Hart Male Voice Choir

Hart Male Voice Choir Hart Male Voice Choir unites passionate singers to perform in four-part harmony, enriching the community and supporting charities.

Join us for song, camaraderie, and community impact!

Childhood Cancer Awareness monthAnother good rehearsal this week with great progress on the Gwyn Arch arrangement of The...
03/09/2026

Childhood Cancer Awareness month

Another good rehearsal this week with great progress on the Gwyn Arch arrangement of The Sound of Silence.

During the break our stage manager, Peter Attwater, made a short announcement that made everyone present think. Peter has a neighbour who has a five year old who recently complained of breathlessness and chest pains. Hospital checks showed the little lad has cancer. He has now lost all his hair due to the treatment but stays unfailingly cheerful and positive. There is never a good time to have cancer and it is particularly hard when it happens to the young.

Peter had brought in a box of lapel ribbons from The Children and Young People’s Cancer Association. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month and with several different designs and a suggested donation of £2 many lapel badges were sold and additional promises to make donations online were given.

To learn more about the charity and to donate, go to www.cclg.org.uk

Great buzz this week for our first rehearsal after our two week summer break. Lots of laughter and chat before we got do...
20/08/2026

Great buzz this week for our first rehearsal after our two week summer break. Lots of laughter and chat before we got down to the serious business which included getting to grips with the new arrangement of Sound of Silence.

We made good progress and, hopefully, the piece will appear in a performance fairly soon.

Come join us
📍 Where: The Cross Barn, Odiham
🕢 When: Wednesdays, 7:30 – 9:45 pm
🙋 Join Us: No audition needed — message us to try a rehearsal
🎵 Community: Friendly voices, great music, new friends
🌐 More info: https://hartmvc.org.uk/join-the-choir/

Welcome and well played Chess!We welcomed our latest new member at rehearsal this week. Chess Gaines has been coming to ...
30/07/2026

Welcome and well played Chess!

We welcomed our latest new member at rehearsal this week. Chess Gaines has been coming to rehearsal for a couple of months having heard us sing at a recent concert. He decided he was ready for his choir audition and sang ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ and ‘Country Roads’ for our Musical Director Emily Hinchliff and is now a fully fledged member of the choir.

Congratulations Chess! Welcome from all of us.

Our repertoire continues to develop under Emily’s direction. We started work on the well known Paul Simon song ‘The Sound Of Silence’. It’s a fabulous arrangement with balanced harmonies and the melody line passed from section to section making a full and exciting sound.

The challenge when working on a song we all know well is that we need to unlearn most of it! New patterns and timing need to overwrite our memories. It’s this type of mental work that is good for the brain and, together with improving posture and breath control, leads to the proven health benefits of singing in a choir.

Come join us
📍 Where: The Cross Barn, Odiham
🕢 When: Wednesdays, 7:30 – 9:45 pm
🙋 Join Us: No audition needed — message us to try a rehearsal
🎵 Community: Friendly voices, great music, new friends
🌐 More info: https://hartmvc.org.uk/join-the-choir/

Farewell and Thank You to MikeA bitter sweet moment at rehearsal on 15th July as we said goodbye to Top Tenor Mike Dear....
26/07/2026

Farewell and Thank You to Mike

A bitter sweet moment at rehearsal on 15th July as we said goodbye to Top Tenor Mike Dear.

Shortly after retiring from the Royal Air Force, a friend asked Mike how he thought he would spend his time. As he had no specific plans, the friend took him along to a rehearsal and the rest is history.

Choir Chairman, Eamonn O’Rourke, presented Mike with an engraved choir plaque in recognition of his many years’ service and Mike reciprocated with a cheque for a generous donation to choir funds.

In thanking Eamonn, Mike reminisced on many happy occasions with the choir and in particular trips to Germany, South Africa and Cork in Ireland. He will “treasure the friendship and camaraderie of the choir” and accepted Eamonn’s invitation to become an Associate Member and visit us occasionally at Wednesday rehearsal and future concerts.

The choir then toasted Mike with w**e, enjoyed some nibbles and gave many personal messages of farewell.

Mike, thank you for your company and your voice. Heartfelt thanks for your donation to the future of the choir and we hope to see you soon at a concert looking relaxed in the audience.

17/07/2026

I’m still sad about the result on Wednesday so I’m cheering myself up by listening to these clips from a fantastic concert we gave earlier on the previous Saturday. Here they are, from from the performance we gave at the Assembly Rooms on behalf of Dementia-friendly Alton, raising over £700 for this excellent charity.

We have ‘The Gathering Tree’, ‘Why We Sing’ and the beautiful ‘Meditation’ from Massenet’s opera ‘Thais’. Everyone left in a good mood, full of hope.

There’s still the game against France.

Come join us
📍 Where: The Cross Barn, Odiham
🕢 When: Wednesdays, 7:30 – 9:45 pm
🙋 Join Us: No audition needed — message us to try a rehearsal
🎵 Community: Friendly voices, great music, new friends
🌐 More info: https://hartmvc.org.uk/join-the-choir/

Photo credits to M. Bacon and M. Rendall www.affcc.uk

Successful concert just before success for England!The audience in the Alton Assembly Rooms joined in enthusiastically f...
15/07/2026

Successful concert just before success for England!

