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CONCERT REPORTS - 2011
Click HERE for 2009 Concert Reports. Click HERE for 2010 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 7th December | Doorways Concert, Morriston |
| Saturday 3rd December | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
| Friday 18th November | St. Peter's Civic Hall, Carmarthen |
| Thursday 10th November | Greenfield Chapel, Llanelli |
| Sunday 6th November | National Waterfront Museum, Swansea |
| Saturday 5th November | Festival of Remembrance, Cardiff |
| Saturday 22nd October | All Saints Church, Oystermouth, Swansea |
| Friday 30th September | St. Samlet's Church, Llansamlet, Swansea |
| Saturday, 3rd September | Milford Haven Music Festival Concert |
| Saturday, 2nd July | Gŵyl Fawr Aberteifi |
| Saturday 21st May | Seion Newydd Chapel, Morriston |
| Saturday 14th May | Llanelli Proms |
| Saturday 30th April | St Mary's Church, Llanfair Caereinion |
| Saturday 23rd April | Wedding of Rachael Thomas & Ryan McGregor |
| Saturday 2nd April | 28th Annual Concert |
| Saturday 19th March | 100th Birthday Celebration |
| Friday 11th March | Urdd Concert, Manor Park, Clydach |
| Saturday 5th March | Rotary, Pill Social Centre, Milford Haven |
| Saturday 5th February | Urdd Concert, Morriston |
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SACRED
HEART CENTRE, MORRISTON, SWANSEA Once again, a very good audience turned out to support the annual Doorways Concert at the Sacred Heart Centre, Morriston. They were treated to a very accomplished and enthusiastic performance by Cwmrhydyceirw Primary School Choir under the direction of Ruth Evans and Craig Rees. The performance of "Make You Feel My Love" was particularly moving and well received, as were all the items. The children obviously enjoyed themselves and are to be congratulated on the standard of their singing. Guest artist, Christopher Hughes was a great success and charmed the audience with his personality and outstanding voice. His performance of "Somewhere" (West Side Story) and "Complainte de la Butte" (Moulin Rouge) was particularly good but his final item, "O Holy Night", had the audience clapping, stamping their feet and demanding an encore. Modest Christopher was not prepared for an encore so he treated us to a repeat of "O Holy Night", much to the delight of everyone. Christopher was beautifully accompanied by our own Hywel Evans. Christopher is a native of Loughor and a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He has a great future a we hope we get the opportunity to appear with him again. Seventy one choristers turned out under the baton of Huw Rees and took the opportunity to sing some of our Christmas items as well as some of the more established repertoire. Hywel Evans gave his usual polished performance which helped the choir give a good account of themselves. We finished the concert with another fine performance of "Brenin y Sêr" featuring soloist Huw Roberts which, as is now becoming customary, had a tremendous audience reaction. After the concert, several members of the audience were kind enough to compliment us on our performance. The whole evening was held together by compère Hywel Lewis who, this year, had some new jokes, to his usual standard, which got laughs and groans from the audience in equal measure, particularly from his wife and granddaughter who made up an appreciative audience. Father Jason Jones
gave the closing prayer and everyone went home having enjoyed a thoroughly
entertaining evening. |
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MILLENNIUM
STADIUM, WALES v AUSTRALIA A large contingent joined
members of 43 other choirs to form a massed choir of over 1,700 voices to
entertain the crowd at this game, which turned out to be Shane Williams's
last one for Wales. The conductor was Dr. Haydn James, and accompaniment
was provided by the Band of the Royal WelshWith the roof closed, the sound
was awesome, and apart from our performance before the game, we also broke
into song during it to encourage the
crowd and the teams. There are some photos on
our |
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ST.
