The SCJC Story – 100 years of Continuous Singing ​

With our thanks and gratitude for the extensive archive and testimonial research undertaken by Paige V. Hickson (SCJC Alumnus), we have confirmed that our date of origin lies between 1923 and 1926. Further research is required in the Cooperative Society archive in Manchester however local studies have confirmed that the “Junior Choir” was formed with supporting interest of The Scunthorpe Cooperative Society Education Committee, by Mr Denman (Danny) Leeman who had recently formed the Scunthorpe Male Voice Choir and Ladies Choir. The testimonial evidence suggests the original intention was to set up a “pipeline” so that choristers would move on to their respective adult choirs after singing with the Junior Choir. ​
Bradford Competition Winners 1926, Courtesy of North Lincolnshire Museum. 

Highlights from the SCJC Timeline


  • 1926: Bradford Competition Winners – Junior Prize Choir
  • 1927: Co-operative Junior Singing Contest & Won Scunthorpe Music Festival
  • 1930-3: Hull Music Festival Winners, three years running
​
Mr Danny Leeman and the Junior Choir - Source: National Newspaper Archives: Archive Research Images

  • ​1934: First Choir Radio Broadcast - (source: Queer Little Shop)​

 “On 9th January, 1934 there was a notice to the effect that the Choir was to broadcast on the 17th of that month. The Committee agreed to advertise this well.” 

  • 1939-1945: Junior Choir continued running during the war with reduced numbers 
  • 1951: BBC Children’s Hour – Concert at The Jubilee Cinema, Laneham Street Scunthorpe 
  • 1951: Festival of Britain Competition Winners – Loughborough College
  • 1961: First Trip to Lüneburg

Town Twinning - ‘The first town twining was with Lüneburg. in Germany where Mr Brumby’s contacts were most useful. In August,

  • 1961 Mrs Betty Martin together with Mrs Graveling, the leader of the Society’s Junior Choir, took the Choir to sing in Lüneburg.’
  • 1962: BBC Audition at St Bede’s Secondary School then Live Broadcast from Scotton Church in December 
  • 1980s: Second Lüneburg Tour 
  • 1987: SCJC Training Choir was formed
  • 1990’s: Large scale singing events directed by Sue Hollingworth commenced for North Lincolnshire schools
  • 1993 & 6: BBC Radio 3 – An Advent Calendar                                            
  • 1994:The Choir of the Year journey began – Buxton Opera House
​
In 1994,1996,1998, 2000 and 2002 the choir were either a semifinalist, or finalist in the Sainsbury’s Choir of The Year Competition broadcast on the BBC. Sainsbury's Choir of Year 1994 Semi & Final.mp4

  • 1995: Noye’s Fludde by Benjamin Britten - First performance alongside John Leggott College at St Paul’s Church Ashby. VE Day 50th anniversary - Hyde Park London The Olive Graveling Prize was first presented at the annual Scunthorpe Music Festival in memory of Olive our devoted Secretary of over 30 years.
  • 1996/8: Choir Exchange Visits - Bielefeld Germany
  • 1999: Opening of the Millennium Dome, London -SCJC Photo (Steelworks).pdf
              Millennium Dome Celebration (Sky TV).mp4
              BBC Radio 2 – Friday Night is Music Night - Lincoln Cathedral
  • 2000: Torch Processions of the Sydney Olympics, Cultural Olympiad and Sydney Opera House Australia Tour.mp4
  • 2001: Winners of the BBC Look North Community Choir Competition
            Visit to Newfoundland, Canada – Voices 500 Festival 
  • 2002: The first Holocaust Memorial Service at Westminster
  • 2005: Tour to France (Disneyland Paris, Notre Dame) Paris Tour 2005
             Music For Youth Festival – Mansfield               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNXIZza13Jk
​              60th Langollen International Musical Eisteddfod
              Benjamin Britten War Requiem – Louth Choral society
  • 2007: SCJC Training Choir was featured on CBBC’s “Take A Bow” 
             Visit and concert - Caerphilly
  • 2008: Overall Winner of BBC3 Choir of the Year
             Liverpool Philharmonic Hall Winners of Open Section – BBC Radio 3 
             BBC Choir of the Year Competition Final 2008 – Choir of The Year 2008.JPG

