Our 70th Anniversary Concert

When we moved to our present location of the West Maldon Community Centre, we found an entry on the internet that gave us the date that we were formed ... 1949

After a quick calculation we discovered that we are celebrating our 70th anniversary in 2019 and this was going to require something special to mark the occasion. A concert was the obvious answer and we were delighted to accept Carl Wakefield's kind offer to use the Stage Hall at the Plume Academy in Maldon as the venue. Having performed there last year alongside the Maldon Drama Group for their Hope Flowers show to mark the Centenary of the Armistice, we already knew that it would be an excellent choice.

The programme of music is the domain of our brilliant Music Director, Ron Bewers. Ideas were flying around of marking each decade of our existence with a couple of suitable tunes. Ron decided that he would also include favourites from some of our 'more established' players and the programme quickly took shape. Our guest vocalist, Colin Bellett added the extra shine to the concert and the programme was soon sorted. Ron likes to provide some context for the tunes in our concert and it was interesting to listen to him try to weave in the various random requests with the tunes from each decade but his explanations were both educational and entertaining.

We like to fundraise for local charities at our concerts and for our special anniversary concert, we decided to support Home-Start Essex. They work with families in the Maldon area providing them with support and guidance. They were also able to provide us with the much needed assistance with the refreshments and front of house duties. We are proud to have raised £826.30 from this concert for them.

We were delighted to welcome honoured guests of the Mayor of Maldon, Flo Shaughnessy and her escort and Carl Wakefield, Headteacher of the Plume Academy.