HONLEY Male Voice choir will start a new year with a new musical director.
He is teacher Peter Lynch who will be 55 tomorrow.
Peter starts his new job with the choir on January 10 when the singers return from their Christmas break.
Though he has spent all his adult life in music and education, Peter has never been involved in the male voice choir world.
He has taught music for 36 years in a number of schools in Calderdale and was Head of Department for 30 of them.
Peter said:: “I am looking forward to the challenge.
“I have always enjoyed listening to male voice choirs and I am delighted to join a choir with such a great tradition.”
Born in Rossendale, Lancashire, Peter studied at Bretton Hall where he gained a degree in music and education. He was Director of Music at Rastrick High School for 10 years where he also promoted music within the local community, raising money for local and national charities and then held a similar post for 13 years at Rishworth School where he organised many overseas tours to Europe.
He directed choirs at every school where he taught and was Musical Director of many dramatic musical productions at most of them.
Peter, who has a son and daughter and a step daughter Amy, who is training to be an opera singer, lives in Krumlin with his second wife Rose.
She teaches at Crossley Heath Grammar School while Peter now teaches music at North Halifax Grammar School.
Outside school work Peter, who sings baritone or second tenor and has a grade 8 qualification as a trombonist, has been involved for some years with local amateur theatre.
He spent five years as musical director of the Halifax Light Opera Society and was also chorus master of the Halifax Amateur Theatre Youth and Senior Amateur Dramatic Society.
He is also a great lover of jazz, swing and the big band sound and for the last two years he has been musical director of the Calderdale Community Big Band which has an age range of 11 to 70.