kindly written by Douglas Koschel
-1945 to present time-
The Mackay Choral Society, as we know it today, was formed in February 1945
by the late Mr F J Reeves and called, at that time, the Mackay and Orchestral
Society, but the history of choirs in Mackay goes back almost to its settlement.
It is known that the Mackay Musical Union was formed in 1882 and that choral
groups continued, off and on, until 1925, when the Mackay Eisteddfod Choir was
formed.
This group was active until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, but there
has always been a tradition of competition with the group, primarily in the
North Queensland Eisteddfod, with a pictorial record of their involvement going
as far back as 1927. Mr F J Reeves was a Head School Teacher who came from a
school in the Ayr district to take up a position at the Andergrove State School.
He was duly appointed as the Conductor of the newly-formed choir.
Their first performance was at an 'on air' concert in May of 1945, followed
by their first public concert on Thursday, August 2, 1945, at the Olympic
Theatre, which is now a public car park on the corner of Gordon and Wood Streets
in Mackay. The participants in that first concert included the Mackay City Band
(under the baton of Mr Vic Spurrier), Miss Joan Pascoe (now Burke), Mr J Garner,
Mr Wilf Andrew, Mr F J Reeves himself, accompanied by a violin obbligato played
by Miss Norma Hague (now Shuttlewood), and pianists Miss Audrey Hughes (now
Kunst) and Miss Coral Nunn.
It is known that among the choir's repertoire at that first concert was
Gloria from The 12th Mass by Mozart, and it is interesting to note that this
chorus was repeated at a special concert held to celebrate the end of World War
II. The name of the society was indeed changed again - twice to be exact - to
the Mackay Choral society in 1947 and to the Mackay Choral and Operatic Society
in 1949, but the name 'Mackay Choral Society' re-emerged in 1950 and has
remained unchanged ever since.
Despite various name changes it is obvious that, through a succession of
both Conductors and office-bearers, our present day Society is a living
continuum of that enthusiastic fledgling group from way back in 1945, and so the
enthusiasm to perform goes on. Whilst the effective functioning of any group is
dependent upon the services of its office-bearers, that of a choral group is
uniquely incumbent upon its Conductor.
In this regard, the Mackay Choral Society has been truly blessed, and whilst
some Conductors have brought a wealth of experience and reputation from wider
spheres, all have possessed sound musicianship and a capacity for great
understanding and hard work. All are worthy of mention in the pages of our
history but there are two, in particular, who warrant special mention, because
of their invaluable guidance in those all-important formative years.
Mr F J Reeves, B.A., of course, rates a big mention, as he was the founding
Conductor, and he not only trained the choir, but also set up souvenir
programmes for each of their concerts. The music, in those days, was restricted
to either Eisteddfod type items or to oratorios, and no musical comedy items
were attempted. Whilst it has never been said, it was inferred that the attitude
at the time was that musical comedy was unbecoming to serious singers.
Mr Alfred Epplere, Mus.B. took over the reins in 1951, on the retirement of
Mr F J Reeves, and there are many people in Mackay, most certainly those who
sang under him, who would to this day revere the remarkable qualities of a man
who brought to Mackay a unique musical culture which rose from a pre-World War
II Europe. He was born in Alsace-Loraine, a small province near Germany, and he
gained his formal musical education at Tubingar University and Stüttgart
Conservatorium, working under renowned teachers such as Max Schilling, Richard
Strauss and Joseph Bonnet.
It was during Mr Epplere's term that the Choral Society re-affiliated with
the North Queensland Eisteddfod movement. They made their first postwar
appearance in the Eisteddfod in 1952 and achieved a resounding success. Buoyed
up by this success, when the North Queensland Eisteddfod was held for the first
time in Mackay, over Easter of 1954, Mackay fielded an 'A' grade choir of over
75 voices.
During the 1960s, the Choral Society faced many challenges, not the least of
them being the advent of television, and the competition of interest caused
membership, especially in the male sector, to drop dramatically.
Nevertheless, faithful members and dedicated Conductors kept the flame
alive, and Miss Flo Kenzey, who led the choir from 1959 to 1962, was responsible
for concert versions of Merrie England, Tom Jones and A Princess of Kensington.
It was becoming increasingly apparent that, in order to keep members and indeed
to attract membership, the Choral Society would have to widen even further its
musical horizons.
Hence Musical Comedy began to be a regular part of the Choral Society's
repertoire, and productions such as The Pirates of Penzance, The Desert Song,
Iolanthe and The Merry Widow began to appear in Mackay.
Mrs Bernice Martin was Conductor from 1982 to 1996 and during her leadership
there was an awakening in the community to the pleasures which can be found in
the simpler things of life, and to the joy that can spring from the creation of
one's own music. This, plus the establishment of the Mackay Music Centre and the
Queensland Conservatorium Mackay Campus, has seen a resurgence of musical
interest in the city, with obvious spin-offs to the Choral Society.
Certainly, the record of the Choral Society over the last two decades has
been a very proud one, and it continues under its current Conductor, Mr Kim
Kirkman. The Society is now firmly established as a regular competitor in the
North Queensland Eisteddfod, where it wins awards every year, and it has
presented some works of extremely high standard, such as Gabriel Faure's
Requiem, Mozart's Coronation Mass and Verdi's Requiem.
Handel's Messiah has made a regular and always popular appearance over the
years, with its last appearance being in 2001, but Musical Comedy is always high
on the agenda, with 2002 seeing the concert version of Les Misérables hitting
the stage of the Mackay Entertainment Centre. The Mackay Choral society has been
fortunate to have had long serving and dedicated office bearers over the years,
and mention should be made of the longest serving Patron, the late Senator I A C
Wood, and the longest serving President, Mr Ken Martin.
The late senator, Ian Wood, was Patron for some 35 years and he instituted
the custom in 1950 of inviting established, professional, musicians/artists to
Mackay to star in the Society's concerts. Among the early performers were
Valerie Simpson, Donald Graham, June Bronhill, Geoffrey Chard and John Limpus.
Mr Ken Martin has been the President of the Mackay Choral society for twenty
years and his energetic and enthusiastic leadership spearheaded the drive for
funds which saw the Society establish their own debt free hall/rehearsal centre
in the city as recently as December 1997. The Society has always had a strong
involvement in community affairs and can be heard on special occasions such as
Anzac Day, Carols by Candlelight and numerous other community events where their
voices can best be utilised.
Many people have been involved with the Society over the past 60 years and
whatever their involvement, whether it be great or small, it has contributed to
the betterment and advancement of the choir, until the present day, where it is
firmly established as a vibrant and vital part of the Mackay community.