PETER'S CIVIC HALL, CARMARTHEN Carmarthen was a busy place on Friday night, with a Burlesque show in the Lyric Theatre, the switching on of the town's Christmas lights, Father Christmas, and this event. We were pleased therefore to see a capacity audience in the hall as Carmarthen Amateur Operatic Society celebrated their 120th Anniversary with this concert. Our invitation to sing for them might have had something to do with the fact that the Society's Musical Director, Helen Wyn, is also the Choir's Deputy MD. It was something of a Wyn family affair as the evening's Compère was her husband Eirian, and her daughter Flur was the guest soprano soloist. With Hywel Evans accompanying on the piano, Helen conducted us in her chosen programme of mainly light music, in keeping with the Society's own choice of music from their previous productions over the years. Our bass soloist Huw Roberts coped admirably as he sang "If I Were A Rich Man" to the accompaniment of fireworks outside as the Christmas lights were switched on. He also sang the solo in "Brenin y Sêr". Members and friends of the Society sang and acted various chorus and solo pieces from their repertoire, and one of the most assured performances was by little Serena (see photos) who sang and acted her song with confidence and charm. Their accompanist was Sarah Thomas who also sang her solos beautifully. The show's producer Marc Skone performed his own solos powerfully and passionately, bringing his characters to life before us. Flur Wyn's clear tones were greatly appreciated by the audience as she sang her selection, accompanied by Helen. She sang with the Choir several years ago, so it was good to hear her again and appreciate how her voice has developed. Helen works hard with the Choir throughout the year, and has an unenviable journey from home to Morriston on dark, wet evenings, so it was fitting that this concert in her own "back yard" should have been so successful and well received. The Society is also known as CAOS, but this evening was anything but chaotic and we hope to be invited to perform for them again in the future.
Some photos
may be viewed on our |
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GREENFIELD
CHAPEL, LLANELLI Those of you familiar with the Neath/Swansea/Llanelli area must be aware of the bundle of energy and enthusiasm that is Joan Lewis. Joan has raised huge sums of money for various good causes, including the Special Care Baby Unit in Swansea's Singleton Hospital, cancer charities, and many others. Tonight's concert was for another cause close to Joan's heart - Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, so we were privileged to be invited to be part of this fund-raising evening - especially as it was "over the border" in "rival" country! We shared the bill with Joan's own ladies' choir Voices In Harmony, Bryn Primary School Choir, and soprano Eve Dalling-Owen. The evening's Compère was comedian Denys Jenkins, otherwise known as Denny Twp, which means "daft" in English. Denny is a regular pantomime star in this area and he interspersed his introductions with some cleverly chosen jokes, which had even the most cynical grumpy old men splitting their sides. Our programme included traditional Welsh music and West End show songs, and ended with "Brenin Y Ser" (King Of The Stars) with our bass soloist obviously impressing the large audience. The ladies gave their usual polished performance, with a couple of Broadway numbers including - much to our consternation - "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair"! The youngsters of Bryn
Primary School included some who had only recently moved up to the
"big school", and led by their teacher/conductor Chris Potter
they had the audience eating out their hands. To listen to a choir so
young is not only a musical treat, but also a visual one as concentration
occasionally wanders to parents in the gallery. As Denny Twp said, it is
to be hoped that their enthusiasm will stay with them as they progress
through school and beyond. Well done to you all, and thank you for the
entertainment. Our thanks and greatest respect go to Joan, and to the Llanelli Committee of the Association for all their hard work, and we thank them for the post-concert refreshments before our short journey back across the River Loughor. Some photos
may be found on our |
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NATIONAL
