PREES Ladies’ Choir is disbanding after 68 years.
Members decided that as many of them are getting older and there is a lack of new blood coming in, the time has come to fold up their songbooks.
When the decision was made to close, there were 20 amateur singers though musical director Maureen Foster is a professionally trained singer and pianist who has been in the post for 29 years.
The choir has lately been accompanied by pianist Christopher Jones, and has sung at weddings, funerals, old people's homes entertaining countless people in the area.
Choir members will meet on Wednesday, December 2, in the chapel for a singing session and social to which all members are invited and members will continue to meet once a month for a social evening.
Secretary Judy Gosling has been a member of the choir for 35 years and said: “We are all getting older and are dropping in numbers and not attracting new, younger members. It is sad, but there is a wonderful mixed choir locally, the Faul’s Singers, so to have two choirs in the area is amazing, but it has been hard to maintain both.”
In 1941 the choir was set up under Elsie Stone, who lived in Prees but was originally from Birmingham. She taught the Sunday School group to sing an anthem, and this proved so popular that others joined in and the choir was officially formed as the Congregational Church Sunday School Choir.
A few years later Mrs Stone returned to Birmingham, and members turned to Mrs Nora Fowles, herself a qualified music teacher, but who claimed to have no experience as a conductor.
She agreed to help them complete their commitments, she enjoyed it, the girls enjoyed her conducting and she continued in the post until shortly before her death, at the age of 79, in 1974.
Two of the founder members, Joan and Barbara Walley are still members and joined in 1945 on leaving school, Olwen Choir calls it a day after 68 great years Prince (Hayward) and Kath Wyatt (Fowles) - Mrs Fowles’ daughter who followed her mother into the choir and served as treasurer - are also still members.
Including Mrs Stone and Mrs Fowles, there have been only four conductors - Mrs Teear, and the most recent, Mrs Foster who joined in 1978.
Although starting as a Sunday School choir the choir has also sung as a WI choir and were awarded the great honour of representing the Midland area in 1950 at the massed W. I. Choir at the Albert Hall.
In the same year the choir appeared at the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen under the title, Ladies Choir from Prees, England.