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

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

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

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

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

Otago

Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...

, Southland

Southland Region

Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region and is also a district within that region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura...

 and South Canterbury 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

Main South Line

The Main South Line, sometimes referred to as part of the South Island Main Trunk Railway, is a railroad line that runs north and south from Lyttelton in New Zealand through Christchurch and along the east coast of the South Island to Invercargill via Dunedin...

. From this evolved a Liedertafel Quartet which, in response to public demand, was to become the Dunedin Liedertarfel Society which was incorporated in 1886.

In 1917 the name was changed to the Dunedin Male Choir, with the word "Royal" being added by royal patent in 1927, acknowledging three performances before royalty in 1901, 1920, and 1927.

Audiences have included these notable persons:

• Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (later King George V
  George V of the United Kingdom
  George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
  
   and Queen Mary
  Mary of Teck
  Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
  
  )
• The Prince of Wales
  Prince of Wales
  Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
  
   (later King Edward VIII
  Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
  Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
  
  )
• The Duke of York
  Duke of York
  The Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch. The title has been created a remarkable eleven times, eight as "Duke of York" and three as the double-barreled "Duke of York and...
  
   (later King George VI
  George VI of the United Kingdom
  George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
  
  )
• Duke of Gloucester
• HM Queen Elizabeth II
• HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
• Prince Charles (later HRH The Prince of Wales)
• Princess Anne (later HRH The Princess Royal
  Anne, Princess Royal
  Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
  
  )
• Duke and Duchess of Kent
• Various Governors-General
  Governor-General
  A Governor-General, is a vice-regal person of a monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription. Depending on the political arrangement of the territory, a Governor General can be a governor of high rank, or a principal governor ranking above "ordinary" governors.- Current uses...
  
   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.

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, and the current Musical Director

Music director

A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...

 is Richard Madden (son of Harry Madden) who took up the position in 2001.

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

Vocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...

.

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", Negro spirituals

Spiritual (music)

Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...

 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

Dunedin Town Hall

The Dunedin Town Hall 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 block. It is the seat of the Dunedin City Council, providing its formal meeting chamber, as...

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