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| April 2008 |
A latte to sing about |
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| For a little bit of practice before we go on our second tour of Italy, on Sunday 18th May the choir will be performing in Cafe Bardi at St. Fagans National History Museum. “The name Café Bardi was chosen to highlight the Welsh-Italian community that exists in South Wales,” said Sioned Hughes, Curator at St Fagans. “It will be a real treat to have Cor Cwmbach, which through this initiative is highlighting the strong connection between both countries, perform at St Fagans.” The choir will perform at St Fagans’ Oakdale Workmen’s Institute at 2pm & 3pm and will finish their visit at Café Bardi at 4pm. Perhaps we will find a few Italian's who can help us perfect our accents while singing Italian Salad or better still, one who will serve us steamed pies or pasties. Do you remember them? Yum!!!! All are welcome to this event which is free, as is entry to St Fagans. |
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| April 2008 |
Friends from Europe |
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| In October 2007 we entertained 50 visitors from Belgium at one of our rehearsals. On Monday 21 April we will again be entertaining a large party of visitors from mainland Europe. Glenboi Community Primary School are the hosts to visitors from three partner schools who are all involved in an international project entitled 'The riches of nature for art'. The partner schools are from the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Poland. The visit to Wales is the last in a series of cultural exchanges. In 2005 the school representatives met in the Czech Republic, in 2006 in Poland and in 2007 in Slovakia. There is a full programme of events lined up for the eighteen travellers including visits to The Big Pit, Caerphilly Castle (to see where that famous Welsh Distillers advert for Merlyn was made), the Waterfront Museum & Mumbles and a trip to our capital city, by train. The highlight of the week will obviously be their visit to us!!!!!! We look forward to welcoming our visitors and hope that we can successfully demonstrate and delight them with the riches of our particular art form. |
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| 2 March 2008 |
St David's Day Success |
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| A special concert was promised and after concert reaction suggests that we did not disappoint. It is always a pleasure to perform in front of a full house, no more so than at your 'home venue' and our local supporters did not let us down by filling the 597 capacity of the Coliseum. In fact, rumour has it that a few may have been beaten to the rush for tickets by a group from Taunton who could not get their hands on tickets for our concert there on 19 April! Highlights of the evening included the chastising of our compere by 12 year old violinist Hannah Roper after he had introduced her as being 11 years of age. How that matters to a 12 year old, but just wait until she is 30 something!! There were the tales of how the recent earthquake had affected the folk of Cwmbach to the point that the Cwmbach Earthquake Appeal had been launched. And what was the significance of the dragon facing the wrong way on the Welsh flag hanging behind the choir? Then there was the music. The men of Cwmbach performed with gusto, Rhian Lois our guest soprano soloist sang serenely and Hannah's performance was magical, being worthy of a performance of a maestra of her genre. She is a very special 12 year old. Our thanks go to all involved in making this first performance of 2008 a resounding success and to our very appreciative home audience for their continuing support. |
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| March 2008 |
Acoustic Shell |
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| Some people say we are loud enough as it is but we are about to get louder! In 2006 we travelled to western Canada and the USA and in the majority of venues we sung with the benefit of acoustic shells, which enhanced the quality enjoyed by our audiences as the shells ensured that sound was not lost in the rafters above the choir. Now we have our own. It will not be suitable for use at all venues but we will be using it where we can and we are sure that our future audiences will appreciate the difference it will make to their listening experience. |
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| March 2008 |
Aur Cymru - Welsh Gold |
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| Our new CD entitled 'Aur Cymru - Welsh Gold' will be released later this month. This offering is a complilation album of song in the Welsh language which includes recently recorded items together with popular tracks from previous recordings. Once available we will publish further details on the 'Recordings' page of this website, together with further details and sound samples of our December 2007 release called 'Take Me Home'. |
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| March 2008 |
Tribute to Ron Jones MBE |
