Orpheus Choir

Descriptive Data

TypeAgencyDate Range1947-DescriptionThe Orpheus Choir had its genesis in the Hutt Valley Music Society, which was founded in 1947 'to promote and stimulate an interest and appreciation of music in the Hutt Valley'. It immediately set up a piano group, song group, recorded music group, and a choral group. Malcolm Rickard took over the choral group in 1949 and, when the Music Society was wound up in 1951, the fifty singers decided to carry on, meeting on 26 February 1952 in St Stephen's Hall, Lower Hutt, to found the Hutt Valley Orpheus Society. The first concerts were given in the Hutt Valley High School Hall, with mainly English repertoire. Messiah had been performed since 1950, and became an annual event for the Orpheus Society. Concerts were accompanied by the Alex Lindsay Strings, in a relationship which lasted until the early 1970's. With the advent of John Hopkins in 1958 as conductor of the National Orchestra, engagements with the orchestra became a regular part of the choir's schedule. In 1959 they recorded the Berlioz Childhood of Christ, and performed Mahler's Resurrection Symphony. The Beethoven 9th was first performed in 1967 and the Verdi Requiem in 1965. As time went on, the choir's identification with Lower Hutt grew more tenuous, as more concerts were given in Wellington. As early as 1961 the words "Lower Hutt" were dropped from the choir's title, and in 1985 it became the Orpheus Choir of Wellington. The 1960's and 1970's saw a rapid expansion of the repertoire, both in the choir's own concerts , and in their NZBC Symphony Orchestra engagements. At the same time the choir built a firm financial base for its activities, with strong reserves. Malcolm Rickard retired in 1983 after 35 years in charge. Under the new conductor, Peter Godfrey, repertoire continued to broaden, and there was a greater emphasis on auditions and choral discipline. The choir became a more flexible and precise group as singers learned to read their parts more fluently, to listen to other parts as they sang, and to work hard on intonation. Major works introduced during Peter Godfrey's tenure included Elgar's The Music Makers, Hymnus Paradisi by Howells, Handel's Israel in Egypt, and the Berlioz Requiem. A smaller chamber choir was set up within the main choir, and flourished between 1985 and 1992. From 1989 to 1992, much of the choir's direction was in the hands of Stuart Douglas, first as chorusmaster while Peter Godfrey spent time out of New Zealand, and then as acting musical director until Philip Walsh took over in 1992. Walsh maintained the choir's high standards of musicianship and expanded their musical horizons. The choir sang Stravinsky's Les Noces in conjunction with ballet, and presented a whole programme of "Lullabies of Broadway" with orchestra and jazz trio. Regular engagements with the NZSO continued. In 1999 Andrew Cantrill became musical director, bringing to the choir an emphasis on correctly- supported tone, and the use of vocal technique to produce a varied sound in keeping with the style of the music.

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Orpheus Choir