One of Yorkshire’s foremost choirs will be performing a concert in Kirkby Stephen Parish Church in aid of the town’s mountain rescue team.
The spring concert by Steeton Male Voice Choir is taking place on Sunday, 26th March.
Having been singing since 1908, the choir continues to thrive under the leadership of its first female musical director, Catherine Sweet.
A spokesman said: “She is reinvigorating our performance and refreshing our repertoire and is only our sixth MD in all those years.
“We are also fortunate in having a new and very experienced accompanist in Elaine Dave who joined us from Beverley.
“We are developing the range and style of concerts to give our audiences an eclectic mix of music from ourselves and a range of guest choirs and performers.”
The choir is made up of a group of men covering a wide range of trades and professions — the one thing in common is the love of singing and performing.
“We have sung in many venues including Worcester, Durham, Killarney, Belfast and Bradford Cathedrals, the Eden Project, Warwick Castle, Alnwick Gardens, The Giants Causeway visitor centre and the National Welsh Botanic Gardens.
“Steeton Choir undertakes regular tours and has performed in Germany, Belgium (including the Menin Gate), Northern Ireland, Wales (coals to Newcastle does not daunt us!), Scotland and this Easter we are off to the Republic of Ireland,” the spokesman said.
At present, the choir has 50-plus singers on its books. The spokesman added: “One of our members has a son living in Kirkby Stephen who is involved in the local mountain rescue organisation.
“Our secretary visited the parish church last year and thought it would be a great place to perform and for our choir to have a day out in Kirkby Stephen. We do a couple of free charity performances each year and so we decided to offer our services.
“We are looking forward to our coach trip to the Dales, our day in the town and hope to entertain a good audience for a very worthy cause.
“The parish church is going to be a great venue to sing in. This should be a great start to our 2023 concert programme.”
Paul Davison, of Kirkby Stephen mountain rescue, has told the choir that the team is increasingly busy and rescue teams are called out regularly. “He also tells us that they are reliant on donations to help keep the organisation going and how important mountain rescue is in helping people in difficulties on the fells and mountains and that they can only do their, on occasions, life saving work with the good will of the volunteers and the generosity of the public.
“They were delighted to be offered a fundraising concert by Steeton Male Voice Choir and would appeal to local people to come and enjoy the singing and music and help the choir raise some money on their behalf.”
Based in the village of Steeton, situated between Skipton and Keighley, and within sight of Ilkley Moor, Steeton Male Voice Choir is one of the oldest and most respected male voice choirs in Yorkshire. Attendees to the concert are invited to pay on the door, with card payments being accepted.
