Programme

Fron Male Voice Choir
Voices of the Valley
and
Gwawr Edwards, Ellen Williams & Sioned Terry
In Concert
7:30pm Saturday November 17 th 2018
at the
William Aston Hall
Glyndŵr University, Wrexham
Programme £2
The Fron Male Voice Choir Singing Since 1947

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30 2

Chairman’s Address
Croeso cynnes iawn i gyngerdd heno! A very warm
welcome to tonight's concert, with the wonderful Athena.
We hope you have a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
The 12 months since our last concert in the William Aston
Hall have been incredible for the Fron, culminating in a
glorious appearance in the Male Voice Choir competition at
the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, more of which on
pages 4-7. We are very lucky to have a Musical Director of
the calibre of Leigh Mason whose talent in choosing
repertoire, energising and leading the choir is unsurpassed. Alongside her we have
the greatly talented Jason Ellis, our accompanist, and Owen Maelor Roberts our
Deputy MD – a wonderful Music Team!
A couple of weeks before winning at Llan we had a wonderful trip to Austria
where we sang in some incredible venues: St. Peter’s Cathedral in Vienna, Melk
Monastery, Mondsee Church, where the wedding in the Sound of Music was
filmed, and the DOM Cathedral in Salzburg where Mozart plied his trade – it has
no less than seven organs!! It was outstanding. However, you can read more about
the horrendous journey we had to get there on pages 32-35.
We are very reliant on our social media to spread the word about the choir,
concerts and events, so please follow us on Facebook page
(Facebook.com/FronMVC) or simply search @FronMVC to follow us on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram – and don’t forget to share with your family and
friends, wherever they are in the world.
Finally, we are developing a new website (www.fronchoir.com) and plan to record
another Voices of the Valley album in the new year as well as continuing with a
busy concert schedule and possibly a trip abroad so, you see, we are always busy
and constantly looking for new members – so please do come along. The only
stipulation is that you have to be male. Please don’t be like Derbyshire Police and
take that as a sexist issue – it’s just a male voice choir would simply not be a male
voice choir if it were not exclusively male! Having said that, we are a familyoriented
group so wives and children are always welcome too.
We all thank you very much for your wonderful support and look forward to
entertaining you again soon.
Have a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and secure 2019.
Dymynaf Nadolig llawen, a blwyddyn 2019 hapus, iach, a diogel.
Roger Williams
Chairman
30 3

30 4

The Fron Male Voice Choir
Male Voice Choir Champions
FOR THE choir a meeting at Seion Chapel Froncysyllte way
back in 1947 has significant importance. The village wanted to
support the newly formed Llangollen Eisteddfod, and at that meeting it
was proposed that a male voice choir was formed to compete at the 1948
eisteddfod. The Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir was formed, however
they needed 60 voices to enter the competition and despite recruiting
most of the men from the village they were still short. They turned to the
Youth Club choir and persuaded some of the youngsters to make up the
numbers.
70 years on, and two of those youngsters are still singing with the choir,
Dennis Williams, and Gren Gough. They have sung under all five of the
choir’s musical directors, and still participate and enjoy all aspects of
singing in a male voice choir.
In July this year the choir took to the stage to compete at the Llangollen
Eisteddfod and were delighted to be crowned Male Voice Choir
Champions for the 4 th time. It is an amazing achievement for these two to
be still singing at such a high standard and with such enthusiasm after 70
years.
Elin Manahan Thomas, soprano, and BBC presenter, said on BBC2 after
the Fron’s performance in Llangollen.
“It was fantastic to have the Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir here, the
local representative, but boy did they deserve their place. They had
lovely quiet controlled singing and yet they really went for it in the
bigger dynamics. I'm very impressed with this choir and I absolutely
loved their choice of repertoire”.
30 5

Classical FM 25 th Birthday Ultimate Classical Charts
Top 15 selling artists
(after Various Artistes)
Top 10 UK Artists
Top 15 Selling Albums
30 6

