On Sunday the 6th March the Gwalia Singers
performed their first concert of the year at Mumbles Rugby
club. This was a concert to celebrate St David’s Day
and was the first event for our new conductor, Matthew
Sims. We also a welcomed the return of our accompanist
Rhian Stone. The concert was a resounding success as the
choir performed to a capacity crowd, singing some
traditional Welsh items, together with items from our
repertoire. It was a wonderful afternoon crowned by a
final standing ovation. We had a collection for the
‘Ukraine Appeal Fund’ which was generously supported and
raised £350. Our thanks go to Mumbles Rugby Club and
their Chairman Simon Evans for their invitation and
hospitality. We hope to make this an annual event in the
future.
It is
with very great sadness that we have to report that Peter
Jacobs, one of our First Tenors, passed away on the 11th
March. He died in hospital having been fighting
against cancer for a long time. He will be greatly
missed by all of our choir members especially for his
lovely tenor voice and his great sense of humour. Our
thoughts go out to Rae and his family.
At our
rehearsals we are learning a new version of “Calon Lan” by
John Hughes and arranged by Jeffery Howard. We are
looking forward to learning “To Where You Are”, arranged
by Alwyn Humphreys with Words and Music by Richard Marx
& Linda Thompson.
February
2022
This month we met our new Musical
Director, Matthew Sims.Matthew is an enthusiastic and very capable
musician/conductor and he has exciting plans to help to
develop the choir and move us forward.He took two
rehearsals with us and then on the 22nd of February the
choir unanimously voted him in as their permanent MD.It was also
very pleasing to see Rhian, our accompanist, back after
a long break.She
will continue playing at our rehearsals on alternate
weeks and at our public performances while Stephen will
continue on the other weeks.We are very
fortunate to have such a strong Music Team. We are
very pleased to announce that Ian Bengeyfield (2nd
Tenor), Barry Jones (Baritone) and Neil Lewis (Bass)
have passed their voice test with Matt and we welcome
them as full members of the Gwalia Singers.
January
2022
In the New Year we returned to
rehearsals after our Covid/Christmas break with Nick
still running the rehearsals and Stephen on the
keyboard.We
spent the time polishing the songs we had learned since
July and some of our past repertoire.
December
2021
Sandra
Knight’s tenure as our Musical Director came to an
end in early December. Sandra has
been with us throughout the pandemic and we thank
her for all she has done for the choir during that
time. We
are very fortunate that our former MD, Nick Rogers
has agreed to step in while we search for a
replacement. Our permanent accompanist, Rhian,
is unable to be with us at the moment so we are very
grateful to Steve Wilson and Gareth Widlake who have
stood in to fill the gap, we are very fortunate to
have such talented musicians in the choir.
We were very
disappointed that our first Christmas concert at
St Hilary’s Church had to be cancelled due to
coronavirus restrictions.
Our second concert went ahead in All Saints
Church on the 16th December in Oystermouth and it was a
great success. We, along with the soprano Ross
Evans, sang to raise funds for Maggie’s, a local Cancer
support charity. We were able to christen our new
staging that we had purchased before the pandemic.
We sang a mixture of music including some new songs from
our repertoire and well as some of our traditional
Christmas songs (see the programme).
During
the concert ties were presented to some choristers in
recognition of their long of service to the choir, this
should have been done before but lack of formal
concerts, again due to Covid, has caused a build-up of
recipients.
35 Years - Clive
Walters. 25 Years - Nick Rogers and
Mike Williams.
20 Years - Des Criddle and Steve
Wilson. 15 Years - John
Morgan.
10 Years - Peter Jacobs and Craig
Thomas. 5 Years - Clive
Dowell, James McCarry, Carl Sullivan and Phil Withy.
Brian
Warwick (5 Years) and Geoff Wheel (10 Years) will have
their ties presented at the next opportunity. We
congratulate them all and thank them for all they do for
the choir.
It is with sadness that we have to
report the news that Dewer Neill passed away on New
Years Eve. He died peacefully in Brynfield Manor where
he had been for three days. Dewer had been
struggling with painful arthritis for several
years. He had been a very loyal choir member
for 15 years since January 2007, and had attended nearly
all choir concerts and tours in that time. We
send our sympathy to his wife Patsy, a valued Gwalia
supporter, and to his family.
October
- November 2021
We have now
started rehearsing our Christmas repertoire ready for our
December concerts. We have been very pleased to see
our probationers becoming full time members of the choir,
we welcome the following members into the choir and wish
them all a long and happy association with the Gwalia
Singers.
Top Tenor - Richard
Lewis. Second Tenors - David Lloyd, Phil
Renowden, Roger Spring and Robert Walters. Baritone
- Gordon Reed. Basses - Robert Parker
and Phil Webster.
It is with very
great sadness that we have to report the passing of Thomas
George Bowen - ‘George’.He was one of our Choristers and passed away
peacefully in his sleep, after a long illness, on the 21st
October 2021. George joined the choir in
March 2007 and served as a reliable and conscientious
chorister until the Coronavirus pandemic closed the choir
down in February 2019.He had a lovely baritone voice and seldom missed a
rehearsal, concert, wedding or concert tour.Towards the end
of his time with the choir he would sing from his wheel
chair as he could no longer stand or walk.
