1948 to 1951 - Conductor: Walter Maxwell

On 30th September 1948 there was an Inaugural Concert by the Greenock Male Voice Choir in the Cargill Hall, Lintwhite Crescent and shortly thereafter, on 12th October, those interested in joining the new Society met in one of the classrooms of the 'old' school. A week later everyone was apparently given a voice test!!

The first Secretary of the Society was a Mr. Sharpe (the village Stationmaster) and the first Conductor was Walter Maxwell. There were 46 members comprising 25 sopranos, 9 contraltos, 5 tenors and 7 basses. There were also 25 honorary members who were 'friends' of the Choral Society. They paid an annual subscription, which entitled them to free admission to the Concerts and this was a very good way of raising extra funds.

The Secretary reported that the Choral Society attended an audition in the Scottish studios of the BBC with a view to the possibility of a live broadcast being investigated and went on to say that ..."Mr. Maxwell had a meeting with the BBC officials that night and will no doubt have something interesting to tell us.!!!" There is no further record, however, of the outcome of that meeting!

1951 to 1955 - Conductor: Robert Forbes

The membership now comprised 39 members - 17 sopranos, 8 contraltos, 4 tenors and 10 basses. The honorary membership was down to 20.

The Secretary, Mr. Sharpe, attended the National Federation of Music Societies meeting in Dundee in 1952. This is the first indication of our association with the Federation.

The Choral Society was a very social organisation and regularly held whist drives and annual outings to the coast. The whist drives, as well as being popular in themselves, were also an excellent way of raising funds. The annual outings to Largs or Ayr were very popular events with a majority of the members. However at several AGM's the event had to be voted on as there were one or two members who were not keen for it to be repeated year after year - but the trippers always won.

The office bearers and committee members tended to remain in office for many years. At the AGM there was always somebody from the floor of the meeting who would propose that... "the current office bearers and committee be re elected en bloc". This proposal was invariably seconded and carried by the meeting.

Mr. Dewick was the first President of the Society but, at the AGM in 1964, he asked the members to consider appointing someone else. It was unanimously agreed, however, that he should carry on as President and this he did for one more year.

The Society held Christmas carol concerts as well as the annual concert. They also sang carols to the patients at the local hospital. In 1954 the Christmas concert was held in St. Machars Church and also at Quarriers Homes. We were also entertained to excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan by the former pupils of Hamilton Academy.

Mr. Forbes had to retire as our conductor at the end of the 1955 session due to ill health.

1955 to 1957 - Conductor: Robert Creighton

In his second year, besides holding our usual concerts, we also entered the Greenock Music Festival. This was the first time we had performed in a music festival and we came third out of six entrants. Unfortunately Mr. Creighton was only with us for two seasons as his company transferred him to Watford to work.

1957 to 1970 - Conductor: Walter Martyn

In 1958 we performed once again in the Greenock Music Festival. Obviously not too successfully, as Mr. Martyn's report at the AGM stated that it was "... a trying experience". Mr. Martyn agreed with the Chairman's remarks however... "that we should not be too disheartened at the result but rather should be spurred on to fresh efforts for next year's Festival".

During the next few years some of the long serving office bearers retired. Mr. Sharpe, who had been Secretary for eight years, relinquished his post. (He retired from the choir but apparently continued to attend for some time - to listen!) Mr. McNair who had been Treasurer for a while also retired. These two positions where taken on by Miss Buchanan and Mr. Stanert respectively. Also retiring during this period was the President, Mr. Dewick. As mentioned earlier, he had been President since 1949. Mr. Robert Kincaid was elected President in 1965 and held this position for six years. (He had been Vice President since 1949.)

This was also a period of fluctuations in the membership of the Society. In 1959 the membership was down to 26 members. The tenor section at times had only "a lone voice crying in the wilderness" and two tenors were 'imported' to assist at the annual concert. Because of the low membership it was put to the members at the AGM in 1959 "Do you wish the Society to continue?" The membership voted to continue and agreed to make strong efforts to introduce new members. This was the turning point, as over the next few years, the membership kept on rising and in 1968 peaked at 42 members.

The honorary membership was also down. Mr. Stanert handed in a list of 85 prospective supporters. These people were approached and, as a result, the honorary membership rose to 34. Their subscription was to be 7/6d (£0.38) but for that they were entitled to receive an annual concert ticket valued 3/6d (£0.18). The singing membership subscription was held at 5/0d (£0.25). This had been sustained since 1949 and would continue at this level until 1967 - obviously no inflation in those days! Funds continued to be raised by the ever-popular whist drives.

