ABERTILLERY ORPHEUS MALE CHOIR CÔR MEIBION ABERTYLERI	FOUNDED 1908 PATRON: Robert Lloyd CBE Site updated:17 November, 2007

Gwent Gazette May 6th 1982

POPE SINGS WITH ORPHEUS CHOIR

 

Two Hundred Thousand Pilgrims heard Welsh hymns sung by Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir as they greeted the Pope during their tour to Rome. And the Holy Father even joined in on one song.
The tour which took place over the Easter period was highlighted by the choir's visit to St. Peters Square where they took part in a service in the presence of Pope John Paul II.
During the Papal address, he gave the choir a special greeting and paid tribute to the tradition of Welsh choir singing and the influence it had on Holy worship and the Welsh way of life. The choir were later received in audience by the Pope who expressed his pleasure with the choir's singing of a Polish song- a song in which he himself joined in the second verse. During the audience, the Pope was presented with the Coat of Arms of Monmouthshire and he responded to the choir's gesture by presenting their conductor, Mr. Martin Budd, with a commemorative Papal Medallion. Another memorable moment for the choir was the concert given at San Lorenzo Church, in which the choir sang items to suit all tastes in Welsh, Italian and English. Solo items were given by soprano Susan Robinson and Jacqueline Nelms, tenors Len King and Phillip Hill and trombonist Nigel Bard The visit to Rome came about through Patrick Coleman who is a student priest at the Vatican and son of chorister Ray Coleman. This was the first time a Welsh Male Choir had been invited to appear before the Pope and the choirs were proud to be able to represent the town of Abertillery.
Before the completion of the tour, the choir expressed excitement of another form, when one group of choristers and guest in the hotel in which they were staying were subjected to a boom threat by the Red Brigade Organization But all ended well and no one was injured. Accompanying the choir throughout the tour was their pianist Joy Havard.