Nicola Lisle talks to members of Woodstock Music Society ahead of this weekend’s concerts, which mark the start of their 40th anniversary year

Forty years ago, a small group of amateur musicians got together to provide some entertainment for the PTA at Woodstock Primary School, at the behest of head teacher John Brucker. From this humble beginning, Woodstock Music Society was born.

“It was amazing to find such talent in a small community,” says choir chairman Evelyn Hendy. “John has since said that as the day drew nearer he got cold feet and nearly cancelled the event, but we’re very glad he didn’t because it went very well and led to a meeting soon afterwards in the Woodstock Arms, where the decision was taken to form a music society.”

Early concerts were necessarily modest, ranging from evenings of madrigals and Christmas carols to small-scale choral works such as Faure’s Requiem. Solo parts were taken by members of the choir.

Today, the choir has almost quadrupled in size to around 90 members and has tackled most of the major works in the choral repertoire, occasionally joining forces with Kidlington Amateur Operatic Society for some of the more monumental works, such as Elgar’s The Kingdom and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. Like most choral societies, they now use professional soloists, and have worked with the likes of Roderick Williams, James Gilchrist and many others who have gone on to achieve international stardom.

Singers were originally mainly from Woodstock, but are now drawn from across the county — and, unlike in the early days, they now have to audition. “There’s quite a strong section of men, which you don’t often get in a choir,” says Will Clark, who has sung with the choir for 15 years. “That really does boost your own confidence in singing.”

Unusually, the society also has its own orchestra, formed in 1978 by violinist Helen Woolley. “We had a small group coming in for a concert in the church and we thought, ‘We can do better than that’,” she says.

Helen managed to gather together a group that included music undergraduates, music teachers and other enthusiastic players. “One of the first orchestra players was an ex-National Youth Orchestra oboist, who now plays the cello in the orchestra, so she’s stayed with us right through. There’s a real camaraderie.”

Choir and orchestra are now limbering up for the society’s landmark year with some typically adventurous programmes. This weekend’s concerts — they always perform each concert twice, due to demand — celebrate the victory at the Battle of Trafalgar with Haydn’s Nelson Mass and the lesser-known Jonathan Willcocks piece, A Great and Glorious Victory.

“We try to do works that are not so usual,” says Paul Ingram, who became the society’s third conductor in 1983. “The Willcocks piece describes the bef-ore and aftermath of the battle, and it’s a very dramatic piece. It takes a lot of work but I think the choir are enjoying the challenge of the rhythms of the piece. And that complements the Nelson Mass, which is written for the same sort of orchestration.”

Soloists for the evening are Rebecca Moseley-Morgan, Sophie Dodds, Tristan Stocks and Brian McAlea. In July the society continues its anniversary celebrations with a programme of music by Elgar and Vaughan Williams.

Haydn Nelson Mass & Willcocks A Great and Glorious Victory
* St Mary Magdalene Church, Woodstock
* Friday and Saturday, 7.30pm
* Tickets from Woodstock Bookshop on 01993 812760 or on the door
* For more about the society, visit woodstockmusic.info