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The latest ‘On Song’ column from the Carmarthen Journal and Llanelli Star

Robert Lloyd PR, Media and Marketing Consultancy Blog posts The latest ‘On Song’ column from the Carmarthen Journal and Llanelli Star
Robert Lloyd

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The latest ‘On Song’ column from the Carmarthen Journal and Llanelli Star

Posted By Robert Lloyd

Any opportunity to see and listen to the Welsh Three Tenors (Y Tri Tenor) is not to be missed.

There’s one coming up in Llanelli next month when Y Tri Tenor perform at a charity fundraising concert at the Stradey Park Hotel, Llanelli.

The event, on Friday, September 27, 7pm, is part of Lleisiau Llan choir’s year-long fundraising for the Uganda Dr Vaughan Fund.

The host for the evening will be Carmarthenshire councillor and former TV presenter Glynog Davies. Llanelli, Wales and British Lions rugby hero Phil Bennett will be the guest speaker.

Lleisiau’r Llan is a ladies choir from Llanelli formed in 1995 in response to a request by a group of friends who wanted to sing and socialise.

The socialising element remains very important to the girls, but the choir also raises money for local charities.

The choir’s conductor is Jill Evans and they have two talented accompanists, R Allan Fewster MBE and Julie Humphreys. Glynog Davies and BBC newsreader Huw Edwards are the choir’s honorary presidents.

The choir has raised more than £250,000 for the Breastcare Unit, Ty Bryngwyn Hospice in Llanelli, Dementia and Kidney Research.

Y Tri Tenor are, of course, Rhys Meirion, Aled Hall and Aled Wyn Davies.

They are all famous tenors in their own right, enjoying successful solo careers.

But when they come together under the banner of Y Tri Tenor you are promised something extra special.

Rhys Meirion has enjoyed international success in opera and recording and national success in broadcasting.

After two years on the Opera Course at The Guild Hall of Music and Drama in London, he joined the English National Opera Jerwood Young Singers Programme and was subsequently a Company Principal before becoming a freelance performer.

His roles include Rodolfo in La Boheme, Pinkerton in Madam Butterfly, Alfredo in La Traviata, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore, Nadir in The Pearl Fishers, Marcello in Leoncavallo’s La Boheme, Duke in Rigoletto, Tebaldo in Capuletti e Montecchi, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Ernani, Sailor in Tristan und Isolde, Faust, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier, Froh in Das Rheingold, Zinovy in Lady Macbeth of Mtzensk and more.

Concert highlights include The Karl Jenkins 70th Birthday Celebrations Concert at The Carnegie Hall New York, a gala concert at the Royal Albert Hall with Bryn Terfel, his BBC Prom debut at the opening night of the BBC Proms (televised on BBC 2), Desert Island Discs Anniversary Concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall, a live BBC recording of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony conducted by Richard Hickox, and Verdi’s Requiem at the Royal Albert Hall .

Rhys has an extensive catalogue of recording work, including a duet album with Bryn Terfel (‘Benedictus on the SAIN label’) which was nominated for a Classical Brit Award.

Rhys was a regular presenter on the television programme Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol for S4C and had his own radio show on Sunday mornings on BBC Radio Cymru.

His charity work has included three 200 mile walks to support the Wales Air Ambulance, for whom he is an Ambassador.

His autobiography for Welsh publishers Y Lolfa became the No 1 Best selling book in Wales.

Pencader-based Aled Hall has natural stage presence and unrivalled comic timing.

Recently, he has excelled in the character tenor repertoire with many leading companies internationally.

Highlights, both in the UK and abroad, have included Valzacchi Der Rosenkavalier (Royal Swedish Opera); Pang Turandot, Spoletta Tosca, the Dancing Master Manon Lescaut (Royal Opera House); Don Curzio Le nozze di Figaro (Aix-en-Provence, Tokyo, Baden Baden); Mr Upfold Albert Herring (Salzburger Landestheater); Valzacchi Der Rosenkavalier and Maintop Billy Budd (Opera North); Don Basilio/Don Curzio, Beadle Bamford, Monostatos, Scaramuccio, and Remendado (Welsh National Opera); Don Basilio, Bardolpho and Frisellino Le Pescatrici (Garsington Opera); Tinca and Gherardo Il Trittico, Flaminio L’amore dei tre Re, Chekalinsky The Queen of Spades, Isèpo La Gioconda, Almeric Iolanta, Lord Cecil Roberto Devereux, Trabuco La Forza del destino, Ser Toldo Berardengo Francesca da Rimini, Arturo Lucia di Lammermoor, Borsa, and Don Basilio/Don Curzio (Opera Holland Park).

Concert highlights include Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall conducted by Sir David Willcocks; a British Tour of Messiah by Candlelight for Raymond Gubbay; Carmina Burana with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall; Mozart Requiem with the London Mozart Players at the Fishguard International Festival; tenor soloist in the first London performance of Daniel Jones’ oratorio St Peter; Facio in Offenbach’s Fantasio with the OAE, Ebbone in Mercadante’s I Normanni a Parigi with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Osburgo in Bellini’s La Straniera with London Philharmonic Orchestra all for Opera Rara at the Royal Festival Hall, London.

Aled Wyn Davies is often better known as ‘Aled Pentremawr’. He started his career as a folk-singer, but after winning all the important prizes in folk-singing at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in 1999 and the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2001, he started to broaden his horizons as a tenor soloist. Now he has become a familiar voice and face on TV, radio and concert venues all over the world.

One of Aled’s greatest achievements so far is the fact that he has won the national tenor solo competition three times in succession in 2004, 2005 and 2006, then he won the ultimate accolade at the Swansea National Eisteddfod of Wales in 2006 – the famous Blue Riband vocal prize (Y Rhuban Glas), and who could forget the memorable applause he received for his special rendition of the famous aria “Che Gelida Manina” from the opera La Boheme.

There’s a big night coming up in Burry Port next month when Côr Meibion Porth Tywyn (Burry Port Male Choir) hold their 56th annual concert.

It is taking place at 7pm on Saturday, September 21, at St Mary’s Church in Burry Port.

The guests include bass baritone Anthony Stuart Lloyd, soprano Keely Morgan, harpist Rhian Griffiths and accompanist Caradog Williams, The compere will be Iwan Jenkins. The musical director will be Ryan Lee and the choir’s accompanist will be John Evans. Tickets are available at £10.

It’s a busy August at St Peter’s Church in Carmarthen. Today, (1pm) sees classical guitarist Duncan Leigh perform at St Peter’s. Duncan is a classical guitarist, composer and teacher based in Swansea.

He performs the Renaissance and Baroque era music of Scarlatti and Handel, the Classical and Romantic compositions of Sor and Giuliani, traditional Spanish and Latin American guitar music (e.g. Tarrega and Villa-Lobos), up to modern day pop tune arrangements and his own original compositions.

The summer concert season at St Peter’s will finish on Wednesday, August 28 (1pm), with the organist Meirion Wynn Jones.

The members of the Hospital Notes Choir, based in Llanelli, are getting ready for a big concert in September. Hospital Notes will be joined by Cor Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir for ‘The Greatest Show’ on Friday, September 6 (7.30pm) at The Diplomat Hotel, Llanelli.

* 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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