THE Great Hall at Dartington was the venue for a special concert to launch the 2016 Poppy Appeal for the Royal British Legion last Saturday, and the Launceston Male Voice Choir were invited to sing at this prestigious event and location.

Almost 90 members of the choir and their supporters enjoyed the annual occasion that, this year, is all the more significant as it commemorates the centenary of the 1916 Battle of the Somme.

This was the first time the choir had been invited to sing at Dartington and its famous Great Hall. They were conducted by both their musical director John Beare and deputy musical director Jonathan Mann, and accompanied by Carole Baker.

They performed a wide range of suitable pieces from their repertoire to mark the occasion, including an item sung in Cornish. The soprano soloist, Cassie Jane, daughter of one of the choir members, also sang alone, accompanied by Liz Mann, and with the choir.

Every year the Devon branch of the Royal British Legion holds a special event to launch the Poppy Appeal; this year the choir shared the honour with the Arcadia Jazz Ensemble from Axminster.

The choir are now preparing for the forthcoming concert on Saturday, November 19, in Launceston Central Church, where over 100 choristers from four other Cornish Male Choirs will join them. This event will be in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Addington Fund that has been so successful in helping vulnerable people in local rural communities over the past decade or so.