The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Thomson-leng Musical Society have celebrated their 60th anniversary with a series of concerts. The amateur dramatic group was formed by DC Thomson employees.
The Thomson-leng Musical Society have celebrated their 60th anniversary with a series of concerts at the Space Theatre.
The amateur dramatic society was formed by DC Thomson employees at a meeting on March 16 1964 and first performed a production of Oklahoma shortly after.
Now, six decades on, the group is still going strong.
Originally, the society was solely for DC Thomson employees, however, it has since opened up to a wider membership.
First, friends and family of employees were admitted then eventually the society became fully inclusive to all with a passion for musical theatre.
In 1998, the society expanded and formed the Thomson-leng Youth Music Theatre which now has over 75 children under its wing.
Fast forward to 2024 and Thomson-leng now produces four shows a year and has celebrated its 60th birthday with a special series of concerts at the Space in Dundee and Angus College’s Kingsway campus.
Speaking before the concert, society vicepresident Nick Browne said: “The focus is on the family of Thomson-leng Musical Society.
“We wanted to celebrate the group and the community.
“It is very much about the harmony of the people and the harmony of the voices.
“The show has brought out a feeling of both a literal and metaphorical family within the society,” he said.
“We want to feel like a big family.”
For Nick it is very much a family affair, with his two sons and his wife all having been involved.
“I have been involved in the society since 2013,” said Nick.
“I was brought in by my son, who joined in 2011, and then my other son joined and my wife, too. “It’s a family affair. “We have quite a lot of children involved with their parents and quite a lot end up performing with the adults.
“We have times where we have had five or six families on stage at the same time.”
The vice-president finished by thanking those who have supported the group over the past six decades.
“We have to thank the parents and friends who help out back stage. It is so much more than the actual people singing on stage.
“There’s a whole support system who we rely on and we couldn’t do it without them.”
The concert, which ran from Wednesday to Saturday last week, was a celebration of the society’s past, with music from a number of previous shows being performed.
An invitation-only event on Friday allowed influential characters from the society’s history, including two of the founding members, to return to the stage and join in the festivities by cutting a ceremonial cake in celebration of the milestone.