WATERFRONT MUSEUM, SWANSEA As part of a rugby-themed weekend at the Museum, we were invited to entertain visitors each side of a very amusing talk by international rugby referee Nigel Owens. Our Deputy Musical Director Helen Wyn was in charge, and Hywel Evans accompanied as we sang two half-hour slots, with a varied choice of music from our repertoire. The soloist in "Brenin y Ser" was our bass Huw Roberts. Not knowing quite what to expect, we were pleased to see a large audience, most of whom stayed for our second session, and we sold several CDs. Nigel Owens gave a very interesting and amusing account of his life and experiences as a top referee, and admitted that it was the "cleaned-up" version of his usual after-dinner performances! It was followed by a question and answer session in which he very cleverly dealt with one inevitable one about Alain Roland's sending-off of Sam Warburton in the recent World Cup. The second largest laugh of the afternoon was when one lady asked him if he was married. This was only beaten into second place by the response to his reply to the next question about his thoughts on Gavin Henson - "Well, I'd marry him". Some
photos are on our |
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WALES FESTIVAL
OF REMEMBRANCE This annual festival and service organised for the Royal British Legion is always a mixture of entertainment and solemn reflection. We have been invited to take part with the massed choirs on several occasions, and this year a staunch core of singers headed for a fairly long, but enjoyable, day in the capital. The line up for afternoon rehearsal showed that a couple of choirs among the 13 invited (including two from the Midlands) had been unable to attend, which resulted in much seating re-organisation by the Choir Marshall, Phil Lloyd, who is adept at sorting out such situations with dexterity and aplomb. Confusion among some choirs as to what dress code was required in each half resulted in a swift compromise to suit all. The first half, wittily compered by Roy Noble, followed the usual format of choir, band, and soloists. This year's female soloist was Shân Cothi, who sang a selection of Ivor Novello songs to carry the audience back a few years. We were treated to an original version of Barber's "Adagio" by teenage guitarist Harri Davies from Cardiff, and the current Royal Harpist Hannah Stone from Swansea played a fantasy on a familiar piece of music. It was a pleasure to hear the visiting guest choir Chor Pocodnia from Poland sing a piece by one of their national composers, Jerzy Kolackowski. The massed choir was joined by the Youth Choir in the moving "Mansions Of The Lord" from the film "We Were Soldiers", and Shân Cothi and the massed Choir joined forces in the rousing "Battle Hymn Of The Republic". The second half followed the usual pattern, taking the form of a religious service of remembrance, with the Parade of Standards and the Muster Parade, followed by the silence and fluttering poppies. Following the Festival we adjourned to the Level 5 bar and managed to keep the staff longer than they would have wished, before returning home feeling we had played our part in commemorating those who have kept, and continue to keep, us safe and free.
Some photos
may be found on our |
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Saturday,
22nd October Swansea and West Wales Cancer Aid Society are an extremely active group, and over the years they have raised over half a million pounds for equipment and resources for Singleton Hospital's Radiotherapy department. We were therefore delighted to be asked to help them in their increasingly difficult task by singing for the second consecutive year at this concert. The audience was joined by Swansea's Lord Mayor Cllr. Ioan Richard and the Lady Mayoress Mrs Iris Richard. The Society's Chairperson, Gill Andrews, announced at the end of the concert that over £1,200 had been raised. Compèred by our Vice Chairman, Robert Harwood, conducted by our MD D. Huw Rees, and accompanied on piano by Hywel Evans (who is no stranger to All Saints), we included in our varied programme two new pieces which were seeing the light of day for the first time - Ryan Davies's "Pan Fo'r Nos Yn Hir", and "Brenin y Ser", in which the solo part was sung by our Bass Huw Roberts. Judging by the warm reception from the capacity audience it was apparent that the hard work in recent weeks by Huw Rees and our Deputy MD Helen Wyn had not been in vain. The evening was by no means male-dominated because we also enjoyed the performances of The Singleton Singers who, like us, sing to raise funds for many local charities. Conducted by their MD Carole Edwards and accompanied by Doreen Owen, the ladies sang music by (among others), Pachelbel, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Elton John, along with a Welsh folk song for good measure. In the arrangement of "Take These Wings" they were also accompanied on flute by Carole's daughter Bethan. Bethan Edwards is a talented local flautist and her instrumental performance was a refreshing change from the usual soprano or baritone soloists usually associated with local concerts. Bethan played pieces by composers as diverse as John Rutter, Dario Marianelli, and Lerner and Loewe. Male dominance was almost restored as our own Bass soloist Huw Roberts entertained with a Welsh folk song and the long-time favourite - "Bless This House". This was a "Huw double act", with D. Huw Rees accompanying on the piano. Apart from the musical entertainment, the evening turned into quite a social event as many friends and acquaintances were able to meet up during the interval as they enjoyed the refreshments kindly provided by the church. We look forward to being invited to help the Society again in the future, especially if it is the excellent accoustic surroundings of All Saints. Some photos can be found
