Wycombe choir to sing for Miss World girls (From Bucks Free Press)

Wycombe choir to sing for Miss World girls

AN AWARD winning Wycombe choir will be leaving their wives and girlfriends at home for their next gig – when they sing in front of 120 Miss World contestants.

Wycombe choir to sing for Miss World girls

Wycombe Orpheus Male Voice Choir has been invited to sing at an exclusive charity dinner by the Miss World Organisation and the Variety Club of Great Britain.

The £200-a-head dinner November 9, is expected to attract over 600 people, along with the glamour girls and showbiz stars.

Baritone Alan Walsh, 69, said: “We are all looking forward to performing for the Miss World girls as you can imagine – it will certainly be a strange gig.

“It will be the best looking audience we've ever had and I think we'll be leaving the wives and girlfriends at home for this one.”

The choir will sing at least three songs from their repertoire, which could be anything from traditional hymns to gospel or pop group Westlife.

It is further recognition for the choir, which recently got a rapturous applause from Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and appeared in OK! Magazine.

Mr Walsh said: “We make a wonderful sound when we get going and we sing all sorts of songs because we want to entertain the audience.

“We are not an old fashioned male voice choir like some people might think. There are some comedy numbers, songs from West End musicals and we've just added a Robbie Williams song.

In recent years the choir has performed in the splendid settings of Magdalen College Oxford, the Island of Jersey, the Eden Project in Cornwall and as part of the London Welsh “1000 Voices” Male Voice Choirs’ Festival at the Royal Albert Hall.

The choir was formed with just 12 members at Westbourne Street Methodist Church in 1923. Eighty-six years on and over 60 festival awards later, the choir has grown to more than 80 members.

The youngest members are about 25 while the oldest singer, Ross Bates is 92.

The concert is at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Park Lane in aid of charities for sick and disabled children.

Mr Walsh, a former music journalist, said the choir always welcome new members: “You don't have to be a great singer or anything – as long as you can sing in tune.”

Practice is every Wednesday at the Wesley Methodist Church on Priory Road. For more information call Craig on 01628 528550.