HistoryoftheSociety

In the winter of 1895, the Long Eaton Co-operative Society Limited formed its first choir under the leadership of Mr C Marshall. Unashamedly propagandist, the choir would perform to the people of Long Eaton and surrounding villages and during the interval, a leading dignitary would extol the virtues of the co-operative movement! In 1902, the choir was temporarily disbanded but reformed five years later. A notice appeared in the Society’s “Record” (a free news sheet) of July 1907 advising readers that the first rehearsal was to be held in the Guild Room, Station Road. Vocalists were “heartily invited to attend”, a sentiment which remains pertinent nearly a century later. In 1908, under the baton of Mr W Woolley, the choir attended the 21st National Co-operative Festival annual gathering at Crystal Palace. The choir came a very creditable third, only five points off the winners, Coventry. The Musical Times reported: “Long Eaton is a well-drilled choir there was much finish and good technique.” The Musical Herald was equally complimentary: “our choice for second place was Long Eaton... well balanced parts and fresh voices”. The following year saw another memorable appearance at Crystal Palace, albeit not necessarily for the right reasons. Both the senior and junior choirs turned up late due to problems with their trains. The senior choir’s allotted performance time arrived but regrettably most of the singers did not! The imbalance of the voices was recognised by the judges as was “inconvenient train services.” The choir was permitted to await the arrival of the missing voices. The Herald wittily observed: “Long Eaton caused a long wait, possibly they were too long eating - it was lunchtime!” Despite their problems, the choir improved on its previous showing by finishing second.

By 1916, the “Record” was reporting the impressive achievements of the junior choir. Fifteen contests: 11 first-places, two second-places and one third-place. Furthermore, they had held the Challenge Cup in all but two years between 1907 and 1915! During the First World War concerts were increased to boost moral. A number of concerts were given to wounded soldiers at the Red Cross Hospital in Shardlow. In 1924, Mr LA Pattison took over as conductor and was to become one of the most influential figures in our history. A gradual move away from solely choral work led to a concert version of Carmen, and in 1928 a production of Faust. 1938 saw the first full musical production, “Merry England”, and in the same year the choir was invited to sing at Pebble Mill. In 1939 a sister society was formed to perform plays as the Arcade Players, and as a result we have enjoyed a healthy relationship with this group ever since. Some members of EMS have been involved in both groups. The outbreak of World War 2, in 1939, saw a return to solely choral work. However, the shape of EMS’s future had been well and truly set during the 1930’s! With the advent of peace in 1945, the Society returned to performing complete musical shows rather than the patriotic concerts that had filled the war years. In 1947 the “Mikado” was staged and apart from 1951 and 1960 when “Merry England” was the production, the next fifteen years were filled with the productions of Gilbert and Sullivan Operettas - under the cumbersome name of The Co-operative Society Senior Prize Choir Amateur Operatic Group. 1962 saw a change in direction with a production of “The Desert Song” by the group now known as the Long Eaton Co-operative Society Limited Senior Choir at The Peoples Hall.

In 1964 came another change as the group became known as ‘EDACRA’ - the word ‘Arcade’ in reverse in recognition of the Arcade Buildings which housed the Co-op’s Education Committee, and the word ‘Arcade’ already being used by our sister group -The Arcade Players. ‘The White Horse Inn’ was performed in 1965 using the Long Eaton Silver Prize Band as part of the production - and following this in 1966 the Society joined with an even more famous brass band - The CWS (Manchester) Band to perform a concert at the De Montford Hall, Leicester under the baton of Alex Mortimer. In 1967 the production of “The Quaker Girl” the leading male part had to be taken over only twelve hours before the dress rehearsal - a real headache for the producer Jock Ferrier who became our President in 1995 - but the show was acclaimed as ‘magnificent’. The 1968 production of “The Merry Widow” had to be postponed because a professional production was taking place, but eventually it was staged in 1969 but unfortunately the long serving M.D. - Mr. J. H. Newberry - did not live to see his wish fulfilled. In 1973 Jock Ferrier was back at the helm to produce “The Sound of Music” - a local press advert brought 68 young hopefuls auditioning for the ‘Von Trapp’ children. In 1977 the Society had to move from the Peoples Hall and their new venue became Friesland School, Sandiacre - with a production of “A Wedding in Paris” - the next twelve months saw a further change with the group taking on its present title of Erewash Musical Society. In 1980 when the production was ‘Viva Mexico’ the then Chairman, Mr. Fred Green, said he desired to see the group return to Long Eaton before its centenary. In 1984 the Society moved back to Long Eaton with its venue at the Wilsthorpe School, and then in 1988 we moved into the Duchess Theatre at the Chatsworth Centre (a converted church).

