Stirling City Choir was formed in 1951 as Stirling Choral Union. It is a large mixed voice choir based in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, which has performed a variety of mainstream choral works as well as original compositions by members of the choir.

History

On 12 September 1951, Derrick Cantrell addressed a meeting of singers in the Fellowship Hall, Craigs, Stirling. He said that "A number of singers had been tested and there was a potential membership of over eighty." A draft constitution was adopted and the first chairman was appointed: Col. John Logan. The first concert was a performance of ‘Messiah’ on 26 December 1951, with Derrick Cantrell conducting an orchestra of 18 players from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and a choir of "100 voices". Soloists were Joan Packer, Ruth Morrison, Duncan Robertson and Frederic Westcott. By 1954 under the baton of Roy Lennox, the choir had become established in the life of Stirling and has remained so over the years, conducted by Bramwell Cook, Henry Havergal, Stuart Anderson, George Farmer, Richard Halliday, once again George Farmer, Richard Galloway, and currently, Eric Dunlea. A policy of engaging young soloists has been encouraged including Patricia McMahon, Kathleen Livingstone,

Neil Mackie Neil Mackie (born 1946) is a Scottish tenor. During his career as a singer, he was associated with the works of 20th-century composers, particularly Benjamin Britten, and Peter Maxwell Davies. He created the title role in Davies's opera '' The M ...

and

Margaret Anne Marshall Margaret Anne Marshall OBE (born 4 January 1949) is a Scottish soprano. Marshall was born in Stirling. Her career started in the 1970s and she has sung a wide range of classical and operatic roles up to her retirement in 2004. She received the ...

all of whom are enjoying successful careers in the music world. The welcome close liaison with professional orchestral players in Central Scotland has always ensured a first class orchestra for the Spring Concerts. In the year 2002, after celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Stirling and District Choral Union with a performance of the Scottish Premiere of ‘Christus’ by Franz

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

with Falkirk Festival Chorus, it was decided that the choir should modernise and become Stirling City Choir in keeping with the new city status of Stirling.

People

Stirling City Choir is currently being led by Musical Director Michael Segaud and rehearsals are accompanied by Ian Boulter.

Previous concerts

Stirling City Choir perform a number of concerts each season, normally at Christmas, and the main concert in spring. The Choir were fortunate to have the opportunity to join a mass choir from across Scotland and perform

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song " Adiemus" and the ''Adiemus'' album series; '' Palladio''; ''The Armed Man''; and his ''Requiem''. J ...

The Armed Man ''The Armed Man'' is a Mass by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, subtitled "A Mass for Peace". The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for the Millennium celebrations, to mark the museum's move from London to Leeds, and it was dedi ...

on 11 September 2005 at the

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Glasgow Royal Concert Hall is a concert and arts venue located in Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and operated by Glasgow Life, an agency of Glasgow City Council, which also runs Glasgow's City Halls and Old Fruitmarket v ...

with the BBC Scottish Symphonic Orchestra, conducted by Karl Jenkins. The choir were invited back again on 12 November 2006, this time to perform the requiem. The table below lists some of the choir's previous spring concert performances:

External links

Stirling City Choir official homepage
{{authority control Scottish choirs 1951 establishments in Scotland Musical groups established in 1951