There’s a special charity concert at Tumble Hall in the Gwendraeth on Friday (7pm).

It’s billed as Ellie’s Journey and will feature a wonderful mix of local talent, singers, musicians and dancers.

Harmoni, the choir led by Catrin Hughes, are on the bill together with Côr Ysgol yr Hendy, Pontarddulais Town Band and Loud Applause Rising Stars singers Lauren Fisher, Daisy Owens and Osian Clarke.

Tickets are £10 and the compere for the evening is Heddyr Gregory.

It’s a busy week for Osian Clarke.

He was invited to sing for the Board of Directors and principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) – the only one selected from the RWCMD Junior Conservatoire voice course.

Then, on Friday, he will take part in a Cardiff Singer of the World Masterclass with Dame Felicity Lott.

It’s also been a busy time and another Osian – Burry Port tenor Osian Wyn Bowen.

Last week, he took part in the prestigious Ian Stoutzker Prize Final at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD).

He followed that with his house debut with Welsh National Opera in their production of Fidelio, playing ‘Jaquino’.

The production, directed by Sir David Pountney and conducted by Lothar Koenigs, was on the Donald Gordon Stage at the Wales Millennium Centre.

It seems the youth of West Wales are really in the spotlight for there’s more good news for members of Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS).

Founder member Samuel Wyn-Morris has been invited to Vancouver, Canada, this October to perform for the Vancouver Welsh Society, who are hosting the 90th Anniversary celebrations of Cambrian Hall, the only Welsh Hall built for the purpose of sharing Welsh culture with communities in North America.

The weekend activities feature an informal Noson Lawen on Friday, October 4, a celebration concert on the evening of Saturday, October 5 and a Gymanfa Ganu on Sunday afternoon, October 6. Sam will be performing in all three events.

Next week at The Lyric in Carmarthen there’s a big concert which should be a sell-out.

A Choired Taste 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.

Only Men Aloud have been delighting audiences around the world for well over 15 years.

Nearly 10 years ago, they were named BBC One’s Last Choir Standing and this led to an album deal with Universal Records. In 2010, they won a Classical Brit Award for Best Album of the Year.

They have toured every year since winning the show, all around the world and have worldwide record sales of over 300,000.

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 Tuesday 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.

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 Côr 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 in Samuel Wyn-Morris.

The Gwyl Cerdd Dant Cymru this year is being held in Llanelli.

Fundraising is gathering speed to ensure its success.

The chair of the Gwyl Cerdd Dant Llanelli a’r Cylch is Catrin Hughes, who is also a music advisor and trustee of the Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS) charity.

In support of their fundraising, LARS is organising a big Gala Concert at Llanelli’s Greenfield Baptist Church on Friday, July 12.

The evening offers a feast of choral music and there will be four choirs – Côr Lleisiau’r Cwm and Harmoni, both under the baton of Catrin Hughes, Côr Meibion Llanelli and Côr Ysgol Dewi Sant.

The concert will feature some excellent young soloists, including award-winning tenor Osian Wyn Bowen.

Also on stage will be five singers from LARS – mezzo soprano Nikkila Thomas, who is at the RWCMD in Cardiff, and Ysgol Y Strade pupils Lauren Fisher, James Oakley, Daisy Owens and Jack Owens. They will be accompanied by Catrin Hughes and Andrew Pike.

The organiser are anticipating a big demand for tickets, which are available from choir members, Cadno Music in John Street, Llanelli, or by contacting tickets@loudapplauserisingstars.co.uk or Cerith Owens 07854 303918.

In other news, 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.

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.

Trio are a male vocal group from Snowdonia – formed by renowned pianist/accompanist Annette Bryn Parri in 2012. The group gave its first public performance at Galeru Caernarfon in June 2013. The standing ovation at Galeri led, not only to a number of concerts in 2013 and 2014, but also to the release of the group’s first CD in August 2014.

Their songs are often heard on Radio Cymru programmes.

They made their TV debut at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Denbigh (2013).

The Noson Lawen (S4C) programme in which they appeared was dedicated to Hogia’r Wyddfa, one of Wales’ most popular groups, a group that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013.

