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click here to see some photogaphs of our choir
from the early 1990's

During the pre-war days of 1935 a young woman (a GPO telephonist) and her husband would cycle the 5 miles or so from Warton to Lytham to rehearse Elgar's King Olaf. This woman was Kathleen Ferrier who later often returned to sing as a soloist with the choir before exploding onto the world stage as perhaps the most famous contralto of all time.

Few, if any, would dispute the description of Kathleen Ferrier as the greatest lyric contralto England has ever produced. To update the words of her friend and singing colleague, soprano Isobel Baillie, 'Fifty years after her death on 8 October 1953, the very inflection in the mention of her name is invariably tinged with a deep and genuine affection and more than a hint of sadness'. Why was this so? Well, the manner of her rise to stardom was unique. Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, she went from being a telephone operator in the mid-1930s to becoming a nationally known singer within ten years, followed by a further five years of international fame. She had no formal music training, but was a fine pianist and a good musician. She had the luck to be spotted by certain key people who in turn passed her on to others of influence and prestige in the music profession, names such as John Barbirolli, Bruno Walter and Gerald Moore.

biography and photographs taken from www.ferrierawards.org.uk

Lytham Vocal Society Programme for their first Subscription Concert
held at Lowther Pavillion in 1928.

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