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| The choir is honoured to have been invited to perform at a tribute dinner being held to celebrate the achievements of one of the Cynon Valley's finest athletes. Ron Jones competed in three Olympic Games and in four Commonwealth Games. He captained the British team at the Mexico Olympics in 1968 and the Welsh Commonwealth Team in Jamaica in 1966. He was regarded as one of the most talented sprinters of his generation and was a member of the British team that equalled the world record in the 4 x 100 metres (or was it yards in those days?) relay. Tickets for the dinner are available from Mr John Cynon Davies on 01685 874456. |
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| February 2008 |
Italy Tour 2008 |
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| The details are finalised. We enjoyed Italy so much in 2007 that we had to return. Therefore the choir, together with guests totalling a party of 125, leaves for Italy on Wednesday 28th May and flies home on Friday 6th June. Wheras in 2007 we toured North Eastern Italy this time we are visiting North Western Italy and also crossing into Southern France for a few days. The tour has been arranged with great help and cooperation from Amici Val Ceno, the South Wales Society of Bardi exiles. Early in the last century many families from Bardi emigrated to South Wales and opened cafes throughout the valleys. More details can be found on their website at www.amicivalcenogalles.com. We will be performing in Bardi and also in Parma, San Remo and Nice Anglican Cathedral. Also, watch out for further details of a promotional day at St Fagans Museum in May where we will be performing at their new Cafe Bardi. |
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| February 2008 |
60 Years for Mr Ray Challenger |
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| At our St David's Day Concert we will be celebrating Mr Ray Challenger's 60th year as a member of the choir. For a short while Ray has been residing over the border but is in regular contact with the choir and is looking forward to being with us on 1 March at the Coliseum. He is also looking forward to meeting up with choiristers, old and new, past and present. All former choiristers are invited to attend. Please contact Brian Williams on 01685 874782 or at brianwilliams@talktalk.net for details. |
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| 27 January 2008 |
St David's Day Concert |
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| A Happy New Year to you all. Our audience will be in for a very special treat on 1 March. Performing with us will be two young ladies who shared the stage with us in 2007 and impressed us so much we had to invite them to perform with us again. Hannah Roper is a violinist of maturity beyond her eleven years (although she may be twelve by now!). Miss Rhian Lois is an excellent soprano. Hannah performed beautifully with us last July in Hereford and Rhian delighted us in September at Malvern. There are still a few tickets remaining but they will be gone soon so if you are quick you may be lucky. Contact the box office at the Coliseum, Aberdare on 01685 881188. |
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| 13 December 2007 |
St John City Parish Church, Cardiff |
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| Apologies for the late report but the webmaster was forced to attend his office Christmas party on the same night so missed this highly prestigous Christmas Carol Service organised by the Order of St John, which attracts people from far and wide including local dignatories and local celebrities. The choir performed several items including a joint item with the guest soloist Mr Seungwook Seong, a fine baritone. The Church was full to capacity and the audience showed their appreciation by giving the choir a standing ovation. Our thanks go to all those involved in the organising of this wonderful event. |
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| December 2007 |
Take Me Home |
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| Our new CD has just been released and is entitled Take Me Home. Full details will be included on the Recordings page in the New Year. In the meantime if you would like further details or wish to place an order please go to the Contact Us page. Nigel from Kent who made a posting in the guestbook in August 2007 will be delighted to learn that The Impossible Dream is on the CD. |
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| December 2007 |
A Concert at Christmas |
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| The choir performed to a full house at the Aberdare Coliseum on a cold wintry evening. The performance included carols, sung in Welsh and English, and mixed in were a small number of songs from our concert repertoire. Two choirs were on stage that night. The Cwmbach Primary School Choir, very ably conducted by their Headteacher Miss Sian Yeo, delighted the audience performing carols accompanied by their very own percussion section. Both choirs sung together the carol O Holy Night. Apparently, at the same time Rhydian Roberts was also singing the same song in the X Factor final. One local wag suggested that Rhydian lost the final to Leon because there were so many people at the Coliseum who did not get the chance to vote!!! Obviously they preferred to be with us and who would blame them.
