Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Male Choirs Association of Australia held at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and via Zoom on Saturday 24th May 2025.
Meeting opened at 4:25pm.
PRESENT:
Neil Fleming – in the chair – Scott Snedden, Albert Orszaczky, Colin Keith, Brian Flanagan (Australian Rugby Choir)
Richard Lamont (Canberra Mens)
Brian Waters (Albury Con Men)
Gerry King, David Egarr, Joseph Collinson (Adelaide Male Voice Choir)
Christopher McRobert, David Bryars (Arcadian Lamplighters Male Choir)
John Miller (Australian Welsh Male Choir)
Paul Whiting, Bruce Sharpham, Ken Wade, Gidley McCullagh (Ku-ring-gai Male Choir)
Neil Forrest, Lynton Nicholas (Metropolitan Male Choir of South Australia)
Peter O’Driscoll, Tom Coghlan, Ron Brown (Sydney Male Choir)
David Kennedy, John Spencer (Orange Male Voice Choir)
Ellis Griffiths, Brian Marsden (Perth Male Voice Choir)
John Ferguson, Judy Ferguson, Brian Buckley, David Mundy Peter Olsen (Wagga City Rugby Male Choir)
APOLOGIES
Neil Kinsey (Australian Welsh)
Minutes of the 2024 Annual General Meeting:
The minutes were previously circulated and were taken as read. There were no suggested amendments.
A motion that the minutes be confirmed and accepted was proposed by Neil Forrest and seconded by Bruce Sharpham. Carried.
Treasurer’s Report: Tabled as circulated to choirs before the meeting.
Ron Brown, Treasurer highlighted that the financial year end was 31st December. The bank balances on that date amounted to $16,644.67 with a profit of $2,723.27 for the year.
Acceptance of Ron’s report was mover by Neil Fleming, seconded by Brian Walters. Carried.
Lynton Nicholas reported that a number of grants were received from various sources, earmarked to offset local festival expenditure.
Presidents Report.
Tabled having previously circulated to member choirs.
Acceptance of the report, moved Bruce Sharpham and seconded David Kennedy. Carried.
The President extended a vote of thanks to the Metropolitan Choir for providing a smooth and rewarding experience throughout the organising of the concert.
Election of Office Bearers for 2025.
PRESIDENT: Neil Fleming – Australian Rugby Choir
VICE PRESIDENT:
TREASURER: Ron Brown – Sydney Male Choir
SECRETARY: Peter O’Driscoll – Sydney Male Choir
COMMITTEE:
Neil Forrest – Metropolitan Male Choir of South Australia
Bruce Sharpham – Ku-ring-gai Male Choir
John Miller – Australian Welsh Male
Ellis Griffiths – Perth Male Voice Choir
Peter Olsen – Wagga City Rugby Male
John Spencer – Orange Male Voice Choir
Chris McRobert (Arcadians Lamplighters)
WEB MANAGER: Peter O’Driscoll – Sydney Male Choir
PUBLIC OFFICER: Ron Brown – Sydney Male Choir
After Scott Snedden highlighted the need to include the election of the Web Manager and Public Officer in the motion, it was moved by Brian Walters, seconded by Scott Snedden. Carried
As there were no nominations for Vice President, Peter suggested that the Committee, at a future meeting, appoint one of the members to that position.
The AGM concluded at 5.05 p.m.
Minutes of the General Meeting which followed the 2025 AGM.
Meeting commenced following the AGM.
Attendees and Apologies: As per the A.G.M.
Minutes of the Meeting following the 2025 AGM read and confirmed. Moved Peter O’Driscoll and Seconded by Paul Whiting.
Financial Report as per the AGM.
The Future of MCAA:
The President stated that there needed to be a discussion as to the future and relevance of the Association and that he would be stepping down from his position as President at the end of the year. There is a need to entice suitable members to nominate for his position.
The focus for the next three years will be the organisation of a successful concert in Perth. Ellis Griffiths from Perth Male Voice Choir informed the meeting that the Choir would be celebrating its Centenary next year and the organisation of this occasion would be the near-term focus.
Brian Buckley suggested circulating a post-concert Bulletin commenting on how wonderful the Adelaide Festival was and congratulating all who contributed.
David Kennedy indicated it was timely to encourage interest in MCAA in the coming weeks, especially among newer choristers who should be particularly enthused by experiencing their first festival over the weekend.
Brian suggested the Committee consider applying for government grants for professional development of Musical Directors. He had successfully applied for such a grant prior to the Sydney concert to fund a workshop.
Ellis Griffiths asked the Chair as to the frequency of Committee meetings. Neil suggests that every three months may be sufficient in the coming year or two. But more frequently as the time for the 2028 concert approached. The Organising Committee will need to be formed and meetings would be on a fortnightly basis as the organising activity became more active.
John Spencer asked about the timing of the Perth concert. September 2028 has been proposed.
Dave Bryers suggested that other than the triennial concerts organised by MCAA, there should be more interaction between choirs to have joint concerts.
Miscellaneous Topics
Albert Orszaczky asked about the background as to the Freemasons grant. Lynton Nicholas informed Albert that one of the members of the Freemasons was also a loyal member of the Metropolitan Choir, who would travel from Murray Bridge for weekly practices.
Neil Forrest thought it be appropriate for the meeting to recognise the contribution of Evan Paton and his wife made in preparing the concert program.
Scott Snedden asked a rhetorical question as to the benefits of being involved with MCAA. His response was fellowship and memories.
Ellis Griffiths indicated that the cost of travel to Perth may be a factor for many choir members in terms of willingness to travel to Perth. John Marsden suggested that with over three years to go, choirs could introduce internal weekly fund-raising options. Brian Buckley suggested the tour fund could would ask members to contribute $5 per meeting.
Tom Coghlan reported that the Sydney Choir toured Perth and the Margret River in 2022, indicating that the trip was worthwhile.
Music Committee
Because it appears some of the Music Committee members may be retiring in the near future. Peter O’Driscoll asked the President how the members of the Music Committee were appointed. Neil Fleming indicated that the process was for the Musical Directors of the individual choirs nominate for the Committee. As a point of information, Neil informed the meeting that 50% of the songs for the programme for each festival were chosen from the programmes of previous festivals.
Peter Olsen felt that some of the songs were sung too often and the programme included too many pious and Welsh style songs. Paul Whiting and Judy Ferguson emphasised that there was good interaction between the Committee and individual choirs.
Gidley McCullagh suggested the need to have a good relationship with the ABC to enable our choirs to be better promoted.
Brian Buckley alluded to the strict timelines that needed to be followed between concerts. Licences needed to be sought and the song books printed and circulated among individual choirs 2 years before the concert
Meeting closed at 5.30 p.m.
Peter O’Driscoll
Secretary