In April 1959 “Aldershot’s Mister Music”, Geoff Waller, inaugurated the first “Music For You” concert and a year later was asked to form a male voice choir to enter the Aldershot Festival as competition for the only other entrant, Weybridge MVC. Geoff invited several local male singers, an odd one from here and an odd one from there, so they called themselves “The Odd Fellows”. What had initially been set up as a group for a single performance quickly became a choir performing many times each year.
What remains to this day is the ethos that Geoff initiated of a fun “club-like” atmosphere, the idea of presenting good music with humour and the voluntary collection for a local charity is retained at the choir organised concerts. The fun element, however, did not prevent the choir winning choral plaudits including Aldershot Festival awards in 1963 and 1975. In 1973 the choir was even nominated as potential competitors in the BBC programme “Opportunity Knocks”, although they sadly couldn’t participate as it involved daytime recording.
After 22 seasons of “Music For You”, including 108 concerts, Geoff retired in 1981. Colin Wilson, previously accompanist and assistant conductor, readily accepted Geoff’s invitation to take up the baton at The Odds and over the next twenty years Colin expanded the choir’s horizons and reach, both nationally and internationally. His professional level of expertise in conducting enabled the choir to achieve new heights including being awarded a top 3 position at in 1984 and 1987 at the Rhymney Valley Eisteddfods and at the 1990 Welsh National Eisteddfod. The 1987 award was second in class by just one mark to the winners! In both 1995 and 1996 the choir took top position with honours at the Portsmouth Music Festival.
Colin led the choir in concerts at major venues throughout Hampshire and Surrey, some of which involved visiting choirs and bands from USA, Germany, Australia, and Russia as well as with many from the United Kingdom. Having been renamed the “Rushmoor ‘Odd Fellows’ Male Voice Choir”, the choir enjoyed performing in Rushmoor’s twin town of Oberursel in Germany in 1990, 1994 and 1990 under Colin’s baton. Colin led the choir’s participation at World Choir events in Cardiff, Dublin, and Atlanta USA and at the London Welsh Festival of Male Choirs at the Royal Albert Hall in 1992 and 1996.
The choir was particularly honoured to participate in the D-Day 50th Anniversary celebrations in Hyde Park and at Buckingham Palace in May 1995, performing in front of 250,000 people.
The choir was particularly honoured to participate in the D-Day 50th Anniversary celebrations in Hyde Park and at Buckingham Palace in May 1995, performing in front of 250,000 people.
Colin Wilson was succeeded in 2001 by Stephen Petch. The term “man and boy” is often used rather loosely, but in the case of Stephen it accurately describes his relationship with, and massive contribution to, the choir. Stephen joined the choir as a 16-year-old and 24 years later took over as Musical Director, a post he held for 21 years. Stephen is himself an accomplished tenor soloist who has performed around the world, as well as leading the choir.
Stephen actively continued the development of the choir and its repertoire, with a full concert calendar, often more than 10 a year, and a further four participations in the Royal Albert Hall London Welsh Festival of Male Choirs in 2002, 2008, 2012, and 2016; two more German trips to perform in Oberursel in 2004 and 2007; many multiple choir events in Bournemouth, Poole, Croydon Fairfields Halls and Romsey Abbey. A tour of the West Country 2019 included performing at Buckfast Abbey as well as other locations.
Stephen also led the choir into new areas for performance including recording two CDs, “Zoom” virtual performances recorded during Covid lock-down in 2020 and 2021, vocal contributions to a 2014 soundscape project from Thor McIntyre-Burnie to celebrate the opening to the public of the world’s largest remaining wind tunnel in Farnborough and singing on the soundtrack for the feature length 2019 documentary, “Lancaster”, about the iconic bomber.
Following Stephen’s retirement from conducting male voice choirs at the end of 2022 the choir benefitted from six months of musical leadership and tuition from Sarit Aloni, a highly qualified musician with a distinguished background of leading choirs from Israel, Italy and Canada.
In July 2023, Philip Viveash-Brainch took over the reins as Musical Director and is already driving the choir onto new heights, while retaining the ethos initiated by Geoff Waller of fun in musical education and performance.
Over the years the choir has been honoured to boast some famous Presidents. These include operatic baritones John Heddle Nash, who occasionally performed with the choir, and Delme Bryn-Jones. More recently the post was held by Dr. Haydn James, a highly renowned international choral director who was Musical Director of The London Welsh Male Voice Choir for thirty years and is often seen conducting the pre-match singing for the Welsh Rugby Union, or at international fixtures across the world. In 2023 Julia Wilson, the widow of Colin Wilson, agreed to take on the role in what is a lovely call back to the choir’s history.
At the beginning of 2024 a recruitment drive was launched and to support it, recognising the wider geographical area of both members and performances, the choir changed its name to the Hampshire and Surrey Hills Men’s Choir.