George will always be remembered for his entertaining
stories about his time in the Royal Navy and the Police
Force and for his deep booming laugh.He will be
greatly missed by all his friends in the Gwalia Singers.
September
2021
September was a
busy month for the choir, having being invited to sing at
two weddings and also at The Mumbles Festival of Music and
the Arts 2021. The successful festival concert,
alongside Swansea Soprano Ros Evans, was an excellent
platform for the Gwalia Singers to introduce three pieces
of work from their new repertoire. During the
evening we were able to present Gareth John and John
Haslam with their 10 year service ties, congratulations to
them. It is very encouraging to see the choir
numbers growing and over the last few months the choir has
welcomed nine new probationary choristers.
July
2021
We are very
pleased to welcome Cliff Gapper into the choir as a
full-time singer with the second basses, we wish him a
long and enjoyable time with the Gwalia Singers.
June
2021
An announcement was made by the Government
that Choirs would be permitted to sing together again,
face to face under restrictions with Risk Assessments,
Health and Safety Procedures, Social Distancing and the
wearing of masks becoming the norm.What great joy
to finally rehearse and to sing together face to
face! There had never been a greater time to
appreciate being a chorister and that special feeling of
belonging to "a Choir Family". The Gwalia Singers
took up the mantle of further widening their repertoire in
rehearsals, enjoying the benefits of singing together
again .
Emyr Price left the choir as he moved away to Burry
Port. He will be missed after 15 years as a second
tenor and as committee member. We thank him and
Mandy, who was treasurer of the Ladies Committee, for all
they have done for the choir and wish them all the best in
their new home.
March
2021
It is with great sadness that we have lost one of our
Choristers - Raymond Pelzer who passed away on 9th March
2021.
Tony Brooks (from the Bass Section) has written the
following tribute to Ray.
"Whenever I think of Ray I always smile, he had a wicked and
infectious sense of humour and was always laughing and
telling stories, so much so, you just couldn’t help but
laugh along with him." Ray was a gifted singer with a
beautiful Top Tenor voice, he will be especially missed in
the Top Tenor section and significantly by the Gwalia
Singers as a whole. Ray joined the Gwalia Singers in
January 1992 and soon became a valued chorister, his
attendance at Rehearsals and Concerts was exemplary. Ray
remained with the choir for 29 years, playing an active role
at Concerts and the Afterglows wherever the Gwalia Singers
performed around the world. - "Rest in Peace my
Friend."
It was very pleasing to see Dr Carl Sullivan returning to
the choir.
March
2020 - June 2021
Sandra Knight was appointed as the new Musical Director of
the choir starting in March.She was appointed from several applicants and we are
very lucky to have found a person with her qualities.She gave her first
full rehearsal with the choir in preparation for a concert
at the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea for the Young Singer Bursary
Winners with West Glamorgan Youth Music. However,
unprecedented events took over. Toward the end of
March, the Coronavirus Pandemic came into being.As a result,
"lockdown" throughout the UK was brought in by the
government with self-isolation and gathering of people
strictly banned. Government
rules were to "Stay at home and Stay safe".
This had a profound effect on all choirs- unable to meet and
rehearse! 2020 was to be a very busy year for the
Gwalia Singers. All
future concerts were cancelled. This included a
retirement dinner in honour of former MD Nick Rogers, a
combined concert with the Kronshagen Choir from Germany, a
choir tour to Cornwall as well as singing at several
weddings and at other events.
With the new MD eager to commence her appointment and no
choir rehearsals, technology came to the forefront. Regular monthly
newsletters from the Chairman, Clive Walters and the Music
Team were forwarded to choristers along with new pieces of
music to add to the choir's repertoire.This was important
so that sectional parts could be learnt in readiness for
when rehearsals could resume. (Also to keep everyone busy
during lockdown). Zoom has come to our aid – we had a
committee meeting, a social gathering and a quiz, thank you
Gareth John for being our Quiz Master.Sandra also met
with the four sections of the choir over a period of weeks
via "Zoom". A new chapter had begun.......
Dr Carl Sullivan, who sings with the second tenors and a
former committee member, is leaving the choir.He was a doctor at
Morriston hospital and is now taking up a promotional
position in Sheffield.He leaves with our thanks and good wishes.
Unfortunately,
a very loyal and participative member of the Gwalia Singers
– Edwin [Ed] Parton passed away on 20th March this year. He had been unwell
for some time with lung cancer and was having regular
treatment in hospital where he contracted the
coronavirus.
He was a very much loved and intelligent member of the choir
which he joined in May 2008. His potential was soon
recognised when he was elected to the committee at the AGM
in 2011. In the
same year he took on the role of Patron’s Secretary,
communicating regularly with all those many individuals who
support the choir. In 2013 the choir Chairman at the time –
Clive Walters, invited him to be Vice Chairman which he
gladly accepted and was elected Chairman in 2015. He added a special
mature and hard-working dimension to this role which he held
for the normal two years. On
completion of his chairmanship he continued to serve as an
experienced committee member.
He will be greatly missed by all the choir, especially the
second tenors and certainly by the many golfers who played
with him. Our
deepest sympathies are with his wife Janet.
February
2021
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.
To read more of our news going back to the choirs
bebinning click
here
Unfortunately,
a very loyal and participative member of the Gwalia Singers
– Edwin [Ed] Parton passed away on 20th March this year.