Harrogate Male Voice Choir
Minutes of Committee Meeting at Woodlands Methodist Church
10.00 am on Tuesday 8 th September 2026 FINAL
Present – David Bayne( DB) , Ian Ibbotson (II), Tony Goodall (TG), Stuart Berry (SB), George Cross (GC),
Richard Kay (RK), Paul Boothman (PB) Apologies Chris Dunn (CD)
Item Action
1 Welcome/ Minutes of last meeting
TG welcomed RK and PB to their first committee meeting. PB is attending to explain his
ideas about singing at events and sponsorship of the choir
The minutes of the June meeting were approved without comment and signed off.

TG

2 Treasurer Report
 II had distributed the accounts for 2025-26 in advance and elaborated as follows:
 The separate SWYW account shows that HMVC did not have to subsidise the project
thanks to donations from the Rotary Club, the Round Table and a generous personal
donation from a choir member. £1200 was donated to Andy’s Man Club.
 The Sing Out concert also made a modest “profit” of £477.90
 The main HMVC income & expenditure account (not yet audited) shows a surplus after
writedowns of £520 giving a closing balance of £10195.26. This includes a further
donation of £1000 from a current member. Without the overall donations of £4000 we
would have been left with £6200, close to the minimum recommended by the Charities
Commission. We cannot rely on such donations!
 II also presented a draft budget with many assumptions about the number of new
members and number of rehearsals and concerts. Our recommendation for subs will be
decided at the next meeting and will depend on the number of members we have,
bearing in mind our subsidies for uniforms and 3 months free rehearsals for new
members. An option to pay by monthly direct debit or standing order could be offered.
II

3 Members Secretary Report
Some members attended the funeral of former member Peter Dawson
Neil Duncan and Roger Gill are expected to return but Al Junor is seriously ill. We extend
our condolences to Derek Jeary whose wife died 2 week ago. He will attend this evening
with his daughter and son-in Law (who will sing with us tonight)
The questionnaires about personal contacts have been returned from those who have
changes and SB will now update the confidential contact list for first aiders and DB.
The attendance statistics for the period April to July compared to the previous quarter are
as follows:-
Baritones 85.8% compared to 70.13% in previous quarter
Basses 62.48% “ 87.6% “ “
Tenors 2 76.85% “ 82.17% “ “
(No attendance records were collected for tenors 1)

GC

4 Evaluation of Sing When You’re Winning
The raw figures are that from 75 positive enquiries, 35 men attended some of the
sessions, 31 completed the course and 25 participated in the final concert. The feedback
from the participants was all very positive and is available in e-mails from RK. The
availability of a bar at St Roberts club helped to bond the participants which was
continued over the summer months (using a what’s app group) on Tuesday evenings as
“Friends of Frobishers”. RK had followed the “Peterborough model” where appropriate,
but common identity might have been improved with printed T-shirts and there was some
demand for “more upbeat numbers” (which are hard to find for MVC and are more
complicated to learn.) While Andy’s Man Club were unable to provide much support on
the ground, the link to them improved access to premises where we would not normally
be able to promote events. An irritation was a participant who blatantly tried to recruit for
another choir. Feedback from SWYW members would indicate 4-5 men coming to today’s
rehearsal, another 2-3 coming at a future date with a maximum of 10 recruits overall from
participants and their friends. One suggestion was to hold a “mate’s evening” together
SB

with the choir to encourage wider interest.
RK has made a huge effort and commitment over the last 6-9 months for which the
committee thanks him sincerely. A repeat of SWYW cannot be contemplated for at least 2
and rather 3 years, however the evidence of the success of this project should assist in
any future application for grants.
5 Parking and Football nights
We intend to negotiate overflow parking at Willow Tree school, however this is not
available on nights when Harrogate Town are playing at home. AA will continue to meet at
7pm in the small hall indefinitely. TG will request that members who are physically able
should seek parking in adjacent streets.

