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CONCERT REPORTS 2010
Click HERE for 2009 Concert Reports
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Go directly to the concert of your choice by clicking on the link below, and click on thumbnails to see photos full size. |
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| Wednesday 28th July | "Let Paul Robeson Sing", Brynaman |
| Saturday 24th July | Fishguard Music Festival |
| Sunday 4th July | Gŵyl Fawr Aberteifi |
| Friday 2nd July | St. Michael's Church, Manselton |
| Saturday 12th June | Sacred Heart Centre, Morriston |
| Saturday 22nd May | St Matthew's Church, Bristol |
| Saturday 15th May | Tabernacle Chapel, Morriston |
| Saturday 17th April | St Mary's Church, Ross-on-Wye |
| Saturday 10th April | St David's Church, Neath |
| Saturday 20th March | Old Swinford Hospital School,Stourbridge |
| Friday 19th February | St John's Church, Gowerton |
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28th
July 2010 Paul Robeson is a name well known throughout the World, and especially in Wales due to his connection with and support for the mining community in the mid-1900s. He also starred in several films, including "Proud Valley" which told the story of a mining village, and the film was being shown at the Centre today. This exhibition was arranged by the South Wales Miners' Library to celebrate his life, and as it was attended by his grand-daughter Susan Robeson we were particularly delighted to be invited to sing for her and give her a taste of Welsh culture. We sang various pieces before and after the lunch break which delighted her and the many visitors. We congratulate the organisers on the material and the layout of the exhibition which brought back memories for many choristers and opened the eyes of many more to Paul Robeson's contribution to civil rights and social justice, including Wales and her people. It is due to go on-line soon, so if you missed it this time round you will be able to catch it on the World-Wide Web. Our thanks go to Siân Tucker and Wyn Churchill of the Black mountain Centre for their warm welcome and generous hospitality.
There are more
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24th
July 2010 The Fishguard International
Music Festival is a prestigious annual 8-day event which attracts top
soloists and orchestras, including this year, pianists Peter Donohoe and
LLŷr Williams, the Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of
Wales, and the National Youth Orchestra of Wales. We were delighted
therefore to be invited to perform in Hermon Chapel, where we last
appeared two years ago as part of a different festival. Also performing in the Concert was the renowned organist Alistair Young who, in addition to solo performances, has appeared with many symphony and concert orchestras around the world, and with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein and Simon Rattle. He can currently be heard regularly on BBC Radio 2's "Friday Night Is Music Night". After many concerts on the huge Royal Albert Hall organ, the one in Hermon provided him with a different challenge, to which he rose superbly as he played pieces by Bach, Ireland, Vidor (his challenging Toccata) and the amusing Sortie in E Flat by Léfebure-Wély. It was a refreshing change for us to hear and enjoy an instrumental performance. The "afterglow" in the Fishguard Bay Hotel was arranged and provided by the Festival organisers, and we would like to thank them for this and for the buffet which greeted us on our arrival in Fishguard in the afternoon. A large wedding party at the hotel had commandeered all the chairs and blocked the access road, but these problems were soon overcome and a good time was had by all before we returned home. Our non-Welsh-speaking Accompanist even joined in most of the chorus of a Welsh hymn, although he claimed to be "too much of a man to reach the high notes"!
There are some more photos
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4th
July 2010 On the first of two visits to west Wales this month we headed over Mynydd Preseli to Teifi Leisure Centre to sing at the closing concert of Gŵyl Fawr Aberteifi, the most historic Eisteddfod in Wales. Our programme of eleven pieces was conducted by our Musical Director, D. Huw Rees, and accompanied on the piano by our own Accompanist, Hywel Evans. Due to the layout of the venue we had plenty of exercise as we left and re-took the stage for each of the solists to perform. Our Chairman Seiriol Evans eased these transitions by addressing the audience and telling them something about the Choir as we reorganised. The quality of Soprano Adele O'Neill's performance showed no signs of her stressful journey to Cardigan, having broken down en route. She sang operatic arias by Mozart, Bellini and Gounod and was accompanied by Hywel Evans, who came up trumps again as he skillfully sight-read the accompaniments. Baritone Gwynedd Parry was accompanied by his wife, Meinir, as he sang a variety of operatic, musical show and traditional Welsh music. He and Adele sang a duet before we joined them in "Diolch i'r Iôr". We would like to thank the ladies of Gŵyl Fawr Aberteifi for providing us with an excellent pre-concert buffet, and Cardigan Rugby Club for their hospitality before we returned home, just managing to squeeze our huge coaches through Cenarth's bridge over the Teifi in the dark.