Fron Male Voice Choir continued
Today the Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir is better known as the Fron Male
Voice Choir, following the success of their series of five Voices of the Valley
CD albums recorded under the Fron name. The five albums were released on
Universal’s UCJ or Decca label between 2006 to 2010. They sold well over
one million albums, with four of the albums being awarded gold and platinum
disc for sales. Their albums were also awarded gold discs for their Australian
sales.
Last year the Fron had the honour of appearing in Classic FMs 25th Birthday
Celebration Ultimate Lists by being 8th in the Best Selling Musicians of the
past 25 years, and their first album Voices of the Valley being listed as 8th of
the top 10 best selling music albums of the past 25 years.
The Fron, with choristers from the counties of Wrexham, Denbighshire,
Powys, Cheshire and Shropshire now sells it’s CDs in over 84 countries and
their tracks appear on over 90 compilation discs, and are heard alongside some
of the world’s biggest stars.
2017 was a busy 70th anniversary year for the choir. In April this they visited
Cornwall to compete at the biannual Cornwall International Male Chorus
Festival, and were delighted to have been warded first prize in the 40 Plus
Voices Section. They were also awarded best UK choir, and best performance
of a piece. They also undertaken a tour of four UK Cathedrals with concerts at
Truro, Bangor, Llandaff and Hereford.
This year has been equally busy with a full diary of concerts, private
engagements and a memorable tour of Austria. A tour, memorable not only the
opportunity to sing in so many amazing venues but also for the way the choir
kept their heads and their moral up after such a dreadful start (See page 32).
The Fron Choir has a proud history, a vibrant present, and an exciting future.
They have succeeded in recruiting over 25 new choristers over the past three
years. They will still welcome any man who enjoy singing, along to their
rehearsals rooms at Acrefair School on Mondays and Thursdays 7:00pm until
9:00pm to see what is involved. Choral experience and the ability to read
music not necessary. Enthusiasm, commitment, the ability to enjoy themselves
and be prepared to work hard is more important. Everyone has a voice, make
good use of yours and join a choir.
30 7

Christmas Concert at the New Vic 2016
Christmas Concert at the New Vic 2017
30 8
Bryn Terfel and Leigh discuss
the music before a TV recording

Leigh Mason - Fron Male Voice Choir MD
Leigh was educated at Castell Alun High School in
Hope going on to gain a BMus and MA in performing
and Conducting from the University of Wales in
Bangor. Although keen to follow a career in
performance and conducting, Leigh completed her
PGCE and started a new placement as teacher of
Music at Ysgol Bryn Hyfryd in Ruthin in September.
Music, in particular singing has always been a major
hobby of Leighs with her first choral experience as one of the founder members of
the Chester Primary Schools Choirs in 1992. At the age of 13 she became one of
the founder members of the Flintshire County Youth Choir and was soon a
member of the 4 Counties Youth Choir, the National Youth Choir of Wales and the
Sirenian Singers. During her time in Bangor she was a dedicated member of every
music ensemble going. Leigh frequently sang alongside these ensembles as a
soloist with notable moments being the Mozart’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah,
Handel’s Messiah, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, The Part of the Angel in Elgar’s
the dream of Gerontius and witch 2 in Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas. Since
leaving university she has sung with the ‘Chester Operatics Society’ in Gilbert and
Sullivan’s the Mikado.
It wasn’t just singing that sparked her musical enthusiasm. Throughout her
education Leigh was a member of wind bands, string orchestras, jazz bands and
orchestras on piano, flute, double bass, and trombone as well as pit orchestras for
shows including ‘Oh What a Lovely War,’ ‘Oliver’ ‘Guys and Dolls,’ ‘Jekyll and
Hyde’ and My Fair Lady.
Apart from performing in all these ensembles she enjoys directing them too. For
two years during her time in University she was the choral director for the music
society choir. 2007 saw her first attempt at conducting a show with the Wrexham
Musical Theatre Society in their production of the ‘Wizard of Oz’. In September
2008 Leigh became the Choral Director of Mold and District Choral Society before
taking up the baton as the conductor of the Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir in
March 2010.
The last eight years with the Fron have seen Leigh conduct over 100 concerts,
numerous weddings, travelled all over the UK and Ireland and toured to New York
and Austria as well as competition success in the Isle of Mann, Derry International
Choral Festival, the sweeping of the board at the 2017 Cornwall International Male
Voice Choir Competition and winning the Male Voice category at the Llangollen
International Music Eisteddfod this July . In January 2017 due to mounting
pressure from certain members of her village, Leigh formed a ladies choir in
Carrog called ‘Lleisiau’r Afon- The Dyfyrdwyettes’. The choir itself is growing
with now over 20 members.
30 9

Owen Maelor Roberts - Deputy MD
Owen M Roberts attended Ruabon Boys’ Grammar School
and the Normal College, Bangor. In 1970 he gained an
ARCM diploma in School Music and went on to teach at
schools in Gobowen and Coedpoeth. He joined Cefn Mawr
Operatic Society where he became musical director and he
took leading roles (but not at the same time).
In 1983 he started a small mixed choir – Choral Variations – which he still conducts
today. Around this time he was also appointed as accompanist to Fron Choir. With
them he enjoyed several tours abroad and they had numerous successes in
competitions. However, he eventually relinquished the position due to pressure of
work. When he retired from teaching, he was invited back to Fron as deputy to their
MD, Ann Atkinson, and played a key role in the success of the CD that they made
with Universal.
He continues as deputy to Leigh Mason and sometimes plays to relieve the
accompanist, Jason Ellis. In 2014 he was invited to take on Côr Glyndwr (mixed
choir) in Wrexham. With them he has conducted The Armed Man (Karl Jenkins), Faur
Requiem, St. Cecilia Mass (Gounod) and Petite Messe Solennelle (Rossini). He is also
Organist and Choirmaster at Llangollen Parish Church and is much in demand to
accompany singers and instrumentalists.
10 30
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Jason Ellis - pianist
Leeds College of
classical and
orchestration and
Jason has been
Liverpool
was appointed
Choir and has
with the choir.
Jason was born in Yorkshire and is a graduate of
Music and Liverpool University where he trained in
romantic piano performance, composition,
arranging.
involved with choral music since accompanying the
University Singers during his studies and in 2010 he
principle accompanist to the Froncysyllte Male Voice
enjoyed the many and varied performances and tours
Inspired by the musical standard and community
spirit of ‘the Fron’ Jason founded the Mersey Wave
Choir - a mixed voice choir based in Hale Village,
South Liverpool in 2012. He has since been recruited to work with several
choral groups across Merseyside including the Maghull based Georgian
Singers and Wirral based Capriccio singers.
Jason performs solo piano recitals regularly in and around Liverpool and as
part of the Mersey Wave ‘Introducing Classical Music’ series. He is in demand
as accompanist, and was the official accompanist for the Rainhill Music
Festival 2016/17. Since 2014 Jason has been resident pianist at the Liverpool
Empire Theatre and uses any spare time to compose and make musical
arrangements and transcriptions on a freelance basis and working at his own
Piano/Theory music tuition practice in Widnes, Cheshire.
Keep up to date with our concert dates and stories from
the day to day running of the choir by signing up to the
Fron’s Newsletter
To signup visit
http://newsletter.social/forms4
30 11

Athena perform at FAW Awards evening at Hensol Castle
Performing live on BBC Radio Cymru
12 30
Athena perform on S4C's Heno

