The talented youngsters from Llanelli Youth Theatre and the Llanelli Stage Company are putting on a special musical cabaret show on Saturday night.
Forever Young is being staged at Glenalla Hall, Llanelli, at 7.30pm on Saturday, June 23.
The show follows the success of last year’s cabaret evening entitled ‘That’s Life’.
Forever Young promises to be an evening of music and song from the stage and screen.
Tickets are £8 and are available from members of Llanelli Youth Theatre and the Llanelli Stage Company, or Jill Stevens on 07870385513.
Meanwhile, the focus on young talent continues with news of a brand new musical which will premiere in Llanelli in August.
Age of the Geek is being staged at Llanelli’s Selwyn Samuel Centre from Thursday, August 9, to Saturday, August 11.
Age of the Geek is based on the book and lyrics by Elliot Alldridge, with music by Ryan Mellish.
The story goes like this –
Zack is an unpopular schoolboy, with braces, spots and asthma . . . but he’s also very dead!
Zack’s body was found in the park next to a suicide note, but things don’t add up.
Eli, an enthusiastic young journalist gets hold of the story and won’t let go until she finds the truth.
She goes undercover at the school where she meets Zack’s best friend Leo, a geek who lives at the bottom of the social food chain and someone who is struggling to survive without Zack.
Everyone is a suspect as Eli and Leo fight to find Zack’s murderer in Age of the Geek, a musical filled with laughter, emotion and mystery.
The tale follows the two heroes as they unravel the story of the untimely death of a teenage boy and find out which is more dangerous – hunting a killer or being a geek in school.
Tickets are £10 and are available from www.ticketsource.co.uk
Still shining the spotlight on young talent, we have the Gethin Hughes Memorial Bursary competition to look forward to at the end of this month.
The event – designed to provide a cash bursary to help with musical education – is part of Côr Meibion Llanelli’s annual concert at Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli, on Saturday, June 30.
The six contestants bidding for the prize are all members of Loud Applause Rising Stars, the group set up by Llanelli concert promoter Cerith Owens to help mentor and encourage young talent in Wales.
The talented six are Joseph Cavalli-Price, Osian Clarke, Lauren Fisher, Daisy Owens, Jack Owens and Neve Summers.
Loud Applause Rising Stars (a body directed by Llanelli concert promoter Cerith Owens) is an exciting group of talented young singers and instrumentalists who are ambitious and eager to fulfil their true potential.
Currently, LARS is made up of 14 young people who are under the guidance of established professionals.
The youngsters have an opportunity to take the stage at a number of prestigious events and concerts throughout the year.
The list of venues where they have performed in the name of LARS is impressive: Stradey Castle, Llanelly House and Theatr Ffwrnes, Llanelli; Margam Orangery; The Brangwyn Hall, Swansea, to name but a few.
A small group of members have also been to The Netherlands, to take part in the Official Commemoration of the World War Two Liberation of s’Hertogenbosh.
The organisers were so impressed with their performances that they invited LARS back to perform in the Commemorations again later this year.
Invitations for LARS singers to perform are numerous, from TV appearances, concerts and bespoke musical events to singing at a wedding in Venice.
The opportunity to perform for knowledgeable, paying guests in established venues is very difficult for younger performers to access. LARS further encourages the development of its members by staging its own concerts and also by providing opportunities for the young people to sing at other significant events, with the British Legion, the RAF and Machnys Golf Club, for example.
LARS is not an agency or a training school and any prospective LARS member has to go through a strict auditioning process to meet the selection criteria.
LARS provides the opportunity for them to take their natural talent to a broader audience, extending their aspirations and widening their experience and in so doing their confidence and artistry.
The young singers are supported by LARS charity, which is run by a dedicated group of individuals and financially supported by the Friends of LARS.
It provides mentoring in a safe, trusted and honest and nurturing partnership.
An important part of LARS is providing bursaries to its members, a much-needed income to help further their musical studies in what are difficult financial times.