The concerts were always well supported. At the 1960 AGM four members, Mr. & Mrs. Sharpe and Mr. & Mrs. Stanert, were commended for their valiant efforts in selling tickets for the concerts. Mr. Sharpe, who was the stationmaster at Bridge of Weir, would stand on the station platform thrusting concert tickets into the hands of people running for the train. Mr. Stanert, who was employed at the local general store, must have had a similar approach with customers coming into the shop!

1961 proved to be even more difficult for the members with illness being the main cause of poor attendances at practices. Quote... "One week the basses would be struggling to penetrate the solid row of ladies in front, the next week two sopranos would be competing with the men." It was agreed not to hold an annual concert that year. However, by 1962 the choir seems to have weathered the storm as new members joined and the annual concert was reinstated.

It was proposed at the 1962 AGM that a social function be organised. One suggestion was for a talent show - but this was decided against as it "would be difficult for the men to make money using their talents"!! It was finally decided to resort to the whist drive yet again.

In 1965 Robert Forbes, a former conductor of the Society, died. On a more cheerful note, Miss Buchanan, our Secretary, was presented with an electric kettle as a wedding present.

In 1967 Mr. Martyn had been the conductor for ten years and in recognition of his service he was presented with a voucher for £10.00. Outwith the Choral Society, Mr. Martyn organised concerts at his home in Kilmacolm and members of the Society were always invited. We are told that at such events he liked to perform a 'party trick' by removing his waistcoat without taking off his jacket!

Since 1949 the Society had been singing four-part songs. At the 1966 AGM it was suggested that consideration should be given to the type of music being sung. Mr. Martyn expressed his willingness to co-operate. Reference is made in the minutes over the next few years to pieces by Bach etc. combined with the usual four-part songs. In 1970 the annual concert was to include 'Windsor Forrests' but Mr. Martyn expressed his disappointment that it had not been possible to include this piece in the programme. He felt, however, that much had been learned from practising this longer work!

At the end of the 1970/71 season Walter Martyn retired as conductor after 12 years. He was presented with a picture of Loch Laggan, painted by Mrs. Gillan, a choir member.

1971 to 1972 - Conductor: Ian Fletcher

1972 to 1976 - Conductor: Alistair Cherry

In 1972 the practices and concert were held in the new Primary school. The repertoire for this year's concert included musical items from Gilbert and Sullivan.

The subscription was raised to £1 and the concert tickets were 20p. (This is the first increase mentioned over the years so one must assume that the tickets were charged at less than the 20p prior to 1972! It must be remembered, however, that funds were raised by way of whist drives, coffee mornings and with help from the honorary members.) To raise extra funds this year a coffee morning was arranged and raised £56.

Robert Kincaid retired as President and was succeeded by Kenneth Graham.

During Mr. Cherry's time as our conductor we performed at venues other than the local school and the Cargill Hall. These other venues included the Linwood and Howwood Community Centres - (where,unfortunately, the audience numbers were disappointing), and also Hillington Church (Mr. Cherry's own church) which was well supported and enjoyed by the members - so much so that this particular venue was used three years in succession.

In 1975 we entered the Greenock Music Festival and on this occasion won the Greenock Telegraph Challenge Trophy. The following year our performance only warranted a second place.

The Annual Concert in Cargill Hall did not go as well as hoped, mainly due to the state of the piano (poor quality and tuning) - and the Secretary duly wrote to the Council with our complaint.

At one time during this period consideration was given to auditioning the members, but it never materialised. Phew!!

Other items of interest over the period 1972 to 1976 included - Conductors fee raised from £50 to £100 and membership subscription raised from £2 to £3. (This increase of £1 replaced the necessity of paying a separate music subscription.) Mr. Cherry persuaded his mother-in-law, Mrs. Murchison, to come along as rehearsal accompanist.

Over a number of years some members of the choir were got together by Mrs. Anne Horne and entertained the Senior Citizens in the Cargill Hall - one year it was minuted that... "the can-can was a great success".

The annual outings were still organised. In 1976 we went to the Marine and Curlinghall Hotel in Largs for a Dinner Dance. The office bearers were still being re-elected en bloc. Miss Waddell and Miss McCallum were each presented with a brooch in recognition of their long service to the Society.

