Sheila has her finale at the Carolthon in the Eastgate Centre after 46 years
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With Sheila Bruce’s record 46 years as accompanist for the Inverness Choral Society, no wonder at her last concert in November they serenaded her with Thank You For The Music!
But Sheila plays one last time at the Eastgate Centre on Saturday for their Carolthon.
A very young 80, Sheila has decided to end her time as the choir’s accompanist having chalked up a record over twice as long as anyone else in 102 years of the society!
But the answer to Sheila’s long service is easy – she has always loved the work.
From Thurso, Sheila came to Inverness from Shetland in 1975 when her husband Jim’s bank job brought the couple to Drumnadrochit.
A class teacher, Sheila also began to teach music at local schools, and in 1976 Sheila became rehearsal accompanist for Inverness Choral Society.
Over the years she has assisted many different conductors of the choral. And as well as accompanying at Inverness Opera Company, as it was previously known, Sheila also helped out with the Nurses’ Choir as well for the carol concert.
Sheila said: “I was in a car crash 45 years ago and my husband Jim sadly died. I had to move out of the bank house in Drumnadrochit which went with the job, but bought a little house in Inverness and have been very happy here ever since. I carried on teaching in Drum and Beauly and various other primaries and did Highers and Standard Grades in Glenurquhart High, but have been retired 20 years.
“Accompanying was probably my favourite thing of all and I always had that going on in the evenings. After Jim died there was no reason to stay in – so that was my social life as well.”
In last year’s Inverness Choral Society history book, Sheila revealed some anecdotes from her years with them.
Sheila probably saved the day when the tenor and broadcaster Jamie MacDougall came to sing with the choral, but forgot his music for one of the pieces.
Sheila writes: “I knew I’d played it with Charlie Sinclair [from the choral] who lived just round the corner, but he was a bass! I phoned Charlie, then had to transpose the piece up five keys, which I’m not used to doing, normally I would be transposing into a lower key!”
But everything went smoothly on the night.
At the choral’s two fundraising coffee mornings a year in the Town House, Sheila would play background music on the grand piano, amplified to draw people in and a young friend had a wishlist of tunes he loved.
Sheila writes: “I wasn’t that keen on being heard playing The Birdie Dance and The Hokey Cokey, but he was delighted, so that was fine!”
Sheila has decided to stop accompanying as her hearing is no longer 100 per cent, but has many music projects planned – maybe joining the nurses’ choir!
Sheila will play at Inverness Choral Society Carolthon on Saturday (Dec 17), 11am to 4pm in the Eastgate Centre, Phase One upstairs outside Chisholm Hunters. Partner charity is Mikeysline.
