GET set for a special Midsummer Concert in the stunning surroundings of the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Llanarthne, near Carmarthen, this weekend.
The 60-piece symphony orchestra Symphonica Tywi will strike up at 7.30pm on Saturday (June 15) and play until dusk.
Four young vocalists, at the start of their performance careers, will be joined by established Welsh singers in a programme highlighting some of the best numbers from the world of opera and musical theatre.
They will all be accompanied by West Wales’s celebrated symphony orchestra, giving its 22nd annual concert from the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
One highlight will be a performance of the evocative Danse Macabre by Saint-Saens and performed by Sage Taylor, a rising young star violinist from within the ranks of the orchestra.
The evening will include vocal gems from Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, South Pacific, Cosi fan Tutte, Porgy and Bess and Carmen.
The programme is also interspersed with opera-themed orchestral items, including works by Wagner, Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Bizet and Richard Rodgers, among others. Michael Cottam will be the conductor.
The concert is scheduled to be an outdoor event and will take place in the heart of the Garden on Millennium Square.
Tables and chairs will be provided but visitors are welcome to take their own chairs or picnic rugs. In the event of heavy rain, the event will be moved into the Great Glasshouse.
A ‘Grazing Box’, featuring local produce, will be available to pre-order when ordering tickets. Refreshments will also be available to purchase on the evening from Café Oriel.
Midsummer Concert tickets are £16 for adults and £10 for under-16s.
A 10% Discount is available for members. Members are reminded to bring their membership cards to validate discounted tickets.
Gates open at 6.30pm.
Two of the featured singers at the concert will be well-known Tywi Valley singers Aled and Eleri Edwards.
Aled and Eleri live on the family farm, Cilycwm Home Farm near Llandovery, although Eleri is originally from the Conwy Valley in north Wales.
They are accomplished soloists, Aled is a baritone and Eleri is a mezzo-soprano.
The highlight of both their singing careers was winning the National Eisteddfod’s coveted Blue Riband – The David Ellis Memorial Prize.
Aled won at the 1997 National Eisteddfod at Bala and Eleri in 2013 in Denbigh. They are the only married couple to have achieved this prestigious double.
They are in great demand for oratorios and concerts where their repertoire of both solos and duets are varied in style and appealing to all listeners. They span most musical eras and many genres, from classical to contemporary.
Both Eleri and Aled have travelled extensively as guest soloists all over the world, particularly in Europe and North America.
On Thursday, June 13, the Welsh Chamber Orchestra will be visiting Carmarthen as part of their summer tour of Wales.
‘A Little Night Music’ includes pieces from Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Borodin and Haydn.
The WCO will also perform a newly-commissioned work by Welsh contemporary composer Alex Mills.
Featuring Baritone soloist Jeremy Huw Williams and under the experienced baton of Anthony Hose, this promises to be a night of wonderful music.
The programme for the concert at The Lyric Theatre includes –
Mozart, Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade no. 13 for strings K. 525); Tchaikovsky, ‘Andante cantabile’ (String quartet no. 1, Op. 11); Alex Mills, ‘Night, Sleep, Death and the Stars’; Borodin, ’Notturno’ (String quartet no. 2); Haydn, Symphony no. 8 (Le soir).
Tickets are £15 and £10.
On Friday, June 14, the Llanelli Chamber Choir will be staging a miscellaneous concert of light and very popular music at St Elli Parish Church.
The choir will be supported by the talented students of musical director Piet Zorn. They will perform solos and duets.
The programme for the evening will include Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus and Fauré’s Cantique de Jean Racine, as well as the more upbeat Brindisi (Drinking Song from La Traviata) by Verdi.
Tickets are £10, available from chamberchoirllanelli@gmail.com or 07535 166956. They will also be available at the door. The concert starts at 7pm.
Llanelli Chamber Choir was founded by Piet Zorn in October, 2021.
The aim of the choir is to bring a variety of classical and traditional music to Llanelli and add to the rich musical culture in south Wales.
In other news, the countdown is on to the Côr Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir Young Musician of the Year competition.
This is a new competition for Llanelli and is being held to keep the name of Côr Meibion Llanelli alive. The choir finished active performing last year after struggling to recruit new members and officials.
The Young Musician of the Year competition will take place at Ysgol y Strade, Llanelli, at 7pm on Friday, June 21.
The competition is open to all pupils from Llanelli secondary schools.
The winner will receive the Trevor Lewis Shield, presented in memory of one of the choir’s most stalwart members.
There is a cash prize of £750 for the winner; £200 for second and £100 for third.
Adjudicators for the event will be Angharad Brinn, Cerith Owens and Meinir Jones Parry.
Tickets for the competition will be £5 and will be available through the ticketsource website – www.ticketsource.co.uk/cormeibionllanelli
A special fundraising concert, featuring two fine choirs, will be held in Kidwelly next month.
Swansea Excelsior ladies choir will join Meibion Elli male voice choir to present ‘A Summer Concert’ at St Mary’s Church, Kidwelly, on Friday, July 12 at 7pm (doors open 6.30pm).
Tickets are £7.50 available from Excelsior Choir members, at the door, or by telephone on 07708225254 or 07950913352.
Proceeds of the concert will be for St Mary’s Church. The Excelsior Choir’s accompanist will be Rachel Saunders. Aled Maddock will accompany Meibion Elli.
The Salvation Army will be hosted a brass band concert at The Citadel at Sunninghill Terrace in Llanelli. The concert will feature the Wales Fellowship Band and takes place at 6.30pm on Saturday, June 15. Tickets are £5.
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