TG

6 Rehearsal Dates
The half-term break has been moved from 27 th to 20 th October due to non-availability of
accompanists. We perform at York Christmas festival on Tuesday 15 th December so last
rehearsal 2026 will be on 8 th December .

TG/RK

7 Promotion of concerts
We are still lacking a nominated person to promote our activities. RK is posting updates
regularly on Facebook as well as posting 'latest news' and 'hear us' pages on the
website. He has done all the intended modernisation of the website and any further
modernisation would require funds for professional input. An AI-enhanced template
for concert promotion would be an advantage and one of the SWYW participants may be
able to help with this.

TG/RK

8 AGM
In the light of commitments up to the end of October, the AGM will be deferred until
Tuesday 3 rd November. Elections to committee will be on the agenda for the next meeting.
DB

9 Singing at Beer Festivals and other events
PB was invited to discuss his proposal for singing at beer festivals and similar events.
Many welcome live music and even audience participation. Instead of uniforms we might
wear branded t-shirts and use taped music. He offers to contact potential event
organisers to try out interest, but without any commitment at this stage.
TG reminded that we had turned down 2 such opportunities last year because of the short
notice given. Performing in care homes was also discussed but apart from the British
Legion who could cover all of our costs, most care homes cannot accommodate a full
choir and struggle to find the price we ask.
RK agreed that we should be ready and open to accept invitations for events which give
us great publicity, but singing with a recorded accompaniment requires rehearsal, and
“professional” amplification. However RK will consider recording suitable tracks. Any
reduced sized HMVC groups must maintain TTBB balance.

PB

10 Commercial Sponsorship Strategy
PB had distributed a plan to seek corporate sponsorship to fund uniforms, concerts and
community promotion. This was not discussed at the meeting, however PB and
committee members are encouraged to follow up on any contacts they may have until
this strategy has been discussed and finalised.

PB

11 Sing Out 2027
TG confirmed that Ricard Taylor school plus a combination of Spofforth and Follifoot
village schools are in line for 2027.

TG

10 Next Meeting
Tuesday 6 th October at Woodlands Methodists

DB

Harrogate Male Voice Choir
Minutes of Committee Meeting at Woodlands Methodist Church
10.00 am on Tuesday 12 th May 2026
Present – David Bayne( DB) , Chris Dunn (CD), Ian Ibbotson (II), Tony Goodall (TG),
Stuart Berry (SB), George Cross (GC Copy to Lawrie Coulthard (LC), Richard Kay (RK)
Item Action
1 The minutes of the April meeting were approved and signed off. TG
2 Project ”Sing when you’re winning”
There is no further news of grant applications by David Healy, but 2 are in progress. DB
will let his registration with the community Lottery Fund lapse as they will not cover the
current SWYW campaign. II is pursuing a grant of £1500 from an undisclosed source.
Response to SWYW
 RK reports that we had 70+ initial expressions of interest of whom 49 filled in the info
forms. Of these 49, 33 have attended at least one session, 5 never responded and 11
withdrew without attending.
 Of those who have attended, 31 are currently still committed, 2 have withdrawn 2 are
unavailable for the July concert, 2 are unsure about this date leaving us with a choir of
about 25 for the concert.
 Latest estimate of costs
 RK estimates £3697, not including purchase of additional copies of all of the planned
repertoire and assuming that the cost of the July concert will be covered by ticket
receipts.
 Organisation of July concert
 Promotion needs to start ASAP with a flyer which can be sent to all of our usual media
outlets. In view of the direct fund-raising for Andy’s Man Club, the committee were
agreed that a charge of £15 for over-16s was justified.
 Repeat Project
 The whole promotion and organisation needs to be analysed after July, but from this
time point, any repeat would have to be in 2 years time, certainly not next year.

