Tenby Male Choir performed at St. Mary’s Church on Thursday, April 26. We were welcomed to the church by Rev. Canon Andrew Grace who thanked the choir for their support in raising money for the church funds. St. Mary’s is the largest church in Wales with original parts of the building dating back to medieval times. Dave Blackmore had returned to be our MC for the evening, Wilbur was directing and Mark Thompson kindly stepped in to accompany the choir as Jill Williams was on holiday.

In their first set, the choir performed a rousing rendition of Rachie followed by a mellow rendition of Shenandoah. They also performed Wilbur Williams’s arrangement of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. This is only the second time that they have performed this number. Wilbur’s inspired arrangement written as a choral piece was performed with confidence and flair.

They finished the second set with My Grandfather’s Clock. Audience participation was given by an enthusiastic group of tourists with a few locals thrown in for good measure. Two enthusiastic ladies on holiday from Yorkshire were actually on their feet during the performance tick-tocking and swaying from side to side. As our MC pointed out, the choir would never manage to coordinate themselves to do this. Soloist musical instruments are used in this number. Unfortunately, Eric Mullins, our duck whistle blower, was not available and his substitute had problems deciding which end to blow and got the timing wrong as well. We need you Eric, please come back! Also, because Jill was on holiday, her brother Kevin had the task of bringing the instruments to the church. Jill was worried that he would forget to bring them. Dave Blackmore couldn’t resist sending a text to everyone (including Jill) after the concert congratulating them on their performance and saying it was a pity that Kevin had forgotten the instruments.

Elizabeth Morgan was our first soloist of the evening. This lovely 11-year-old pianist has performed with the choir on two previous occasions. She played a Sostenuto in E flat followed by Schubert’s Impromptu Opus 90 no. 2. Elizabeth has passed all her exams up to and including grade five with distinction. In March this year, Elizabeth won a first place trophy for her repertoire at The Bristol Festival Of music speech and drama.

Our second soloist was Rhiannon Andrasko who is a talented trombonist. Rhiannon is 14-years-old and has been playing the trombone for just over seven years. Rhiannon keeps herself very busy playing for five local bands and is also a seasoned soloist. Rhiannon played Stardust, I Dreamed A Dream and Sunny Side Of The Street. Both young ladies wowed the audience and it was no surprise when so many of the audience gave them both a standing ovation. When I moved to Tenby in 2004, I didn’t anticipate that I would be surrounded by so much artistic and musical talent. Elizabeth and Rhiannon will undoubtedly have successful musical careers due to their determination and hard work.

The choir ended their final set with their customary American Trilogy. Two choristers in the audience were invited to join them. One was from Tredegar and the other, Geoff Foley, is from Dudley. Geoff is a recognised ‘Friend of TMC’ and is a regular visitor to Tenby. Although we associate the trilogy with Elvis Presley, it was written by and recorded by Mickey Newbury. Both singers released their recordings during 1972 and Mickey actually fared better in the charts than Elvis! Tom Jones had decided to record the trilogy, in fact he and Elvis discussed this. Elvis beat him to it so Tom changed his mind.

Being a member of a choir is challenging, but good fun. The members support each other when family events, such as weddings, take place. They also enjoy social occasions, a river cruise on the Cleddau will take place soon. TMC on tour has taken us to lovely parts of Britain in the past few years, as well as to Malta. Away tours often include travelling to perform with other choirs resulting in enjoyable afterglows following the concerts. The wives and supporters enjoy these trips immensely.

The choir rehearse twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 8 pm, at the County Club on The Croft. You are more than welcome to join us in rehearsal. The choir is also available for bookings for social occasions.

If you would like further information, please visit our website www.tenbymalechoir.org, email us at [email protected] or contact our secretary, Terry Evans, at [email protected] if you would like to book the choir.

Di Mumford