Friends of Halifax Choral Soc


In the Beginning	Building a Tradition	Conductor: John Pryce-Jones
Accompanist:	North of England Chamber Orchestra	NOEL Children's Choirs

In the beginning . . .
When the idea was first mooted in 1817 by founder William Priestley (eminent local musician, antiquary and literary gentleman), he could hardly have foreseen that Halifax Quarterly Choral Society, later to become the Halifax Choral Society, would still be going strong at the dawn of the Third Millennium. Nor could he have envisaged it surviving to become Britain’s oldest amateur choral society (and possibly the world’s) with an unbroken record of performances.

Throughout the remainder of the nineteenth century, the choir played a prominent part in the musical and social life of Halifax, contributing to the many civic and national celebrations which typified Imperial Britain. Its numbers exceeded 200 by the turn of the century and it was much in demand for such prestigious events as the Leeds Triennial Festival.

By 1901 the choir had a permanent home in the new Victoria Hall (now known as the Victoria Theatre), built very much with the H.C.S. in mind, and still the “home” venue for most of the society’s concerts. Thus, the scene was set for what was to become the Society’s Regular Concert Season, in which upwards of six concerts are presented annually.

In the Beginning	Building a Tradition	Conductor: John Pryce-Jones
Accompanist:	North of England Chamber Orchestra	NOEL Children's Choirs

Building a tradition . . .
Since its inception HCS has been associated with the highest order of music making. The conductors, soloists and orchestras who have worked with the society this century read like a Who’s Who? of British music.

Resident Conductors
Resident conductors this century have been drawn from the elite of church and secular musicians:
F de G English; C. H. Moody; Albert Tysoe; Tustin Baker; Shackleton Pollard; Melville Cook; Donald Hunt; John Pryce Jones.

Guests and Others
The list of other conductors (by no means exhaustive) who have conducted the choir needs no further comment: Hans Richter; Sir Henry Wood; Malcolm Sargent; Owain Arwel Hughes; Stanford Robinson; Sir Charles Groves; Andrew Greenwood; Richard Hickox.

Soloists
Nor is a representative list of past soloists any less impressive: Heddle Nash; Isobel Baillie; Walter Widdop; Webster Booth; Elsie Suddaby; Stiles Allan; Roy Henderson; Gladys Ripley; Robert Easton; Owen Brannigan; Janet Baker; Brian Rayner-Cook; Raymond Herincx; John Mitchinson; Jill Gomez; Robert Tear; John Shirley Quirk; Peter Pears etc., etc.

Orchestras
Throughout its history the Society has worked with first class orchestras including the local Halifax Orchestra, the Hallé Orchestra, the Douglas Hall Orchestra, the Northern Philharmonia Orchestra, some of the BBC’s orchestras, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Manchester Concert Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. More recently, close relationships have developed between the Choir and the English Northern Philharmonia, (the orchestra of Opera North) and the Halifax based Northern Ballet Theatre Orchestra, recently renamed North of England Concert Orchestra.

Brass Bands
The choir has also collaborated with the cream of the brass band world in its annual Christmas Carols with Brass and Summer Prom concerts. Mention of Black Dyke Mills, Brighouse and Rastrick, Fodens and B.T. will leave no doubt as to the quality of music making involved.

The high standards achieved by the choir and its imaginative programming under Donald Hunt and John Pryce-Jones have led to its recognition as one of the finest in the north of England, attracting several northern premieres, frequent radio broadcasts, television appearances and invitations to take part in prestigious musical engagements nationwide.

In the Beginning	Building a Tradition	Conductor: John Pryce-Jones
Accompanist:	North of England Chamber Orchestra	NOEL Children's Choirs

Conductor: John Pryce-Jones John Pryce-Jones HCS's Musical Director Under the inspired leadership of their conductor John Pryce-Jones, HCS goes from strength to strength.