Athena
Athena
Athena sees sopranos Gwawr Edwards, Ellen Williams and mezzo-soprano
Sioned Terry come together in harmonious union - three sought after Welsh
artists that came together one evening in concert and were encouraged to
continue to perform together. Since then, the trio have been busy creating
new arrangements, appearing on television and radio, working on records in
the recording studio and performing across the UK.
Already established as prominent soloists in the UK Athena, since their
formation, have been a huge hit with audiences often receiving standing
ovations. This in demand trio perform a wide range of repertoire ranging
from Crossover favourites to Opera classics to Celtic folk songs.
Athena performed at the Football Association of Wales Awards evening at
Hensol Castle, and after a successful concert with the 3 Welsh Tenors are
currently performing across the UK on their Summer Tour.
We are delighted that they have managed to fit a Wrexham concert into their
busy concert diary.
Ellen Williams soprano
​Ellen Williams
Ellen Williams has been praised by The Guardian for her "poise and promise,
her voice agile with silvery charm", Ellen has performed in theatres and
concert venues both internationally and across the UK including Cadogan
Hall, Royal Concert Hall Glasgow, Bridgewater Hall, the Wales Millennium
Centre and St. David’s Hall. she sang with the Fron Male Voice Choir at
Llandaff Cathedral Cardiff last year.
In 2014 Ellen supported Rhydian Roberts on his UK tour, which coincided
with the release of her debut EP "Skylark" on the Welsh label, Sain.
Gwawr Edwards Edwards soprano
Gwawr is a well-known singer throughout the UK and further afield. At 17
she was offered a scholarship to study singing at the Royal Welsh College of
Music and Drama, Cardiff before gaining a first class Masters degree from
the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
She has performed at the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Cadogan
Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Manchester Bridgewater hall, and the
Millennium Centre, Cardiff to name a few, accompanied by the Liverpool
Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Concert Orchestra, London Symphony
Orchestra and the National Orchestra of Wales.
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In opera, Gwar has sung the roles for opera companies such as Glyndebourne
Festival and Tour, Opera de Lorraine, Bampton, and Opera Cymru. Gwawr
has travelled the world, singing in China, Europe, South America and North
America, and sometimes presents for S4C and BBC Radio Cymru.
Sioned Terry mezzo soprano
Since her early success on the National and International platforms of the
Eisteddfod in Wales, Sioned has forged a career, which has seen her perform
alongside internationally renowned instrumentalists, soloists, choirs and
much-loved entertainers.
Sioned’s performances include live broadcasts from international sporting
events, including appearances for Team GB (Commonwealth Games),
recorded TV appearances, radio broadcasts and countless music festivals,
open-air galas and intimate classical music festivals.
Most recently Sioned has worked with WNO, bringing to life some of Grace
Williams’ lesser-known music, as well as seeing her own collection of songs
published by Curiad Music. Sioned is in the process of recording an album of
works by Welsh composers and is also toured with the late legendary
entertainer Sir Ken Dodd.
Sioned is a brand ambassador for her beloved RGC1404, that’s Rugby
Gogledd Cymru (North Wales Rugby) team and can often be heard
entertaining the crowds before the team’s home matches at Stadium Zip
World at Parc Eirias.
ATHENA
ENCORE
New CD Released: Oct 26 th 2018
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Interval for £12
15 30

Leigh "getting in the mood" for a rehearsal at St Mary's Church Welshpool 2014
The Choir process on stage to the Carol "Torches" at
a SOLD OUT Holy Trinity Church in Oswestry Dec 2017
A visit during Thursday practice - 4th May- from the Wales Air Ambulance mascot
to promote the concert in "The Stiwt" on the 13th of May 2017.
16 30

A Visitor to the Poncysyllte World Heritage Site
The choir often receive messages asking about the area that they live in, and
how do we have so many visitors to our practice nights. The Fron’s based in a
beautiful part of North Wales which attracts people from all over the world.
These visitors often pop into their rehearsals, on the recommendation of local
tourist information centres.
The choir feel so privileged to be living in an area recently designated as a
World Heritage site. An area that for the past 71 years has been welcoming
thousands of visitors from all around the world to the wonderful Llangollen
International Eisteddfod which takes place in the first week in July. They
would, however, like to tell you of a particular visitor to the area in 2017.
Last summer they held a short concert to mark their 70th Anniversary at Seion
Chapel, Froncysyllte (it was the venue for the first meeting to discuss the
formation of the choir way back in 1947). After that, they made their way to
the Aqueduct Inn, Froncysyllte for the usual male voice choir afterglow, where
a choir gathers together to sing socially with each other and friends old and
new. As they entered the pub they noticed the well-known face of TV celebrity
John Craven. Many of the choir had previously met John when they were
featured on BBC’s Countryfile.
John and his two grandsons had been on a canal holiday on the Llangollen
Canal and they were moored up below the Aqueduct Inn ready to return the
boat to Trevor Marina at 9am the next day.
It was good for choristers to chat with John and he and his grandsons joined the
choir in singing songs together. Incidentally, he pointed out that the Fron were
not the only ones in the Aqueduct Inn to have
recorded a song that got into the charts. Since
they last met John, he too had sung on a celebrity
single to raise money for charity and of course, it
too had entered the charts.
After his holiday John wrote an article for the
Countryfile Magazine about his canal trip. If you
type this link http://john.social/canal4 into a web
browser you will be able to read the article. It
includes some beautiful photos of our area that
we sometimes take for granted. To cap it all,
they are delighted that towards the end John
mentions the choir. Glad you enjoyed the
evening John. It was great to meet up with you
again.
17 30

