It’s going to be the Sam and Sam Show at Ffwrnes Theatre in Llanelli in October.
Llaneli-born West End star Samantha Thomas is the latest guest signed up for the Night With The Stars gala concert on Saturday, October 12 (7pm).
The former Coedcae Comprehensive School pupil will be joining another rising star in the shape of Sam Morris, who is going to host the show.
It’s something of a coup for concert promoter Cerith Owens, as Samantha hasn’t performed on home territory for some time.
These days, she is busy featuring in the hit West End musical Wicked.
“It’s going to be great to get Samantha staring on her home town stage at Ffwrnes,” said Mr Owens.
“Samantha is a graduate of the Guildford School of Acting, as is Samuel Morris.
“Getting them both on the same concert platform is going to make it a great occasion – the two Sams, both young local heroes and talented individuals who are making their mark in the world of musical theatre.
Samantha Thomas graduated with a first class BA (Hons) in Musical Theatre from the Guildford School of Acting.
Her theatre roles include – swing and understudy Cosette in Les Miserables (Queen’s); featured ensemble in Follies (Yvonne Arnaud Theatre); backing singer and dancer in Godspell in Concert – The UK Tour 2015 (G Live); featured ensemble in Patagonia (National Youth Theatre of Wales) and Lady Macduff in Macbeth (Lyric Theatre).
Samantha has also performed at the Olivier Awards 2016 and the WhatsOnStage Awards 2016 (Prince of Wales).
Samuel Morris is a former head boy of Ysgol y Strade School in
Llanelli.
In 2017, Sam graduated from the prestigious Guildford School of Acting with a first class BA (Hons) degree in Musical Theatre.
Since then Sam has continued to perform and he made his professional debut at The Old Vic at the beginning of 2018.
Sam was the first member of
Llanelli-based Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS), a group founded by concert promoter Cerith Owens with the idea of mentoring and encouraging talented ‘stars of the future’ in Wales.
In October 2018, Sam, along with other members of LARS, was a representative of Wales at the Liberation Celebratory weekend in S’Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, where he performed at the prestigious Liberation Concert to great acclaim and at the 53rd Welsh Division Memorial Service.
The Night With The Stars concert will also feature other talented members of the Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS) stable.
Special guests will be the very popular Kenfig Hill and District Male Voice Choir, a group of young students from the Royal Welsh Music and Drama called Melodynamic, fronted by LARS member Callum Howells, and the Halfway Primary School Choir.
Supporting accompanists will include Catrin Hughes and Andrew Pike.
In other news on the LARS front, Daisy Owens was the recipient of the 2019 St Elli Masonic Lodge Music Bursary.
The presentation was made by the Masonic Lodge at their annual Sunday Lunch event at Stradey Park Hotel.
Daisy is in the first year of her GCSEs in Ysgol Gyfun y Strade.
She has already achieved a great deal on the road to fulfilling her ambition to be a professional singer.
One of the newest members of LARS, she has performed in the Wales Millennium Centre as a member of the Children’s Chorus in a Disney production featuring the renowned actor Brian Blessed, and she was given the solo part in a Welsh Music Theatre Concert in the Lyric Theatre Carmarthen.
She has also reached Grade 5 in her Duets Grade Exams, the highest level in that category. Her dueting partner was her older brother Jack!
She has gained a distinction in her Grade 8 Musical Theatre Singing Exam and is now working towards her diploma.
She has been involved with SA15 Stage School and appeared in many of their productions.
Since joining LARS, she has performed in Stradey Castle, Llanelly House and Machynys Golf Club, as well as in the prestigious Night of the Stars concert in Ffwrnes.
In Carmarthen later this month there is a big concert coming at The Lyric.
A Choired Taste is the choir led by Sarah Thomas (Sarah Kirby) and they will be marking their fifth anniversary with a concert featuring guest stars Only Men Aloud.
It is at The Lyric at 7.30pm on Friday, June 28. Tickets are going fast.
Only Men Aloud have been delighting audiences around the world for more than 15 years.
They were formed in the year 2000, with the hope they could inject some new life and blood into the Welsh Male Choir tradition.
The men have become well known for their strong vocals and their varied and eclectic repertoire.
The Llanelli District Music and Drama Club’s final event for this season will feature The Welsh Chamber Orchestra.
They will be performing for the first time in Ffwrnes Theatre,
Llanelli, on June 25, 7.30pm
Tickets £12; Students £5 are available from the theatre.
All of the music played by the WCO will be by composers from the west who have incorporated themes from the east over a period of 350 years, including Handel, Lully, Mozart, Beethoven and Weber. The music of Wales is of immense importance to the WCO. It commissions a new work every year to play alongside repertoire works in its concerts.
A newly commissioned work by Welsh composer Nathan James Dearden inspired by Japanese folklore will be featured. This will resonate deeply in Wales, as both countries share a profound respect for their ancient languages and cultures.
The baritone soloist in the work will be Jeremy Huw Williams who is renowned for his affinity with the music of today.
The orchestra’s leader David Juritz (the longest-serving leader of the London Mozart Players between 1991 and 2010) will play Mozart’s Violin Concerto No.5.
The conductor for the concert is Anthony Hose (who has conducted 35 different operas for WNO).
The composer Nathan James Dearden will give a pre-performance talk on the day of the concert.
The programme includes – Overture “Giulio Cesare in Egitto”, George Frideric Handel; Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 (The Turkish), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Overture: “Oberon”, Carl Maria von Weber.
Latest news from Llandybie Male Voice Choir is that the choristers will be holding their annual concert on Friday, June 21, at 7pm in Llandybie Memorial Hall, with the help of Cor Meibion Dinefwr and artists Gareth James (Baritone) and a young local girl Cerys Tommason-James.
Admission will £10 by programme and can be obtained from choristers or at the door.
Burry Port Town Band will stage an evening of ‘Music from the Stage and Shows!’ at the Memorial Hall on Saturday, July 20, 7pm.
The concert will feature the Senior Band, the ever-growing Junior Band and a very special guest artist, Samuel Morris.
Bridget Radford’s two choirs, Lleisiau Hardd and Lleisiau Hardd Bach, will be staging their annual concert at St Mary’s Church, Burry Port, on Friday, July 12, 7.30pm. Tickets are £10 and available from choristers.
- If you have news about the choral or concert scene in Llanelli, email robert.lloyd01@walesonline.co.uk or rlloydpr@btinternet.com
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