on our |
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The Choir has sung in St. Samlet's Church before, and the warm welcome we received then was repeated at this concert, which had been organised to raise funds for upkeep of the building. The Compère for the evening was the church's Vicar, Rev. Chris Darvill, who introduced us and the soloist in his usual warm and jovial manner. He also pointed out how times and attitudes have changed as he drew out raffle prizes during the interval. After playing non-stop for
the Choir and both soloists at our previous concert, in Milford Haven, our
Accompanist Hywel Evans enjoyed a relatively relaxed evening because the
soloist provided her own accompaniment on accoustic guitar. In addition to
songs by Bob Dylan and Ed Sheeran, young Cara Pearce sang two of her
own compositions in a kind of folk/ballad style. Already the holder of a
degree in psychology, Cara's performance showed that she is also talented
in other directions. The Choir was conducted by our MD D. Huw Rees in a varied programme of Welsh hymns, musical show songs, and Eric Jones's "Y Tangnefeddwyr", all of which saw Hywel alternating between piano and the church organ as each song demanded. There are a few photos on
our |
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Milford
Haven Music Festival Concert In March this year the
Choir performed at a a concert for the Rotary Club of Milford Haven, and
we obviously made a good impression because we were immediately invited
back to sing in the town's 10th Music Festival at the Torch Theatre. It
was the 22nd Annual Gala Concert, in aid of Nova St. Non (Mental Health
Pembs), and it opened the festival. Special mention must be made of our Accompanist Hywel Evans, who played brilliantly all night for the Choir and for both soloists. After just the briefest of rehearsals with their music he gave the impression that he had worked hard for some time to perfect the pieces. Another virtuoso performance from this talented musician. After the concert, before returning home, we were treated to a delicious buffet supper at the Pill Social Centre, and we would like to thank June Rees and her Festival Committee for their invitation and warm hospitality. The
following is an extract from the Milford and West Wales Mercury: There
are a few photos on our |
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Gŵyl Fawr
Aberteifi. This was the Choir's
first competition since the 2006 National Eisteddfod in Swansea, so we
were pleased to receive 3rd prize behind two excellent choirs who regularly enter
singing competitions - local Ceredigion choir Ar Ôl Tri, and Côr Meibion Taf from
Cardiff. There some photos on our Flickr page HERE |
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Saturday
21st May 2011
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Saturday
14th May 2011 We were invited to participate in the Llanelli Proms at the Selwyn Samuel Centre again this year. This is the 13th year of the event, founded and directed by John Hywel Williams who also conducted the talented youngsters of the Hywel Girls' Choir and the Hywel Boy Singers, and the Llanelli Choral Society. The latter chose a challenging programme (including one by local composer Karl Jenkins), which they performed admirably. The Band of the Adjutant General's Corps had travelled from their base in Winchester to entertain us with several pieces on their own. They also provided the music for the traditional "last night" musical mayhem as the audience and choirs sang and waved their flags to the music of Henry Wood and Edward Elgar. A superbly executed clarinet solo was particularly enjoyable. Before this, each choir sang their own selection of pieces, and were joined throughout the evening by the audience in a couple of well-known Welsh hymns and "Jerusalem" before letting rip at the end. The soprano soloist was Sarah Estill, whose range showed why she had been able to shatter a glass on BBC1's 'One Show'. This year she will be working on her Wagner repertoire at the National Opera Studio in London. Our own Choir President Huw Tregelles Williams accompanied on the organ, and we were conducted by our MD D. Huw Rees and accompanied on piano by Hywel Williams. It was an excellent evening of music and fun, and flags were still waving as the audience left the hall. Our thanks go to the
(mostly) ladies of the Hywel Choirs who provided copious amounts of
delicious food to sustain us between rehearsal and performance.
