Harrogate Male Voice Choir
Minutes of Committee Meeting at Woodlands Methodist Church
10.00 am on Tuesday 6th January 2026

Present – David Bayne( DB) , Chris Dunn (CD), Ian Ibbotson (II), Tony Goodall (TG),
Lawrie Coulthard (LC), Stuart Berry (SB), George Cross (GC) Copy to Richard Kay (RK)
Item Action
1 The minutes of the December meeting were approved and signed off
A matter carried over concerned the venue for the 2026 Social Evening. TG suggested
using St Robert’s social club as it has a bar and moderate prices and intends to make a
booking for Friday 13th March. Blue badge parking should be available in the church
opposite. SB commented that more consideration might have been given to Harrogate
Golf Club where last year’s successful social was held.

TG

2 Project ”Sing when you’re winning”
This was the main and urgent subject of this meeting
Organisation
Both the promotion and running of this project require capable volunteers from the
choir. A sub-committee of 4-5 people needs to be identified but the promotion of the
project will require a wider commitment. Committee members suggested 9-10 names
who might be interested and TG, GC and DB will speak to them at this evening’s
rehearsal. A committee member (in turn) should attend each of the singing sessions. A
key function will be to register attendees and collect e-mail addresses.
Presentation to Membership
The project needs to be presented to members in detail and it was decided to do this on
January 13 th from the break for as long as it takes.
DB read out a proposal from RK for the content of the presentation
Presentation points
. Need to make the choir more relevant
. Radical new project modelled on the success of other MVCs
. 10 week fixed term course from April – June pitched as a charity fundraiser for men
with little or no singing experience, culminating in a joint concert with HMVC
. No mention of HMVC or “choir” in promotion or running of the course
. Run at a different venue from HMVC
. This is a last-ditch effort to invest in the future of the choir
. Promotion begins end of February
The key paragraph of the presentation is as follows
“Alongside the agreement to commit some of our reserves, the success of the
project will be entirely dependent on how well we can publicise and recruit.
Similar projects from very similar choirs in comparable catchments show that it
is possible to attract up to 50 participants (sometimes more) but this requires
every member of the choir to be committed and proactive when it comes to
publicity. The 'support in kind' is almost more vital than the finances and we will
need boots on the ground to put up posters, distribute flyers at supermarkets,
contact news outlets, gather data etc. as well as being prepared to help with the
general organisation. We will be looking for a sub committee of volunteers to
oversee this project, but it will need everybody to go above and beyond to
promote the project, whilst not necessarily representing HMVC. There will of
course be decisions along the way that not everybody agrees with, but the united
front of positivity towards a collective goal will be the secret to success”.
Venue for Course (St Robert’s Social Club)
We have booked the downstairs room (with piano and capacity for up to 20 ) with the
option to move to a larger room upstairs. These spaces are available on Wednesday
evenings from 8th April. TG is a member here and will act as liason between HMVC and
the club, including our adherence to their rules for Health & Safety and Safeguarding.

Choice of Charity to benefit
We prefer a locally-based men’s charity even if it is part of a nation-wide franchise.
Andy’s Man Club is a UK charitable organisation that coordinates weekly peer-to-peer
support groups for men. It aims to improve mental health in men and support men at
risk of suicide. The charity organises weekly 2-hour group talking sessions at over 270
venues across the UK, led by a trained group member known as a facilitator. CD gave
some valuable information on the Harrogate branch and will pass on some connections
to TG
Dates for Course
RK has suggested 5 Wednesdays from 22 nd April a break on 27 th May then 5 Wednesdays
until 1 st June with a concert on 4/5 th July. Availability of accompanists still needs to be
checked out, but (former member) Ben might be able to help out.
Application for Grant from NYCA man’s mental health fund
The text was slightly modified in accordance with our ad hoc meeting with RK and David
Healy on 16 th December and the application was submitted by DB on 28 th December
along with the requisite attachment documents. Apart from an acknowledgement of
receipt, no further communication from NYCA has been received to date. DB will keep
the committee informed of any developments.
3 Treasurer Report
II has opened a second account for “Sing when you’re winning”. Expenditure in
December included hall hire for November, NAC membership, insurance and music
team honoraria all totalling GBP 2287. 1 expected sub in basses is still outstanding.
We received GBP 150 from Knaresborough Holy Trinity after some renegotiation due to
the very poor audience attendance. Another GBP 145 was received from the collection
concert at Woodlands Methodists. We were wrongly invoiced for 16 th December
(Woodlands concert) and this will be corrected.
II made a request for concert song lists for members to include the song library
numbers.