Alistair Cherry resigned in 1976 to begin training to become a Church of Scotland Minister. He was presented with a copy of the New Church Hymnary. Today, Mr. Cherry is Minister at Stamperland Church, Glasgow.

1976 to 1979 - Conductor: Gordon Frier

In his report at each AGM, Mr. Frier would allocate stars for each of our performances. The number of stars varied from 1 to 5 - it is hoped that this was not out of 10!!

It also proved to be as busy as the previous four years. Our performances took us to Glasgow's McLellan Galleries and Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Sandyford Church (Paisley) as well as our usual venues of St. Machars Church, the Primary School and the Cargill Hall. This was the last time that we used the Cargill Hall as the acoustics really were not good, especially for the type of music we were now performing.

Apparently the McLellan Galleries Concert was memorable for various reasons. It was a joint concert with another choir and the combined voices were apparently faced with two conductors who performed simultaneously, but each in his own time!! It is also reported that the second half of the concert began without the entire Tenor Section who were relieving themselves in the 'Boys Room' when their performances were interrupted by the strains of a three-part choir coming from the hall. 'Nil points' from Mr. Frier for this debacle!

On the social side, some of the members were still entertaining groups of Senior Citizens. A fund-raising coffee morning was organised in the Freeland Church Hall. We also arranged an evening for the members in the School Hall which included a basket tea - we even got a star rating for that event - 3 stars!

In 1976 we entered the Greenock Music Festival when we again won the Greenock Challenge Trophy. However, Mr. Frier noted in his report that he did not think we should enter again as the test piece had been of very poor quality.

In 1978 Ernest Smyth took over the Presidency from Ken Graham.

In 1979, after a lapse of a few years, the Society rejoined the National Federation of Music Societies.

1979 to 1980 - Conductor: Ronald Gould

The main concert was held at St. Columba Church, Kilmacolm where we sang various pieces of religious music - the principal items being Vivaldi's Gloria and various Mendelssohn pieces. We were accompanied by the Greenock Chamber Orchestra.

Office bearers were still being re-elected en bloc and membership was at a healthy level of between 40 and 45 members.

1980 to 1982 - Conductor: Bruce Maher

In Bruce's second year as conductor our performances included excerpts from Gilbert & Sullivan. The main concert was performed at Sandyford Church and at the West Church, Kilbarchan where we performed pieces by Purcell, Bruckner and Haydn accompanied by a small string orchestra with trombones and organ.

In December 1981 we decided to give a carol concert to the old folk at Johnstone Hospital. This went down very well but two amusing stories require telling. After the singing of a hearty rendition of Good King Wenceslas one lady was overheard to say... "I hope the next one's going to be much quieter as I have a dreadful headache". Then, at the interval, Ernie Smyth was talking to one lady and commented that during the singing of a carol he noticed a tear came to her eye. "Did this bring a special memory to mind?" asked Ernie. "No" said the lady - "I used to be a music teacher". Boom, boom!

Membership numbers staying round the 44 mark. Membership subscription was raised to £7.50. The conductor's fee rose to £175 and then to £200 plus expenses.

For the first time in the Society's history, each member was given an audition. The reason was not to embarrass or to wheedle out members but to ascertain the strengths of the choir as a whole. In the event it did not seem to phase too many people!! It was also at this time that Mrs. Bridget Butter assumed the unpaid position as Rehearsal Accompanist.

Ernie Smyth relinquished his post as President in March 1981 and Michael Hepburn took over for the 1981/82 season.

Mr. Hepburn introduced the new policy of the President serving for a three-year term only. This policy was eventually extended to all office bearers and committee members.

Bruce Maher had to resign as he was moving to Manchester. He left after taking us through a concert held in July during Bridge of Weir Festival Week.

1982 to 1985 - Conductor: Kenneth Walton

Several lady members of the Society were still entertaining senior citizens - over this particular period they entertained the Erskine Hospital Cronies Club.

The social side of the Society, which had been neglected for a few years, was reintroduced with a social evening at the Fox and Hounds in Houston. This proved very successful.

In May 1984 we were involved in raising funds for the local Scout Hut and this effort was rehearsed and conducted by Tom Ferguson, the organist and choirmaster at Kilbarchan West Church.

The second year under Ken Walton's baton included a Christmas Concert in Freeland Church, Bridge of Weir and the main Spring Concert in Kilbarchan West Church where we performed Handel's Messiah, accompanied by a professional orchestra.