RK

3 Treasurer Report
II questioned the drain on our resources posed by festivals of all types, where we pay
the music team, pay fees to appear (£813 this year) but receive no income from ticket
sales. The Royal Hall festival alone cost £210 for participation plus £150 for the music
team. Members who wish to appear in festivals could be asked to contribute.
We have received a generous donation of £1000 from a current member.

II

5 Concert secretary report
Satuday 9 th May Harrogate Choir Festival A good turnout of members and a
performance which attracted positive comment form both audience and another MD.
Saturday 6 th June Sing Out concert, 7 pm, West Park. RK’s promotional poster was
approved by the committee and will be used on-line and in the schools. LC has printed
200 tickets which will be allocated at rehearsal today. Benches for the children will be
sourced from both schools and transported by CD. Our own keyboard is also required.
As the children will need a meal break, the choir will need to be at West Park by 5 pm.
Saturday 4 th July. SWYW concert. Detailed planning and promotion begins now. Concert
to start at 7.30 pm with rehearsal at 5.30/6.00
Sunday 11 th October. Afternoon joint concert with Eastwood Collieries MVC at Starbeck
Methodist church
Saturday 31 st October. Concert suggested by mayor with Tewitt brass band.
(Since this meeting, contacts have been made for York Christmas festival in December
and another joint concert with the Ryelarks in Pickering in spring 2017)

GC

6 Members Secretary Report
SB will proceed with a confidential note to each member asking for confirmation of
contact details, as was done by his predecessor.
Robert Bickford has indicated he is unable to return to the choir and has returned his

SB

music. A framed photo of the choir will be delivered to him in recognition of his service.
David Bainbridge has not taken up our offer to return to the choir after Easter so must
be presumed to have finally left the choir
7 E-ticketing
RK urges us to implement e-ticketing in time for the SWYW concert. A previous attempt
in 2023 with “Arkevent” was not followed up and they have now ceased to trade.
Eventbrite was suggested by committee members but this appears to have higher and
hidden costs. RK has volunteered to set up an “event” on Ticketsource where booking
fees can be added to the ticket price.

TG

8 Singing without copies.
CD made a plea for relaxation of the “singing without copies” policy of RK. Older
members have great difficulty memorising large numbers of songs for a concert. TG will
ask RK to speak to the choir again about this issue.

CD

9 Parking
Since AA has been starting before us in the small hall, parking at the church has been a
problem. If we get new members in September this could be worse. TG will approach
Willow Tree school before we re-start to negotiate terms for parking there. Harrogate
Town will however continue to play matches on Tuesday nights when the school is
reserved for away fans.

CD/TG

10 Choir Re-start after summer break
We will resume rehearsals on Tuesday 8 th September

DB
11 Next Meeting. Thursday 16 th June (this should be the last of this session) DB

Harrogate Male Voice Choir
Minutes of Committee Meeting at Woodlands Methodist Church
10.00 am on Tuesday 7 th April 2026 Draft
Present – David Bayne( DB) , Ian Ibbotson (II), Tony Goodall (TG), Stuart Berry (SB), George Cross (GC),
Apologies Chris Dunn (CD) Copy to Lawrie Coulthard (LC), Richard Kay (RK)
Item Action
1 Apologies
CD is unable to attend this meeting however he advises that Richard Hayter has
resigned and his music folder has been returned.

SB

2 The Minutes of the March meeting were approved and signed off. TG
3 Project ”Sing when you’re winning”
 Further grant applications. Applications are in preparation by David Healy for grants from
the Rotary club and the Bramhall Trust. DB has registered with the Lottery Fund but will
defer an application for a possible repeat of SWYW as applications take over 3 months for
a decision
 Timetable for course. The course starts on Wednesday 22 nd April for 10 weeks with final
concert on Saturday 4 th July.
 Number of applicants. At the time of the meeting 53 men had shown an interest
(however RK has since updated this to say that only 23 men have formally registered.)
 Promotion of SAYW. In the meeting it was decided that flyers into letter boxes and
distribution at a football match would no longer be required. (however in the light of
RK’s feedback we need to redouble our promotion efforts and ensure that posters put up
in March are still in place)
 Project Costs. RK has provided an estimate of £2705 for venue hire, music copies,
publicity, printing costs and accompanist fees. We will in addition pay RK for his
preparation work and his normal appearance fee for each SAYW session. We need to be
prepared to give up 50% of our reserves to this existential project.
4 West Park Centre
TG and GC will revisit West Park next week to look at seating and performance space.
Benches will be supplied by the schools for the Sing Out concert.
West park applied for a £150,000 grant from the N.Yorks mayors fund and has been
granted £100,000. We have booked West Park for 6 th June and 4 th July for a fee of £200
per event.