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Saturday
30th April 2011 We apologise for the late addition of an account of this concert, but our usual correspondent was on holiday. However, our Concert Secretary has stepped into the breach with the following: The Choir ventured to Montgomeryshire (the heart of Wales) to give a concert in St Mary’s Church for Severn Hospice funds. Those members of the Choir who do not travel to this lovely area were deeply moved to see the splendour and diverse undulations of the hills and vales of mid Wales. The evening was compèred by our Vice Chairman and Choir Marshall Robert Harwood. Under our MD D. Huw Rees and accompanied on piano by Hywel Evans we sang a varied selection of Welsh hymns and lighter songs from the shows, ending our programme with the poignant "Y Tangnefeddwyr/The Peacemakers", which was inspired by the blitz on Swansea seventy years ago last month. We were delighted to be joined by local soloists Alecs Peate, Angharad Lewis, and Edryd Williams who gave excellent performances. Particular mention must be made of the versatility of the Harpist Alecs Peate who accompanied the soloists and displaying her virtuosity and dexterity with an impeccable performance as a soloist. The Choir enjoyed the concert immensely and would be delighted to return to the area in the future. They are grateful for the generous manner in which they were looked after by the organisers, and the provision of food both before and after the concert was excellent. The Choir repaired to The Goat for another impromptu sing-along accompanied by copious amounts of the local brew. One area of failure was that they failed to drink the bar dry! The warm, enthusiastic welcome we received from a packed church made the journey from Morriston well worth while, with several choristers taking the opportunity to stay overnight and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the area. We are confident that the Severn Hospice would have benefited hansomely from the event, and the Choir looks forward to being invited to help them raise much-needed funds again in the future. We thank them warmly for their hospitality. Photos by Carole Joseph
are on our |
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Saturday 23rd April
2011 It is always a special
occasion when we are invited to sing at a wedding, but this was
extra-special as the Bride was the daughter of Kevin Thomas, who sings in
our baritones section. The venue was the stunning Craig y Nos Castle at
the head of the Swansea Valley, once the home of opera singer Adelina
Patti and the ceremony took place in the castle's theatre, which has seen
many famous people and events in its history.
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Saturday
2nd April 2011
Photographs can be
found on the Choir's
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Saturday
19th March 2011
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Friday
11th March 2011 Urdd Gobaith Cymru plays an important part in the cultural and social lives of thousands of young people in Wales (and beyond), and the cost of putting on their Urdd National Eisteddfod means that local committees have to raise funds to help to finance it. As a choir we aim to support the aspirations of young musicians so it was our pleasure accept the invitation by the Clydach, Craigcefnparc and Ynystawe Committee to sing at their fund-raising event for this year's Eisteddfod, which will be held in Swansea from 30th May to 4th June. This was our second engagement in support of the Eisteddfod and it was gratifying to sing for such a large appreciative audience of almost 100% Welsh speakers for the second time in a few weeks. The evening was most ably compèred by Tinopolis Producer Catrin Evans and was divided in two by a chicken and chips supper. Under our MD D. Huw Rees and accompanied by Hywel Evans we sang a varied selection of Welsh hymns and lighter show and sacred music, ending our programme with the poignant "Y Tangnefeddwyr/The Peacemakers" which was inspired by the blitz on Swansea seventy years ago last month. The poem by Waldo Williams was set to music by Eric Jones, and we hope his wife, who was in the audience, approved of our rendition. We were joined in "Benedictus" by local young soprano Kate Harwood who is assured of a musical career after her school studies are completed. The highlight of the evening for many of his devotees in the audience was the performance by iconic Welsh folk singer (and politician) Dafydd Iwan, accompanied by Euros Rhys Lewis on piano. You know what you are going to get with Dafydd, and he did not disappoint his followers as he sang many of his popular songs. Final figures are not to hand at the time of writing but we are confident that the evening, with its raffle and auction, raised a healthy sum to help fund the Eisteddfod. (With apologies to Catrin Evans, who was NOT blurred all night!)