John Pryce-Jones was educated at Penarth and Worcester, from where he won an Organ Scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He studied conducting with George Hurst and Rafael Kubelik

He began his career at the Welsh National Opera, was founder Chorus Master of Opera North, and has been Head of Music of Scottish Opera, and Music Director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. He has been Music Director of Northern Ballet Theatre since 1992 and is Artistic Director of the Halifax Choral Society, and the North of England Chamber Orchestra. Throughout his career John has had great success working as a singing coach with both young and also established singers.

He has conducted throughout the UK, including BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Ulster Orchestra, the CBSO, RLPO, BBC Philharmonic, LPO, English National Opera, and English National Ballet. Abroad, he has conducted in the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Scandinavia and Turkey. He has also worked extensively in the Brass band field both in this country and overseas.

John has been actively involved with young musicians, and has conducted many Youth Orchestras and Choirs, and also the National Youth Brass Band. He has a fanatical commitment to encouraging and expanding the provision of music for young people as a stimulus for general education and confidence building. He is the founder Artistic Director of NOEL (Northern Orchestral Enterprises Ltd.) based at Dean Clough in Halifax, which has re-established the Yorkshire Youth Orchestra, formed the Yorkshire Youth Choir, the Calderdale Boys Choir, and various Singing for fun groups based on Kodaly principles, for children aged 4 and upwards, in Halifax, Bradford, Dewsbury, Grimsby, and Rotherham and Harrogate. In recognition of his work in music education, Huddersfield University conferred on him the Degree of Honorary Doctor of Letters.

He has made a number of recordings with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Co., the Halifax Choral Society and the Britannia Brass Band, the Opera North Chorus, and the Northern Ballet Theatre Orchestra, the latest of which (Great Expectations) won a record of the year award from the Gramophone magazine in December 2000.

John is married to a musician, Alison, who now teaches and conducts numerous choirs, and has two children - a son, Rodric, who plays lead guitar in the successful rock band Idlewild, and a daughter, Catrin who is a member of the National Children's Orchestra.

In the Beginning	Building a Tradition	Conductor: John Pryce-Jones
Accompanist:	North of England Chamber Orchestra	NOEL Children's Choirs

The North of England Chamber Orchestra
Hon. President: Sir Ernest Hall, OBE Principal Conductor: John Pryce-Jones Leader: Geoffrey Allan
As part of the company's development, Northern Ballet Theatre expanded its orchestra in 1993, to form a concert orchestra to give performances which aim to be as exciting, entertaining and excellent as those of the ballet company. Three years later, the orchestra formed a new company, Northern Orchestral Enterprises Limited (NOEL), in order to further develop the work of the orchestra as a concert-giving and educational resource. Concerts include appearances in the Kirklees International Orchestral Season, regular performances with the Halifax Choral Society, a special gala concert in Chester Cathedral and a VJ Celebratory Concert in Roundhay Park, Leeds, for Leeds Leisure Services. Leeds Leisure Services invited the orchestra to undertake the Classical Fantasia at the Abbey, at Kirkstall Abbey, in the summer of 1996, and this is now firmly established as an annual event. The orchestra was invited to perform Proms in the Park, complete with fireworks display, at Ormesby Hall, Teeside, in August 1999. The Orchestra's Music Education projects includes Music for the Deaf; a special project for secondary schools designed initially for the Ridings School, and an ongoing and extensive project in Primary Schools with 6-8 year old children. This Altogether Music project has involved over 3000 children throughout West Yorkshire. The orchestra has recorded two extremely succesful CDs (Naxos) 20th Century English Ballets and Dracula, and in 1998, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Black Box). A new recording on the NPC label of NBT's new production of Great Expectations with music by Edward Elgar will be available in March 2000. The Yorkshire Youth Orchestra was re-launched in August 1997, with the management and musicians of NOEL's Orchestra providing pastoral care and intensive professional coaching. The Youth Orchestra, which is quickly re-establishing itself as a major force on the national youth orchestra scene, has held six residential courses to date and also performed in the 1999 National Festival of British Youth Orchestras, held in Scotland during August. The next residential course will be held at Woodhouse Grove School near Leeds/Bradford from 15 - 20 April with a concluding concert at the newly refurbished Yeadon Town Hall. This course also includes a Junior Orchestra day. NOEL also runs Singing for Fun choirs for children aged 4 to 9, based on Kodaly principles. Weekly sessions are held in Halifax and Dewsbury. A new group will be starting in March 2000 in Bradford. For more information about Northern Orchestral Enterprises’ activities, please contact:
Northern Orchestral Enterprises Limited, Room 23, Dean Clough, Halifax HX3 5AX.
Tel:01422 330533;