Since then, Trio have appeared on Pnawn Da (S4C) and Heno (S4C). Trio are Emyr Wyn Gibson, Bedwyr Gwyn Parri and Steffan LLoyd Owen.

Ammanford’s Miner’s Theatre will feature The Siren Sisters on July 6 (3pm)

The Siren Sisters are known as a blonde, brunette and red head combo, crooning tunes from the 30s, 40s and 50s.

Think blue birds, white cliffs and apple blossom . . .

They follow in the footsteps of the Andrews, Boswell and Dinning Sisters and will have you tapping your toes and humming along to the nostalgic tunes of yesteryear.

Finally, Côr Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir have postponed their annual concert, originally scheduled for Saturday, June 29, at Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli.

The choir committee are in the process of redrafting their events calendar following the retirement of musical director D Eifion Thomas.

A list of forthcoming Côr Meibion Llanelli engagements will appear here in due course.

• If you have news about the choral scene in Llanelli, email robert.lloyd01@walesonline.co.uk or rlloydpr@btinternet.com

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

There’s a big concert coming up at The Lyric in Carmarthen at the end of this month.

A Choired Taste 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 and tickets are going fast.

Only Men Aloud have been delighting audiences around the world for more than 15 years.

They were formed in 2000, with the hope they could inject some new life into the Welsh Male Choir tradition.

The men have become well known for their strong vocals and their varied and eclectic repertoire.

A typical OMA concert will feature many different styles of music – Welsh hymns and folksongs, opera and musical theatre, all the way to swing and pop.

Nearly 10 years ago, they were named BBC One’s Last Choir Standing and this led to an album deal with Universal Records.

In 2010, they won a Classical Brit Award for Best Album of the Year. They have toured every year since winning the show, all around the world and have worldwide record sales of more than 300,000.

Over the years, the hugely popular group has built up a strong fan base across the country.

They were honoured to be asked to sing at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony at the very moment the Olympic Flame was lit. This performance was broadcast to an estimated global TV audience of 900 million people.

OMA have given many memorable performances, with numerous appearances at outdoor festivals and proms. They have performed twice at The Royal Variety Performance, been seen on numerous television programmes and are familiar faces at sporting events; they sang at the opening ceremony of the Ryder Cup in 2010 and the Ashes in 2015. In 2014, they undertook a highly successful tour of the USA including performances at the famous Ravinia Festival in Chicago and the North American Festival of Wales in Minneapolis.

OMA have now recorded five studio albums and plans are taking place for a sixth.

There’s an evening of Brahms – with a difference – coming up in
Llanelli this weekend.

Llanelli District Music and Drama Club are staging Oysters at Llangennech Community Hall (7.30pm) on Friday, June 7.

Oysters is an unusual mixture of a play and concert music.

Anne-Marie Marks, secretary of the music and drama club, describes Oysters as “a dark comedy shining a powerful spotlight on composer Johannes Brahms – at the party celebrating the first performance of his Violin Concerto.”

The piece will be performed by the distinguished actors Neil Salvage, National Theatre, and Nicholas Collett, Royal Shakespeare Company.

It will uniquely integrate professional musicians, whose playing will underpin and occasionally comment on the action.

Act 1 is the play itself. Act 2 is a performance of the music that inspired the play, enabling the audience to experience Brahms’ genius through the fusion of music and drama.

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria. His reputation and status as a composer are such that he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the ‘Three Bs’ of music.

Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with some of the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends).

Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. An uncompromising perfectionist, Brahms destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished.

Tickets for Oysters are £10. Students £5. They can be purchased from Barrie Lewis, Market Precinct, or by ringing 01554 772594.

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 Tuesday, 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.

Llangennech will play host to another big event this weekend.

A Cymanfa Ganu is being held by the union of churches, Eglwysi Undebol Llangennech, at Salem Chapel, Llangennech, on Sunday, June 9.

The guest conductor for this year’s Gymanfa is Trystan Lewis and the organists are Ian Lewis and Allan Fewster.

The afternoon service will be at 2.30 and the evening will be at 6.00.

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 Wyn-Morris.