Then in Ken's third year we broke away from our traditional theme of a carol concert and held an American Evening in the school hall, where the Paisley Brass Ensemble joined us. The main concert was held, for the first time, in Mount Zion Church, Quarriers Village, when we sang Rossini's 'Petite Messe Solennelle'.

The location of the church can provide problems especially in winter but these disadvantages are outweighed by the benefits we enjoy from rehearsing and performing there. The building has a fine acoustic, a flexible chancel area and the availability of both organ and grand piano. Unlike other local churches our audience can 'enjoy' unrestricted views of the choir and the capacity of the building is sufficient to accommodate any audience we are likely to attract.

Some miscellaneous information- membership was hovering around the 40 mark, subscriptions were raised from £8 to £10 and the conductor's fee plus expenses was raised to £240.

Kenneth Walton had to relinquish his post as conductor because of business commitments.

Tom Girvan became President for the next three years.

1985 to 1987 - Conductor: Ronald Gould

In his first year we held a Scottish evening in November, and the usual carol concert - this year in Freeland Church. The music for the main concert was Fauré's 'Requiem', Mendelssohn's 'Come let us sing' and Vivaldi's 'Magnificat'.

It was minuted that the conductor's stool had gone missing!!

In Ronnie Gould's second year as conductor we held our usual carol concert. In the January we held a social evening in the form of a Burns Supper. At the main concert we sang a Bach Cantata and Dvorak's 'Mass in D'.

Our main concert was reported in the Renfrewshire Gazette, the piece written by former conductor- Ken Walton, in which he referred (with tongue in cheek?) to - "Songsters from the very tonsils of whom come the raw strains of country life, a delightful naiveté and unaffected simplicity - indeed, singing which could only be heard in such a far-flung corner of the world, as yet untouched by the corrupting influence of mainstream Western musical tradition".

Membership was now at a magnificent 46 and the subscription was increased to £11.

1987 to 1990 - Conductor: Deryk Docherty

Over this period Ernie Smyth took over the Presidency for the second time for a three-year period.

Mr. Docherty's second year proved a more settling time for the Society after a period of changing conductors. The carol concert and main concert were held at Mount Zion Church. We sang Handel's 'Judas Maccabeus' at the main concert.

Over the last few years Ian Barclay, a friend of the Society, had kindly sponsored the programmes at our main concerts. This was very much appreciated as it saved a lot of expense on printing.

Mrs. Bridget Butter was our rehearsal accompanist for many years and Mrs. Sheena Patrick deputised when required. Our thanks were regularly minuted for their valuable contribution.

We also held a memorial concert for Graham Craig and Kenneth Lloyd who had both been members of the Society. They had also been stalwarts of Kilmacolm's Gilbert & Sullivan Operatic Society, and so a combined concert was arranged with the £300 proceeds being donated to Ardgowan Hospice.

Mr. Docherty's third year included the usual carol concert and the Spring concert when we sang Beethoven's 'Mass in C' and Stainer's 'Crucifixion'. Deryk was unfortunately unable to continue due to business commitments and Alistair Massey was appointed.

1990 to 1993 - Conductor: Alistair Massey

Our 1990 carol concert was held at St. Machar's Church in aid of the Accord Hospice - £500 was donated. The main concert was held at St. Columba's Church, Kilmacolm and included Mozart's Requiem and Part II of Handel's Messiah. Mount Zion Church was celebrating its centenary year - and as a goodwill gesture the Society donated £200.

The following year our carol concert included excerpts from 'Sleepers Wake' and from 'Messiah'. For the main concert we sang Poulenc's 'Gloria' and Haydn's 'The Seasons'.

Membership totalled 48 and subscriptions were now at £20.

After many years of rehearsing in the local Primary School we moved to Gryffe High School and the following year to Mount Zion Church were we have remained to the present time.

In the autumn of 1992 we held a Gilbert & Sullivan evening. This was a fund raiser and once again our thanks went to Ernie Smyth for organising the event.

The carol concert was the normal format but supported by Gryffe High School. The main concert was Haydn's 'Nelson Mass' together with Duruflé's 'Requiem'. A very ambitious programme.

1993 to 1995 - Conductor: Brigid Patey

The new president was Gordon Lowther - and he held office for four years, one more than the norm.

We held the usual carol concert and our main concert included Fauré's 'Requiem', Vivaldi's 'Magnificat' and some Madrigals.

