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