The audience in the Alton Assembly Rooms joined in enthusiastically for several songs during a very successful concert by Hart Male Voice Choir on Saturday. The aim was to raise funds for Dementia Friendly Alton, the charity that supports those living with dementia and their carers helping them to achieve the best possible quality of life within their community. A total of over £700 was raised.

The musical programme reflected songs around the world with the flags of all the world cup nations flying across the hall. One aim was audience participation and people joined in heartily with the choir for ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’, Country Roads, the chorus of ‘the Mermaid‘ and ‘Amen, This Little Light’. The loudest singing of the evening came at the end as audience and choir joined in the football anthem ‘Sweet Caroline’ before many headed towards TV sets to watch England play Norway. Hoping for more England success tonight!

For more information on joining Hart Male Voice Choir, email [email protected]

Photo of choir, credit M. Bacon www.affcc.uk

A beautiful day and a fine time was enjoyed by 40 choristers, wives, partners and friends with skipper Simon Smith and h...
10/07/2026

A beautiful day and a fine time was enjoyed by 40 choristers, wives, partners and friends with skipper Simon Smith and his crew on the John Pinkerton II for a cruise on the Basingstoke canal this week. Our boat slid quietly past lush vegetation and fluttering butterflies from the C**t Hill Wharf to the Barley Mow where we disembarked to stretch our legs and, for those that needed it, a quiet smoke while the crew turned round the boat. On the way back we sang several songs including the ‘Water is Wide’, ‘The Rose’ and ‘Let It Be Me’; all to the delight of the crew.

Ample food, including some delightful Sri Lankan delicacies provided by Vasanta, kept up our energy levels and plentiful drink from the well-stocked on-board bar ensured we stayed hydrated.

The day was made even more special as Helen and Ted Wood celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary with us on the boat so it was fizz and strawberries all round as we toasted the happy couple.

A great day reinforcing the strong companionship that is forged when we sing together!

Come join us
📍 Where: The Cross Barn, Odiham
🕢 When: Wednesdays, 7:30 – 9:45 pm
🙋 Join Us: No audition needed — message us to try a rehearsal
🎵 Community: Friendly voices, great music, new friends
🌐 More info: https://hartmvc.org.uk/join-the-choir/

Chas and Andy, who recently joined the Baritone and Bass sections respectively, checking the score for 'Why We Sing', a ...
02/07/2026

Chas and Andy, who recently joined the Baritone and Bass sections respectively, checking the score for 'Why We Sing', a new song we shall be singing at our Charity Concert for Dementia Friendly Alton on Saturday 11 July at the Assembly Rooms in Alton.

We're excited to be back at the Assembly Rooms supporting this great charity bringing our blend of powerful singing and harmonies in songs from around the world in a salute to the ongoing football World Cup.

Come join us
📍 Where: The Cross Barn, Odiham
🕢 When: Wednesdays, 7:30 – 9:45 pm
🙋 Join Us: No audition needed — message us to try a rehearsal
🎵 Community: Friendly voices, great music, new friends
🌐 More info: https://hartmvc.org.uk/join-the-choir/

Derrick - 50 years of songA milestone was celebrated at rehearsal this week. Derrick Gray has sung with the Hart Male Vo...
11/06/2026

Derrick - 50 years of song

A milestone was celebrated at rehearsal this week. Derrick Gray has sung with the Hart Male Voice Choir for 50 years. In that time he has sung in every section from top tenor to bass and has now settled as a key member of the baritones.

Derrick was presented with an Honorary Life Membership certificate to recognise his service and a rack of w**e to celebrate. Several wives, friends and retired choristers came along to add their congratulations to those of the current choir.

Wearing his original choir blazer, Derrick quipped ‘50 years of miming and not being caught’. Derrick, you’re a great example of how singing and the camaraderie of a choir is good for you. Many congratulations!

It was a busy rehearsal this week as, alongside practicing new songs and some of our established repertoire, we saluted ...
20/04/2026

It was a busy rehearsal this week as, alongside practicing new songs and some of our established repertoire, we saluted a long-serving member of the choir and, sadly, said goodbye to another.

Danny Mulhern was presented with his 35 year pin as well as his 30 year commemorative glass mug. This should have happened during covid but was overlooked in the hurly-burly of that time. A stalwart of the bass section, Danny was given a rousing cheer and round of applause in recognition of his contribution to the choir, both at concerts, rehearsals and social activities.

We also celebrated the contribution of another of our basses, Peter Newman. Sadly, after 17 years with the choir, Peter has decided to lay down his musical scores. He was given a commemorative plaque showing the Hart Male Voice Choir crest and Carole, his wife, was presented with flowers by Chairman Eamonn O’Rourke. The contribution made by the support of wives and partners of choristers is immense and never taken for granted.

We then broke early to enjoy w**e and nibbles very kindly provided by Peter and Carole.

Come join us
📍 Where: The Cross Barn, Odiham
🕢 When: Wednesdays, 7:30 – 9:45 pm
🙋 Join Us: No audition needed — message us to try a rehearsal
🎵 Community: Friendly voices, great music, new friends
🌐 More info: https://hartmvc.org.uk/join-the-choir/

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The Cross Barn, Palace Gate Farm
Odiham
RG291JX

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