Seventy‑Voice Male Choir woos Edinburgh music lovers to Melrose
Edinburgh music‑lovers looking beyond the city’s usual concert circuit will have the chance to hear one of Yorkshire’s most distinctive choral ensembles later this month, as Leeds Male Voice Choir performs in Melrose Parish Church on Saturday 30 May at 19:30. The appearance forms part of a three‑date Borders tour that also includes Berwick and Kelso.
Just under an hour from the capital, Melrose Parish Church offers a markedly different listening experience from Edinburgh’s larger venues — an intimate, historic space with a warm acoustic and a long tradition of community music‑making. The concert brings around seventy singers to the town, presenting a contemporary male‑voice sound rarely heard at this scale in the region.
The choir has developed a distinctive blended tone and a modern approach to the male‑voice tradition, supported by Find Your Voice, a free introductory programme that has encouraged many newcomers into group singing and broadened the ensemble’s membership.
Under the direction of composer and conductor Tim Knight, the group has performed in notable venues across Northern England, including Lancaster Priory, Carlisle Cathedral, Leeds Town Hall, Doncaster Minster and Bridlington Priory. The ensemble has also sung in major European sacred spaces such as St Vitus Cathedral in Prague and St Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest, experiences that have shaped its musical identity and broadened its repertoire.
A warmly received visit to Dumfries in 2025 helped strengthen the choir’s developing relationship with Scottish audiences and the wider choral community.
The Melrose programme will include sacred repertoire, folk arrangements, contemporary choral works and lighter popular pieces.
Announcing the tour, Tim Knight said: “We’re delighted to be returning to the Borders and have heard so much about the warmth of the welcome. Melrose is a beautiful place to sing, and we hope the programme brings as much enjoyment as we know we’ll feel performing it.”
Melrose Parish Church, St Mary's Road, Melrose, TD6 9LJ — Saturday 30 May, 19:30
Kelso Old Parish Church, The Butts, Kelso, TD6 1LJ — Saturday 30 May, 14:00
Berwick Parish Church, Parade, Berwick-upon-Tweed, TD15 1DF— Friday 29 May, 19:30
Tickets: leedsmalevoicechoir.co.uk/tickets