The Royal Dunedin Male Choir is one of New Zealand's oldest male

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

s. Their repertoire includes popular tunes, hymns, operatic choruses,

folk songs Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

and traditional melodies. The Choir undertakes fee-paying and charity engagements throughout the

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

and

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Souther ...

regions of New Zealand.

History

The Choir's origins can be traced back to 1878 and the entertainment provided at functions marking the opening of the northern railway link into Dunedin. From this evolved a Liedertaefel Quartet which, in response to public demand, was to become the Dunedin Liedertaefel Society which was incorporated on 1 May 1886. Its aims were stated as "the practice and performance of music for male voices, and for the cultivation of a refined taste in that class of music". Its founder was Mr. S. Moyle.Campbell, Margaret. Music in Dunedin. Dunedin: Charles Begg and Co., 1945, p. 43. In 1915 the name was changed to the Dunedin Male Choir,Campbell, Margaret. Music in Dunedin. Dunedin: Charles Begg and Co., 1945, p. 44. with the word "Royal" being added by royal patent in 1927, acknowledging three performances before royalty in 1901, 1920, and 1927. The Royal Dunedin Male Choir from time to time combined with the Dunedin Choral Society (

City of Dunedin Choir City Choir Dunedin (trading name of Dunedin Choral Society; formerly City of Dunedin Choir, Schola Cantorum) is an auditioned mixed-voice choir in Dunedin, New Zealand. It accepts singers of all age groups from the wider Dunedin community and pe ...

) in performances.Thomson, John M. Oxford History of New Zealand Music. Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1991, p. 111. Audiences have included these notable persons: * The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

and Queen Mary) * The

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(later

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...

) * The

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

(later

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

) * Duke of Gloucester * Queen Elizabeth II * The Duke of Edinburgh * Prince Charles (later the Prince of Wales) * Princess Anne (later

The Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been sev ...

) * Duke and Duchess of Kent * Various

Governors-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of New Zealand * Lord Jellicoe * Lord Cobham * Sir Paul Reeves * Lord Provost of Edinburgh

Administration

The Royal Dunedin Male Choir is administered by the Royal Dunedin Male Choir Incorporated, limited to and exclusively for charitable purposes, in New Zealand. The activities of the Choir are administered by a Committee, elected at the Annual General Meeting.

Patronage

The Choir's constitution stipulates the

Mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

is their patron.

The Musical Directors (Conductors)

The Royal Dunedin Male Choir has been led and inspired by many musical directors and conductors. Beginning with the choir's founder Samuel Moyle in 1886, he was followed by: Benno Scherek, Arthur Barth, Raphael Squarise, Jesse Timson (25 years), Dr Victor Galway (17 years), Alfred Walmsley, William Francis, Ernest Drake, Charles Collins, Gilmore McConnell, Donald Munro, James Clark, Val Drew (a record 26 years), Harry Madden, Les Bonar, Richard Madden (son of Harry Madden) who took up the position in 2001. Richard retired at the end of 2019. From 2020 the choir had been conducted by John Buchanan (MNZM).

Accompanists

The choir has been well served by 27 pianists since 1886 and, coming forward in time, have included: Edward Taylor, Chas Martin, Colin Oliver, Iain Kerr, Judy Faris (née Galloway) with a record 27 years service, and from 1994 to the present, Linda Folland (née Kydd).

Membership

Membership of the Royal Dunedin Male Choir is open to male singers from all walks of life who share a common delight in choral singing. The choir comprises four sectional groups; First Tenors, Second Tenors (or Leads), First Basses (or Baritones) and Second Basses. Following a successful audition the musical director will assigns a singer to one of these sections based on his assessment of the singer's

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of stud ...

Repertoire

Over the past 122 years the choir has been in existence it has sung a huge array of different music styles and genres. The list is far too long to display here but has included traditional hymns such as "The 23rd Psalm",

Spirituals Spirituals (also known as Negro spirituals, African American spirituals, Black spirituals, or spiritual music) is a genre of Christian music that is associated with Black Americans, which merged sub-Saharan African cultural heritage with the e ...

the likes of "I'm Gwine to Sing" and "Kentucky Babe", and songs from the popular operatic musicals like ''Phantom of the Opera'', ''Porgy and Bess'', ''Oklahoma'', and ''My Fair Lady''. The choir also enjoys singing the big heart-warming songs such as "Gwahoddiad", "American Trilogy" and " And the Glory of the Lord" (from Handel's ''Messiah''). The choir stages two major concerts in the

Dunedin Town Hall The Dunedin Town Hall, also known as the Dunedin Centre, is a municipal building in the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. It is located in the heart of the city extending from The Octagon, the central plaza, to Moray Place through a whole city blo ...

each year: one around mid-year (June) and a Christmas Concert in early December.

References

Constitution of the Royal Dunedin Male Choir The archives of the Royal Dunedin Male Choir are held in the

Hocken Collections Hocken Collections (, formerly the Hocken Library) is a research library, historical archive, and art gallery based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its library collection, which is of national significance, is administered by the University of Otago. Th ...

Dunedin, New Zealand Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

External links

Website of the Royal Dunedin Male Choir
{{authority control New Zealand choirs Culture in Dunedin 1886 establishments in New Zealand Boys' and men's choirs Musical groups established in 1886 Organisations based in Dunedin Organisations based in New Zealand with royal patronage