A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHOIR AND ITS PREDECESSORS

1933; Incorporated as the Upper Hutt Home and School Association Male Voice Choir; first concert in December.

1937; Ladies were co-opted to give a choir of 50 for a coronation concert (the Wellington train would wait for 10 p.m.). The newly named Upper Hutt Male Choir separated from the Home and School Asssociation soon after.  Nine of the fifteen members were civil servants

1938; The first of a series of concerts with the Saint Patrick's College orchestra; the last one known of was in November 1939, and was the last given by the founding conductor, S. W. Josland.

1946; The choir was re-named the Upper Hutt Male Choir and Harmonic Society, still a male choir, but it would be able to admit any ladies or lady and to practice and perform as a mixed choir or a male choir.

1953; Mixed-voice coronation concert in the Mayfair Theatre; Tom Jones, by Edward German.

1956; Name change to The Upper Hutt Choral Society.  The Heretaunga Night School Orchestra was founded, and combined with the choir in annual Christmas concerts from 1957 to 1966; the orchestra continued as the Upper Hutt Civic Orchestra; their last concert with the choir was in 1971.

1974; Long-serving conductor Alwyn Palmer appointed (he resigned in 1990).

1977; Saint Patrick's College chapel opened.

1978; Weekend tour to Blenheim and Nelson. One party was able to fly south, but the second flight was cancelled, and the ferry ran late; the Blenheim concert was delayed, and the choir was also unable to fly back from Nelson.

1979; Two concerts with the Wellington Sinfonia, conducted by John Hopkins, and a combined concert with theBlenheim Choral Society .

1980; Elijah performances with the Wairarapa Choral Society; repeated in 1981at the Southward Museum Theatre, Paraparaumu.

1981; Part of a combined choir for an NZSO Kullervo (Sibelius), and two  end-of-year concerts with the Wellington Youth Orchestra.

1982; There was a second NZSO concert with a combined choir..

1983; A second Youth Orchestra concert, a combined choir at the opening of the Michael Fowler Centre, and a Wellington Regional Orchestra Christmas concert.

1985; Concert with the Schola Musica (NZSO training group).

1986; First combined concerts with the Wainuiomata Choir.

1987; First New Zealand performances of Puccini Messa di Gloria, Greytown and Upper Hutt, with the Schola Musica.

1988; First of several workshops conducted by Sir David Willcocks; and a Regional Orchestra Christmas concert.

1993; Combined concerts with the Northern Chorale; Bizet's Carmen, conducetd by Sue Robinson. Combined Christmas concerts with Kapiti choirs.

1994; New conductor Peter McClymont.

1995; Combined choirs in Saint Matthew Passion, El Rancho, Waikanae; Mark Leicester became conductor from May.

1996; Three Elijah concerts with the Northern Chorale; Khandallah, Upper Hutt, Wellington. Jenny  McLeod Sun Festival Carols in December.

1997; Madrigals July / August. Rejoice in the Lamb and Nelson Mass in December.

1998; New conductor Thomas Liggett; Easter concert, then folk songs.

1999; New Zealand music, May.  Joint concerts of French music with the Northern Chorale.

2001; 'Familiar songs' concert in Silverstream school hall with interludes by Berkahn and friends. Schubert  works in St.Patrick's College chapel.

2002; New condutor, Noeline Cuzens; Easter concert followed by Strauss concert in  costume, and spring concert with the Cosmopolitan brass band.

2003; Joint  concerts, with Northern Chorale and Tawa orchestra, and 70th anniversary  concert in the 'Exprssions' theatre.

2004; Change of name to The Hutt Valley Singers. Anzac concert and joint concert with Wainuiomata includingTrial by Jury.

2008; Noeline Cuzens resigned after the last concert.

Sources are limited; a scrapbook has all programmes but one, for public concerts up to November 1939, with an assortment of later programmes and posters; but most other records up to the mid-1960s were lost at Heretaunga College.  The City Library has a Josland collection; its newspaper collection has wartime gaps.  The choir's collection from the mid-1960s is reasonable, and from the late 1970s is virtually complete.  Pre-war, the Wellington papers reviewed concerts, and all are probably available; they are the only sources on encores.