ABERTILLERY ORPHEUS MALE CHOIR CÔR MEIBION ABERTYLERI	FOUNDED 1908 PATRON: Robert Lloyd CBE Site updated:30 September, 2007

Posted by South Wales Argus 25th Septmeber 2007

"St Tudor's Church MynyddIslywn played host to a concert with the Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir and guest artistes recently writes Betty Morgan, church warden at St. Tudors.

Organisers say it was a delightful concert and was well supported with the church full to capacity. The choir was said to be superb and it was good to see so many young people as members. The conductor had a sense of humour and you would not find fault with the young artiste, Katie Treharne and accompanist Ross Leadbetter, who also showed his multi-facted talents by reciting poetry from "Under Milk Wood" by Dylan Thomas and also another piece of poetry by Idris Davies.

Altogether it was viewed by many of those present as a wonderful concert in beautiful surroundings."

St. Tudor's Church Myniddislwyn 12th June 1998

It is no exaggeration to say that the main topic of conversation of those who attended the above concert on Friday 12 June has been What a superb concert and marvelous evening! Any report on the evening will be full of superlatives and I will make no apologies for that: I only wish I had the musical knowledge to really do it justice.

The choir sang a wide range of pieces from musicals, spirituals, opera and traditional backgrounds, including new arrangements , with superb control under sensitive direction from their musical director Martin Budd. The accompanist normally receives a passing comment, but on this occasion Penny Hughes was a star in her own right. Not only did she achieve a remarkable sound from t he piano (which has seen better days to say the least), but then proceeded to delight us with a wonderful voice!

Miss Jill Padfield, the guest artist, is no stranger to this area, and is rapidly becoming and developing talent on a nationwide/worldwide stage- and no wonder! I cannot do justice to her marvelous talent other than to use the word 'thrilling' . A few days earlier my wife and I had attended the final of the Welsh Young Singer of the Year in Cardiff, I shall be greatly surprised if Jill is not in that final in two years time.

An additional item in the program was a duet between Jill and Penny, which was magnificent to the point of bringing many people to tears. For the older one's present, part of the Icing on the cake was given by the president Trevor Wilde MBE, a truly remarkable character is 85 years young! He delighted us with a demonstration of what is almost a lost art- elocution (or as we call it; recitation) The pieces he recited were unashamedly emotional and heart rendering, but what a joy to here the spoken word so beautifully uttered.

A truly wonderful evening; not just because of the joy of being in the presence of superb talent, but because of the spirit which pervaded the whole event.

At the start, Vicar Lorna thanked God for the gift of music, and Trevor Wilde responded by thanking us for the opportunity to bring this gift to the Alter of Him who gave us everything.

At the end, the whole of the audience joined with the choir and Jill Padfield in the singing of the final chorus of the Battle Hymn of the Republic; 'Glory, glory Hallelujah, His truth goes marching on' with such vigor that Im sure the Officers of St. Tudor church council must have feared that it really would bring the house down!

A memorable evening. Our thanks to the organizers, and especially the choir, Martin Budd, Penny Hughes, Jill Padfield and Trevor Wilde. Please come back soon.

 

Colin Deneen