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CMVC - Member of the
Month Archive
November 2008 - Arthur Reed
BIRTHPLACE:
Arthur was born in the Welsh village of Cwmparc, Rhondda Valley - very near to Treorchy. He knew his wife Phyllis whilst both growing up and attending the local school. At the age of 15 he was sent by his parents to live with his elder sister in Chippenham, and he started work at the major employer in town - Westinghouse.
YEAR JOINED CHOIR:
Arthur first joined the choir in 1941. In those days it was called the Westinghouse Male Voice Choir, and Arthur was working in the Stores Offices of Westinghouse. He was just 17 years old at the time and, like most lads of that age, he did not feel comfortable belonging to a choir dominated by elder work colleagues. So he left the choir after a few short weeks. Between 1942 and 1947 he was called up for military service with the Royal Signals - serving in this country as well as France and Germany. On leaving the army, he returned to Wales to marry Phyllis and subsequently moved back to Chippenham.
SINGING BACKGROUND:
His singing career started with the school choir and local baptist church choir. When returning to Chippenham after the war, it was Phyllis who encouraged him to join her in the Monkton Hill Gilbert & Sullivan group - under the direction of Mrs King. From there he moved to the Chippenham Starlettes - under the direction of Betty Payne - attending with two of his daughters. He then switched back to the Westinghouse Male Voice Choir (under the musical direction of David Fidler), which later changed name to the Chippenham Male Voice Choir. Like Phyllis, he has been a member of the Chippenham Light Operatic Society (CLOGS).
MUSICAL LIKES:
Classical music, ballads and Dixie-land jazz.
MUSICAL DISLIKES:
RAP music and Rock 'n Roll.
FAVOURITE CHOIR SONG:
Surprisingly for a Welshman, Arthur has selected 'You Raise Me Up' from the choir's current programme as his all-time favourite, although he also enjoys 'The Two Roses' and (naturally) 'Gwahoddiad'.
By the way, for those members who have the phonetic version of the Welsh words to Gwahoddiad (and other Welsh hymns) we have to thank Phyllis for producing them. We understand those same phonetic versions have been distributed amongst a number of Welsh choirs!
MOST MEMORABLE CHOIR MOMENT:
Arthur has chosen the World Choir Concert in Cardiff - when choirs from all around the UK came together at Cardiff Arms Park to sing together as well as backing international star Shirley Bassey. Members from CMVC were dispersed across the sections of the combined choir, and Arthur found himself very close to first tenors from the world-renowned Treorchy MVC. Although he was brought up in the village next door to Treorchy, this is the only time in his career that he has 'sung' with that choir!
ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE CHOIR:
Gardening and DIY.
FAVOURITE SINGER:
Being a tenor, Arthur enjoys the qualities produced by most of the world famous tenors and names his all-time favourite singer as Pavorotti. However, he is tipping Vittorio Grigolo - a less well known figure - to establish himself as one of the greats.