April’s challenge was to sing on the Glanfa stage at the Millennium Centre, Cardiff to a large discerning audience. A disciplined, passionate performance by the choir was supported by the lovely Miss Vale of Glamorgan, Courtenay Hamilton who performed as a guest soloist.
As usual the choir was conducted by the energetic Dot Connell and accompanied by Emma Arscott.
Barry Male Voice Choir, with MD Dot Connell, Accompanist Emma Arscott and Guest Soloist Courtenay Hamilton
Barry Male Voice Choir performed a patriotic St. David’s Day concert in the Sir Samuel Romilly Wetherspoon’s pub in Barry, a break from the normal Monday night rehearsal schedule. The celebration was part of Wetherspoon’s 10 day long St. David’s Day beer festival.
The evening was well supported by regular followers of the choir and the rousing performance also went down well with the other drinkers in the pub who were not necessarily expecting to be entertained in such a fashion, particularly as the Wetherspoon chain of pubs is known for being a music free zone. The Sir Samuel Romilly’s manager, Lucie Peters, said: ‘The Festival was a great way to celebrate St. David’s Day and make the celebrations last ten days, instead of just one.’
‘The in-pub performance by the Barry Male Voice Choir made it even more special and was enjoyed by our customers and staff.’
A busy Christmas period by the Barry Male Voice Choir included two local charity concerts. The choir, together with the Barry Island Junior School Choir provided a memorable evening of seasonal music at Vale Mayor Councillor Emlyn Williams’ Charity Concert held at Art Central Barry. The choir`s Christmas Carol Concert featuring the RAF Voluntary Band held at All Saints Church was held in aid of the Alzheimer`s Society and raised the grand total of £850.
The photograph shows the presentation of a cheque for £850 by Don Surridge, chairman of the Barry Male Voice Choir to Alzheimer Society representatives Helen Lloyd and Pamela Stanley.
During the rebuilding of Holy Trinity Church Hall Monday and Thursday practices are currently being held in Holy Trinity Church, Trinity Street, Barry from 7.30-9.30pm.
The Barry Male Voice Choir welcomed the ladies of the Orwell Singers, Ipswich to share in their recent Annual Concert held at All Saint`s Church Barry. The near capacity audience enjoyed a gala evening of modern and classical songs.
This was a proud and memorable occasion for Dorothy Connell and the choir as it was Dorothy`s first Annual Concert as conductor of the Barry Male Voice Choir. The choir responded to her direction with passion and control. As ever the choir were accompanied by the talented Emma Arscott. The Male Voice programme included a medley of songs from the popular musical Paint Your Wagon, Musz I Denn (Wooden Heart) made famous by Elvis Presley,a selection of Welsh songs including Delilah and the ever popular and inspirational hymn Llef.
The Orwell Singers conducted by Gloria Wilson and accompanied by Sylvia Davies sang with fine tone and control.Their programme included a selection of Songs from the Shows, The Sound of Silence by Paul Simon, Negro Spirituals and a moving African Medley .
Both choirs combined to provide sensitive harmonious renderings of John Rutter`s For the Beauty of the Earth. and Howard Goodall`s Love Divine. The concert ended with a multilingual composition Hwyl Fawr Ffrindiau (Goodbye friends) written and arranged by Dorothy Connell. This song expressed the genuine feeling of regret later expressed on the departure of the Orwell Singers after a very enjoyable afterglow held after the concert.
The Barry Male Voice Choir is well travelled and following last year`s enjoyable visit to Scotland is now preparing for a concert tour of Southern Ireland .The choir is a strong fellowship of very sociable men sharing a common interest of music and song. The choir motto remains “Friendship through Music.”
Barry Male Voice Choir and The Orwell Singers
It was a case of ‘over the border and away’ once again for conductor Dorothy Connell and the Barry Male Voice Choir for their latest concert. This time the choir’s destination was Worle, Somerset rather than Stirling, Scotland where the choir performed a concert in aid of the fabric of St. Martin’s Parish Church. The 900 year old Norman Church provided a perfect ambiance for a summer evening concert. A large audience enjoyed a varied programme, which included songs from the shows Oliver and Les Miserables, traditional Welsh hymns, songs of love and songs such as We’ll Gather Lilacs and Daffodils, which evoked the beauty of nature. Solo items were provided by choir member tenor David Evans and the choir’s talented accompanist Emma Arscott, whose assured performances were greeted with prolonged applause. The announcement made by compere Douglas Baxter that “the concert interval would be as long as necessary” was soon understood by the puzzled audience. It simply meant that the second half of the concert would start when everyone had finished consuming the refreshments provided of wine and cheese! Following the concert, the choir and their travelling supporters adjourned to a local hostelry, where the usual concert afterglow was enjoyed by all. The busy choir schedule continues with a concert at Raglan on July 11 as part of the Raglan Music Festival.
Emma and Simon with Barry Male Voice Choir
August 30th, 2008 was a day to remember in many ways, a rare perfect sunny day during the wettest August on record, when the lovely Emma Cureton the talented accompanist of the Barry Male Voice Choir married British Airways Quality Engineer, and Barry Male Voice Choirs’ webmaster, Simon Arscott.
The choir who are no strangers to singing at weddings were particularly honoured to be asked to perform on the day, albeit without their usual accompanist.
The wedding took place at the Court Colman Manor near Bridgend, where the choir sang before the service and also during the signing of the register. Rejoining the choir for the day in Emma’s place was previous Barry Male Voice Choir accompanist Steve Burges.
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