How it all began - 1909
A New Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society for Doncaster
The Society is so lucky to have in its possession a concise history from its foundation in 1909 to the present day. We treasure the documentation written in the very first MINUTE BOOK which gives us an insight into the people who formed and managed the group on a day to day basis. There is also a wealth of information to be found written in newspaper articles, reviews and programme details at the time together with programme photographs of the committee and cast members. The Doncaster Gazette and the Doncaster Chronicle both gave very detailed accounts of the society’s production progress and featured articles about the society written prior to the show and during the show. They also reported on the outcomes of the society’s Annual General Meetings.
Prior to 1909 Doncaster enjoyed an active music scene which included the thriving Doncaster Musical and Orchestral Societies. Around this time the Doncaster & District Teachers Operatic Society existed but its foundation was short-lived.
According to a report in the Doncaster Gazette in 1909 the Teachers Society members was composed of the teachers of Doncaster and district and was intended as a dramatic society. It wrote that Mr Wilfrid E. Sanderson, Mus. Bac. FRCO had been invited to become the conductor and train the members for a performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan, one act operetta, ‘Trial by Jury’. Sadly, the society was dissolved. It was reported that the main fault had been in confining its membership to teachers together with the lack of support and voices to sing the operatic choruses together with a lack of much needed funds.
In a turn of fate, the Doncaster Amateur Operatic Society (DAOS) sprang, phoenix-like from the ashes of the Doncaster Teacher’s Operatic Society.
The inaugural meeting of the DAOS was held at The Glyn Hotel, Station Road, Doncaster on 4th February 1909. The Doncaster Gazette and the Doncaster Chronicle both reported that “a goodly number of people attended” under the presidency of Mr. Wilfrid E. Sanderson, Mus. Bac. FRCO and included past members of the former Teacher’s Operatic Society, the Doncaster Musical and Orchestral Societies and other musically inclined people who all gave support to the formation of a new society in Doncaster.
Mr. Wilfrid E. Sanderson,
Mus. Bac. FRCO
Wilfrid Sanderson appeared to have been a major force in the musical world of Doncaster. His adverts appeared regularly in the local newspapers as a teacher of music, piano, organ and voice both in Doncaster and London. He admitted that his own experience was limited to five years in London as conductor of the Thalian Operatic Society which was a “very flourishing society indeed”.
The DAOS wanted the society to be a practical one, not a nominal one. It did not want people to put their names in the books if they could not attend rehearsals and insisted all members should be ready to put their hands in their pockets and “push the thing along”, and not leave it to two or three people.
After much discussion Mr. Rees proposed and Mr A. Stacey seconded, that a society be formed and called the Doncaster Amateur Operatic Society (DAOS). The motion was supported by Miss Cock who had been a prime mover in the Teacher’s Society and the motion was carried unanimously by the 48 ladies and gentleman present.
Two proposals were made as to subscriptions, one of 7s 6d per annum (about 38p) the other of 5 shillings per annum about (25p). The latter was adopted. The members would also be required to provide their own music.
The Officials were appointed and Mr Wilfrid E. Sanderson was elected as chair and also unanimously elected as Honorary Conductor. Mr A. Stacey was elected as Honorary Secretary and allowed to nominate his own assistant. Mr H.W.C. Drury was asked to act as Honorary Stage Manager and Mr R. Stennett was elected Treasurer. A Committee of six ladies and six gentlemen were also elected.
It was decided to hold rehearsals on Monday evenings, a tradition which continues to this day. The venue was left to be decided upon later and turned out to be the Temperance Hall.
We still rehearse on a Monday evening, a tradition we’ve maintained for over 100 years!
There had of course been other dramatic works performed in the town but no amateur effort on the scale of a Comic Opera had been seen in Doncaster and the surrounding areas for many years.
Wilfrid E. Sanderson already had a well-established world-wide musical career when he agreed to become the society’s conductor and musical director for its first production, ‘The Mikado’ in 1910. He remained in office until his death in December 1935. His last production was ‘The Lilac Domino’ in February 1935. It is said that his great influence and enthusiasm together with his outstanding teaching ability was responsible for the Society’s continued success. He was very well respected and one article noted “as soon as he stepped to the front and raised his baton, he had the chorus and orchestra in the hollow of his hand.”
The Grand Theatre, Doncaster - photo credit: Behind Closed Doors