1961. Julian Armitage-Smith resigned and Desmond Swinburn became conductor.
1963. Owing to the exceptionally severe weather, attendance during the winter was erratic. In the Leigh Hill Festival DMS came first for sight-reading, second in the men’s song (with two tenors and four basses!), and third on aggregate. Finances at this time were modest. The conductor and pianist received 11 guineas and 6 guineas respectively and the Society’s balance was generally under £163.10. Instead of the usual December concert, a small concert/social evening was held, including a performance of Purcell’s ‘Disclesian’ with solo parts taken by members of the choir.
1964. A Christmas concert in St. Martin’s attracted an audience of over 300 to hear Bach’s ‘Magnificat’ and Britten’s ‘A Ceremony of Carols’.
1965. Things were looking up! The end of the season showed a balance of £163.12 2s 10d (‘the best for several years’), membership increased to 49 (including six tenors), and the choir came first in LHMF! However, in July Desmond Swinburn resigned and Julian Armitage-Smith returned for a second term as conductor.
1967-68. In 1967 the choir had 53 members and again came first in LHMF. These improved results brought promotion to the Advanced Division for the 1968 Festival.
1969-71. The 1969 season began with six basses and just one tenor! However, new singers were recruited and the choir reached a strength of 62. In 1971 DMS gave a joint concert with the Dorking Bach Choir and went on to win the Festival. Mrs Owen Radford, the Society’s loyal accompanist for 18 years, resigned.
1972. RVW Centenary Year. In January, DMS again joined forces with Dorking Bach Choir and gave a performance of Bach’s ‘St. John Passion’. Five members were also chosen to take part in the RVW Centenary Concert held at the Dorking Halls in October. The Society celebrated its own Fiftieth Anniversary with a concert held in December at Mowbray School hall. The choir sang Schubert ‘Song of Miriam’ and three Haydn part-songs. The orchestra played Haydn’s Symphony No. 70 and Ruth Dyson joined them to play Mozart’s piano concerto in B flat K.456.
1974. The centenary of St. Martin’s Church was celebrated in November by a performance of Bach’s B Minor Mass, given by DMS together with members of other choirs.
1975. DMS joined the newly-formed Dorking and District Arts Association.
1976. Julian Armitage-Smith resigned and was replaced by Allen Ferns. Within a short time, Julian Armitage-Smith sadly died. The choir purchased a silver salver in his memory and this has been awarded to the winners of the LHMF Advanced Division since 1978. The Dorking Oriana choir disbanded and some of its members joined DMS instead.
1979. The choir was renamed Dorking Choral Society. Allen Ferns was appointed Resident Warden of the Royal School of Church Music and Robert Marsh became conductor in his place.