THE name of Côr Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir is being kept alive through a new Young Musician of the Year competition which takes place this weekend.
The choir finished active performing last year after struggling to recruit new members and officials.
But a choir spokesman said this week: “We remain determined to keep the famous name of Côr Meibion Llanelli alive in west Wales – and what better way to do it than to organise a competition to encourage the musicians and singers of the future.
“Down the years, the choir has raised thousands for local charities. We want to continue to play an active part in the local community to keep the name of our historic choir alive.”
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.
If anyone needs further competition information, then they should contact Chris Davies at Ysgol y Strade, email christopher.davies@ysgolystrade.org
Tickets for the competition will be £5 and will be available through the ticketsource website – www.ticketsource.co.uk/cormeibionllanelli
It would take a fairly hefty book to summarise the achievements of the choir over a history spanning nearly 60 years.
But here are some keynote events –
Côr Meibion Llanelli was formed in the village of Bynea under the baton of the late Denver Phillips BA. in 1964.
The choir’s longest-serving music director was D Eifion Thomas, who helped the choir grow in stature and strength to become one of the leading male choirs in Britain.
The choir was successful at all the major choral competitions in Wales.
The honours list included five National Eisteddfod first prizes – at Lampeter in 1984, Fishguard in 1986, Llandeilo in 1996, Bridgend in 1998 and Llanelli in 2000.
The roll-call of wins also recorded seven firsts at the Miners Eisteddfod at Porthcawl, six firsts at Cardigan and three Pontrhydfendigaid “Eisteddfodau”.
The choir was successful in winning the Corwen Choral Competition at its first attempt in 1987.
The Llanelli Male Choir graced many leading auditoriums and concert halls in the land – London’s Royal Albert Hall and Festival Hall, Birmingham’s Town and Symphony Halls, Oxford Town Hall, Plymouth’s Guild Hall, The MacRoberts Centre at Stirling, as well as Cardiff’s St David’s Hall and Swansea’s Brangwyn Hall.
Cathedrals also featured high on the choir’s touring list – Coventry, Bury St Edmunds, Wells, Brecon, Gloucester, St David’s and Llandaff cathedrals have been concert venues, as well as Westminster Abbey.
The choir travelled extensively throughout the world – Germany, Canada, USA. France, Ireland, Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand.
The choristers raised thousands of pounds for charities such as Cancer and Leukaemia Research, The Red Cross, Heart Foundation and Tenovus as well as local charities and school groups.
A choir spokesman said: “We are all looking forward to the competition and to encouraging the next generation of musicians and singers in and around Llanelli. It should be a wonderful occasion, so we look forward to welcoming friends, families and supporters to the competition night.”
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 growing links between Llanelli and its twin town of Agen in France are behind a special concert in July.
Llanelli and District Twinning Association will be presenting an evening of music featuring popular ladies choir Côr Curiad and special guests from Agen.
The French visitors will be the The Harpists of Agen and Lot-et-Garonne, the region surrounding Llanelli’s twin town.
The harpists go under the name of Harpinbag and they come highly recommended by members of the twinning association who have witnessed them in concert in Agen.
The musical evening will be at Llanelli’s Diplomat Hotel on Thursday, July 18, doors open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.
Côr Curiad will be under the musical direction of Alex Esney and the compere for the evening will be Llanelli impresario Cerith Owens.
The evening will also feature accompanist Catrin Hughes and selected soloists from the Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS) stable.
Tickets are £10 and are available from members of Côr Curiad, Loud Applause Rising Stars or from Paolo Piana on email at pianapaolo@hotmail.com or telephone on 07956 592806.
In Carmarthen, next week, the Carmarthen Amateur Operatic Society (CAOS) will be holding a ‘Meet And Greet’ event to recruit new members for the oldest Am-Dram Society in town.
The evening is at the Wesley Methodist Church (Behind Boots) in Carmarthen town centre at 7pm on Tuesday, June 25. There will be free drinks on offer and the evening is for 16-plus only.
A spokesman for CAOS said: “Love performing? Love the theatre? Then come and see what we’re all about!”
Finally, a summer concert is being held by Côr Glandulais at 7pm on Thursday, June 27, at Capel Hope – Siloh Chapel in Pontarddulais.
The concert will also feature the Meibion Elli choir. The conductor will be Aled Maddock and the compere will be TV presenter and journalist Garry Owen. The organist will be Ian Lewis and the soprano soloist will be Anita Appleton. Tickets are £5.
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