TG

5 Treasurer Report
II has paid the accompanists up to the end of March. The pro-rata sub of one new
member was agreed and if another member returns after Easter he will be asked for his
second part-payment.
II prepared a table of income and expenditure from concerts and festivals for the current
year. We made small profits from Whixley and Boston Spa but all other performances
involved only cash out. We would hope to cover the current estimated £633 deficit from
income from the Sing Out concert. II also questioned using both accompanists at
concerts , however for the Sing Out concert it was agreed to continue inviting both of
them.
There followed a brief discussion of our choir objectives regarding concerts, festivals, the
health benefits to members and fund-raising for charity, which was deferred to a future
date when RK can be involved.

II

6 Concert secretary report
The Harrogate Choir Festival on 21 st March was deemed to be a success by RK with an
“Honours” award and third place behind an outstanding young adults choir from Leeds
and a good rock choir. We fielded 25 members (including 2 new members) which was
adequate for the occasion.
Thursday 30 th April. 2.50 pm visit to Pannal primary, assembly followed by joint choir
practice.

GC

Saturday 9 th May. Harrogate Choir Festival (evening) in Royal Hall. Fees not yet defined.
Saturday 6 th June. Annual Sing Out concert at West Park Centre
Saturday 4 th July joint concert of SWYW with HMVC at West Park centre
Sunday 11 th October. Afternoon joint concert with Eastwood Collieries MVC at Starbeck
Methodist church
We were unable to sign up to the Jo Cox charity Family Fun Day on 20 th June as we have
no accompanist available. We may be invited next year if they have the funding to cover
our costs.
7 Members Secretary Report
Since the last meeting Paul Boothman and Stewart Radford have received welcome
letters, have joined the choir and paid pro-rata subs for 5 months. Uniforms are being
organised via Robin Wilkinson. SB’s audit of choir members details will start after the
Easter break.
The attendance statistics for the 12 weeks up to end of March compared to the previous
12 weeks are as follows:-
Basses 87.5% compared to 56.9%
Baritones 70.1% compared to 76.7%
Tenor 2s 87.2% compared to 66%
Tenor 1 72% (no figure available for previous period)
The following members who have not attended this choir year were discounted from the
figures: Richard Hayter, Roger Gill, Max Ford, Neil Duncan and Robet Bickford. John
Melanaphy and David Bainbridge were discounted for the last 12 weeks.
John Melanaphy and Neil Duncan are not expected to return until next choir year, Roger
Gill and David Bainbridge may return sooner.

SB

8 Social
The social scheduled for 20 th March was cancelled due to lack of interest. We will look for
an alternative date in the autumn when some new members may be available.

TG

9 Singing in care homes
This subject has been somewhat overtaken by SAYW and will be addressed next session
DB

10 Practice tracks and Google drive
Not enough members are using the practice tracks , sometimes due to lack of access to
Google Drive or confusion about how to use it. We need to issue some guidance for this.