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Saturday
5th March 2011 This concert, arranged by the Rotary Club of Milford Haven to raise funds for Childline, gave the Choir the opportunity to show that it is fully capable of providing an evening's entertainment without additional guest artists. In one of our all too rare forays into West Wales, the Pill Social Centre on the outskirts of Milford Haven was the venue for a Welsh evening of cawl and entertainment for this worthy cause. The Choir performed many pieces from its repertoire, and our Bass soloist Huw Roberts sang a variety of traditional Welsh songs, the Broadway show number "Some Enchanted Evening", and a beautiful Welsh hymn. The surprise of the evening, to the Choir at least, were the piano duets performed by our Musical Director, D. Huw Rees and our Accompanist, Hywel Evans. Their keyboard skills are not always fully appreciated as they usually conduct and accompany the Choir and soloists, so it was a particular pleasure to hear them in their own right as they played some classical pieces that have been used in advertising campaigns. The highlight for the Choristers and audience came when Hywel, unannounced, launched into The Warsaw Concerto by Richard Addinsell, the theme music from the film "Dangerous Moonlight". We are all aware of Hywel's prodigious talents so it was a privilege to hear him play solo for a change, and getting the best out of our travelling electronic piano. We hope this will be the first of many such performances, and Hywel has promised to brush up pieces by his favourite composer, Rachmaninov, for future concerts. It was good to see one of our staunchest supporters, Phil Robbins, win one of the excellent raffle prizes. The Choir is grateful to
Roger Brown and his Rotary Club team for inviting us to entertain them,
and also to the ladies of the Inner Wheel who laid on a vast, tasty buffet
for us, and we look forward to another visit to Milford Haven in September
when we wil be singing in the Torch Theatre.
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Saturday,
5th February 2011 The Urdd Youth Eisteddfod
is coming to Swansea in May/June, and the local Committee organised this
concert to help raise funds. For the second time in a few months we were
joined by choristers from Dunvant to form one choir . The eight members of Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr's harp ensemble did their school great credit as they played a medley of music, including the brave decision to include "Sospan Fach" in the Ospreys' heartland! (**See explanation below). Their performance and the effort required to transport the instruments was greatly appreciated by the audience. As was that of the all-girl members of Côr Gospel Bryn Tawe, who brought movement and syncopation to their performance of rhythmical music, the first piece being sung without accompaniment. Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bryn Tawe have also had an important influence on young soprano Kate Harwood's musical upbringing, and she delighted us again with her choice of songs. She was congratulated on being invited to perform at the massed male voice choirs concert in Manchester's MEN Arena next year, for which we are also preparing. The Concert was brought
to a close by the joint Choir singing "Y
Tangnefeddwyr", which Morriston RFC MVC is
recording for S4C's 'Wedi 7' programme on 18th February commemorating the
70th anniversary of the Swansea blitz in 1941. Eric Jones, who
composed the music, was in the audience and we hope he enjoyed hearing
our performance as much as we enjoy singing this poignant piece. ** For the uninitiated, "Sospan Fach" is the 'anthem' of Llanelli Scarlets rugby team, and the Ospreys are their long-standing rivals from Swansea. Photos courtesy of Carole Joseph. |
©2011 Morriston RFC Male Voice Choir Registered Charity No.1069650 Tel.01639 637932 morristonrfcchoir@tiscali.co.uk
During
the interval Life Membership was bestowed on David Hughes, who
sings in the baritone section, and who as a former Concert
Secretary worked tirelessly to arrange prestigious concerts and
attract funding.
