Twenty-five years ago, a casual staff-room conversation at Wadebridge School between Sandy Hancock, who taught German at the school and Janet Townsend, the Deputy Head of Music, led them to look at the possibility of forming an adult mixed choir. Janet volunteered her services as the Conductor and Verna Jones, then Head of the Music Department, agreed to be the accompanist. Among those who were members then and who are still in the Choir, are Sandy, Ceinwen Greenwood, Geoff Hudd, Gordon Grogan and his wife Julie who later became the Secretary.

The first rehearsal of the newly formed choir took place on the 14th January 1986 at the School and on the 10th May that year the first concert took place in Egloshayle Church.

Janet resigned as Director of Music in 1989 and, in September that year, was succeeded by Elizabeth Fryer, a Graduate of the Northern College of Music. It was Elizabeth who instituted Summer Singing initially for a small group. This, in addition to regular spring and Christmas concerts and charitable and promotional events, has become the pattern ever since.

During Elizabeth’s time, we were introduced to a young musical genius called David Briggs who in January 1989 was appointed, aged 27, as the youngest ever Organist and Master of Choristers at Truro Cathedral. David accompanied us for several of our spring concerts at Egloshayle including such works as Schubert’s Mass in G, Berlioz’ ‘Childhood of Christ’ and memorably Haydn’s ‘Creation’. Sadly, Elizabeth became seriously ill and had to retire in March 1998.

Anthony Trodd took over the Choir in June 1998 but left us in 2001. David Barton, then Deputy Head at Wadebridge School, stepped in and took us through the Christmas Concert of Finzi, Buxtehude and Bush in Egloshayle Church. Tony Tournoff, then conductor of Wadebridge Male Voice Choir, who had also helped out during this difficult period, was then offered the post and was appointed Director in January 2002. Tony retired at the end of July 2010 and has been replaced by Nicholas Danks.

In the spring of 2002 we were able to afford an orchestra to accompany Handel’s great oratorio, Belshazzar and it was decided to join forces with Bude Choral Society and give performances in Bude and Wadebridge. Other memorable spring concerts followed with ‘ Requiem for the Living’ by C Day-Lewis and Donald Swann in 2003, Brahms’ ‘Requiem’ in 2004 and Haydn’s ‘Nelson Mass’ in 2006.

The year 2007 was another landmark when we performed Britten’s Cantata ‘St. Nicolas’ in St. Endellion Church and invited the choir of St. Joseph’s School, Launceston to join us. With the help of a grant from Cornwall Community Chest, we purchased some tiered staging and with this, plus permission to use some of St. Endellion Festival’s staging, we accommodated everyone and the concert was a huge success.