Harrogate Male Voice Choir
Minutes of Committee Meeting at Woodlands Methodist Church
10.00 am on Tuesday 3rd March 2026 FINAL
Present – David Bayne( DB) , Chris Dunn (CD), Ian Ibbotson (II), Tony Goodall (TG),
Stuart Berry (SB), George Cross (GC (GC) Copies to Richard Kay (RK),Lawrie Coulthard (LC)
Item Actio
n
1 The minutes of the March meeting were approved and signed off TG
2 Project ”Sing when you’re winning”
The application for a grant from North Yorkshire & York council’s Men’s Health fund was
unfortunately declined. Other sources of funds are being sought including Rotary Club, the
Bramhall Trust and other local government sources.
Although other choir’s projects have asked for a joining fee or donation from participants,
it was felt that the course had been advertised as “free of charge” and any donations
should be totally voluntary. Our reserves will cover the cost of the course including a
payment to RK in addition to his expenses. Our reserves are there to ensure the
continuation of the choir.
The course will begin on Wednesday 22 nd April and continue until Wednesday 1 st July with a
joint concert with HMVC at West ark centre on Saturday 4 th July.
15 choir members have volunteered to promote the project (in addition to committee
members) and RK has briefed them via a google drive dedicated to SWYW. Proposed and
completed actions should be posted on the task list on the drive to co-ordinate coverage
and prevent duplication.
At the time of the committee meeting, 15 men had registered interest (in addition to our 3
latest potential members). This makes our target of 40 participants by end of April look
feasible.
At St Roberts social club, there is no disabled access to the upstairs room. The piano is
available to us and is of adequate standard. Although David Mawson is not available for
the first session, RK is able to take this on his own. We have still to see St Robert’s
safeguarding policy.
TG has visited the Harrogate branch of Andy’s Man Club who are co-operating on the
project but he missed the start of their session before participants split into groups. He will
next go to the Knaresborough branch at7pm.
The committee approved the press release and the FAQ sheet, with a couple of additions.
3 West Park Centre capacity
RG and GC have still to re-visit West Park together to confirm the capacity for the annual
Sing Out concert. The primary school choirs will bring about 120 children who will need
extra benches from one of the schools to seat the all. The schools have requested
confirmation of the venue.

TG/G
C

4 Treasurer Report
One £75 sub contribution is still missing. Although the person in question has resigned he
may come back after Easter. We assume Max Ford and Robert Bickford will not return but
we will hold off making a presentation to Robert for the moment.
2 new members who have completed their probationary period will be asked for a pro-
rata sub from 1 st April until end of June. We will of course subsidise their uniforms as per
policy.
At the time of meeting, the income from the Boston Spa concert was £1577, costs £711
incl. fees to HMVC and Rodillians leaving £866 for Martin House hospice. However the
donation was revised upwards to £1400 after £492 ticket sales by the Rodillians was
added.
It was noted that the card reader machine did not function at the church, but fortunately
all tickets sold at the door were paid in cash. The machine now appears to be working. It
was discussed whether printed tickets are still relevant in this day and age and whether
on-line tickets should be offed.

II

5 Concert secretary report
The attendance of choir members at the Boston Spa was adequate and we were able to
perform our songs to a full house to RK’s satisfaction. The difficult movements of HMVC
between the stage and balcony went well enough and we received positive feedback from
audience members. Although we were 2 members less at the York Choir Festival, we again
managed our 5 songs well enough and were appreciated by the audience.
Our next performances are
Saturday 21 st March. Harrogate Competitive Festival. The venue has changed from
St Mark’s church to Harrogate High School and our class starts at 2pm.
Thursday 30 th April. Afternoon Visit to Pannal primary, assembly followed by joint choir
practice.
Saturday 9 th May. Harrogate Choir Festival (evening) in Royal Hall
Saturday 6 th June. Annual Sing Out concert at West Park Centre
Saturday 20 th June. Jo Cox charity Family Fun Day. Request to be put to members this
evening.
Saturday 4 th July joint concert of SWYW with HMVC at West Park centre
Sunday 11 th October. Afternoon joint concert with Eastwood Collieries MVC at Starbeck
Methodist church.

