A DEDICATED volunteer who has enjoyed a lifelong connection with the Inverclyde Music Festival has taken her final bow and stepped away from a role she made her own.

Greenock Telegraph: People of Inverclyde: Anne McGregor

Retired nursery head teacher Anne McGregor has been the beating heart of the competition for the last 14 years as secretary.

In her organising role she has helped guide the much-loved annual competition through the pandemic and back and battled volunteer shortages and financial hurdles along the way.

Her friend and fellow organiser Isabel Lind says Anne would 'never take time off' while pulling the festival together year after year.

One of her highlights was receiving international recognition for her outstanding service.

Anne, 75, who lives in Kilmacolm, said: "The festival has been a big part of my own life.

"I first performed at it in the choir when I was in P4 at Greenock Academy. We sang Evening is Coming. I then did a solo in my teens.

"The Music Festival is such a big part of children's lives growing up.

"We are so well supported by the local schools, it is quite unique. The attendance is always so high as well considering it takes place in January at the height of flu season.

"Inverclyde is a so-called area of deprivation but the children are always beautifully turned out and the behaviour is outstanding, they are a credit to their school and their parents.

"Parents are really invested in the festival as well and love to come along. I think this is because many of them have such fond memories of it themselves.

"I have watched so many talented musicians come through, they start out shy and grow in confidence every year.

"What is always important for me, is that the children taking part take something positive away from it. Our adjudicators always say something positive."

Together with Isabel, Anne has kept the running of the festival to an impeccably high standard, with the event costing £25,000 a year to stage and boasting internationally recognised adjudicators.

Anne's dedication was rewarded in 2018 when she was made a fellow of the British and International Federation of Festival for Music, Dance and Speech - a charity which supports almost 300 festivals across the world.

The festival is inclusive for all children taking part, with dozens of classes ranging from piano, guitar to musicals and chart hits.

Their programme moves with the times and never misses a beat, with a class for New Scots recently introduced.

Anne says music was always a big part of Anne's life growing up in Lilybank, Port Glasgow.

The daughter of Robert, a naval architect, and Janet, a secretary, she played the piano and the clarinet.

She went on to become a teacher, first in Hillend Primary, then assistant head in Slaemuir Primary, specialising in early years education.

Anne was head at Arthurlie Nursery in Barrhead for many years, then Lochwinnoch Primary before lecturing in Jordanhill.

Latterly she cared for her father and after his passing she set about finding her dream home in Kilmacolm and found a beautiful spot on Duchal Road.

She said: "I think there is a period of time when you do what you have to do with work commitments. Then there comes a lovely period in your life when you do what you want to do."

For Anne that has meant channelling her love of singing. She has been part of the Greenock Ladies Choir and joined the Bridge of Weir Choral Society and Greenock Philharmonic Choir.

Anne says her decision to step down from the festival was the right one.

She said: "My time as secretary was coming to an end, I think the festival has moved on. I felt it was time to pass it on."

Now she will spend her time sitting in the audience at the festival enjoying all the performances.

She said: "I am looking forward to supporting the festival as an audience member."