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Friday 2nd July 2010 The first of two concerts
this weekend, this evening's was the Annual Concert of Waun Wen Old
Pupils' Association. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress,
Richard and Angela Lewis were guests at the concert, and an example of the
Mayor's sartorial elegance can be seen in a photo if you click on this Deputy Musical Director, Helen Wyn, was our Conductor tonight, and under her control (according to the audience) we produced an excellent programme for the large audience, including our first public performance of the spiritual "My Lord, What A Mornin'". Our accompanist was Hywel Evans, and Huw Roberts was the soloist in "Halelujah". The boys and girls of Waun Wen Primary School Choir were conducted by Liz McDonnell and accompanied by Bethan Roberts. They have a senior and a junior choir, and both put on performances which showed how hard they and the staff have worked in preparation for this concert. Their programme varied from typical children's songs to songs from musical shows such as "Oliver". One little girl in the front row managed to reach some of the highest notes by standing on tip-toe! The Compère for the evening, Jonathan Lycett, would have enjoyed their "Oliver" songs as he has recently appeared in the show himself. He kept the audience (and us) amused with several stories each time there was a pause as we changed places with the children. At the end of the concert the Association's Chairlady presented donations to the School and to the Lord Mayor of Swansea's charities.
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Saturday 12th June
2010
This concert for Salvation Army funds was attended by our Choir, inSpirit male Christian Choir from Tennessee and southern Georgia USA, young singer from Haverfordwest, Aaron Lewis, and of course the Morriston Citadel Salvation Army Band. We always know we are in
for a good concert when the Salvation Army is involved, and this was no
exception. The evening began with the communal singing of the National
Anthem of the USA followed by Blaenwern, and the programme was split in
two halves with inSpirit
featuring in the first and Morriston RFC Choir in the second. The Salvation Army Band, under Chris Lear, put on their usual polished performance, with pieces varying from Canteloube's "Songs of the Auvergne" to Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" from his 9th Symphony, interspersed with traditional brass band pieces - and even one with a Mexican flavour. The surprise of the evening was the rich voice of 14-year-old Aaron Lewis from Haverfordwest, whose powerful performance had the audience spell-bound. When he took the stage we had not expected such a voice from so slight a frame, and his programme of music mainly from the shows and Sinatra-style ballads showed why he aspires to sing in West End theatres. He proved he has control when he sang "Send In The Clowns", also one of Sinatra's. We wish him luck with the National Youth Music Theatre's London production of "Sweeney Todd", and we have no doubt that he will achieve his dream. Our own Choir, resplendent in new trousers and a redesigned Choir tie, was accompanied and conducted in turn by our Musical Director D. Huw Rees and his Deputy Helen Wyn as we sang seven pieces from our repertoire. The soloist in "Hallelujah" was our bass Huw Roberts. The two choirs joined forces at the end of each half in singing the "Pilgrims' Chorus" from Wagner's Tannhaüser, and Morte Criste ("When I survey the wondrous cross"), which was accompanied by the Band. Despite only having had a brief rehearsal together the previous evening both pieces worked well and received much applause. Following various presentations of gifts between the choirs (including an inSpirit uniform for D. Huw Rees, which we look forward to seeing him in soon) the evening was brought to a close with the Welsh National Anthem conducted by Gerald Peel, who had even learned the words. We wish him, his Choir and their supporters a safe journey home and thank them for their part in making the evening a really special one. It is to be hoped that we will be able to accept their invitation to sing in their "back yard" one day.
We hope to be able to add more photos soon. |
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Saturday
22nd May 2010 The hottest day of the year so far saw us heading over the Severn Bridge for a concert in St Matthew's Church for SADS UK (Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome), a condition which can result in sudden death from previously unknown heart problems for people of all ages. The church had been divided in two horizontally, and although the layout was strange at first it seemed to work well and it was accoustically good. We were joined by the
excellent 15-year-old soprano Kate Harwood from Morriston who interrupted
her GCSE preparations to sing with us. One of her songs was "As Long
As He Needs Me" from "Oliver", which she had sung in Welsh
in her role as Nancy in her school's production. Kate is due to appear on
S4C's Noson Lawen soon and we look forward to seeing her performance. Our post-concert buffet in Clevedon Football Club was rather different from the usual "afterglow", as they were preparing to open the club as a night club as we left. Although this prevented us from having our customary sing-song, it did give a couple of our most senior members a chance to show the local girls a few dance-floor moves. No names, but Percy and Tal, you know who you are! Anne Jolly and Ann Lillis of SADS had worked very hard to arrange the concert so it was rather disappointing that many of their invited guests couldn't make it on this warm evening. It is to be hoped that they have made generous financial contributions to the cause instead. Photos will follow, but in
the meantime there are many in our |
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Saturday
15th May 2010
Our Annual Concert is the culmination of twelve months hard work and preparation, and as they left Tabernacle Chapel many of our regular followers told us this was one of the best. We Choristers agreed and felt we had played our part in an exceptional evening. Click on the thumbnails below.
More photos can be viewed on our
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Saturday 17th April
2010
St. Mary's Church in
Ross-on-Wye is one of the most picturesque in our portfolio of venues.
Standing on a bluff overlooking the meadows and river on one side, and
the town on the other, its spire is a familiar landmark for miles
around. So we were delighted to have been invited back by the Town Band
to join them for the third time in their April Concert on a sunny and
warm spring day. The
vertigo-inducing staging is becoming familiar to us now, and although it
enables us to have a good view of our conductor, it did seem like
ascending the north face of the Eiger to a couple of slightly less
spritely choristers!