GC

6 Members Secretary Report
The status of members who are no longer attending was discussed in (4) above.
SB will conduct an individual review of all members details (address, telephone numbers,
next of kin) using extracts of the last record sealed into envelopes.
The essential confidential record to be carried by first-aiders will then be updated.
DB emphasised that this record must be taken to all performance venues and to all
rehearsals in case of accidents or illness.

SB

7 Promotion of HMVC concerts
The work done by LC (and the church) in promoting the Boston Spa concert resulted in a
nearly-full house. This contrasts with other poorly-promoted concerts where performers
have outnumbered audience. If we cannot find a promotions officer we may have to
appoint a person to organise advertising, tickets and flyers for each concert.
8 Social
Will take place at St Roberts social club on Friday 20 th March. Final attendance lists are
required this evening and payment of £18 per person by BACS is now due.
Members needing piano accompaniment should speak to David Mawson this evening.
Parking at the church has been declined but there is adequate parking on the adjacent
streets.

TG

9 Sing Out
The visit to Brackenfield school on 13 th February went well despite the music teacher being
absent and our performance time at assembly being shortened due to a communications
mix-up about end of term awards. It did mean however that we were able to sing to some
parents as well as the pupils.
The visit to Pannal school on 30 th April will be from 2.50 in the afternoon with choir
practice to follow a performance to the school.
The capacity of West Park centre is discussed in (3) above.

TG

10 Any other business
CD raised the question about how to speak to members who are singing their “own
versions” of songs and putting other singers off. It is not the duty of section reps to do
this but we should be empowered to speak to anyone who is out of sync or let RK raise the
issue.

CD

11 Next Meeting. Although we have no rehearsal on 7 th April, the committee will meet at
Woodlands Meths at 10 am on that date.

DB

Harrogate Male Voice Choir
Minutes of Committee Meeting at Woodlands Methodist Church
10.00 am on Tuesday 3rd February 2026 Final
Circulation – David Bayne( DB) , Chris Dunn (CD), Ian Ibbotson (II), Tony Goodall (TG),
Stuart Berry (SB), George Cross (GC), Richard Kay (RK), Lawrie Coulthard (LC)
Item Action
1 The minutes of the January meeting were approved and signed off TG
2 Project ”Sing when you’re winning” (SWYW)
The focus of this meeting was once again SWYW. RK believes that the promotion of this
course which begins on 22 nd April should start almost right away, as soon as we have
identified volunteers and have printed the flyers and posters.
Instead of forming a sub-committee to drive actions on this project, we will use and
expand the task list formulated by RK, which is available to all volunteers and committee
members
From the task list
 We agree with RK’s latest flyer design showing himself as soloist
 Order 1000 (GC says 2000) flyers but add 100 A4 posters
 The google participant application form by RK is excellent
 We need to understand how the SWYW e-mail account will work
 Who has the link to the Bramhall Trust? Can David Healy progress this?
 Our grant application to NY council has not yet been approved but they have
until end of February to contact us.
 St Roberts is booked from 22 nd April and West Park for final concert on 4 th July (DB
to add to Choir Dates)
 II is already allocating funds for venue booking and flyer printing
 Excellent progress with Andy’s Man Club (AMC) in Harrogate. Extend to branches
in Ripon, Thirsk, and Knaresborough (no branch in Wetherby)
 DB’s mobile number has been printed on the flyers and he will answer all
telephone enquiries and agree a protocol with RK for passing on contacts to the
e-mail address and the person registering attendance at the course.
 DB will make up a form for volunteers to sign up to and display it tonight after TG
has addressed the members.
 Draft press release was not attached by RK (has since been received). Committee
members to comment ASAP
 Volunteers will be assigned to 5 districts of Harrogate, to Knaresborough, to
Ripon, and any other areas.
 Check with LC for contacts with local radio
 Complete checklist of press and radio contacts
 TG and DB will inform Social Prescribers of the SWYW course and ask to direct
patients there instead of to the choir
 As well as village halls and notice boards, flyers to be distributed to
– Barber shops
– Drop-in centres
– Leisure centres
– Golf/sports clubs
– Rotary/Round Table
– Probus clubs
– Mixed choirs