Requests had been made by members for some social events within the Society - suggestions were asked for and subsequently a Burns Supper/Ceilidh was organised - but unfortunately it had to be cancelled for lack of support- costing the Society a £90 cancellation charge for the band.

In 1994 we held our carol concert in Freeland Church - and this choice of venue happened to be a Godsend as the weather, which has often not been favourable for our Christmas concert, was particularly bad.

Our main concert consisted of the following - Pergolesi's 'Magnificat', Haydn's 'Missa Sancta Nicolai', Fauré's 'Cantique de Jean Racine', Schubert's 'Ständchen' (Female Chorus), Sibelius's 'Finlandia' (Male Chorus), and two pieces by Copland.

A suggestion was made that the Society should be renamed "Gryffe Valley Choral Society" - a suggestion which had been made on numerous occasions but as on previous occasions no agreement was reached.

In 1994 Bridget Butter informed us that this was her last year as rehearsal accompanist. She was warmly thanked for her years of support to the Society. Sheena Patrick, who had deputised for Bridget on numerous occasions, agreed to take over and this she has been doing ever since.

1995 to 1997 - Conductor: Steven Crawford

We were fortunate to persuade Steven Crawford to take on the role. Steven was a postgraduate at RSAMD who was taking up teaching training at Jordanhill. He was also organist at Lylesland Parish Church, Paisley. He was no stranger to us as he had accompanied us at previous concerts and had even stepped in when Brigid was not available.

The Conductor's Fee was raised to £600.

The carol concert was held at Freeland Church, supported by the Bax Quintet - and amongst the usual carols we sang a Fantasia of Christmas Carols.

The main concert was Rutter's 'Requiem' together with various pieces by Parry, Byrd, Ireland and Sumsion.

Sadly, we heard that Brigid Patey our conductor for the previous two years had died suddenly in Germany. We also heard of the death of Lorna Duncan who had been a member and office bearer of the Society for many years. A Memorial Concert was arranged in June 1996 for Brigid and Lorna. Arrangements were made that the monies raised - £2105 - were to be split between Paisley Abbey's 'Brigid Patey Memorial Fund' and Imperial Cancer Research.

In 1996 the carol concert was held in Mount Zion Church and we were joined by the Kilbarchan East Church Junior Singers. Our main concert was Mozart's 'Coronation Mass' and Vivaldi's 'Gloria'.

Neil Arthur was elected President for the three years 1997-2000.

The Constitution of the Society was reviewed and updated- the last review having been in 1983.

Marie Curie Cancer Care celebrated its 50th anniversary in November 1997 and held a dinner in the Kelvingrove Art Galleries. Ernie Smyth had been approached as to whether the Society would perform at this celebration. We accepted the invitation and sang Vivaldi's 'Gloria'.

The carol concert was held at Mount Zion Church. Gryffe High School's junior choir and some instrumentalists joined us.

After the Carol concert Steven Crawford informed us he was unable to continue as our conductor as he was under a lot of pressure through work and other commitments. We were very sorry to lose him, but we were fortunate to gain the services of Kenneth Walton, for the second time as our conductor, with effect from January 1998.

1998 to 2000 - Conductor: Kenneth Walton

Subscriptions were raised by £1 to £26 with a £16 concession for students and senior members. Rehearsals over the last few years have been in a side room at Mount Zion Church but with the choir getting bigger, alternative venues were investigated. A decision was taken to stay at Mount Zion Church but to practise in the Church itself.

The Christmas concert was the usual carols supported by Johnstone High School Stage Band. A donation of £100 was given to the school.

At the time, due to the absence of old records, it was thought that 1999 was the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Society and to celebrate the event a Ceilidh and Supper was organised for members and friends in February. This was a great success as it was well supported and raised necessary funds to support the 'expensive' Anniversary Concert.

A special mention should be made regarding Sheena Patrick's service to the Society. Sheena joined in 1972 and first joined the committee in 1976 and has been there ever since either as a committee member or in an ad hoc capacity - assisting the conductor and committee with the selection of music and soloists etc. Sheena has also been our full time accompanist since 1995. One of our Tenors, Peter McKerrell, deputises for Sheena at the piano when required.

Members are also grateful to Sheena for transcribing onto tape the individual parts of our main choral works. Thanks must also be given to Douglas Patrick for all the tickets, posters, programmes, membership cards etc. he has printed for the Society over the last few years at cost, thereby saving us a lot of money.

