Front of Stage

Musical Director: D.Huw Rees B.Mus (Hons)

Huw gained his Bachelor of Music honours degree at University College, Cardiff under Professor Alun Hoddinott, having studied piano with Stephen Price, voice with Clifford Bunford, organ with Robert Court and composition with Dr Richard Elfyn Jones and Dr David Wyn Jones. During his time at University he became a member of the National Youth Choir of Wales and also accompanist to numerous choirs. Huw has been associated with Morriston RFC Male Voice Choir since 1990 when he became the choir’s accompanist. He was appointed the Musical Director of the Choir in January 2004 and his expertise in that role has been widely recognised. In January 2009 he was appointed Joint Accompanist to Dunvant Male Choir.

He is a very talented and much sought-after musician and has had the opportunity to perform and work with a number of national and international artistes. Demands for his accompanying skills have taken him to concert venues throughout South Wales. Beyond the United Kingdom, he has accompanied the choir and its guest soloists in Brussels, Budapest, Holland, France, Spain, and Ireland.

Huw was the official accompanist to the massed mixed choirs festival held at St. David’s Hall, Cardiff in 1992, 1996 and 1999, and he has made numerous recordings with various choirs and has played at many venues including The Royal Albert Hall, St David’s Hall, The Brangwyn Hall, Wells Cathedral, St David’s Cathedral, and Rugby and Eton Schools. He is in great demand as an Eisteddfod adjudicator and as a conductor of singing festivals.

Huw is an official accompanist at the Urdd National Eisteddfod and accompanied competitors at the Eisteddfodau from 1993 to 2003. He was invited in 2005 to play at the Urdd Eisteddfod held at the Millennium Centre Cardiff, and he has been invited to accompany competitors at the Urdd Eisteddfod when it returns to Swansea for the fourth time in 2011. In August 1994 he was actively involved with the National Eisteddfod at Neath, having been appointed the official organist of the festival. In 2006 Huw was given the honour of conducting the massed male voice choirs at the opening concert of the National Eisteddfod held at Swansea.

Huw is the Headteacher of Ysgol Cynlais Primary School, Ystradgynlais, in the Swansea Valley.

Deputy Musical Director: Helen Wyn B.Mus (Hons)

Helen joined the musical team of the choir in 2009 following the retirement of Glyn Williams. She is an accomplished accompanist and conductor and is in demand for her singing, and her skills in producing and directing musical theatre and opera. Additionally, she is a national adjudicator in both singing and choral competitions.

Helen had a career for 30 years as Head of Music in two secondary schools in Carmarthen before developing other interests. She is a director of Cwmni Mega Drama Company which performs all over Wales, and Musical Director of Carmarthen Amateur Opera Company, where she has been producing shows for the last 12 years. She has undertaken youth community work with Urdd Gobaith Cymru, and was Chair of the Music Committee for the Eisteddfod yr Urdd Sir Gâr in 2007.

Helen was elected to Carmarthenshire County Council in May 2008 and then to the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.

Accompanist: Hywel Evans B.Mus (Hons)

Following the retirement of Huw Thomas in March 2007, Deputy Accompanist Hywel Evans was appointed Accompanist to the choir.

Hywel was born and educated in Swansea and gained a sixth form scholarship to Chethams School of Music in Manchester, where he studied piano and organ. He went on to study piano under Richard McMahon at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, graduating in 2005.
He is organist in the parish of Llwynderw, Swansea and accompanist to both Dunvant and Morriston RFC Male Voice Choirs with whom he has toured UK, Ireland, Spain and Germany, and played piano for them in Swansea's Brangwyn Hall, St. Mary's Church and All Saints Church, as well as further afield in venues such as Malmesbury Abbey, Maidenhead, Stourbridge, and Llandaff Cathedral. As a freelance accompanist he has played for outstanding and famous professionals, including Rebecca Evans.

Hywel regularly performs as part of All Saints Alive concerts, and as accompanist and vocal coach to the Ariosa Singers he has helped many of them gain scholarships, diplomas and national honours. His protegés include opera singer and teacher Joe Morgan, 2009 Welsh representative in the Cardiff Singer of the World Natalya Romaniw, Royal Academy Scholarship winner Céline Forrest, opera singer Nicholas Dwyer, BBC-featured tenors Reuben Nicholas and Joshua Mills, and Carrie Thompson who gained a Scholarship to Chetams School, Manchester.

With the Ariosa Singers Hywel has played in many prestigious venues such as Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin, the Mozart Museum and the Church of St Nicholas in Prague, Chartres Cathedral and the Church of the Madeleine in Paris, and Barcelona Cathedral. By the end of 2010 he will have performed with them and the Morriston and Dunvant Male Voice Choirs in Germany, Tuscany and Brittany.

Deputy Accompanist: Rhiannon Pritchard

Rhiannon graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2009, where she studied piano with Head of Keyboard, Richard McMahon. She has already had many solo, accompanying and chamber group opportunities, taking part in recitals and concerts in venues such as the Wales Millennium Centre, St David’s Hall and the National Museum of Wales. Rhiannon has also attended master classes led by both solo pianists and accompanists, including Cardiff Singer of the World adjudicator Helmut Deutsh, renowned accompanist Simon Lepper and international pianists Leon McCawley and Martin Jones.

During her time in college, she played the piano in the orchestra for numerous productions including Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’ for RWCMD, Stravinsky’s ‘The Rake’s Progress’, Brian Irvine’s ‘The Calling of Maisy Day’ and Sondheim’s ‘Sweeney Todd’ for Welsh National Youth Opera. As well as being a member of the orchestra, Rhiannon was a repetiteur and vocal coach for the WNYO productions, where she was awarded the Seligman Award for her work. She was also a repetiteur on other productions including ‘Pirates of Penzance’ and ‘Into the Woods’ for St David’s Catholic College. She is also a repetiteur for ‘Opera’r Ddraig’, and is currently working with them on this year’s opera, ‘The Magic Flute’ In 2009 she won the RWCMD’s Accompanist Prize adding to the Mansel Thomas Prize and the WNYO Seligman Award won in 2008.

As well as accompanying many singers and instrumentalists, Rhiannon is also an avid member and accompanist for Cardiff choirs City Voices and CF1, who regularly take part in various Eisteddfodau and concerts throughout Wales. She was appointed Deputy Accompanist to Morriston RFC Male Voice Choir in October 2009.

Rhiannon has recently been accepted for the late Yehudi Menuhin’s scheme Live Music Now, the largest outreach programme of its kind in the UK. 2010 sees more work for her as a repetiteur for Welsh National Opera MAX dept., the BBC, LMN, and for St David’s Catholic College’s production of ‘Carousel’.