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CORNWALL FESTIVAL 2009
Philip Broadhurst is the present conductor of the choir. It is mainly due to his dedication and commitment that the choir has reached its present strength and quality. In 2001 Philip was honoured for his contribution to the choir and community by being awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. In his chosen profession he worked as "Village Pharmacist"in Audley for thirty five years before semi-retiring in 1996. The choir would be lost without Philip's incisive musical direction, (and saintly patience).The Male Voice Choir "bug"was initiated when his father-a former conductor of Birch Vale Glee Union formed a Male Voice Choir at St Paul's Church Macclesfield in the 1950's.Philip-organist of the church at the time"volunteered" to be the accompanist.The choir subseqently became the Macclesfield Male Voice Choir.

Each year the choir promotes a major Celebrity Concert in the Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent which is reputed to have some of the finest acoustics in Europe.The support of our audience enables us to bring artists of international repute to Stoke on Trent. Such artists have included Arthur Davies, Rebecca Evans, Helen Field, Cynthia Glover, Jason Howard, John Lawrenson, Jeffrey Lawton, Christopher Maltman, Donald Maxwell, Kate McCarney, Vernon and Maryetta Midgley, Deborah Norman, Dennis O'Neill, Cara O'Sullivan, Forbes Robinson, Tim Richards, Amanda Roocroft, Bryn Terfel, Sir Willard White,Guang Yang,Claire Bradshaw, Arwel Hugh Morgan, Sally Matthews, David Kempster, Sara Fulgoni, Julian Gavin, Shan Cothi,Gwyn Hughes-Jones,Susannah Glanville Seung Wook Seong,Yvonne Howard ,Bonaventura Bottone, Eliana Pretorian,Jonathan Lemalu,Camilla Roberts and Ji-Min Park.

Ingrid Surgenor MBE the celebrated accompanist has a special place in the hearts of the choir and has her own personal following at our celebrity concerts and became Patron of the choir in 2001.

In addition to its celebrity concerts the choir has raised many thousands of pounds for charity at it's Autumn Gala Concerts and shares the platform with such notable brass bands as Fodens Richardson, Brighouse and Rastrick,Black  Dyke , Grimethorpe Colliery , YBS , Leyland, Carlton Main Frickley Colliery and Staffordshire Band,

Audley Brass who the choir have supported over the years serves our community well and appears at some of our concerts, notably the Christmas Carol Concert.

Ian Riddle, a noted organist, pianist and teacher of music is the choir's gifted accompanist. The choir is most grateful for his contribution to its musical life.Ian has a busy teaching practice in Newcastle-Under-Lyme and is also the accompanist for the Ceramic City Choir.Ian often performs solo items on the organ or piano at Choir Concerts.His association with the choir began over twenty years ago.