The Choir was formed in 1902 and quickly gained a reputation for excellence in performance and success in competition in England, Wales and Paris. Disrupted by the two World Wars, the Choir was re-established in 1961 and now has over one hundred members.
Whilst maintaining the best of Welsh male choral tradition, the Choir has also sought to be innovative. In 1969 it introduced the first of the now famous London Welsh Festivals of Male Choirs at the renowned Royal Albert Hall. Since then, this biennial Festival has flourished and has been widely copied.
In the 1970s the Choir broke new ground in the recording field. Take Me Home, the title song of its 1975 Album, established “pop” in the male voice programme, and is now part of the repertoire of many male choirs throughout the world. Its 1981 recording, Songs of the Valleys, is believedto be the first album by a male choir to achieve a gold disc for sales in excess of 100,000.
The Choir has sung at many of Britain’s most prestigious concert halls and cathedrals, including the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Guildhall, Westminster Abbey, Cadogan Hall, Chelsea, Glyndebourne Opera House, Birmingham Town Hall and Symphony Hall, St. David’s Hall and the Millennium Centre, Cardiff, Beverley Minster, Dorking Halls, Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh and the Cathedrals of Brecon, Bury St. Edmunds, Canterbury, Chichester, Durham, Ely, Exeter, Guildford, Norwich, Peterborough, Rochester, St.Albans, St.David’s, St. Paul’s, Salisbury, Southwark, Wells, Winchester and Worcester, and the Abbeys of Dorchester, Romsey and Worth
.The Choir has had the honour of appearing twice at the Royal Variety Command Performance, and in gala Concerts to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of the Prince of Wales and the fortieth anniversary of Her Majesty’s accession to the throne. In contrast, the Choir was the backing group to the pop band Take That at Earls Court and has recorded with Charlotte Church, Aled Jones and Bryn Terfel.
In the sporting arena, the Choir has thrilled crowds at the Stade de France, Paris, at Twickenham and at Lord’s Cricket Ground. It led the singing before each of Wales’s rugby international matches at Wembley Stadium in the late 1990s and in August 2007 became the first male voice choir to sing at the new Wembley Stadium prior to the Rugby League Cup Final. It has also sung many times at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff prior to Wales’s home rugby international matches.
Besides having toured extensively throughout England, Scotland and Wales, the Choir has also performed in Austria, Barbados, Canada, the Channel Islands, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, the Irish Republic, the Italian Riviera, Slovenia, Switzerland and the USA (Boston and Florida). In September 2008 it again visited the USA with Concerts in New York and Boston and in May 2009 had its first Tour to South West France with successful Concerts in Saintes, Angoulême and Bordeaux.
The year 2002 was a special one in the history of the Choir, when its choristers were proud to celebrate its centenary. Various events took place to mark this special anniversary, including the Centenary Festival of Male Choirs at the Royal Albert Hall and the Choir’s own Centenary Concert at St. John’s, Smith Square, London. Both of these events were conducted by our Musical Director, Haydn James and the latter event was compered by our President, Cliff Morgan. A special commemorative Double CD, One Hundred Years of Music, was also released in 2002, featuring highlights from the Choir’s past albums and some items never previously released.
In January 2010, our Musical Director, Haydn James, retired after over 30 years’ dedicated service to the Choir. Our new Musical Director is Edward-Rhys Harry.
The Choir continues to grow in popularity and is looking forward to performing at more prestige venues, including Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, Dorking Halls and Southwark Cathedral.
FEBRUARY 2010
