To mark the 75th Anniversary of Rotary International in 1980, male voice enthusiasts within the St Austell Rotary Club decided to run a competition chiefly for the benefit of male voice choirs in Cornwall, but also in the hope that choirs from elsewhere would be encouraged to take part.
An organizing Committee was set up by the then President of St Austell Rotary Club ( Barry Grime, Engineering Director of ECC Ltd) and led by its Chairman ( Bill Williams, owner and pharmacist of Jackson`s Chemists in St Austell) In addition to other colleagues from Rotary, Bill called upon other male voice enthusiasts to bring their expertise to the Committee…… Alan Hutt & Alan Cooper ( MD`s of ECC Engineers and Treviscoe male voice choirs……..Wilfred Cocks , Douglas Williams & John Brock, experienced concert promoters in Launceston, Penzance and Plymouth……Tony Rowe & Colin Grigg for their organizational and secretarial skills.
The event relied upon the considerable support and generosity of English China Clays Ltd (ECC) who provided the use of its premises at John Keay House, St Austell, to stage the championship. Chairman of the Board, Sir Alan Dalton CBE, undertook the role of Championship President , attending the competitions and presenting the prizes.
Sixteen choirs took part in the very first Championship on Saturday 31st May 1980; eight of these competed in the B Class ( generally for smaller choirs up to 40 in number) singing two test pieces, “In Nomine Jesu” and “When the Kye comes home” and an own choice. With no more than 4 points separating them, Newlyn were placed 1st, Saltash 2nd, and Tonna 3rd (from S. Wales) Also competing were Loveny, the Cornwall Police Choir, Budleigh Salterton ( Devon) and Casterbridge ( Dorset)
In Class A (generally for larger choirs over 40 members) seven of Cornwall`s leading choirs, together with Cor Mebion Ystradgynlais ( S. Wales) sang two test pieces, “The Vagabond” and “The Merry Ploughman” and an own choice; top prize was awarded to Treverva, just one point more than Holman Climax in 2nd and Ystradgynlais in 3rd; also giving fine performances were St Dennis, Treviscoe, Mousehole, and Carnon Vale.
Adjudicators for the day were Mr Roy Bohana ( Music Director Welsh Arts Council) and Dr. George Guest ( Organist/Choirmaster St Johns College, Cambridge) Special Guest at the evening Gala Concert, featuring all the winning choirs, was the renowned soprano, Cynthia Glover, a regular guest on BBC Radio 2 “Friday Night is Music Night”
Not everything went to plan however for this inaugural championship held in a very large marquee on the site; very strong winds during the previous night and continuing throughout the day damaged the canvass to such an extent that the competition had to be relocated to the office canteen; whilst the choirs performed, a team of Rotarians and other volunteers struggled to repair some of the torn canvass , sufficient to allow the evening Gala Concert to go ahead. Despite the still blustery conditions, an audience of well over 500 people enjoyed a memorable concert, especially the final massed choirs singing of Isaac Watts famous hymn “Morte Criste” conducted by Alan Hutt and accompanied by Avril Grigg.
During the following ten years, the Championship grew in popularity, thanks in no small measure to a new and more stable, 13000sq.ft. marquee built by Rik Evans of Penrose Marquee & Catering; in addition to regular attendance by Cornish Choirs, visiting support included appearances by Melyncryddan, Gwalia, Bluith Wells, Ogmore Vale, Dunvant, Colwyn Bay, all from Wales, and from England, Dursley, Bristol, Basingstoke, Worrall, Skelmanthorpe, and Honley; during this period it was a real privilege to welcome the likes of Sir David Willcocks, John Churchill, Derek Cantrell and Philip Cranmer as Adjudicators and Cornwall`s own international baritone, Benjamin Luxon, as guest soloist.
Another initiative of the Championship was the introduction of the Gerald Rowe Memorial Trophy for the Cornish Young Musician/ Singer of the year competition as a means of supporting and encouraging young talent in the County; one of the winners (in 1987) was Karen Retallick of St Austell, a mezzo soprano, mentored by Hildagard Craig, conductor of Treviscoe Male Voice Choir; Karen became resident soloist of the ECC Engineers Choir in which her father Terry Retallick sang for many years.
After 10 years it was decided to withdraw from this type of venture, leaving the platform free for the gradual introduction of the Cornwall International Choral Festival which held its first championship in 2003.
Colin Grigg Secretary Cornwall Open Championship for Male Voice Choirs and member of Treviscoe and Imerys Mid Cornwall Male choirs
2.Three Choirs Concert; held in March 1980 at St Johns Methodist Church, St, Austell.
It featured Mevagissey MVC conducted by Harold Miller; St Dennis MVC conducted by David Hendry, and Treviscoe MVC conducted by Alan Cooper
Soloists Marlene Berry, contralto; Ray Richardson, violin
3.Christmas Concerts at St Johns Methodist Church, St Austell
This was an extremely popular event during the 1950s and 1960`s held on the Thursday and Friday evenings prior to Christmas, given jointly by Treviscoe Male Voice Choir & St Austell Choral Society.
The Chapel with a seating capacity of over 650 people was packed for these concerts, and many solo performers from across Cornwall enjoyed the privilege of appearing as guest artistes, including from Clay Country…. Arthur Grigg, tenor ; Wendy Cole, contralto, Harold Treloar, saxophone;
“Colin Grigg was working for ECC at the time and was the driving force behind the competition.” (Barry Hawken)
This has been compiled by Barry Hawken and is a part of the Cornish National Music Archive (CNMA) project to Collect, Preserve and Share our Cornish Heritage and Culture.