not to mention some prestigious venues from Symphony Hall, Birmingham to the Royal Albert Hall, London to the atmospheric World War One memorial at Thiepval and not forgetting the Choir’s own back yard, the Faithful City’s splendid Cathedral.
Our main aim is to raise money for charity. Sometimes these concerts are for our own charities of the year but most are to support other organisations in their charitable work. The choir is itself a Registered Charity and since 1987 has raised approaching £150,000 for Charity.
Most choristers attend our own concerts with between 50 and 60 performing.
After the structured routine of a concert performance , many of the choristers can be found in a local tavern, where the singing may be far less controlled but the enjoyment just as great.
We can also appear at Weddings and Funerals, where typically between 30 and 40 would attend. These smaller events can present some difficulty in finding enough volunteers NOT to sing.
As well as our concert singing there are in addition a number of informal ‘special interests’ groups such as golfers and walkers who hold regular events to which all members of the choir, their wives and partners and also the ‘choir friends’ are welcome.
In 2024 we raised £35,000 for Prostate Cancer UK by creating a special choir of new singers challenged with just 10 weeks to prepare and perform a concert at the Swan Theatre as Men United in Song. They were brilliant!