The spring concert was a special one to celebrate, belatedly, the 50th Anniversary. At the start of the programme, the Society sang Bach's 'Magnificat in D'. We were then joined by the senior choir of St. Columba's School, Kilmacolm to perform Fauré's 'Requiem' - the combined choir extending to over a hundred voices. A professional orchestra supported the 'Requiem'. St. Columba's School also sang some items on their own. An organ was hired to accompany us in the Magnificat.

This Anniversary Concert was a great success. For the record, the event cost £4,100 but with the profit from the carol concert and the ceilidh together with a small grant from the NFMS the deficit was only £1,000. In the costs were a donation to St. Columba's School of £250 and £150 to Mount Zion Church. (This amount was £50 more than our usual donation.)

Una Fisher was moving to Rothesay to live. Una had been a member and office bearer of the Society for over 25 years. She was presented with a brooch from the Society in recognition of that service. The brooch was designed and made by one of our members, Maralyn Wood who was also responsible for producing special pottery mugs to commemorate the 50th anniversary.

The concert in December 1999 was the usual format of Christmas carols with congregational participation and various readings by the members. The Johnstone High School Stage Band once again contributed to the concert. A donation of £100 was sent to the school in the new year.

The main concert, in April 2000, was Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle. In the week before the concert, the venue was switched to the Old Kirk, Kilmacolm when we discovered that Mount Zion had unfortunately been double booked for the time of the important final afternoon rehearsal.

Subscriptions were at £27 and tickets for the Christmas concert were £3.50 (concession £2.50) and at the main concert £5 and £3.50 concession.

2000 to 2006 - Conductor: Gordon Munro.

Some members sang in a BBC Songs of Praise in Paisley Abbey. At Christmas 2000 the choir was joined by the Concert Band of Park Mains High School, Erskine and handbell ringers from Houston Primary School.

By Christmas 2001 the roll was over 50. This website was launched to publicise the society. The choir rehearsals moved to the Sommerville Weir Hall in Quarrier’s Village.

In 2002 a Come and Sing Messiah was held which attracted 8 new members to the choir, the numbers then reached 62. There was a record attendance of 515 at the Christmas concert – the last to be held in Mount Zion church, owing to its imminent closure. The spring concert of Vivaldi’s Gloria and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria was held in the new venue at Kilbarchan West Church, which proved very suitable for the occasion. Margaret Saxon retired as President and Gordon Lowther was appointed as her successor.

A new location was needed for the Christmas concert in 2003 and it was arranged that the choir would perform in St Columba Church, Kilmacolm. The Fantasia on Christmas Carols by Vaughan Williams featured in the concert.

As 2004 was the centenary of the death of Dvorak, his Mass in D major and Te Deum were performed the Spring concert. The choir also achieved the singing of the Lord’s Prayer in Czech.

At Christmas 2004 the concert featured a brass quintet and the choir were accompanied by Steven Crawford, former conductor of the choir. For the Spring concert in 2005 there was an Austrian theme with Bruckner’s Requiem, Mozart’s church Sonata in C and the Vesperae Solennes de Confessore being sung. Oliver Rundell, organist accompanied the choir.

The Christmas concert in 2005 had a varied programme with the Ladies of the choir singing excerpts from ‘A Ceremony of Carols’ by Britten, the choir plus soprano soloist singing the popular Mary’s Canticle and Mary had a Baby, and a narration of Brother Heinrich’s Christmas by Rutter.

The Spring concert in 2006 celebrated the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart and the 200th anniversary of the death of Michael Haydn, brother of Joseph Haydn. M Haydn’s Mass in honour of St Ursula, J Haydn’s Te Deum, 2 Mozart solos and Schubert’s Magnificat were sung.

The choir were very sorry to receive the resignation of Gordon Munro who was very popular in his time as conductor, and had worked hard on the musical development of the choir. Gordon received a presentation at the AGM held at Bowfield Country Club. Gordon Lowther retired as President and was replaced by Ernie Smyth. During this period the choir continued to be supported by Sheena Patrick as rehearsal accompanist.

2006 to 2007 - Conductor: Ewan Gibson.

2007 + - Conductor: John Thwaites.

On 9th March 2008 a performance of Verdi’s Requiem was given in Greenock Town Hall with full symphony orchestra and 4 soloists. The concert was well attended.

Acknowledgements

The whole of this synopsis is a very basic record taken mainly from the Minutes of the Bridge of Weir Choral Society over 50 years. It is always difficult to include some people and omit others and in this respect apologies are made in advance to the many stalwarts who have not been named.