– Churches (J Melanaphy if fit enough)
. Draw up checklist of locations for volunteers
. Aim is to hand out flyers and posters to identified volunteers at a briefing before
rehearsal on 10 th February (as we are not rehearsing on 17 th Feb) – previous target was
24 th February
. Steve Hurdle may participate in SWYW and has offered to take participant’s details
. Mass distribution of flyers through letterboxes nearer the start of the course via
allocated volunteers.
. Hand out flyers at Harrogate Town FC home matches (RK proposal)
The date of the joint SWYW and HMVC concert has been set at Saturday 4 th July at West
Park centre
3 West Park Centre
The committee has approved a letter by TG in support of their application for Mayor’s
funds. We are also progressing plans to expand seating for our Sing Out concert

TG

4 Treasurer Report
December hall hire of £90 was paid and £150 was received from Holy Trinity
2 full year subs and one sub instalment are still outstanding.

II

5 Concert secretary report
13 th February 8.30 am visit to Brackenfield prep school. See (9) below
27 th February 7.30 pm Joint concert with Rodillians ladies at Boston Spa methodist church
1 st March York festival evening concert at 7.30 pm. We sing 5 songs in a 20-minute slot
and need to be there before 6.35 pm for a sound check. GC and DB will visit the venue on
8 th February. We must get out a good choir attendance despite the concert 2 days before.
21 st March Harrogate choir competition. Performance time confirmed as 2pm. We
assume venue is Harrogate High school as there is no further mention of St Martin’s
church in the syllabus.
30 th April. Afternoon visit to Pannal primary school
9 th May. Harrogate Choir Festival (invitation received and RK confirmed his availability)
6 th June Sing Out concert, now assumed to be at West Park Centre
4 th July Joint concert of SAYW with HMVC at West Park Centre
11 th October. Joint Sunday afternoon concert with Eastwood Collieries MVC

GC

6 Members Secretary Report
There is confusion over whether or not Richard Hayter has resigned
Robert Bickford is unable to sing and we need to assess whether he continues as a
member. John Melanaphy is back home recovering from a heart attack hopes to rejoin us
before too long. A “get well” card will be circulated this evening for members to sign.
Steve Hurdle will attend the SWYW course. Nigel Lister has moved to a new address.

SB

7 Promotion of HMVC concerts
We urgently need to identify a successor to LC for promotion of concerts, which must
continue separately from SWYW. Lawrie has a wide network of publicity outlets including
radio and we should use his knowledge to maximise SWYW coverage. Meanwhile LC has
made a sterling effort to promote the Boston Spa concert in Wetherby and the Church
has made a great effort to promote it within the Tadcaster Circuit (Boston, Wetherby,
Tadcaster and Collingham). Martin House refused to display our posers until we had
pasted their logo onto them (house rule). We should ensure that the logos of
beneficiaries always appear in our publicity! Now the choir needs to sell tickets as the
Rodillians are expected to bring up to 40 supporters.

?

8 Social
TG has distributed menus from 2 caterers to the committee (as St Roberts cannot do this
in-house). The room will cost £60 and for a minimum of 35 people, a main course plus
dessert will cost £16 with a room charge of £2 pr head making £18. TG will ask for a show
of hands for participants this evening.

TG

9 Sing Out
An early start is required for our performance at Brackenfield school assembly at 8.45. on
Friday 13 th February. We need to be there by 8.30 and allow for time to find parking in
adjacent streets.

TG

10 Choir dates
The list of choir dates for performances and breaks has been updated and checked by GC,
TG and RK and will now be issued to all members. Note that we have some noticeboard
space back in the Woodlands main hall.

DB

11 Next Meeting Tuesday 3 rd March at 10 am, Woodlands Meths. DB

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