• If you have news about the choral or concert scene in Llanelli, email robert.lloyd01@walesonline.co.uk or rlloydpr@btinternet.com

There’s an evening of Brahms – with a difference – coming up in Llanelli.

Llanelli District Music and Drama Club are staging Oysters at Llangennech Community Hall (7.30pm) on Friday, June 7.

Oysters is an unusual mixture of a play and concert music.

Anne-Marie Marks, secretary of the music and drama club, describes Oysters as “a dark comedy shining a powerful spotlight on composer Johannes Brahms – at the party celebrating the first performance of his Violin Concerto.”

The piece will be performed by the distinguished actors Neil Salvage, National Theatre, and Nicholas Collett, Royal Shakespeare Company.

It will uniquely integrate professional musicians, whose playing will underpin and occasionally comment on the action.

Act 1 is the play itself. Act 2 is a performance of the music that inspired the play, enabling the audience to experience Brahms’ genius through the fusion of music and drama.

Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria. His reputation and status as a composer are such that he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the ‘Three Bs’ of music.

Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with some of the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends).

Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. An uncompromising perfectionist, Brahms destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished.

Tickets for Oysters are £10. Students £5. They can be purchased from Barrie Lewis, Market Precinct, or by ringing 01554-772594.

Llangennech will play host to another big event the same weekend.

A Cymanfa Ganu is being held by the union of churches, Eglwysi Undebol Llangennech, at Salem Chapel, Llangennech, on Sunday, June 9.

The guest conductor for this year’s Gymanfa is Trystan Lewis and the organists are Ian Lewis and Allan Fewster.

The afternoon service will be at 2.30 and the evening will be at 6.00.

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.

There’s a big concert coming up at The Lyric in Carmarthen next month.

A Choired Taste 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.

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 Wyn-Morris.

The Gwyl Cerdd Dant Cymru this year is being held in Llanelli.

Fundraising is gathering speed to ensure its success. Recent weeks saw a three-night series of Noson Lawen events at Llanelli Leisure Centre.

The chair of the Gwyl Cerdd Dant Llanelli a’r Cylch is Catrin Hughes, who is also a music advisor and trustee of the Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS) charity.

In support of their fundraising, LARS is organising a big Gala Concert at Llanelli’s Greenfield Baptist Church on Friday, July 12.

The evening offers a feast of choral music and there will be four choirs –

Côr Lleisiau’r Cwm and Harmoni, both under the baton of Catrin Hughes, Côr Meibion Llanelli and Côr Ysgol Dewi Sant.

The concert will feature some excellent young soloists, including award-winning tenor Osian Bowen from Burry Port, now studying at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) in Cardiff.

Also on stage will be five singers from LARS – mezzo soprano Nikkila Thomas, who is at the RWCMD in Cardiff, and Ysgol Y Strade pupils Lauren Fisher, James Oakley, Daisy Owens and Jack Owens. They will be accompanied by Catrin Hughes and Andrew Pike.

The organiser are anticipating a big demand for tickets, which are available from choir members, Cadno Music in John Street, Llanelli, or by contacting tickets@loudapplauserisingstars.co.uk or Cerith Owens 07854 303918.

In other news, 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.

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.

Trio are a male vocal group from Snowdonia – formed by renowned pianist/accompanist Annette Bryn Parri in 2012. The group gave its first public performance at Galeru Caernarfon in June 2013. The standing ovation at Galeri led, not only to a number of concerts in 2013 and 2014, but also to the release of the group’s first CD in August 2014.

Their songs are often heard on Radio Cymru programmes.

They made their TV debut at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Denbigh (2013).

The Noson Lawen (S4C) programme in which they appeared was dedicated to Hogia’r Wyddfa, one of Wales’ most popular groups, a group that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013.

Since then, Trio have appeared on Pnawn Da (S4C) and Heno (S4C). Trio are Emyr Wyn Gibson, Bedwyr Gwyn Parri and Steffan LLoyd Owen.

• If you have news about the choral or concert scene in Llanelli, email robert.lloyd01@walesonline.co.uk or rlloydpr@btinternet.com