We were invited to take part in the “Festival of Carols” Christmas concert at St John’s church in Gowerton this year. The concert was our last formal concert for 2018.  There were 5 choirs along with other performers taking part in this celebration which showed off the talent and commitment of the people in the local area. Christmas is a wonderful time of year and the Christmas spirit worked it’s magic among the choirs and audience as the evening went on. The evening started with a welcome to the church by the Reverand Alex Pye followed by the congregational carol “O Come all Ye Faithfull” A list of the evening events is as follows. 1. A reading of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” by Dylan Thomas was read by Barry Evans. 2. Soloist- “Millie Colebrook” accompanied by “Joan Lewis” gave us “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”. 3. St John’s Musical Players with 3 items “Mary had a baby”. a Christmas     spiritual. Soloists- Alison Sandy and Betty Jones. Daeth Iesu o’i Gariad   Soloist- “Sian Smith” 4. Spiritual “I’m Gonna Ride a Chariot in the Morning Lord” Soloists- “Sian Smith, Ann Benjamin and Huw Roberts” 5. “Halleluiah” Ian Lewis, Geraint Williams and Joan Lewis” 6. “Swansea Excelsior Ladies Choir” with 4 items. “Do You Hear What I Hear”, “Mary Did you Know”, “The Colours of Christmas” and “Twelve Songs of Christmas” 7. The Brass Ensemble played “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” and “Jingle Bells” 8. “O Holy Night” Sang by Claire Allen Powell with Darryl Lewis on Cello. 9. “Cancer Challenge Singers” performed ” See the Morning Star”, “Somewhere in My Memories”, “The Most Wonderful birthday of all” with Accompanist Ian Lewis and Musical Director Geraint Williams. 10. “St John’s Sunday School” with “T’was the First Christmas Gift Ever Given” and “A Baby was Born in Bethlehem” 11. “Hands Together Singing Choir” who are a sign sing choir that use British Sign Language to sing songs. The choir signed 2 songs “Snow is Falling” and “See him Lying on a Bed of Straw” 12. Morriston RFC Male Choir concluded the performances for the evening with 3 carols “Son of Maria”, “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night in German) and Brenyn y Ser. Soloist- Huw Roberts. A wonderful evening of  music was brought to a close with the communal carol “Hark the Herald Angel Sing” and a blessing from the Reverand Alex Pye. A big thank you to St John’s church for the hospitality in the Church Hall, very much appreciated.                                                                           Merry Christmas and A Happy new Year to you all.

We were once again invited to join in the celebration of Christmas at Tabernacle Church again this year. Sharing in the service were 4 other choirs and with congregation gave that “its nearly Christmas feeling”
The service was opened by the minister of Tabernacle Jill-Hailey Harris and  then with a congregational carol “Once in Royal David’s City.
This was followed by “Tabernacle Morriston Choir” with “Past Three A Clock” and “Sussex Carol”. During the evening there were nine lessons read with one of those being read by our chairman Paul Baker. The second choir to entertain us was “Morriston Ladies Choir” with “December Child” and “Deck The Hall” followed by an enthusiastic congregation singing “The First Nowell”
Soloist: Teresa Hacche also entertained the audience. There were also selected items from” C0r Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Lon Las” and
“St Joseph’s Cathedral Primary School Choir” who made the evening a memorable event.
“Morriston RFC Male Choir” sang “Stille Nacht” and “Brenin Y Ser” with soloist “Helen Wyn” who stepped in at the last moment. (Well done Helen). All choirs joined to sing a favorite “O Holy Night” and the evening was brought to a close with a congregational carol “O Come All Ye Faithful”
We thank Tabernacle for the traditional Christmas mince pies and mulled wine in the vestry after the service. Very much appreciated.

Again this year we were invited by The Friends Of Penllergare to help raise funds for the restoration and upkeep of Valley Woods and to get the Christmas season really under way. St. David’s church in Penllergaer was bursting at the seams, with all tickets sold in advance for what is becoming an annual event in the village.
We were conducted by Helen Wyn and accompanied by Hywel Evans. we sang mostly seasonal songs, with Huw Roberts the soloist in
O Gymru, Anfonaf Angel and Brenin y Sêr.
The concert also included Carey Beor and Julian Quirk who sang and played Guitar and Mandolin. Also joining them was  our very own Stuart Loosemore who played Bass Guitar. Their first two songs were River and Monkey-Town and second session appropriate for the season I believe in Father Christmas and Stop the Cavalry.
Our Secretary Robert Harwood compered the evening and encouraged the audience to join in all the carols although he was feeling a
little “Tents”.
It was a wonderful lead-in to Christmas week, and we thank The Friends of Pellergare for the refreshments in the Llewelyn Hall after the concert. Why not take a stroll through the woods to blow away cobwebs during the holiday period? Their coffee shop will sustain you!