Thanks go to all involved in making the night very special, in particular the children of Cwmbach Primary School. A Merry Christmas to you all. |
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| Webmaster missed this concert on 3rd November as he was looking for a suitable venue for the choir in Mexico. (I must remember to submit the expenses claim!). The main feedback from the choiristers was that despite the 'dead' accoustic on stage which made it difficult at times, this also lifted concentration levels with the result that the evening was a complete success reflected by a very appreciative audience that appoached 700. In fact our Secretary met his brother-in-law at the theatre and he said that he has heard many a choir sing but nothing like Cwmbach. Enough said. |
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| October 2007 |
Future Engagements |
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| Were you thinking that after a very busy 2007 we were about to have a year off? You could be forgiven for thinking that as our Future Events page stops in December. However, the programme for 2008 is nearly set and includes return visits to Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon, the Brewhouse Theatre in Taunton, the Forum Theatre in Malvern, the Playhouse Theatre in Weston-Super-Mare, as well as our first ever visit to the Congress Theatre in Cwmbran. We will also be performing in Chiswick, West London and in Redditch for the local Welsh Society, in addition to our annual St David's Day and Christmas Concerts at the Coliseum Theatre, Aberdare. For the tenth year in a row we will be appearing at the Annual Writer's Circle Conference at Caerleon College and once again giving a "Choir in the Quad" performance in the courtyard of the visitor centre of the Dare Valley Country Park. All this in addition to our concert tour to Italy and France in May and June! That's just for starters. No doubt we will be asked to sing at weddings and now that we are stars of the small screen with our appearances in Britain's Got Talent and 'the' advert the TV work could start flooding in. Who knows, we could be Dancing on Ice next!! Seriously, watch out for an update to the Future Events page in the very near future, which will confirm the dates. |
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| October 2007 |
A record for a rehearsal. |
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| On Monday 29 October, the choir will welcome its largest group of visitors to a rehearsal when a party of more than fifty people from Begium will be welcomed in true Welsh style.....in song!! Our guest book is full of special comments from visitors from all over the world, most recently from Canada, Germany, France, Italy and Japan, as well as "locals" from Lincoln, Portsmouth and Dundee!!! We just hope that our guests from Belgium enjoy the evening, and take up more space in our prized guest book. Many thanks to Mr Ed Hillier of the Ty Newydd Country Hotel, Hirwaun, for pointing the group in our direction. |
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| 13th October 2007 |
Penderyn Wedding |
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| On a dark dismal day Miss Emma Jones became Mrs Andrew Williams. Not that the weather affected the bride as she looked like a ray of sunshine, brightening up the proceedings with a sparkling smile. With the promise of a bottle of the best Pederyn whisky to one of the attending choiristers the choir boasted a near full turnout which was a bit of a problem in a very pretty but rather small church! In fact we were all given a bottle of whisky which lit up the choiristers (usually dour) faces, in competition with the brides smile. We would like to thank Andrew and Emma and we wish them all the very best for the future and look forward to seeing them at all our concerts. |
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| October 2007 |
Have you seen us on TV? |
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Another first for Cwmbach Male Choir. Our own regular TV slot. The problem is it's a very short slot and we never know when we are going to appear!! Never mind. Ever resourceful we can take you straight to our latest appearance. Just copy the link into your browser, press go and enjoy the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJOdNMgTzvM
Press BACK on your browser to come straight back to us and then tell us what you think in the guestbook. |
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| 22 September 2007 |
Malvern |
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| It was the first time for the choir to sing at the Forum Theatre in Malvern and it won't be the last. It is a fabulous venue and the 700+ audience were very warm and appreciative. We sung a mixed programme consisting of traditional Welsh hymns, a medoly of songs from the 60's, other modern day favourites such as You Raise Me Up, a number of songs from Musicals inclding Bui Doi from Miss Saigon with our Brent Owens singing the solo lead and in tribute to the recently departed Luciano Pavarotti we sung our version of Nessun Dorma. The highlight was the Middlebrooks/Belland song What Would I Do Without My Music which was very apt (you had to be there). We were joined by an excellent soprano, Miss Rhian Lois who was accompanied on piano by her mother. I am sure we will have the pleasure of her company at future concerts. Our thanks to all those involved in the organisation and to the wonderful audience who made it all worthwhile for us. |
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| 13 September 2007 |
Cwmbach to New Mexico |
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| One of the choir's elder statesmen, Mr Jack Palmer, informs us that his grandaughter Helen is performing missionary work in New Mexico. Helen is working in a hospital in New Mexico while studying to be a Doctor and while she is there she has been spreading the good news about Cwmbach Choir. Jack has sent CD's to help her educate those poor souls who have until now been ignorant of Welsh Male Choral Music. Will Helen's work lead to a concert tour of New Mexico? We will have to wait and see. Go Doc!! |
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| 4 September 2007 |
There's no business like show business |
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| Tradition has it that we take a break in the month of August but last Thursday we met for a rehearsal before performing at the wedding of Lisa Roberts to Christian Bowen on Saturday 1 September. It was a beautiful day, the bride was beautiful, the groom looked happy and the service was wonderful. The choir wishes Lisa and Christian all the best in the future.