Fron Male Voice Choir
Concert Programme
Part 1
The Roman War Song …………………………… Richards Wagner
From the Opera Rienzi
Softly as I Leave You ……………………………. Tony De Vita
Lyrics by Hal Shaper
Morte Christe ……..…..….…..….…..……..…….. Emrys Jones
A selection of songs
Fron Male Voice Choir
Exodus …..….….….….……….….…..….……….. Ernest Gold
arr Jon A Daniel
Spaseniye Sodelal …………………..…….……… P Chesnokov
What Shall We do With a Drunken Sailor ……….. Trad. Sea Shanty
arr Parker and Shaw
Seal Lullaby ……….….…..….…………………… Eric Whitaker
Pseudo-Yoik NT ………….……..……………….. Jaakko Mäntyjärvi
20 minute interval
18 30

Fron Male Voice Choir
Y Tangnefeddwyr ……...…….………..……..…. Eric Jones
O Iesu Mawr ………………...…..………..…….. Griffith Hugh
Words by David Charles
Act of Remembrance
Concert Programme
Part 2
Congregational hymn
Abide With Me ………………………………… William Henry Monk
Bring Him Home ………….……..…………….. C M Schoenberg
Songs from the First World War …..…………… arr Alwyn Humphries
A selection of songs
Fron Male Voice Choir
Tom ….……..…………..……………………… Brian Hughes
The Lord’s Prayer ……..…………..………..….. A H Malotte
Rhyfelgyrch Gwyr Harlech ………….………… arr Harry Evans
Finale
19 30

First World War Medley
It's a long way to Tipperary
It's a long way to go
It's a long way to Tipperary
To the sweetest girl I know
Goodbye, Piccadilly
Farewell, Leicester Square!
It's a long, long way to Tipperary
But my heart's right there
It's a long way to Tipperary
It's a long way to go
It's a long way to Tipperary
To the sweetest girl I know
Goodbye, Piccadilly
Farewell, Leicester Square!
It's a long, long way to Tipperary
But my heart's right there
Roses are shining in Picardy,
In the hush of the silver dew,
Roses are flow'ring in Picardy,
But there's never a rose like you!
And the roses will die with the summertime,
And our roads may be far apart,
But there's one rose that dies not in Picardy,
'Tis the rose that I keep in my heart
30 20
Over there, over there
Send the word, send the word over there
That the Yanks are coming
The Yanks are coming
The drums rum-tumming
Everywhere
So prepare, say a prayer
Send the word, send the word to beware
We'll be over, we're coming over
And we won't come back till it's over
Over there

30 22

Abide With Me
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide
The darkness deepens Lord, with me abide
When other helpers fail and comforts flee
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness
Where is death's sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee
In life, in death, o Lord, abide with me
Abide O Lord, abide with me
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30 24

Competition First Prizes awarded at:-
1954, 1956,1995 Cardigan Eisteddfod
1954, 1955, 1961 Butlin’s Chair Eisteddfod
1955 Anglesey Chair Eisteddfod
1955, 1961, 1963, 1977, 1988 Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales
1981, 1982 BBC Wales Male voice Choir of
the Year
1986, 1988 North Wales Choral Festival
1987 Gwyl ^ Gorawl Cymru
1980, 1992, 1995 Pontrhydfendigaid Eisteddfod
1995 Malta International Choir Festival
1995 Huddersfield Choral Festival
1998 British Steel Championship
1998 International Festival Anthens
2005 Harmonie Festival Limburg,
Germany
2014 Derry International Choral Festival
2017 Cornwall International Male Choral
Festival
1977, 1987, 1994, 2018 Llangollen International
Eisteddfod
30 25

