Benevolent Charity

Prior to 1843 there was a town choir which had existed in Birmingham since 1768, whose main purpose was to raise funds for local causes. We continue to pursue this policy of benevolence alongside the musical aim of presenting public concerts. This benevolence is two-fold; raising funds to help other organisations and those outside the Society (recently, for example, the annual charity Christmas concerts and charitable tours to Bulgaria, Poland and the Czech Republic), and also providing assistance for its own members in time of trouble. To this latter end a relief fund was set up in 1845 resulting in BFCS being recognised and registered as a Friendly Society. This continued for ninety years until BFCS annulled its registration in June 1935.

Forty-five years later, in September 1980, BFCS became a Registered Charity (No.510847). The Society's Charitable Object reads 'to promote, improve, develop and maintain public education in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music in all its aspects by the presentation of public concerts and recitals and by such other ways as the Society, through its committee, shall determine.'

Educational Objective

BFCS fulfils its educational objective in a variety of ways. The choir is, and always has been, community-based, welcoming singers able to sing in tune, but who may have limited experience in the art of music. Professional rehearsals, aimed at achieving the highest standards possible, teach choir members the techniques of voice production as well as music theory. During the 1997/98 Season, with the help of a National Lottery award, professional voice tutors coached the entire choir in a series of workshops, some of which included the participation of schoolchildren. BFCS plans to develop such links in the future; these projects complement the Society's Swinnerton Heap Memorial Scholarship, established by Trust Deed in October 1903, which, each year, provides free professional singing lessons for a BFCS member.

Repertoire

Choir members and concert audiences alike also learn from a widely-chosen repertoire which ranges from the baroque to the present day, including many lesser-known works. Particularly relevant is our policy to promote new compositions through commissions and performance; following Elijah, BFCS singers have taken part in many premieres including Dvorák's Requiem (1891) and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius (1900) and The Music Makers (1912). Since 1975 BFCS has premiered sixteen new choral works, of which ten were commissioned by Jeremy Patterson and the Society, and our choir has given the second and third performances of many others, including works by our two Patron composers John Joubert and Elis Pehkonen.