At that rehearsal it was announced that during the break we had been approached to perform in a TV advertisment for Welsh Whisky Distillers, promoting their new products. So, having quickly added a new song to the repertoire, today we found ourselves in a recording studio followed by a trip to Caerphilly Castle for the filming using the castle as a backdrop. It is a cheeky advert which should be on your screens in October. Don't miss it. |
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| July 2007 |
Cutting a new CD |
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| "Simon Cowell declined to offer us a recording contract so we will have to go it alone, again. So, on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th July you will find us at Cwmbach Primary School surrounded by microphones and sound engineers as we toil through our most recent repertoire. It will be hard work but worth it when not one but two CD's are released, hopefully by the end of September. One CD will include many of the newer songs in the repertoire and will be recorded in English. The second CD will contain new recordings of traditional Welsh hymns and will also include a number of tracks previously recorded. Place your orders now! " |
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| July 2007 |
Hereford Concert |
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| Saturday 14th July and the choir made their way to the Courtyard Theatre, Hereford. A full house of 450 were entertained by a varied programme of old and new songs, but the star of the show was Hannah Roper, an eleven year old violinist with an outstanding talent and a maturity beyond her years. Hannah has been accepted to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School based in Surrey. Yehudi Menuhin founded his famous school in England to provide the environment and tuition for musically gifted children from all over the world to pursue their love of music, develop their musical potential, and achieve standards of performance on stringed instruments and piano at the highest level. Entry to the school is limited and acceptance is a fantastic achievement. It was a privilege to share the stage with Hannah and the choir wishes her every success in the future.
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| June 2007 |
Britain's Got Talent |
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| Did you spot us? We featured for approximately 30 seconds on the first show! We did well to get down to the last 120 acts out of the 50,000 who auditioned for the show but we just could not compete with the dancing dogs and the girl with the grinder, even though there are said to be sparks flying when we perform. Our best wishes go to the eventual winner, Mr Paul Potts from Port Talbot. |
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| A wonderful tour. We flew to Pisa and travelled across country, with a short stop in Florence and then on to Riccione. We stayed in Riccione for four nights and sang at a music festival which was based in San Marino. A long trek followed, moving north to Lido de Jesolo. Lido de Jesolo is a resort not far from Venice and we enjoyed a sunny and hot day in Venice before singing in the Chiesa San Salvador, a concert which was attended by the British Honarary Consul. Our final concert was outdoors at Piazza Aurora in Lido which was attended by an audience approaching 1,000. It was so enjoyable that we are considering a return trip to Italy in 2008. |
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The new president
of Cwmbach Male Choir is Cynon Valley pharmacist Alan Sheppard. Mr Sheppard,
who was formerly a Vice President has just come to the end of his year
as the High Sheriff of Glamorgan and the Choir is delighted that he has
accepted the position which became vacant due to the sudden death of Mr
Keith Rowlands, who served the Choir for many years and whose death saddened
us all.
Photograph courtesy
of the Cynon Valley Leader.
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| The choir is currently working hard since the return from Canada in 2006 learning new work for concerts scheduled for 2007. We have lost two experienced soloists who passed away during the past year and the Musical Team have been developing new singers who can take their place and hopfully will be able to undertake solo work in future concerts. |
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