IN DECEMBER 2000 Ulverston Choral Society appointed Heather Paynes as its new music director. She, together with her husband, Brian, had recently moved across to Cumbria from the East Riding of Yorkshire. There she had pursued a busy career, not only as the mother of three daughters, but also as a teacher of music in secondary schools in the area and as a successful trainer and director of a number of the region’s choirs.

Heather had not looked forward to the move; after all, what was the state of the musical scene in the Cumbrian wilds? She did, however, soon find out that the county was richly endowed with all things musical. Before long the directorship of the Ulverston Choir became vacant and a new career was born. This extension to Heather’s life of music-making continued through the next 16 years, and finally, concluding recently, when a special concert marked the bitter-sweet occasion.

Throughout her lengthy tenure of office Heather directed the choir with an amalgamation of skill, musicianship, hard work, enthusiasm and, most importantly, great enjoyment. The musical quality of the performances in the final concert and the atmosphere prevailing throughout the evening all paid dividend to that fact.

Heather had invited many of the region’s prominent musicians to be part of the celebration and together, they and the choir did full justice to a programme centred around Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Zadok the Priest and Parry’s Blest Pair of Sirens. A wide variety of shorter choral items, each selected from the choir’s repertoire over the years, completed the evening’s entertainment.

As was mentioned above, the evening was a bitter-sweet experience for everyone present. The audience was extremely generous in its appreciation; the choir, too, found the evening to be one of its most uplifting experiences. In short, it was an appropriate adieu to a much-loved lady.