In the Beginning	Building a Tradition	Conductor: John Pryce-Jones
Accompanist:	North of England Chamber Orchestra	NOEL Children's Choirs

NOEL Singing for Fun Choirs
The choirs were formed by Northern Orchestral Enterprises Ltd (NOEL) in September 1996, and are for children aged 4 to 7 and 7 to 10. They are led by experts Judith Brindle and Alison Pryce-Jones, and sessions are based on the method created by the Hungarian composer Zoltan Kodaly, using tonic sol-fa, Eurhythmics, musical games and movement —SINGING FOR FUN might be the best description.

The Kodaly method could be summed up as the belief in and practice of Musicianship development through Singing. Singing is fundamental to Kodaly work because it is the finest means of music making, is in-built in mankind, and is the best way of ensuring a connection with the INNER HEARING, that most essential aspect of any musician.

To register or for more information phone NOEL 01422 330533

In the Beginning	Building a Tradition	Conductor: John Pryce-Jones
Accompanist:	North of England Chamber Orchestra	NOEL Children's Choirs

Conductor: John Pryce-Jones		Under the inspired leadership of their conductor John Pryce-Jones, HCS goes from strength to strength.


John Pryce-Jones was educated at Penarth and Worcester, from where he won an Organ Scholarship to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He studied conducting with George Hurst and Rafael Kubelik He began his career at the Welsh National Opera, was founder Chorus Master of Opera North, and has been Head of Music of Scottish Opera, and Music Director of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company. He has been Music Director of Northern Ballet Theatre since 1992 and is Artistic Director of the Halifax Choral Society, and the North of England Chamber Orchestra. Throughout his career John has had great success working as a singing coach with both young and also established singers. He has conducted throughout the UK, including BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Ulster Orchestra, the CBSO, RLPO, BBC Philharmonic, LPO, English National Opera, and English National Ballet. Abroad, he has conducted in the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, the Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Scandinavia and Turkey. He has also worked extensively in the Brass band field both in this country and overseas. John has been actively involved with young musicians, and has conducted many Youth Orchestras and Choirs, and also the National Youth Brass Band. He has a fanatical commitment to encouraging and expanding the provision of music for young people as a stimulus for general education and confidence building. He is the founder Artistic Director of NOEL (Northern Orchestral Enterprises Ltd.) based at Dean Clough in Halifax, which has re-established the Yorkshire Youth Orchestra, formed the Yorkshire Youth Choir, the Calderdale Boys Choir, and various Singing for fun groups based on Kodaly principles, for children aged 4 and upwards, in Halifax, Bradford, Dewsbury, Grimsby, and Rotherham and Harrogate. In recognition of his work in music education, Huddersfield University conferred on him the Degree of Honorary Doctor of Letters. He has made a number of recordings with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Co., the Halifax Choral Society and the Britannia Brass Band, the Opera North Chorus, and the Northern Ballet Theatre Orchestra, the latest of which (Great Expectations) won a record of the year award from the Gramophone magazine in December 2000. John is married to a musician, Alison, who now teaches and conducts numerous choirs, and has two children - a son, Rodric, who plays lead guitar in the successful rock band Idlewild, and a daughter, Catrin who is a member of the National Children's Orchestra.