You can find out more about LARS on the website at –
www.loudapplauserisingstars.co.uk
The June 30 Gethin Hughes Memorial Bursary competition will honour Côr Meibion Llanelli’s former accompanist.
Gethin Hughes was affectionately known as Llanelli’s ‘Mr Music’ prior to his death in 2011.
Following his death, the Gethin Hughes Memorial Bursary Scholarship was established.
The first winner of the cash bursary was Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama student Megan Thomas, from Trimsaran.
The competition will form the centrepiece of the concert by Côr Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir, with the choir performing a wide-ranging repertoire dovetailing the competition.
In other news, Côr Meibion Dyffryn Tywi have put together an exciting line-up for their annual concert on Saturday, July 21, at the Princess Gwenllian Centre in Kidwelly.
The evening will feature the popular North Wales act Piantel.
Piantel are pianist Annette Bryn Parry and harpist Dylan Cernyw. They are described as ‘a magical musical experience not to be missed!’
The concert will also feature the much-acclaimed Tywi Valley musical duo, the husband and wife team of Aled Edwards and Eleri Owen Edwards.
The compere for the Côr Meibion Dyffryn Tywi concert will be Ioan Hefin
On the same night (July 21), Burry Port Town Band are scheduled to stage their annual summer concert.
The band’s special guests will be Tenovus Cancer Care Swansea Sing With Us Choir and Burry Port Junior Band.
Curtain up is at 7pm on July 21, with tickets £10, under 16s free.
The Burry Port Town Band will be looking to perform an entertaining programme featuring popular classics and music from the stage and screen.
They will also feature their Eisteddfod programme ahead of the Royal National Eisteddfod at the Wales Millennium Centre on Saturday, August 4.
It has been a successful year for Burry Port Town Band, reaching the semi-finals of S4C Band Cymru and again qualifying to represent Wales at the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain taking place on September.
The compere for the Burry Port concert will be Robert Lloyd.
Looking to the autumn, Côr Meibion Caerfyrddin Carmarthen Male Choir’s 60th anniversary concert will be held at the Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen, on Saturday, October 13.
The choir will be joined on stage by four other choirs – Mynydd Mawr, Burry Port, Dyffryn Tywi and Dyffryn Aman.
This will create a combined choir of around 150 voices under the baton of Wyn Maskell, musical director of Côr Meibion Caerfyrddin.
Also taking part will be well known soloists: Jessica Robinson, soprano, and Trystan Llŷr Griffiths, tenor.
The MC for the evening will be television and radio personality Garry Owen.
Finally, here’s another date for your diary for later in the year. The Annual Royal British Legion Charity Gala Concert will be held at the Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen, on October 27 (7pm).
This year, 2018, marks a significant year for our Armed Forces. It is the centenary of the end of The Great War (First World War) and also commemorates 100 years of the Royal Air Force.
The prestigious annual Royal British Legion Concert has become one of the landmark events in the calendar of South West Wales, providing a platform for the Royal British Legion to pay tribute to the fallen of current and past conflicts.
It also helps the British Legion launch the Poppy Appeal in South West Wales.
The concert features leading soprano and TV and radio personality Shân Cothi, one of Wales’s premier choirs in the form of Dunvant Male Choir, the highly popular Carmarthen-based mixed youth choir Côr Seingar, Swansea-based Dancerama performing arts group youth choir, the stirring sounds of the City of Swansea Pipe Band and the unforgettable Corps of Drums of the 215 City of Swansea Squadron.
The compére will be Brian Sullivan and the guest accompanist Jeffrey Howard.
The evening ends with the poignant Tribute to the Fallen and a Service of Remembrance.
The Royal British Legion is being supported with this event by Loud Applause Productions, the production company run by Llanelli’s Cerith Owens.
Robert Lloyd works as a media consultant – www.rlloydpr.co.uk
If you have any news about the choral scene in Llanelli, the please contact him on 07777 683637 or email rlloydpr@btinternet.com
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