In an event recorded at London's Royal Festival Hall in December, Aled Jones hosts the final of the BBC Choir of the Year Competition, the culmination of the competition in 2008, which has attracted more than 5,000 singers from communities all over the country.
​              Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester
  • 2009: BBC Proms– Handel’s Messiah - Live from The Royal Albert Hall with a rehearsal at Durham University 4 days before travelling to London Proms2009
             Family Prom, directed by Sue Hollingworth and Julia Partington (née Regan)
             Tour to Boppard Germany
             Sing Up – Professional CD Recordings – distributed to schools nationally              BBC Radio 3 Choir and Organ: Sing Hallelujah/Choir of the Year 2010/Exile and Loss
             BBC Radio 4 Joan Armatrading’s Favourite Choirs 4/5
Cycle Song was a huge, outdoor community opera, commissioned by imove arts. Featuring a cast of local choirs, drama students and professional singers, this awe-inspiring mix of theatre, music, libretto and technical spectacle told the story of Albert "Lal" White - a Scunthorpe steelworker who won a silver medal in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics. It played over two nights in July 2012 to sold-out audiences of local residents at the Brumby Hall grounds in Scunthorpe. Directed by James Beale and Chloe Whitehead of Proper Job and with words and music by Ian McMillan and Tim Sutton respectively
https://www.stuartfreedman.com/-/photos/archives/uk-cycle-opera#media_fc22443c-8ce1-4a65-8b7a-d02c99a63d1d

             BBC Children in Need performance – The Baths Hall 
             BBC Children in Need Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiQLOtBZlB8&ab_channel=johnstevens
  • 2013: Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Learning and Participation for Cycle Song in Spring 2013.
  • 2014: France Tour - Mont Blanc France Tour 2014
             Sue Hollingworth Leaving Concert Sue's Leaving Video.mov
             http://www.scunthorpecoopjuniorchoir.org.uk/suersquos-leaversrsquo-concert.html
  • 2016: Edinburgh Fringe Tour – Holyrood Palace Edinburgh Tour 2016
  • 2017: Fountains Abbey visit and concert
             Voices Across The Humber – Hull City Hall               WW1 Commemoration - Winterton Community Pavilion 
  • 2019: Sue Hollingworth British Empire Medal for Services to Music
             UK Premieres for Alan Bullard and Oxford University Press of This is The Key and Song to the Moon
  • 2020: Disneyland Paris Tour – cancelled due to Covid 19 Lockdown
             Zoom rehearsals continued on reduced numbers with YouTube Performances and virtual concerts Zoom Image.jpg
             Lean on Me (for Key Workers), https://youtu.be/Jm7-0VLcqVg
             Leavers’ concert: Like a Singing Bird https://youtu.be/5rT2-gWab54
             Rotary Club Xmas Tree Festival – Looking for a Stable 
             Barnsley International Youth Choir Festival – Virtual Performance
             London Handel Festival – recordings & Virtual Performance – Messiah
             Hybrid rehearsals resumed with outdoor concerts and performances;
             Party in the Park, Normanby Hall – Training Choirs
             Freedom Concert – with Scunthorpe and District Choral Society & L’Estrange Jazz Band              The Singing Isle Project 
             Whitby Tour Whitby22.jpg
​             “There was a Child” Concert with Scunthorpe and District Choral Society, Lincoln Choral Society, Lindsey Chamber Orchestra                 & guests

Acknowledgements: We wish to thank the staff at the North Lincolnshire library, Museum and Grimsby archives and all those who contributed anecdotes, fond memories and photos We also acknowledge the valuable research and oral testimony from the late Yvonne Ellis (nee Larkin) into her family’s involvement in the music scene of North Lincolnshire,
We will continue building on this resource as a living digital archive of our local cultural arts heritage.