CAMBRIAN MALE VOICE CHOIR

Transcription

1 CAMBRIAN MALE VOICE CHOIR Tonypandy Rhondda Cambrian Colliery Late in the 19 th century, the discovery of coal rich seams in the Rhondda Valley resulted in a mass migration to the once idyllic landscaped area. Within the valley, in the small village of Clydach Vale, a choir of over a hundred men was formed by the employees of the local colliery and became The Cambrian Colliery Male Choir. Clydach Vale Rhondda

2 The choir continued to grow throughout the early 20 th century. They were very active in the arena of local and National Eisteddfodau and gained the reputation of being an elite male choir. In 1930, 1931 and 1932 it set a unique record as the first choir to win at the National Eisteddfod for three consecutive years. Cambrian Male Voice Choir 1932 With the onset of World War II the choir disbanded. The present choir was reformed in 1947 under the baton of Mr D.R.Lewis a young man of exceptional talent and dedication. Within three years the choir grew in strength to 110 voices. Unfortunately shortly after reforming there became a shortage of top tenors. The choir made the extremely difficult decision to disband. Undeterred, with a determined and resolute attitude, a number of them reformed immediately under the name Cambrian Gleemen with about 40 voices. The first members of the Cambrian Male Choir 1947/48 with David Rhys Lewis (Conductor) front row on the extreme left.

3 It quickly re-established the tradition of performing at Eisteddfodau, charity performances, appearing on television and singing regularly on radio etc. Many of the celebrities who sang in concert with the choir were world famous names amongst whom were Sir Geraint Evans, Elizabeth Vaughan, Charles Craig and Delme Bryn Jones. In the competitive field the choir won numerous prizes in Eisteddfodau, they grew in number and in stature and were once again named Cambrian Male Choir Throughout the history of the mining industry many workers were maimed and killed due to the arduous nature of the work. The Cambrian Colliery had more than its fair share of deaths and the choir lost many men as a result. In 1965, 32 miners lost their lives at the No.1 Pit. Though none of the miners were members of the choir, it had a profound effect on the choristers lives as well as the community of Rhondda as a whole. Membership dwindled and interest was at low ebb, when their conductor left them the choir hung together by a thread. In the years to follow, their pianist Mrs Muriel Rees was their rock and the choir began to break new ground musically.

4 Pianist and Musical Director Mrs Muriel Rees with the choir in 1971 One of the choristers, Mr E. Davies took over the conductorship for a while and in 1973 a new conductor was appointed, Mr Paul Bennett. In him they found an exceptional music director and new ideas were soon formulated. In1978 present musical director Mr Fred Nicholas, joined the choir. Fred initially was only going to stay three months, to help the choir with a forthcoming tour to Miami. Fortunately he is still with us. Our present day accompanist Mr Brian James hails from another small mining village of Cwmaman in the Aberdare Valley. The choir activities are various and widespread. They have sung on numerous occasions at the Festivals of 1000 voices at the Royal Albert Hall. They have given concerts across the length and breadth of Britain and have performed concert tours in America, Germany and Canada. They still take great pleasure in the fact that they were the first Welsh choir to perform in Disneyworld Florida. In Germany, they have formed a lasting friendship with a choir there, the Frohsinn Male

5 Voice Choir in Simmern and have reciprocated by hosting the Frohsinn in Rhondda several times. Amongst other events the choir participated in a stage production of the works of the author Gwyn Thomas. Actor Glyn Houston required a local choir to help him with the production and he chose the Cambrian. The choir has also participated in the Welsh Association of Male Voice Choirs Choir of the Year Competition, winning the title on two consecutive occasions. They were the Majestic Choir Competition Runners Up in The Choir has also taken part in the Festival of Welsh Voices held at the Royal Albert Hall, London in October They have also been part of Festival of Remembrance both locally in Rhondda as well as The National Festival in Cardiff. Their last tour was of Scotland in April We are currently organising a tour to Malta in April Musical Director - Mr Frederick Nicholas Welsh Festival of Remembrance Cardiff. November 2010 Mr Fred Nicholas is a graduate of Cardiff School of Music, he joined the Cambrian in 1979 and is Head of Music at Bryncelynog Comprehensive School, has always been a keen 'bandsman' and has conducted the Ynyshir Brass. Fred's musical skills have been essential to Cambrian's progress for more than 20 years and without him it is questionable whether Cambrian would have continued to exist. Fred's teaching skills and enthusiasm for producing variable and exciting repertoire have guided Cambrian since the 1980's and made us ready for the new millennium.

6 Accompanist - Mr Brian James Brian took over as accompanist from Mrs Stella Willey. He was born and still lives in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley. He is an accomplished pianist and actor. Brian studied privately with the London College of Music winning several prizes and regularly plays the organ at the local parish Church of St. Joseph s in Cwmaman. He was a founder member of Cwmaman Operatic Society in 1968 where he was their accompanist before taking over as their Musical Director. In 1989 he became Musical director of Mid Rhondda Operatic Society until 1999 when he returned to Cwmaman opera for a production of Meet me in St. Louis which was part of the events for the newly refurbished theatre which was re- opened by a visit of Prince Charles. As an actor his many roles have ranged from farce to Shakespeare, he also has turned his hand to directing plays.

7 To book the choir or to get further information : p.davey2@btinernet.com Tel: Peter Davey (Secretary) on : or Tel: Linden Evans (Chairman) on Our website: