Following its formation in 1948 the choir had an unusual first stanza to its history. With private car ownership far from the norm, and members spread over a wide area, the choir operated almost as two separate entities, one in the north of the county and another in the south, the two only coming together for concerts, but what concerts they could be, as in those days the annual concert often took place at venues such as the Sunderland Empire and feature national and international stars of the day.
Moving forward the choir eventually came together, practicing at the force's site at Sedgefield Camp and then in St. Cuthbert's Church Hall in Durham before moving to the new police Headquarters at Aykley Heads, Durham in the early 1970's. Around this time the annual concert was moved to the Headquarters site, and the ever popular joint band and choir Christmas Charity Concerts were commenced. However, much was still to change, the choir was still restricted to police offices and staff, serving or retired, and there was a limit on concerts to one a month between the start of the season in September through to the annual concert in April. As the choir left the 1970's and moved through the 1980's bit changes were to come.
The mid 1980's were to prove the start of both high points and low points for the choir. The highs were the two Festivals of Police Male Voice Choir's in the Royal Albert Hall, and a smaller, but every bit as successful event in Hull City Hall featuring Humberside Police Band and a number of police choirs from the North of England. The low was a miserable foggy night in Hartlepool when only 14 of about 20 active choristers took the stage for a concert – a stark reminder that something had to be done to address the number of singers if the choir was to continue. Fortunately the Chief Constable of the day was supportive and the choir was opened up to anyone of “good character” and numbers gradually increased from 20 to 30 and on towards the 40 mark. At the same time the demand for concerts began to rise, and the present day two concerts per month became the norm, with the choir's busy schedule dictating some 15 – 20 performances a year across the North East of England.
Moving into 1990's say the choir building on its achievements, with visits to the De Montfort Hall, Leicester, Birmingham Symphony Hall, and Sledmere Hall near Driffield, and also moving into the recording scene, producing an audio cassette “Stout-Hearted Men” for its Golden Jubilee.
The 21st Century has seen the choir focus on its core role of PR work for the force and has seen it continue to help charities and good causes across the region raise many thousands of pounds a year, while bringing live entertainment to venues all over the area.
If you feel the choir could help your charity / good cause to raise funds, please do not hesitate to contact the secretary, whose details are shown on the contacts page. The choir will, normally, be only too pleased to help you, but please be aware that we do not, generally, perform concerts during the summer months, i.e. May, June, July, and August, and also note that we are required to charge for our services, to allow us to maintain the funds that we require to keep the choir solvent. However, in recognition to the fact that concert organisers are trying to raise money themselves, we do try to keep these costs to a minimum. The choir currently operates a sliding scale of fees, commencing from £75, and we will be pleased to discuss individual requests with concert organisers.
The choir operates a mailing list to advise "friends" of major events, and to facilitate booking for the concerts held at Durham Police Headquarters, if you would like to be included, please contact the secretary. Please note that the choir does not normally act as ticket agent for concerts away from Police Headquarters, tickets for which can be obtained from the organisers.
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