Whanganui Male Choir puts out call for singers, director and accompanist

The Whanganui Male Choir with Caleb Arthur (musical director) and Amelia McKenna (accompanist) in 2024.

The Whanganui Male Choir is at a crossroads, with numbers dropping and no musical director or accompanist.

President Tony Ross said the choir had 11 singers before Christmas but ideally there should be 16 to 20.

“We need to have a balance of parts and that’s another issue we’ve got,” he said.

“There is one first tenor, two second tenors, and it’s all based around the bass and baritone sections.”

Tenors have the highest natural vocal ranges.

The group began in 1898 as the Wanganui Liedertafel Choir, performing its first concert that September.

It changed its name to the Wanganui Male Choir in 1915.

In the early days, the choir performed with an orchestra, and during World War I there were more than 60 singers.

Ross said he joined the choir in 2009, “it was 33-strong at that stage”, but other members had been active since the 1960s and 1970s.

People did not need singing experience to get involved and tuition was offered, he said.

A poster for the Wanganui Male Choir from the 1916-17 season.

“When I started, I knew very little about any music. I just listened to the Beatles, Abba and stuff like that.

“Once I was there, I realised how much I enjoyed it. There is a lot of camaraderie.”

Since its inception, the choir has performed two concerts a year, although there was a break in 1918 due to the influenza epidemic.

Notable figures to sing with the choir include Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (1965) and Dame Sister Mary Leo (1976).

It is the third-oldest performing choir in New Zealand, and performed its 285th concert in 2024.

Ross said numbers had dropped significantly in the past 12 months and younger people were hard to attract - “that’s probably the case with every choir in the country”.

“There are so many other things they are doing, they’ve got families, and it doesn’t seem to be a thing they’re particularly interested in.

“We’ve just got to keep pushing it out there and see what we can do.”

The accompanist and musical director positions are paid.

Former directors include Dick Tizard, Barry Samuels, Jim Eyers and Judy Barrett, with Muriel Tinker the accompanist from 1954 until 1998.

Ross said having fewer singers meant the choir was in “a bit of a catch-22 situation”.

“We can offer someone a position, but with the proviso that we can actually find enough singers to fill the role they [director] want to pursue.

“They need something to work with.”

He said the choir generally met on Tuesdays for two hours at the Jane Winstone chapel.

For more information, call Tony Ross on 0276 115533, Dennis Brown on 0272 404598 or Denis McGowan on 0272 522246.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily Whanganui District Council.