The Kevock Choir story

Our choir dates back to 1967, when students who were leaving Lasswade High School wanted to keep up the singing they had enjoyed in the school choir under principal of music Alex Elrick. Alex agreed to help them form a new former pupils’ choir.

Soon the choir opened its doors to other interested singers, and adopted the name Kevock – the picturesque valley of the River Esk where it flows between Loanhead and Lasswade, towns served by the high school. “Edinburgh” was added to the name much later, to help identify the choir when on tour, but the choir is still popularly known simply as the Kevock Choir.

High ambitions

The choir quickly gained fame as a vibrant, young, talented group, winning prizes in competitions across Great Britain, including the Eisteddfod in Llangollen. Ever ambitious, Alex Elrick’s next goal was to take the season’s climax, the Annual Concert, out of Lasswade High and into the Usher Hall, Edinburgh’s principal concert hall, for the choir’s 10th anniversary. To do this he set about recruiting many new members, including from Edinburgh and further afield – often people attracted by hearing the choir perform in aid of their local church or other good cause. The move paid off, and the choir has performed its Annual Concert in Edinburgh ever since, albeit more recently (especially since the Covid pandemic) in smaller venues.

Another major undertaking came in 1982 when the choir took part in the world-famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo, singing the anthem in the 1812 Overture through cannons firing from the castle ramparts – truly an experience not to be forgotten! We then performed in the Berlin Tattoo in 1988 and 1992; later in the 1990s the choir was invited back to the Edinburgh Tattoo as part of the Scottish entertainment, and took part each year for over a decade until 2007.

Three leaders

In almost 60 years the Kevock Choir has been led by only three conductors, all principal teachers of music in schools in Edinburgh or Midlothian. Alex Elrick – awarded the MBE in 1991 – retired in 1995, along with his accompanist wife Margaret, to be succeeded by Norman Adam, who guided the choir through to the millennium. Since 2000 our conductor has been Graham Lovett, who for a time in the 1980s was a tenor member (and soloist) with the choir, and who returned after founding and leading two other successful choirs.

Supporting young talent

Since the 1990s the choir has made a point of giving a platform to young professional singers and other promising musicians, regularly engaging them as guest artistes at principal concerts. Our present conductor Graham Lovett has also been active with youth choirs and in assisting contests for emerging young local talent in Midlothian and Edinburgh.

Charity record

Apart from its Annual Concert and Christmas Concert, most of the choir’s performances are given in aid of charity. In total over its lifetime the choir, itself a registered charity, has helped raise an estimated £400,000-plus for good causes. Its annual appearance in the St Giles@Six programme now coincides with Homelessness Sunday, and thousands of pounds have been raised there for homelessness charities. Also, in 2005 we sang in the “Live 8” concert in Murrayfield stadium, alongside Kathryn Jenkins.

Much travelled

From the 1970s onwards the choir formed links with other choirs, making exchange visits around England and then to Germany and the Netherlands. Other foreign tours took us to the USA, Canada and Denmark. In 1998 the choir represented Scotland as choirs from the then Five Nations Rugby Championship marked the opening of the Stade de France in Paris. Under Graham Lovett we have toured and performed in Ireland, Spain, Hungary and Paris; more recent shorter trips have seen us give concerts in Northern Ireland and the north and north-east of Scotland.

The Kevock family

The pull of the Kevock is a strong one. A few of those former pupil members from the very early days are still in the choir; other members have achieved long service awards of 25, 40 or even 50 years. The term “Kevock family” has often been used to describe the bond our singers feel with the choir and with each other, sharing and supporting through major life events.

Singing is fun!

One constant throughout the choir’s life has been the quality and variety of its programme. We enjoy tackling both classical and contemporary arrangements, embracing Scottish and other folk songs, religious pieces, choral settings of popular music – and some compositions that have just been done for a bit of fun. Ever on the lookout for something different, Graham Lovett always manages to come up with one or two surprises for our Annual Concert!

As we look to the future, we recognise the importance of maintaining strong links with the communities in our home area of Midlothian, while continuing to attract singers, and audience, from across Edinburgh and the Lothians. While nowadays there are many more counter-attractions, and claims on people’s time, there is no doubt that choir singing remains a popular activity – and one that is increasingly recognised as highly beneficial to your mental health and sense of wellbeing. We would be delighted to welcome you either as an audience member or a prospective singer.

We hope you can see why singing with the Kevock Choir has meant so much to so many of us through the years. Would you like to be part of the next chapter in our story? Due to members retiring the choir is always looking to recruit. Find out more here