It’s set to be a very special year for the Gloucestershire Police Male Voice Choir.

That’s because 2020 marks 50 years since they first began performing to audiences around the county and beyond.

To celebrate their Golden Jubilee, the choir has organised four charity concerts, under the title the ‘Four Seasons Concert Series’.

“50 years is a big deal, nothing lasts that long these days!” said Richard Hubble, who is leading the choir's 50th Anniversary organising committee.

“We wanted to do something really special to celebrate this notable milestone which would also give us some good recruitment and charity fundraising opportunities.”

The choir was originally set up, as the name suggests, for serving and retired members of Gloucestershire's constabulary.

However, after a few years this rule was relaxed, and the choir grew with members from all walks of life joining.

“I joined after seeing them perform at a concert,” continued Richard, who has been with the choir for around 3 and a half years now.

“We usually perform once or twice a month, and everyone always looks forward to getting together for rehearsals once a week and just having fun.”

The Four Seasons concerts will see the choir perform in Stroud, Cheltenham, Gloucester and Lydney over the span of nine months between March and November.

Each concert will represent one of the seasons, and they will also each raise money for four different charities – Meningitis Now, Heidi’s Heroes, The MS Society and Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice.

“We always like to support local charities, and also some of the bigger ones,” said Richard.

“We added up how much we’ve raised over the years and we estimate it’s around £750,000.”

The first of the choir’s Four Seasons Concert Series will be at St Laurence’s Church in Stroud on Friday 27th March.

So, what can audiences expect to hear on the night?

“We perform all sorts,” added Richard, “of course we do the classic male voice choir hymns and choral songs.”

“But then we also do pop songs, like ‘Mad World’ by Tears for Fears, ‘You Really Got Me’ by The Kinks, and ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen; and showtunes from Les Miserables, Mary Poppins and Chess — a real variety.

“We’ve also got some great compères for the Four Seasons concerts, like Sabet Choudhury from BBC Points West and Dominic Cotter from BBC Radio Gloucestershire, and some brilliant guest artists are performing with us too.”

For more information on the Gloucestershire Police Male Voice Choir and to get tickets for their upcoming concerts, visit www.gloucestershirepolicemvc.co.uk