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30 26

Fron Male Voice Choir Choristers 2018-19
First Tenors
First Bass
Simon Critchlow
Geoff Davies
Malcolm Davies
Rob Edwards
Tudor Evans
John Haddy
Steve Holloway
Berwyn Jones
Cyril Jones
David L Jones
Rolly Jones
John Kelsall
Colin Kinmond
Dulyn Moss
David Rogers-Hughes
Allan Smith
Daryl Stephenson
Gordon Urquhart
Darren Barker
Merfyn Barker
Alan Benyon
James Brown
Glyn Davies
Barry Faulks
Dave Griffiths
Keith Grose
David Hamlinton (P)
Paul Hopton
Aled T Jones
Colin Jones
Paul Jones
Rod March
Ron Massey (P)
David Preston
Mike Richards
Alun Salisbury
Ron Wilkinson
Dennis Williams
Second Tenors
Geoff Allen
Howard Austin
Howard Bourne
Alan Crofts
Jeremy Davies
Steven Frost (P)
Adrian Goodchild
Gren Gough
Anthony Jackson
John Jones
Ray Jones
Richard Jones
Wyn Morris
Paul Owens
Roger Phillips
Phil Wilkinson
Steve Winn
Second Bass
Graham Burgess
Barry Clark
Matthew Hayward
Neil Hayward
Sam Hughes
David T Jones
John Nolan
Gareth Reese
Trevor Wilford
David Williams
Keith Williams
Roger Williams
Paul Wycherly
(P) Probationer - new members
not yet singing on stage
30 27

30 28

Your Votes Are Needed
Your help is needed - everyone of you is entitled to 10 votes to decide who has
funding from the Aviva Community Fund. There are over 3,000 good causes
vying for funding - most are trying to secure £1,000 and a handful are trying to
secure between £10,001 and £25,000. Voting ends on the 20th November 2018.
The Fron’s Vice Chairman, David Thomas Jones, is on the Board of the Stiwt
Theatre in Rhosllannerchrugog. His involvement with the theatre goes back to
1980s when volunteers were allowed to carry out work to save the theatre
earmarked for demolition. In the 1990s he assisted Nancy Jones with the
Stiwt's successful lottery grant application.
The Stiwt is now Wrexham's only big theatre and has a beautiful 490 seat
auditorium with a proscenium arch and hydraulic orchestra pit, plus three other
flexible event spaces. It was first opened on 25th September 1926 and
completely refurbished and re-opened in 1990.
The running of the theatre relies on the goodwill of volunteers and a handful of
part-time staff under the guidance of the Board and the Stiwt’s only full time
employee, Rhys Davies, the manager. They have recently successfully raised
£10,000 by public donations to carry out maintenance of the four face clock
that has not been painted since its refurbishment in 1990.
They have been nominated for the Aviva Community Fund in the £10,001 to
£25,000 category and to stand any chance of having the award they need
around 6,000 votes by November 20th. This is where you come in!
If the Stiwt is successful in getting the full £25,000 this can be used for match
funding for another grant application and the £50,000 would mean that
essential maintenance on the fabric of the building could be carried out.
To register go to www.avivacommunityfund.co.uk to register then search in the
30 29

