Burry Port Town Band will stage an evening of ‘Music from the Stage and Shows!’ at the Memorial Hall onSaturday (July 20) at 7pm.
The concert will feature the Senior Band, the ever-growing Junior Band and a very special guest artist, Samuel Wyn-Morris.
Samuel is already a familiar name on the West Wales concert circuit.
He is a 22-year-old proud Welsh-speaking Llanelli boy; a former head boy at Ysgol y Strade.
In 2017, Sam graduated from the prestigious Guildford School of Acting (GSA) with a First Class Honours Degree in Musical Theatre.
In 2018, he made his professional debut at The Old Vic in London.
While training at GSA, he was one of the few chosen as a nominee for the Andrew Lloyd Webber Scholarship.
In his graduating year, Sam played leading roles in Guys and Dolls, Catch Me If You Can and Forbidden Broadway.
As a part of a 100 strong-choir, he performed at the prestigious BBC Maida Vale studios and the Royal Festival Hall in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Olivier Awards, a show which was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2.
Since graduating, Samuel has pursued his ambition of performing in London’s West End and he hopes 2019 will be his breakthrough year.
He is proud of the fact that he was the first and founder member of LARS (Loud Applause Rising Stars).
One of his highlights with LARS was in 2018 when he performed at the Second World War Liberation Commemorations in the city of s’Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.
Samuel has appeared on TV in the Noson Lawen programme, Heno and Prynhawn Da.
He is also a popular guest soloist, having performed with Pendyrus Male Choir, Côr Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir, Noteworthy, Morriston Ladies Choir and the Morriston Orpheus Choir.
Burry Port Town Band musical director Ceri John said: “The band are looking forward to entertaining our audience back home in Burry Port and sharing the stage with Samuel Wyn-Morris.
“We will be featuring some of the best loved music from the stage and shows, all celebrating the musical diversity of today’s modern brass band. This show will have something for everyone.”
The senior band are delighted to share the stage with the youngsters of the Burry Port Junior Band.
The youngsters are rehearsing in earnest for their performance, planning to bring some of their youthful fun and enthusiasm to the concert.
The evening will be all under the control of a skilful compere in the shape of Gwendraeth Valley actor Ioan Hefin, a favourite with the audiences at the Memorial Hall.
Ioan is known for a wide range of acting performances, both on television and film. His film appearances include Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016), Apostle (2018) and The Watcher in the Woods (2017).
Tickets will be available on the door for £12.50, or at a special early bird rate of £10 if you buy in advance from band partners – Premier Store, Burry Port and Elgan Jones Butchers, Burry Port.
Burry Port Town Band has a long and colourful past, with the first historical mention of the band, originally named the Elliots Smelting Works Band, found in 1896.
The band grew from this humble, industrial beginning and established itself as a community favourite, playing at local fetes and marches and raising money to support both itself and worthy causes.
One such worthy cause came at the turn of the century when the band organised a march for the destitute and unemployed of Kidwelly, which raised the princely sum of £8.
However, the band had wider ambitions than its local stage, and during its first period the lifeblood for the band quickly became the contest stage.
Indeed, a major highlight during this time was the band’s performance at the Crystal Palace in London.
Sadly, just before the outbreak of the Second World War the band’s fortunes took a turn for the worse and it disbanded.
Gone, but not forgotten, decades later, in 1972, a group of local enthusiasts held a meeting with the aim of re-establishing the band.
Old instruments and a library of music were discovered, and these, together with some new purchases, a place to rehearse and a keen group of volunteers, sowed the seeds of the band’s renaissance.
The band continued to grow in terms of its level of performance throughout the 1980s and 1990s, winning a host of prizes in 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st Sections and in 2000, the band was promoted to the elite Championship Section.
Since 2001, the band has seven times claimed the title of Champion Band of Wales, four times won the National Eisteddfod of Wales and three times represented Wales at the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall in London, competing against the country’s top 20 bands.
In 2005, the band also claimed victory in the British Open Senior Cup competition at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, beating off the challenge of 20 other bands from across the United Kingdom.
In recent years, Burry Port Town Band have enjoyed performing alongside Paul Potts, John Owen Jones, Richard Allen, Timothy Richards, Côr Meibion Llanelli, Lleisiau’r Cwm, Côr Curiad, Twrw Tawe, Côr Aelwyd y Waun Ddyfal, The Tenovus Cancer Care Swansea Sing With Us Choir and S4C Côr Cymru Champions Parti Llwchwr.
The band prides itself on remaining a top-flight brass band.
Band organisers are keen to ensure that future generations of young players enjoy the opportunity of playing a brass instrument without any financial pressure on their families.
To which end, they run, without any cost to the young brass and percussion players, a Junior Band which rehearses on a Sunday evening from 5pm to 6pm, in the bandroom on Morlan Terrace, Burry Port.
In other news, the choristers from Llandyfaelog-based Côr Meibion Dyffryn Tywi are getting ready for their annual concert.
It will be at the Princess Gwenllian Centre in Kidwelly on Saturday, October 12, 7pm.
The choir will be joined by Gwendraeth Valley’s Côr Meibion Mynydd Mawr. The evening will also feature special guests Pantel and Trio.
The popular Concerts and Cakes initiative returns to The Lyric in Carmarthen at 1pm on Wednesday, July 24.
Concerts and Cakes helps bring people together regularly to provide a forum for the sharing of high quality live music.
Each session is delivered in cabaret style and begins with an informal participatory music session led by Live Music Now musicians, followed by tea and cakes.
Live Music Now is the UK’s leading musicians’ development and outreach charity.
They provide exceptional live music experiences to people with limited access to the arts, due to disability, illness or social disadvantage.
Participants benefit from the amazing therapeutic, social and emotional benefits of engaging with live music – an experience that transforms and enriches lives.
You can find out more about Live Music Now on their website – www.livemusicnow.org.uk
Feedback on the Concerts and Cakes idea has been great, so do pop along.
There will be a chance to see the Live Music Now team again when they visit Ffwrnes Theatre at 1pm on August 28. Make a note in your diary!
If you have news about the choral or concert scene in Llanelli, email robert.lloyd01@walesonline.co.uk
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