Lasting even longer than the Rolling Stones, the Orange Male Voice Choir is celebrating a very special occasion at Orange Civic Theatre this week with two shows on Saturday, November 7.

“A Centenary of Song” is a major gala concert commemorating the 100th anniversary of the choir, which over the years underwent a series of name changes before finally returning to its original label in the late noughties. The concerts will see the choir perform an eclectic mix of songs spanning a range of genres and eras, including popular numbers from shows such as “Chess” and “The Phantom of the Opera”, as well as tracks by artists including Carly Simon and Bob Dylan that have been re-imagined as choral arrangements.

There will also be a range of choral and orchestral pieces in a diverse program featuring nearly 100 combined voices alongside guest performers and the Orange Regional Conservatorium Colour City Orchestra.

Special guest performers will include Jarrod Draper, Nathan Bryon, Michael Butchard, Paul Jarman, the Sydney Male Choir, the Wagga City Rugby Male Choir, and a host of local singers and musicians. The Orange Male Voice Choir has a long history in the region, having performed across generations, with highlights including landmark performances at the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, and London’s Royal Albert Hall. It all goes back to a founding conductor from one of the great singing nations of the British Isles.

The choir was formed on October 1, 1926, and now stands as the oldest male choir in regional Australia. It was first established as the Orange Male Voice Choir with 22 members under the guidance of now-legendary Welsh founder and long-time conductor, Rowland Gregory. In 1934, it was renamed the Orange Orpheus Male Choir, a classical reference to Orpheus, the fabled poet and musician of Greek mythology renowned for his enchanting songs. In 1970, it became the Rowland Gregory Orpheus Singers, in recognition of Mr Gregory’s long tenure as conductor from 1926 to 1970, before reverting to its original name, the Orange Male Voice Choir, in 2008. Key milestones include competing in the Australian Male Voice Championships in 1932 and performing at the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge that same year.

One of regional Australia’s major men’s choirs for a century, it has also won the City of Sydney Eisteddfod five times and, in 1985, became the first Australian male choir to compete at the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales. Other highlights include sharing the stage with Welsh singer and former “Goon Show” star, Sir Harry Secombe, at the Sydney Opera House in 1982, and with Aussie songbird Julie Anthony at Parliament House in Canberra in 2001, as well as performing at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2002.

The centenary concerts are a fitting way to celebrate 100 years of music, friendship, and community, culminating in the Centenary Gala Concert on November 7.