Timaru District Choir celebrates 80 years

2 Dec 2025

In September, the Timaru District Choir celebrated its 80^th anniversary. Past members were invited to join the choir's current singers in a programme of music they had enjoyed over the years, and spent a wonderful evening reminiscing and celebrating the group's long history. 

The Timaru District Choir was formed in early 1945 as the Timaru Choral Society. Before their inaugural concert, the Choral Society sang to an audience of around 4,000 people at a Victory Day thanksgiving service held at the Sound Shell on 9 May 1945.

The reviews of their inaugural concert at the Theatre Royal on 6 August mention the carefully selected programme which included a folk song, several humorous items, one or two novel choral effects, as well as “more serious songs”.

Since the start, they have held weekly rehearsals and given three main concerts a year, as well as participating in a variety of community events. The Choral Society was renamed the Timaru District Choir in the 1980s, to reflect the wide distribution of their members from around the district.

In preparation for the 80^th celebration, choir member Gloria McGillen did some research and uncovered a much older history of the choir. She found that the first iteration of the Timaru Choral Society was established in 1867!

On 20 June 1867 the Timaru Herald advertised a meeting to be held for those interested in the establishment of the Timaru Choral Society. It was intended that the society would be private, with only members allowed to attend concerts and rehearsals, and with tickets obtainable through members or the committee. A certain number of public subscription concerts were planned where members could attend for free.

The first concert was held on Friday 13 September 1867 to a full room at the Masonic Hall. While the audience was said to be attentive and appreciated the programme, the reviewer for the Timaru Herald stated that: “some of the first sopranos seemed to labour under the impression that if they sang at full pitch of their voices, they did all that was required of them, whereas had they been content to modulate them properly, the harmony would have been maintained, and the general effect enhanced thereby. Another defect was there being but one alto voice in the chorus 'And the Glory'. This, however, is not the fault of the Society as there was but that one available.”

The Timaru Choral Society would continue to perform regular concerts for three years, until the final known concert took place on 7 September 1870. This final performance included a full concert as well as a ball designed to raise money to pay off society debts.

Over subsequent years, there were four attempts to re-start the choir before it was ultimately disbanded in 1918 due to the effects of the war. These earlier efforts were quite often fundraisers for bereaved families, the Belgian Relief Fund, and the Red Cross.

The Timaru District Choir is currently conducted by Margaret van Ginkel, and at their 80^th celebrations, previous conductors were also recognised – Warwick Newton, Herbert Harrison, John McMillan, Robert Aburn, Mark Hodgkinson, Rosemary Millar and Ros Taylor to name a few.

Congratulations to the Timaru District Choir on their 80+ years of community singing!

_{Thank you to Timaru District Choir Administrator Alexia and choir member Gloria McGillen for the information and photos.}

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