We sang a selection from our repertoire, accompanied by Hywel at the piano, with our bass Huw Roberts singing the solo part in Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. The Ross-on-Wye Town Band were at their usual mellow-sounding best with a varied programme, including Autumn Leaves featuring solo euphonium player Jo Hanley. Their first piece made us feel at home as it was entitled Castell Coch, after the fairy-tale Victorian castle just off the M4 near Cardiff. Soprano soloist Jennifer Walker has sung with us at this venue before, and from time to time she partners our Deputy Accompanist, Rhiannon Pritchard, in Live Music Now, which aims to take music to the community. Jennifer described each piece before she sang it, which enabled us to enjoy her singing even more. We are grateful to the Band for inviting us again, and we hope, after the success of this year's Concert, that we will have the honour to perform with them again. As usual on these occasions our thanks go to all the people behind the scenes, especially the ladies who provided us with such a welcoming spread, and to the Bowls Club for their hospitality after the Concert. This successful evening
bodes well for our Annual Concert in Tabernacle Chapel, Morriston on May
15th, when any profit after expenses is retained by the Choir to enable
us to continue singing free of charge for the many charitable causes we
support throughout the year.
You can find more
photos by clicking on this
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Old Swinford Hospital School, Stourbridge, West Midlands This was our first "away" concert of 2010 and we were privileged to have been invited by the Headmaster, ex- Swansea Valley boy, Peter Jones, to take part in another "first" - the inaugural public concert in the School's magnificent new Foleyan Centre. The following is an extract from the School's website, which explains the ethos of the School.
The concert was organised to raise funds for the local Mary Steven's Hospice and the Stourbridge Rotary International charity, and two bus-loads of choristers and supporters gave up the chance to see Wales defeat Italy as we headed up the M5 - with the game on Radio Wales, of course. Under the baton of our MD, D.Huw Rees, and accompanied by Hywel Evans, we sang a varied programme, including Welsh hymns, songs from musicals, and even one in Zulu. Our Bass soloist Huw Roberts also entertained the capacity audience with a selection from his growing repertoire. The young musicians of the Old Swinford Swing Band, under their MD Tony Bridgewater, gave a polished performance that we would have expected to have heard from a much more mature group of musicians, and they had the audience tapping their feet as they played several well-known pieces.
We would like to thank Peter Jones, his staff and pupils for the warm welcome and excellent hospitality, both before and after the concert, and we hope we will be asked to return before too long. We also compliment him on the selection of liquid refreshment he provided to lubricate our "afterglow" and to speed us on our homeward journey. More photos on our
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St. John's Church, Gowerton, Swansea If the Prime Minister wants to sort out the country's debt he need look no further than Joan Lewis MBE! This bundle of energy organised tonight's concert to raise funds for the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Baby Unit at Singleton Hospital. Three of Joan's grandchildren have been successfully treated at the unit, so it is a cause very close to her heart. Following her success with the Neath Port Talbot Cancer Challenge Singers, Joan founded her new choir, Voices in Harmony, and we were delighted to be invited to support them at this fund-raiser, our first concert of 2010.
All tickets had been sold, and the church was filled to overflowing with a most appreciative audience who thoroughly enjoyed the varied programme, and there was more than one standing ovation! Conducted by our Musical Director D.Huw Rees, we sang a variety of pieces, ranging from English to Welsh to Zulu and Latin, two of them having their first public performance, and our Accompanist Hywel Evans had a busy night again, moving back and forth from piano to organ. The Choir's Vice Chairman, Robert Harwood, compèred the evening in his usual humorous style, informing the audience about the stories behind pieces we were about to sing and keeping them laughing between the performances. Voices in Harmony were conducted by Joan and accompanied by Julie Dobbins and Diane Williams on pianos, and Robert Howells on drums. Their animated performances of "Rhythm of Life" and "Gonna Wash That Man Right Out'a My Hair" went down particularly well, especially the latter with so many ladies in the audience. We were also treated to excellent performances by soloists Claire Powell (Soprano) and Nigel Hopkins (Baritone), both accompanied at the piano by Joan Lewis. Claire's programme ranged from Puccini to John Rutter, and Nigel's spanned the years between Verdi and Schonberg's "Les Miserables".
Such was the success of the concert that a cheque for £1,500 was presented to Dr. Carol Sullivan of the Unit, and this will go to help fund the purchase of a specialist video laryngoscope.
Our grateful thanks go to the ladies from the church who kept us supplied with tea and coffee, and to the choristers of Voices in Harmony for the excellent post-concert buffet they laid on for us in the church hall. They had even cut the crusts off the sandwiches! |
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©2010 Morriston RFC Male Voice Choir Registered Charity No.1069650 Tel.01639 637932 morristonrfcchoir@tiscali.co.uk
"Founded by Thomas Foley, an ironmaster from the Great Witley Estate in Worcestershire, Old Swinford Hospital opened in the late summer of 1670.
Foley’s vision was the education of 60 boys from ‘poor but honest’ families drawn from local parishes.
Upon his death, the school was left to a group of trustees, also known as Feoffees, Thomas’ sons among them. This tradition has survived the centuries and the Feoffees, including three direct descendants of the founder, retain an
active involvement in the school today. 