30

The Fearless Ten
IN MAY this year the choir received an email from Liverpool’s
Dewinter Agency, a PR, Social Media & Design Agency, asking if
the Fron could help in celebrating Welsh Tourism Week, 12th - 20th May
2018. They were planning on organising a photo opportunity at Zip World
in Betws-y-Coed, to celebrate the country’s proud Welsh heritage with a
tongue-in-cheek stunt that plays on the idea of choirs being put through
their paces and training in extreme situations.
Zip World had very kindly allowed Dewinter to use their Fforest Coaster
and Skyride, with willing volunteers taking to these two rides for the stunt.
For this, they required no more than 8 members of the choir to be in
attendance. Any choir member in attendance had be fit and healthy to
participate in proposed activities.
It was a tight deadline as they wanted it to take place at Zip World Betwsy-Coed
within three days. The choristers were contacted explaining the
restricted numbers and told it was first come first served. They had ten
positive responses immediately.
Dewinter agreed that all ten could attend with eight participating and two
observing but coming prepared as reserves. The date of the activity was
the 17th May 2018.
The Zip World website describes the Fforest Coaster as “one kilometer of
gravity driven twists, turns and thrills through our Fforest wonderland”.
The coaster is a twisting barrel of laughs through the trees. The Skyride is
for those feeling brave. You pull the trigger and send you and your friends
flying through the forest on Zip World’s giant swing! Set at 80ft in the air
to a breathtaking backdrop, this is one for you thrill seekers!
On the day it was decided that all ten could use the Fforest Coaster but
only six could go on the Skyride. So arrangements were made for
everybody to be at Betws-y-Coed at 11:00am. The choristers had to look
like members of a choir so they wore their dress suits, white shirts, dickie
bows and red waistcoats.
The participants had to sign a form to say they were healthy, and had to
sing as they went on the rides. A photographer would record the event and
Liverpool TV cameras would also film it. As you can see from the
photographs a great day was had by all, and the publicity event made the
news on Liverpool TV linked to attractions in North Wales including the
Llangollen International Eisteddfod.
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An Unforgettable Journey
ON THE 10 th of June the Fron set off to catch a 3pm easyJet
flight to Vienna. They were looking forward to a concert tour of
Austria. On their way the choir’s Vice Chairman received a phone call from
Jason, the choir’s pianist, asking what the choir’s flight number was.
”I thought so they’ve just cancelled the flight, I’ll go to the easyJet desk!”
By the time the first bus arrived Jason, who had been the third person to get to
the desk, had been queuing for an hour. He was next …….
At the easyJet desk an harassed operative said ”..... we can get 75 on a flight
tomorrow, no 71, it’s now 68…. 65. Look I’m going to move you all across
before they’ve all gone. There’re not enough seats but we’ll sort that out
afterwards”.
Behind them a line of people three deep stretching over 100 yards all typing on
their mobiles and most using the easyJet app to book new seats.
Eventually they’re told most of the party could fly out of Luton at 5:30am on
the Monday, three choristers would have to wait until Tuesday afternoon to fly
out from Gatwick, but three could not get flights at all so returned home. The
next problem, where would they stay that night, and how would they get there.
They hung around arrivals until 9:30pm when they were told a hotel had been
booked at Gatwick a four hour drive away. 29 Taxis had been booked and
would be arriving at 10:00pm.
The choir arrived at Gatwick at 2:00am, some 2:30am but they were two rooms
short. Not a big problem as the party would be getting a 3:00am ‘wake up call
to catch a 3:30am bus to Luton, a two hour drive around London.
3:30am arrived, no bus, 4:30am no bus, the hotel gave the choir chairman a
telephone number - the disruption department of easyJet. They phoned, it was
not good news, no transport had been arranged. There followed a frantic hour
as the choir arranged their own taxis.
The last taxi left Gatwick around 6:00am and easyJet would hold the plane.
Eventually the plane took off minutes after the arrival of the last taxi.
Continues on page 35
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An Unforgettable Journey - continued
The choir arrived in Vienna to be be met by 30 deg C heat. A bus was waiting
and they had a short journey to their hotel. A quick change into their choir
uniform then a journey into the city centre. A walk across the pedestrianised area
of the city to St Peter’s Church.
The choir had been told that there were 64 concerts on in Vienna that day, only
the big concerts had paying audiences,most were free, open concerts with the
audiences coming and going.
They were not optimistic about the concert audience, but the Vienna organisers
had been enthusiastic and posters had been displayed, advertising the Fron’s
concert. They were amazed to walk in to be faced with a full church. They were
taken to a spiral staircase to walk up and up and up to the choir loft, nestled high
in the roof of the church, and they started singing straight away - breathless, with
no opportunity for a warm-up.
When they started singing they immediately realised the acoustic was amazing
but as that first song came to an end they were stunned by the reaction of the
audience - silence. From their lofty position they could not see the audience and
began wondering …. had the audience left?
The silence continued throughout the concert. In Vienna, concerts stick to a strict
timetable so as their concert drew to an end on the half hour despite the silence
and heat they had enjoying themselves. Even the quiet songs reverberated around
the church so as they sang their last piece Tydi a Roddaist they knew the
“Amens” would be amazing.
There then followed a tremendous applause and as the choir made their way
down the stairs they were greeted by the priest who told them excitedly that
”audiences do not clap in Vienna”. As they entered the body of the church they
were greeted by tourists from all over Europe wanting to take their photograph
and have photographs with them.
The fiasco with easyJet could have spoilt the whole week but the performance in
that first concert after having one hours’ sleep in twenty-four hours is one that the
choir will remember for years to come, and put what was to become a fantastic
week back on track. The rest of the tour followed suit with superb concerts and
audiences in several venues, both in Vienna and in Salzburg.
The only disappointing aspect was that six choristers missed the concert with the
three choristers volunteering to go home and another three arriving the next day.
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