Since moving back to Long Eaton, the Society has endeavoured to perform shows to cover everyone’s tastes – “New Moon” – “Showboat” – “Charlie Girl” – “Anything Goes” – as well as old favourites like “My Fair Lady” – “Oklahoma” – “The Sound of Music” and “Cabaret” to name but a few. In the last few years Erewash Musical Society has gone through many changes and has not been afraid to take on some demanding shows. In 2001, we announced that we were to stage "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers". Doubting Thomas’s said ‘the show would never go on’ as the cast included fourteen strong young male principals. The show was a sell out before opening night and was a huge success. (We even had real trees onstage!). In 2002, several members had the honour of singing ‘There is nothing like a Dame’ from ‘South Pacific’ for Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Pride Park in Derby, as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations. The fire that completely destroyed The Duchess Theatre in 2003, forced us to change venue to The May Hall, Trent College. Our first show there was “Sweet Charity” in March 2004 that went on to win the NODA regional award for Best Musical for that year. One of the most challenging shows in our 110 years history came with our production of “Singin’ in the Rain” which not only contained silent movies but it actually 'rained' on stage!

As a society, there is still much to be done – with many more shows to perform - it will be very interesting to read in the future, what the Society has achieved over the next 100 years. One thing is certain, it will include enthusiasm, friendship and above all a desire to enjoy what we do in order to give our audiences a professional production - wouldn’t you like to be part of the future E.M.S. - there’s always a welcome for new members .

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informationForNewMembers

The society is always looking for new talent, so if you are a singer, dancer or actor, or are lucky enough to be all three and would like to join the society then please contact the Members' Secretary and Chairman Adrian Perkins .

Membership Subscriptions
Subscriptions for the season will be due immediately at the start of the musical rehearsals (these are subject to change):

Please complete the application form and hand it along with the appropriate payment to the secretary. Payment can be made by either cash or cheque made payable to 'Erewash Musical Society'.

Company Audition
Every member of the Society is required to audition. When attending the company audition you will be required to sing a song of your choice that reflects your vocal range. Please bring along the appropriate score for piano accompaniment. You will also be required to pass a dance audition and read a small section of libretto. The secretary will inform you of the outcome of your audition. Should you be unsuccessful in getting into the production, there are a number of options available to you that will allow involvement with the Society, for example:

• Help during show week, backstage or front-of-house;
• Assist with wardrobe duties;
• Attend / take part in social activities.

Should you wish to discuss this process any further, please contact the General Secretary .

Principal Auditions
Members will only be able to audition for a principal role after they have performed in one show or musical production.

Rehearsals
Rehearsals take place on Monday evenings and some Sunday mornings, along with principal rehearsals on Friday evenings. Evening rehearsals start promptly at 7.30pm and last till 9.30 – 10pm at The Co-operative room at Granville Avenue in Long Eaton. As we get closer to the production additional rehearsals will take place. Please refer to the additional timetable that will be issued once auditions have taken place. Should you be absent for any reason, please inform the production team.

Please refer to the Society's Constitution for more information.

Application Forms
If you would like to join Erewash Musical Society, either as an Acting member or as a Non-Acting member, then please download the relevant application form below. There are two versions of each document; there is a Microsoft Word version for those that have a copy installed and wish to complete the form electronically. There is also a Portable Document Format (PDF) version for those that wish to complete the application by hand or do not have a copy of Microsoft Word installed. If you do not have a PDF reader installed, one can be downloaded for free from www.adobe.com .

Acting Membership	Non-Acting Membership
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contactdetails

President: Peter Beddell Contact Details: president@erewashmusicalsociety.co.uk 0115 913 9490	Committee Chairman: Adrian Perkins contact details: chair@erewashmusicalsociety.co.uk 01332 875350
General Secretary: Gill Cooke Contact Details: gensec@erewashmusicalsociety.co.uk 01773 787470	treasurer: tracey renshaw Contact Details: treasurer@erewashmusicalsociety.co.uk 01159 ******