Burry Port Male Voice Choir will hold their 55thannual concert next month.
St Mary’s Church in Burry Port will be the venue for the concert at 7pm on Saturday, September 8.
The guest artists will be –
Soprano Mary-Jean O’Doherty, baritone Ben Anthony, Adrian Williams on trumpet and Caradog Williams on piano.
Tickets are £10 and are available from Sewards the grocer on Llanelli Market, Barry Lewis at Llanelli Market and all choir members.
Burry Port Male Choir has a proud history.
The rebirth of the Burry Port Male Choir took place in September, 1962, when a meeting was called at the Memorial Hall inviting any persons interested in reforming the old choir.
Some 30 people attended.
The meeting concluded with Raymond Morris being appointed conductor.
The objectives and aims of the present choir are still founded on the foundations set more than 50 years ago.
The current conductor is the multi-talented Ryan Lee.
He is only the seventh conductor in more than 50 years.
The reputation of the Burry Port Male Choir extended under Mr Lee’s leadership to many parts of the British Isles, Europe and the United States of America.
Over the years, the choir has supported local charitable events and competed at eisteddfodau at both National and International levels.
The choir has twice visited Holland, Canada once, and has been to America on three occasions.
The choir has also visited and performed in Paris and at The Albert Hall, London in the Thousand Voices Concerts.
Mr Lee is a native of Llangennech.
Before his retirement, he was a headmaster by profession and had been teaching for more than 15 years in English schools, where he gained valuable experience as a conductor of choirs and operatic societies.
Mr Lee has arranged many of the songs sung by the choir – the music set to Psalm 121 was composed by him and part of the current repertoire was arranged by him.
Many other choirs have benefitted by receiving copies of his arrangements.
He is also the Musical Director of the Burry Port Operatic Society, one of the very few Operatic Groups performing grand Opera in Wales.
Over the last few years he has been in great demand as a conductor of Hymn singing festivals known in Wales as “Cymanfaoedd Canu” and requests for his services are increasing every year.
Choir rehearsals take place every Monday and Thursday nights (except Bank Holidays and the month of August) between 7.00pm and 8.45pm at the Burry Port Memorial Hall.
Meanwhile, Côr Meibion Dyffryn Tywi Male Voice choir members are looking forward to events in September and October.
On Sunday, September 30 (7pm), Côr Meibion Dyffryn Tywi will be staging a special concert at St Maelog’s Church in Llandyfaelog.
The choir will perform alongside a guest choir from Cornwall, the Tamar Valley Male Choir.
Other guest artists include soprano Llio Evans, with guest accompanist Kim Lloyd Jones.
The President for the evening will be Tinopolis TV company boss and founder Ron Jones.
Tickets are £7 and are available from telephone number 01269860996.
Proceeds from the evening will go towards St Maelog Church and the chemotherapy unit at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.
On Saturday, October 13, Côr Meibion Dyffryn Tywi will join Carmarthen Male Voice Choir for their 60thanniversary celebration concert at the Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen.
In other news, Côr Meibion Dinefwr Male Voice Choir will be holding their annual concert at Capel Newydd, Llandeilo, on Saturday, October 27 (7.30pm).
The special guests will be Côr Meibion Llandybie Male Voice Choir.
The conductor will be John Williams, the accompanist will be Sara Morgan and the chairman for the evening will be Eifion Davies.
Other special guests include tenor Osian Wyn Bowen, soloist Martha Harries and accompanist Gareth Wyn Thomas.
Admission is £8 and £3 for children and students.
Proceeds will go towards the choir’s funds.
Welsh tenor Osian Wyn Bowen is from Burry Port.
Currently he is an undergraduate student, studying under English National Opera Tenor Jeff Stewart at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.
Osian has already performed in concert with Sir Bryn Terfel, Soprano Rebecca Evans, Soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, Baritone Gary Griffiths, Tenors Aled Hall and Rhys Meirion.
Venues include the RWCMD Dora Stoutzker Hall, St. David’s Hall, The Principality Stadium, Wales Millennium Centre, Llandaff Cathedral, Venue Cymru, The O2 Arena, The Queen’s Theatre, London, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and the Milford Haven Music Festival.
He has worked with some of Wales and the world’s best coaches and accompanists including, Jeff Howard, Simon Lepper, Joseph Middleton, Kathryn Harries and Dr. Laura Osgood Brown.
Choral performances and concerts include ‘Gloria – Vivaldi’, ‘Beethoven’s 9th Symphony’, ‘Mozart’s Requiem’, and ‘Stabat Mater – Szymanowski’.
Osian is also a popular soloist for various concerts and oratorios under the baton of Edward Rhys Harry, the most recent being Saint Sëan Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes De Confessore.
Television appearances include S4C’s ‘Heno’,‘Les Mis – Y Daith’, Cyngerdd y 10 Tenor, Noson Lawen and BBC’s Songs of Praise.
Recent highlights include performing as part of trio in a live broadcast on BBC1 to mark the Passchendaele Centenary at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium. The tribute to Welsh poet Hedd Wyn was performed in the presence of members Royal Family and European Ministers.
Other highlights include playing the lead role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables as part of the Urdd’s National Theatre company’s 10 Year Anniversary production at the WMC, Cardiff.
In addition to his busy schedule, Osian is a patron of the charity Welsh Hearts and is an active volunteer crew member of Burry Port Lifeboat Station.
His list of awards includes – 2017 & 2018 – Minnie Morgan Scholarship Recipient. 2018 – Douglas Rees Young Opera Singer of the Year – Finalist.
Carmarthen baritone Mark Llewelyn Evans will be hosting ‘An Afternoon of Music at The Orangery’ at Margam Park on Sunday, September 2.
The event will feature the young up-and-coming members of the Llanelli-based Loud Applause Rising Stars group.
Youngsters performing at the Orangery will include Callum Howells, Lauren Fisher, Neve Summers, Jack Owens, Sydney Richards, Thomas Bytheway, Daisy Owens and Osian Clarke.
The special guests will be violin virtuoso Charlie Lovell-Jones and the Kenfig Hill youth choir Crescendo.
The concert starts at 3pm.
In September, at Ffwrnes Theatre, the famous Llanelli-based Academy Amateur Company will celebrate 35 years of performing great musicals.
They will be staging ‘Thank you for the Memories’ at Ffwrnes on Saturday, September 8.
This special celebratory concert will feature songs from their favourite productions over the years, promising a musical journey down memory lane that will leave you singing all the way home.
There will be songs from shows such as Singin’ In The Rain, Guys And Dolls, Anything Goes, The Full Monty and Jesus Christ Superstar.
Looking further ahead, to October, one of Carmarthenshire’s finest will be returning ‘home’ for two special concerts.
John Owen-Jones is a Burry Port boy who has gone on to be an award-winning West End and Broadway star.
He will play Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli, on Wednesday, October 3 and the Lyric Theatre, Carmarthen, on Sunday, October 7.
In October, Carmarthen will also see another big name singer roll into town.
Russell Watson will be performing his new show, Canzoni d’Amore, at the Lyric on October 19.
Having sold more than seven million albums worldwide, Russell Watson is firmly established as the UK’s best-selling classical crossover artist of all time.
To date, his illustrious career has included performances for Her Majesty The Queen, The Pope and two US Presidents.
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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