Ayr Choral Union 1876-2016
2 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements are due firstly to past recorders of ACU - the careful writers of revealing minutes of meetings, the “Keepers of the Box”, the hoarders of programmes, letters, news clips and minutiae, and previous Archivists. Tony Kerrigan gave enormous assistance with photographs. Staff at the Ayrshire Archive and Carnegie Library in Ayr have also been most helpful. David Cassels, who produced a 1976 History of ACU, largely based on a 1905 Bazaar programme, provided an excellent starting point. Above all thanks must go to the late Ronnie Brash, historian, enthusiast, tenor, and ACU archivist until 2012, to whom this book is dedicated. Much of the content in this version is taken verbatim from Minutes, reflecting the voices of ACU, and may not always be strictly accurate or objective. October 15th 1976 Ayr Choral Union Centenary Dinner Back row left to right: Colonel Bryce Knox (Hon Vice-President), Angus Rae (Vice-President), David Cassels (President), Professor Robin Orr CBE* (Speaker), Provost Paton, Ex-Provost Lineham (Hon Vice- President), Victor McLeonard (Secretary) Front row left to right: Mrs Rae, Mrs Bryce Knox, Mrs Paton, Mrs Lanham, and Mrs Cassels. *Robin Orr was a noted first Chairman of Scottish Opera, and Professor of Music first at Glasgow, then Cambridge Universities, as well as a being a composer and active supporter of a wide range of musical activities. He died in 2006. 3 CONTENTS Page 1. Introduction 5 2. Beginnings 6 3. 1876-1914 Beginnings to World War 1 8 4. 1914-1939 Word War 1 to World War 2 15 5. 1939-1976 World War 2 to the Centenary 23 6.
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