Concert preview: London Welsh Male Voice Choir in Kendal

9:10am Saturday 13th March 2010

By Adrian Mullen

LAKELAND soprano Margaret Pattinson is to share the stage as soloist with one of the greatest names in male voice choirs.

Margaret will appear with the London Welsh Male Voice Choir at lakes leisure Kendal on Saturday, April 10 (7pm) in a fund-raising concert organised by the Rotary Club of Kendal South Westmorland.

With all proceeds going to local charities, it promises to be a cracking night and a particularly memorable one for Margaret.

She said: “It’s a great honour for me to be singing with the London Welsh Male Voice Choir and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Margaret is unfazed by the big occasion and has been singing as a soloist, in ensembles - she was a member of the BBC Northern Singers many years ago - teaching singers, and directing choirs, such as Cumbria Baroque Choir, all her working life.

She is also a graduate of Manchester’s eminent Royal Northern College of Music and sings in various styles, but particularly enjoys sacred and baroque music.

Part of the April 10 programme will feature Margaret singing solo accompanied by her son Ian on piano.

LWMVC was formed in 1902 and quickly gained a reputation for excellence in performance and success in competition.

Disrupted by the two world wars, the choir was re-established in 1961 and now has more than 100 members.

While maintaining the best of Welsh male choral tradition, the choir has also sought to be innovative.

Take Me Home, the title song of its 1975 album, established ‘pop’ in the male voice programme, and its 1981 Songs of the Valleys, is believed to be the first album by a male choir to achieve a gold disc for sales in excess of 100,000.

The choir performed at Earls Court to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Queen’s accession to the throne.

In contrast, it was the backing group for pop band Take That at Earls Court and has recorded with Charlotte Church, Aled Jones and Bryn Terfel.

In August 2007, it became the first male voice choir to sing at the new Wembley Stadium prior to the Rugby League Cup Final.

The choir celebrated its centenary in 2002. Various events took place and a special commemorative double CD, One Hundred Years of Music, was also released.