Friday 16th November 2018
Holy Trinity Church, Felinfoel.

We were pleased to accept the invitation to sing at Holy Trinity to help raise funds for the church. We have not sung in this part of the world for some time so it was a pleasure to be back. We sang to a near full church for an appreciative audience. The maestro D. Huw Rees again gave a sterling performance as did our accompanist Hywel Evans. We sang a good selection of songs from our repertoire with two of the songs “Tell my Father” and “O Gymru” led by our soloist Huw Roberts. We finished with a medley of songs from The First World War.

The concert also included four members of Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS) .
Established in 2013, LARS is an exciting group of talented young singers who are eager and ambitious to fulfill their potential and withe help and guidance take their talent to a broader audience. Accompanist for LARS was Catrin Hughes who teaches at Ysgol Gyfun Y Strade. 
Catrin is a trustee of LARS Charity and a Musical Advisor to the charity. It was a great pleasure to listen to these young people.
They artists were:
Daisy Owens
Who sang :      Ava Maria                                                Beyonce
                          Nella Fantasia                                         Ennio Morricone     
Jack Owens:
Who Sang:       Where’er You Walk                                Handel   
                           Empty Chairs and Empty Tables        From Les Miserables
Lauren Fisher
Who Sang:      That Man                                                   Caro Emerald
                          I’d Give My Life to You                           From Miss Saigon
Osian Clarke
Who Sang:      An Die Musik                                             Schubert
                          O Del Mio Doice Ardor                            Gluck

I f you want to know more about LARS please visit: www.loudapplauserisingstars.co.uk

A big Thank You also goes to the church for the refreshments put on after the concert. Very much appreciated.

The Brangwyn Hall was packed for this special Remembrance Day Concert and Service marking the centenary of the end of The First World War, with contributions from the City of Swansea Concert Band, City of Swansea Pipe Band, 215 Squadron RAFAC Corps of Drums, Swansea Music Youth Choir “Choirworks” and Dancerama Performing Arts Group.
David John Ward “Ollie” (Veteran) who read the poem“The Day of the Poppy” left the audience in deep thought. Dancerama sang beautifully, with outstanding soloists among their number.
Swansea Music Youth Choir “Choirworks” entertained with the traditional hymn “Be still my Soul” and “Benedictus from the Armed Man”
It is wonderful to see all these young people coming to stage and performing.
Swansea Pipe Band raised the tempo and demonstrated their skills of piping and drumming. The Corps of Drums gave a wonderful display of their skills. It’s no wonder they are highly regarded.
Our first contribution was “Tell My Farther” Soloist Huw Roberts and a Medly of WW1 songs. We were joined by Gwawr Edwards for “Morte Criste” and“The Holy City” .
The traditional service of remembrance was conducted by Rev. Lionel Hopkins MBE DL, and presentations were made by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of West Glamorgan Byron Lewis KSTJ. The evening was again compered seamlessly by Brian Sullivan.
We thank organiser Phil Flower MBE, British Legion Community Fund Raiser for South Wales, for the opportunity to take part in the city’s tribute to the fallen of all conflicts.

We were invited by The Salvation Army to sing at the Remembrance Service in Morriston Park on Sunday morning. This was well attended considering the weather. A wreath was laid by our Chairman on behalf of the choir.

An evening of music in a combined concert with Morriston Ladies Choir and featuring Rhydian Jenkins to remember the Morriston men who were lost during the Great War. Rhydian won the Aled Lloyd Davies Award in the Unawd Cerdd Dant Blue Ribbon Competition at this year’s National Eisteddfod. Proceeds from this concert will go to “Help for Heroes” charity.

This was our second concert for Ebenezer in Neath to help raise funds for Melin Infants School, and supporting local children.  We were joined by Gail Pearson – Soprano. Gail is a renowned Welsh Soprano who has divided her time between Operatic, Concert and teaching work and brings a wide range of repertoire, from baroque to contemporary. Also the children of the local Melin Primary School gave an accomplished performance.
We opened the concert and were followed by Melin Primary School and Gail Pearson all drawing appreciative applause from the capacity audience.
Our own performance was conducted by D. Huw Rees and accompanied by Hywel Evans. Huw Roberts our very own soloist sang Anfonaf Angel and O Gymru accompanied by the choir which brought a standing ovation from the wonderful audience. It was good to see that many of the young children and their families had stayed to listen to the performances, and we hope that nights like this will inspire them to keep singing as they progress through the education system and beyond.
The Choir would like to thank the ladies of the chapel for the fantastic buffet that we enjoyed after the concert, and we look forward to another invitation to sing for our supper!

