A familiar face on the Cornish choir scene has been appointed as musical director for the Culdrose Military Wives Choir.

Paul Triggs takes up the baton from Georgina Davies in developing Cornwall’s only branch of the Military Wives Choir network.

Victoria Breen, chair of the choir known as the CuldRoses, said: “With 20 years’ experience directing choirs, and leading them to national standards, Paul stood out for us. His talents are well known in Cornwall, and we are absolutely delighted to have his skills as we work on further developing our sound and technique.”

Paul has been involved in choral singing for more than 40 years, having started out in the Marazion Apollo Male Choir under legendary musical director John J Matthews.

He trained as a classical tenor with Robert Bowman, retired principal tenor of the English National Opera, and also attended workshops with Molly Petrie from the Guildhall School of Music in London.

Paul has held long tenures directing Treverva Male Choir, City of Truro Male Choir and Penzance Orpheus Ladies Choir, leading them in performances across the county and abroad and also to win national competitions.

He has also been musical director of St Keverne Male Voice Choir.

He said: “This is an exciting new chapter for me. I have been impressed with the modern repertoire and performance techniques employed by the Culdrose ladies, and found their sound to be something very special, rarely found in community choirs such as this.

“I must pay credit to the great work of Georgina Davies in nurturing the choir, and I will take on this role with great pride and respect for the vital role that the choir performs in the military community.”

He added that with a busy performance season ahead, the choir was already “knuckling down” preparing some new pieces, and was looking forward to sharing its music across Cornwall.