Northamptonshire choir celebrates 70th anniversary with a performance of ‘Messiah’

Wellingborough Orpheus Choir’s first public performance 70 years ago was Handel’s ‘Messiah’ in what was then the Congregational Church on Wellingborough’s High Street. Today’s choir will celebrate with a performance of the same work in the same church, now the Untied Reformed Church.

The popular oratorio, conducted by the choir’s musical director, Nicolas Moodie, with orchestra and professional soloists Anna Gould (soprano), Ruth Ilton (contralto), Gareth Meirion Edmunds (tenor) and Reuben Thomas (bass), will take place on Saturday 1st April starting at 7.00pm

The choir was established by Frank Stalvies, a local publican and musician who played on cruise ships before the Second World War. He directed the Wellingborough Amateur Operatic Society and also worked part-time as a music teacher at the Wellingborough Technical Institute, where he directed the Technical Singers. In 1953 he left and started the Orpheus Choir.

In the 1960s the choir won the Marlow Shield in the Northampton Eisteddfod three years running under the direction of the next musical director, Arthur Jakeman.The 1980s saw the choir form a link with Chorale des Amis de l’École Normale of Niort, Wellingborough’s French twin town, marking the start of 30 years of exchange visits. The joint concerts included performances of Brahms’ ‘Requiem’ in France with the Niort choir, the Coburger Bachchor from Niort’s German twin town, and a Hungarian orchestra, and Mendelssohn’s ‘Elijah’ at Castle Theatre, Wellingborough.In the late 1980s they took part in several performances at the Royal Albert Hall with other Northamptonshire choirs and the County Youth Orchestra.

Although membership had declined since the mid-1980s the choir still had around 50 singers before the pandemic. Unfortunately, numbers have not yet returned to pre-Covid levels, and the choir will be joined by Kettering’s Camerata Singers for the anniversary concert. Both choirs are currently directed by Nicolas Moodie.The choir’s chairman, Keith Jones said: “We hope that the performance of ‘Messiah’ will inspire former members to return and new members to join us. You don’t have to be able to sight-read music, there are no auditions, and the first term’s membership is free, so why not come along and give us a try?”

The choir rehearses on Monday evenings from 7.30pm to 9.15pm at Wellingborough Methodist Church on Kingsway. For more information email [email protected], visit their website at www.orpheuschoir.org.uk or follow them on Facebook.

You can see photos, posters and programmes from their archive on the choir’s stand in Wellingborough’s Swansgate Centre this coming Saturday, 27th March, when you will also be able to purchase tickets for the concert. Tickets are £13 in advance or £15 on the door (students £5, under 12s free) and are also available from Irvin’s House of Flavour, High Street Wellingborough or by calling 01604 870318. The concert starts earlier than usual, at 7.00pm.

The concert is supported by Wellingborough Town Council, North Northamptonshire Council, Wilson Browne Solicitors and BCC Telemarketing.