Saturday 12th May
35th Annual Concert, Tabernacle Chapel, Morriston
 
The special guest at our 2018 Annual Concert was Rebecca Trehearn who has carved out a successful career as a singer and actress. West End appearances include roles in Showboat (Olivier award winner, best supporting actress in a musical) Rebecca can also be found in a recording studio as a session singer on film soundtracks including Pirates of the Caribbean, Sweeney Todd and The Da Vinci Code to name but a few. We were thrilled when she accepted our invitation to entertain us this year.
Rebecca captivated the huge audience with a selection of songs from her repertoire and at times you could have heard a pin drop.

With D. Huw Rees conducting, ,Hywel Evans at the piano, and our President Huw Tregelles Williams OBE at the chapel’s sonorous organ, we sang 16 pieces from our repertoire, including “Y Tangnefeddwyr” and “O Fab Y Dyn” both arranged by Eric Jones. Several lighter songs and  a Medley of songs from The First World War with the participation of the audience which went down well.
Along with Guest Deputy Musical Director Glyn Williams and Associate Accompanist Christopher Lewis we sang “Mansions of the Lord”.  Our Chairman Huw Roberts was the bass soloist in  “O Gymru” and “Anfonaf Angel”.

It is with great sadness that we lost three faithful members of the Baritone section this year. Percy Morgan, our oldest member of the choir at 97 and more recently Terry Jones and Rob George, both hard working committee members. We sang one of their favorites “Anfonaf Angel” in their memory with many a sniff from the choir. They are sadly missed by us all.

 Côr CF1 is a mixed choir based in Cardiff and is one of Wales’ most competitive mixed choirs. They have had considerable success in Eisteddfodau and won the Côr Cymru Competition 2013, the BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year 2014 and many other accolades.They have travelled the world performing on the international stage. We were delighted when they accepted our invitation to perform at our concert this year. With Eilir Owen Griffiths conducting and accompanist Richard Vaughan,  the choir entertained with a selection of songs which demonstrated their class.

The Choir joined with our guests Rebecca and CF1 in a performance of “I Believe” (commemorating 60 years since Paul Robeson’s address to the crowd at the 1958 National Eisteddfod at Ebbw Vale) resulting in a standing ovation for all performers.

Our compère Sian Thomas is one of the most familiar faces and voices in Wales, currently presenting ‘Prynhawn Da’ and ‘Heno’ for S4C.
Sian had obviously done much research into the background of the choir and our music and  linked the various components of the evening with her usual humour.

Swansea’s Brangwyn Hall has an official capacity of 1,070 seats, all of which were filled for this Welsh celebration of the founding of the RAF in April 1918. Among the invited guests and dignitaries were several of the Force’s top-ranking personnel.
We combined with our friends from Dunvant Male Choir, with our respective Musical Directors D. Huw Rees and Jonathan Rogers sharing conducting duties as we sang five songs, including two with soprano soloist Gwawr Edwards and The Three Welsh Tenors. 
Their own performances were accompanied by Caradog Williams on piano, who had composed one of the Three Tenors’ songs. Organist was Hywel Evans.
We have sung with Gwawr several times, and her programme of Lerner & Loewe, Ivor Novello, and Holst were complemented by our joint items with her – The Holy City and Anfonaf Angel.
The youngsters of Dancerama Performing Arts Group sang “We Will Stand Tall” while film of RAF planes and exploits through the years was shown on the big screen.
The 215 Squadron (Swansea) Corps Of Drums have previously entertained us in the Brangwyn Hall, so we knew what to expect as they expertly beat out their rhythmical display.
The second half of the concert was given over to the wonderful Band of the RAF College under their Director Of Music, Squadron Leader Richard Murray. The Band played music varying from American jazz to tunes related to the RAF, such as the Dambusters March. Sq. Ldr. Murray introduced a bit of pantomime humour by getting one half of the audience and choirs to sing “It’s A Long Way To Tipperary” while the other half sang “Pack Up Your Troubles”. We don’t know which side won!
The Concert’s Host was Brian Sullivan, a veteran of Show Business in South Wales.
It was a wonderful celebratory evening of  varied genres of music and performance, and a credit to the prolonged hard work of the organisers, Sq. Ldr. Phil Flower, and Cerith Owens of Loud Applause Productions.


There are some photos HERE.