Bunbury Singers was formed in 1988 by Frank Woodward, the then organist and choirmaster of St Boniface Church, Bunbury, Cheshire.
The group was established as an amateur, non-denominational choir, performing concerts in the locality for charitable purposes. Since it’s inception, the choir has performed a mixture of sacred and secular music in various styles and from differing periods.
The original choir comprised just a handful of singers and has grown in size and repertoire over the years; it currently has around 35 members.
After some 10 years, Frank Woodward moved away from the Bunbury area on retirement. One of the leading tenors, Hedley Ashby, took on the mantle of Musical Director and performed as Director with distinction until he sadly died just a couple of years later.
Following a short break, a new Musical Director was appointed. Derek Blyth, an accomplished musician and peripatetic schools’ music teacher, led the Singers to much success for three years, travelling from his home in Bolton each week to train and direct the group.
In January 2004 Martin Cook was appointed as Musical Director. Martin is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music and has very wide experience as a choral director; he is currently Director of Music at the Bluecoat School in Liverpool. Martin lives in Bunbury and the Singers were very fortunate to have such a talented and experienced musician to lead them. At the end of the 2008-2009 season Martin left to continue his studies in America and, for the new season in September 2009 a young music graduate, Daniel Keen was appointed to take over the role.