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Previous
decade: the 2010's
January 2020
We had a quiet January, with
regard to concerts. We were sorry to hear the sad
news that Alan Short had lost his battle with a short-term
illness and had passed away. Alan was a keen sportsman and
a very good 2nd tenor and had been with us for nine years.
He leaves his wife Eileen, children and grandchildren and
will be sadly missed by the choir and his family. It was
great to sing at his funeral at Swansea Crematorium.
February 2020
Our first performance of the
year was at the Three Lamps, on Saturday 22nd, to provide entertainment for the Wales v France
rugby match. We sang for about half an hour before the
game and managed to squeeze in a few items at half time.
After the game we moved around the various floors singing
a few songs to each group of people, including a hen party
on the top floor! The response we get from these is
amazing and most of the partygoers are youngsters who
would probably never hear a male voice choir singing.
On Saturday 29th we
were back at All Saints, Oystermouth for a fundraising
concert for the choir and a local charity ‘Therapy for
Swansea Kids’. The concert entitled ‘March into March’
feature d the choir and the newly formed ‘Rock Choir’,
which comprises members of choirs from Swansea, Mumbles,
Neath, Carmarthen and Llanelli. The concert started with
Roger Gadd presenting a cheque of £2000.00 to the charity
which has established a Therapy Centre at Hill House and
is entirely run by volunteer parents, therapists and
friends. We opened the concert with ‘Cwm Rhondda’, with
Steve joining Rhian on the organ, and also performed
‘Pacem’. This is relatively new to our repertoire and is
accompanied by Rhian and Gareth Widlake on viola. During
this set Nick presented our service ties to Geoff Jones,
for completing five years, and Adrian Crowley and Anthony
Marmont for ten years. There was also a tie for our
youngest member who was actually celebrating his 18th birthday!
Mike Phippen received his tie for five years’ service and
we all sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him. We finished our first
set with ‘The Impossible Dream’. The Rock Choir then sang
and started with ‘Since You’ve been Gone’ and included
‘Super Trouper’ and ‘Don’t Stop me Now’ in their first
set. The first half finished with a terrific solo by Lee
Ellery who is the ‘Special Ambassador’ for the charity. He
sang ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ from ‘Les Miserables’ and
received a deserved standing ovation at the end. The Rock
Choir started the second half with Justin Timberlake’s
‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ followed by ‘Only You’. Their
performance is always very lively and are well directed by
Dan Rogers, who’s enthusiasm is affectious. They finished
their second set with ‘Shut Up and Dance with Me’. We
finished the concert with our second set, and we started
with our ‘Abba Medley’. It was great to see our previous
MD, Simon Oram, in the audience, who arranged this medley
for the choir. We sang a number of our favourites and
finished with ‘An American Trilogy’ to a standing ovation
from the packed audience. This was possibly Nick’s last
concert and it was a fitting end to all his hard work over
the past 13 years. Special thanks must go to the sponsors
of the concert Swansea Building Society, Liberty Homes,
Designer Outdoor Lighting, RDM Electrical and Mechanical
Services, and Morganstone. Also, to our Ladies Committee
who looked after ‘front of house’ and CD sales. Lastly to
our fundraising committee who put the concert together.
Following the concert, we all adjourned to the West Cross
Inn, arranged by Meirion Howells, and they provided a
lovely buffet for us.
Nick Rogers, our outstanding MD for the past 14 years, had
announced that he would be standing down after the concert
at the end of February. Nick is staying with the
choir and has joined the second bass section.
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