II

4 Concert secretary report
There have been no changes to our performance dates since December, viz
13 th February Morning visit to Brackenfield prep school
27 th February Joint concert with Rodillians ladies at Boston Spa methodist church
(BSMC)
1 st March York festival evening concert
21 st March Harrogate choir competition
30 th April Afternoon visit to Pannal primary school
9 th May. Harrogate Choir Festival (but no invitation received yet)
6 th June Sing Out concert, now assumed to be at West Park Centre
3 rd /4 th or 10 th /11 th October. Joint concert with Eastwood Collieries MVC
PS A meeting at BSMC between RK and the Rodillians MD reached an agreement about
performance spaces and the participation of Rodillians was confirmed. BSMC have
distributed our flyer in their Tadcaster Circuit newsletter.

GC

5 Members Secretary Report
SB has prepared attendance lists for section reps. which will now reflect the removal of
the names mentioned in the last report as non-attenders which now gives a total of
current members of 38, of whom four may or may not be intending to remain. They
have still been included in the current sheets so time will indicate if they are returning
to regular attendances / payment of subs. The new lists cover the first 12 weeks of 2026
which will enable a comparison to be made with last 12 weeks of attendance between
September and December of 2025.
SB has sent a letter of thanks to Bryan Johnson who joined in 2022. The photo frame
purchased on the understanding that he was a long-serving member will be retained for
future use.

SB

6 Promotion of choir and events
LC is unable to continue as promotion and marketing member and needs to relinquish
all computer-related work. He is willing to support whoever takes over this function and
the committee must urgently find a replacement. The immediate promotion tasks are
LC

for the BSMC concert in February for which LC will order posters and flyers and “Sing
when you’re winning” for which LC will order 1000 flyers.
7 Sing Out
The date for the visit to Pannal school has been finalised (see 4. Above) and RK has
issued the music to be sung with HMVC. Discussions with West End centre would
indicate that it could accommodate the anticipated number of audience and
performers, especially if the balcony can be brought back into use

TG

8 Woodlands Methodist Halls
We have been offered a return to the large hall for rehearsals at the same price as the
small hall. RK and the committee approve this move and DB will confirm with the
administrator
9 Next Meeting Tuesday 3 rd February at Woodlands Methodists DB

Harrogate Male Voice Choir
Minutes of Committee Meeting at Woodlands Methodist Church
10.00 am on Tuesday 9 th December 2025 FINAL
Present – David Bayne( DB) , Chris Dunn (CD), Ian Ibbotson (II), Tony Goodall (TG), Stuart Berry (SB),
George Cross (GC) Apologies – Lawrie Coulthard Copy to Richard Kay (RC), David Healy (DH)
Item Actio
n
1 TG opened the meeting emphasising the need to consider the application for a grant for
our course for new singers. The minutes of the November meeting were signed off

TG

2 Treasurer’s report
Hall hire £180 was paid for November and £217 was received from the Whixley concert
after £33 was deducted for additional hire of the “Green Room” 4 members have still not
paid subs however one is absent for medical operations and another is not expected to
return. Section reps are requested to follow up on non-payers.
II has opened a separate bank account for the proposed singing course in April-May

II

3 Concert secretary report
The Whixley concert was a success with a good audience, however our first 2 songs were
rather hesitant and needed more rehearsal. There was confusion about hire of space for
the choir to assemble and GC paid £33 to hire the room behind the stage
Saturday 13 th December 13 th Holy Trinity Knaresborough. GC visited once again to identify
the church hall as a green room. 2 disabled parking spaces were reserved for us and access
by car to drop off passengers is assured. (In the event, the concert was held in the hall as
the church roof had become unsafe after a storm)
Tuesday 16 th December. Woodlands Church. Concert in lieu of rehearsal. Full Christmas
programme, casual dress.
Friday 13 th February. Visit to Brackenfield prep school,. Morning visit for 2026 Sing Out
concert
Friday 27 th February. Boston Spa Methodist Church. Joint concert with Rodilians ladies’
choir. Rodilians have formally confirmed and expect to bring 40 members which poses a
problem for performance space.
Sunday 1 st March. York choir festival, Rowntree Theatre. 20 minute slot to sing.
Saturday 21 st March, Harrogate competitive festival, St Mark’s church. afternoon session
Thursday 30 th April. Afternoon visit to Pannal primary school for 2026 Sing Out concert
Saturday 9 th May. Harrogate community choir festival. Awaiting formal invitation.
Saturday 6 th June, annual Sing Out concert. Venue probably West Park centre.
October 2026. Concert with Eastwood Colliery MVC of Nottingham. Dates are 3 rd /4 th or
10 th /11 th October. An afternoon concert is preferred to allow for travel back to Notts.
Starbeck Meths could fit this into their monthly music programme but if an afternoon
concert does not suit them, we could use West Park.

GC

4 Members Secretary Report
Bryan Johnson has formally resigned from the choir on the grounds of ill-health and Steve
Hurdle (T2) has joined. The attendance statistics are distorted by inclusion in the section
reps. forms of members who have resigned or who attend only sporadically. We should
not include members who have not or are not expected to pay subs this year and section
reps will be asked to revise their attendance sheets accordingly. Tenor 1 figures are not
available yet, but the attendance figures for the 12 weeks September to December
compared to the 12 weeks April to June 2025 are given below.
Sept. – Dec April- June
Tenor 2 66.6% 73.6%
Baritones 76.7% 68.8%
Basses 56.9% 47.7%
SB also investigated the possibility of a men’s choral singing class as part of their night
school programme. This could still be included in the summer term 2026. However night
classes are only run on week days and RK would only be available at weekends.

SB

5 Promotion of Concerts (Report provided) LC

Whixley 22 nd November. Liased with Rita Lister to include 2 other performers and
provided input for posters. Despite tickets priced at £15, the concert was a success.
Knaresborough 13 th December. Early posters and tickets had advertised a start at 7pm but
this was later revised by the church wardens to 7.30pm. LC and RK provided input for
posters which were distributed by LC and Trevor throughout Knaresborough
As we could not entertain at the Boston Spa Methodist Xmas tree festival on this date, LC
has arranged to sing solo with backing tapes in the afternoon.
Woodlands 16 th December. LC prepared a poster for publication in the church news and
website and along with choir colleagues, distributed them in the local area, as well as in
Wetherby and The Manor residential home.
Boston Spa methodists, Friday 27 th February. Joint concert with Rodilians in aid of Martin
House. Poster to include ticket availability from Rodilians and HMVC with QR codes. BSMC
will promote via parish news and Rodilians will promote on Facebook. LC has contacted
Martin House for promotional assistance and info on their logo. RK has generated a first
draft of poster/flyer using AI. As noted above, Rodilians may bring as many as 40 singers
from Wakefield. Use of online ticketing was discussed by the committee but was deferred
until the next meeting.
6 Recruitment. New singer campaign
St Roberts social club has been provisionally booked for this 10 week course. A source of a
grant has been identified by RK namely North Yorkshire men’s mental health fund. RK and
David Healy (DH) have drafted a excellent project description with objectives etc, have
defined the impact and legacy our project will have and have provided an analysis of the
full costs. The risks to success have been defined along with our experience and capacity
to deliver and monitor the success of the project, using Sing Out as an example.
The committee considered the document and have requested a meeting with RK and DH
on 16 th December to address a list of questions formulated by DB before the concert.
Documents such as policies for safeguarding, health and safety together with our annual
accounts need to be attached. The application has to be made by Friday 2 nd January at the
latest. The target attendance of the course was given as 40 with possible 20 people
progressing on to other support organisations. We still have to identify a men’s charity as
partner/ beneficiary and several were discussed.
It was agreed that DB should front up the application and make the formal application
after RK and DH have updated the text and the required documents have been prepared.
The project has not yet been presented to the full membership and we need to seek
volunteers for the proposed sub-committee as well as for promotion of the course.
It was proposed to do this before the rehearsal on 13 th January
7 Website and Google Drive
There have been no new developments here. RK has trialled AI to design posters.

RK

8 Sing Out 2026 schools update
(Postscript) Pannal school has agreed to a school visit for a choir performance at assembly
and a session with the school choir on the afternoon of Thursday 30 th April
GC and TG visited Spofforth primary school with a view to including Spofforth and Follifoot
in Sing Out 2027 along with Richard Taylor school.

TG

9 Choir social
St Roberts social club would be available for our social, with a charge for a Saturday night
of £90 or £60 for a Friday night. The club has no catering so this would have to be ordered
externally, however there is a bar, which a majority of the committee would wish for. We
should attempt to promote some mixing of people instead of being anchored to a specific
table. TG suggested 13 th /14 th March if RK is available.

TG

10 Singing ability
CD raised the question of how to politely correct adjacent singers if they are off-key or too
loud. We should be able to speak to colleagues without them taking offence, or ask RK to
go over a line or page where the section is not all together

CD

11 Next Meeting (A special meeting to discuss the Singing Cours grant application to include
Richard and David Healey would be held at 6:15 before the Woodlands Concert on Grant
Application for singing course) The course will be the primary focus of the next
Committee meeting on Tuesday 6 th January at Woodlands Methodists.