Brief History
Our ancestry dates from 1903 when Excelsior MVC was founded as the first male choir in Saddleworth, succeeded by Delph MVC in the 1920's. After moving the short distance from there to Uppermill in 1955, the choir became known by its present title.
This was sometimes referred to as a 'breakaway' from Delph MVC, but our earliest available records, dating from the 1930's, show that at a General Meeting of Delph MVC held in Uppermill in March 1955 it was decided "that the choir shall hence-forward be named The Saddleworth Male Voice Choir".
We currently have around 50 members, mainly from the Saddleworth, Oldham, Rochdale, and Tameside areas.
There was a notable 'line of succession' from the earliest days and into the present century.
Excelsior MVC was founded by Mr. Bright Hinchcliffe in 1903. His son Sydney was a member of that choir and then of Delph MVC. He was latterly Delph's Chairman and then its President, and the first President of the 'SMVC' era from 1955 to 1960, until leaving and moving away on retirement. Alan Hinchcliffe followed his father Sydney into SMVC in 1957. He had various official roles over the years, latterly as Chairman until retiring and moving away from the local area in 1989/90. He was also a Vice-President from 1970 until his passing in 2001. Alan once recalled that one reason for the 1955 move to Uppermill and change of choir name to Saddleworth MVC was that in those days only one choir member had a car, and Uppermill was more centrally placed, with better public transport links, which made it easier to get to rehearsals - a major factor back then!
Details of our current rehearsal venue can be found on the 'Join the Choir' page.
From 1964 onwards, and possibly uniquely for a male voice choir, Handel's “Messiah” was performed each December at the Saddleworth Civic Hall in Uppermill, with the choir expanded to form a mixed ‘SATB’ chorus of 80 singers with professional soloists and orchestra. Following the 60th Anniversary performance in December 2024, ongoing difficulties in organisation, maintaining chorus numbers, audience size, and ever increasing costs made it difficult to continue.
All involved were saddened by the concept of ending such a much loved and prestigious event, but it was felt that perhaps the 60th performance was a fitting point at which to call a halt, and at a general meeting of the membership the following March it was reluctantly decided that the “Messiah” performances should end, and be remembered as a wonderful part of the choir’s and Saddleworth’s history.
Concerts
Concerts are performed locally as well as further afield. The Choir also presents its own concerts yearly at Saddleworth (Uppermill) Civic Hall featuring a variety of guest artists with leading soloists, folk groups and brass bands, including some 'household names'.
Other Events
In addition to a busy concert schedule, we have regularly entered competitive Music Festivals.
Since our first one in 1957, winners awards have included Hazel Grove, Huddersfield, Macclesfield, Blackpool, Blackburn, Biddulph, Penistone, Southport, Eskdale (Whitby), Don Valley - won for five successive years from 2004 to 2008 inclusive.
The totals to date are 88 festival entries, with 34 first places and 25 'runners up' awards.
Exchange visits with other choirs have taken us to Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, North and East Yorkshire, Germany, Holland, Slovenia, Spain, Gibraltar, and Italy.
There have also been TV appearances, including the BBC's "Songs of Praise", recorded around Saddleworth in 2000 featuring the area's well known "Whit Friday" celebrations, radio broadcasts, notably one for the BBC’s "Sunday Half Hour" programme in 2003, and several CD recordings.