Our Story
Ludlow Male Voice Choir is a traditional four-part male voice choir based in South Shropshire, led by musical director Darren Clarke, a professional tenor, and accompanied by pianist Jane Hughes.
The choir was formed in 2006 by David Swain, an excellent tenor with Much Wenlock Male Voice Choir. David enlisted Margaret Davies as Musical Director and proceeded to recruit singers, three of which are still singing with the choir. The choir’s original repertoire focussed on Welsh and operatic songs as Margaret was Welsh and had trained as an opera singer.
Local singer and musician Amy Evans took over in 2016; under her leadership membership more than doubled and the choir began giving regular public performances in and around Ludlow, many in joint concerts with other local Male Voice Choirs.
In 2018 the choir performed a number of major concerts, ranging from a superb collaboration with the world-famous Onllwyn Male Choir in South Wales, to a civic ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War and a series of fund-raising events for local charities.
Amy Evans stepped down in 2021, after which the MD role was taken on by nationally renowned local singer Gemma King followed, more recently, by Darren Clarke. In 2023, he led the choir during a record year of fifteen public performances, including collaborations with Marazion MVC from Cornwall and the Morriston Rugby Club MVC at Ludlow Assembly Rooms.
2024 was another bumper year for the choir, featuring joint concerts with Abertillery MVC in South Wales and also with Bella Acappella at St. George's in Clun. A major highlight was our appearance at Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
2025 promises to be equally as exciting, with concerts featuring new songs scheduled for Ludlow Assembly Rooms and Ludlow Brewery. We also hope to arrange a concert in Brecon and look forward to our traditional Christmas appearances at Croft and Ludlow castles.
LMVC’s repertoire ranges from traditional Welsh hymns like Gwahoddiad and Câlon Lan, to numbers by Simon & Garfunkel and Rod Stewart. We also feature songs made popular by Matt Monro and Elvis Presley, not forgetting some from popular musicals, such as Anthem (from Chess). Other stalwarts of the repertoire are opera favourites like Giuseppe Verdi’s Speed Your Journey and stirring standards like Battle Hymn Of The Republic, When The Saints Go Marching In and Nkosi Sikelele Afrika. These are all supported by our brilliant accompanist Jane Hughes, whose skill, professionalism and patience knows no bounds.
LMVC currently has more than thirty members, divided into four sections: Tenor 1, Tenor 2, Baritones and Basses, often referred to as TTBB.
Newcomers are always very welcome, and if you like singing do consider coming along to try us out. You need no prior experience of singing in a choir, and don't have to read music, as we provide audio tracks to help you learn the parts.
If you are interested in joining, two hour rehearsals are held on Monday evenings at 7.30pm in the Ludlow Women's Centre. You can obtain further details via the Join Us page. We’d really love to see you!
Ludlow Male Voice Choir is grateful to Bensons Jewellers of Ludlow and Mark Wiggin Estate Agents for their generous support.
