The recent charity concert by Whitland and District Male Choir at the Queen’s Hall in Narberth, promoted by Narberth and Whitland Rotary raised the magnificent sum of £1,196 for charity, with this sum to be divided equally between good causes supported by Rotary and the Choir.

As anticipated, the evening was very much enjoyed by the appreciative audience, with both halves featuring two sets by the choir, interspersed by stellar performances by four very talented Rotary Young Musicians from Pembrokeshire.

The first half opened with We’ll Keep a Welcome, and that was certainly true for the choir. The singers, under the enthusiastic direction of Musical Director Hefina Jones and the melodic accompaniment of Owain Lewis, went on to perform many traditional choral pieces - much to the delight of the delighted audience.

During the first half, the very talented Jencyn Corp played the flute and Ianto Evans the Tombone, both accompanied by Seimon Morris. In the second half, both pianist Lefi Dafydd and trumpeter Carys Wood wowed the audience with their accomplished playing, all demonstrating that they will undoubtedly have a strong musical future.

To close the first half, the audience were treated to a spine-tingling rendition of ‘Ol Man River’ by choir member and soloist Owain Jenkins - a performance wthe audience was hugely privileged to hear and one that will live long in the memory.

With the World Cup in Qatar about to start, it was only fitting that the choir sang the Dafydd Iwan classic ‘Yma O Hyd’ as their encore, and you could have sworn they were in the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar, such was the volume generated by the soloists complete with the obligatory bucket hats; Richard Lewis Nigel Phillips and Huw Jones ably supported by the whole choir and the enthusiastic audience. The new unofficial Welsh football anthem was then followed by Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau to round off an unforgettable evening.

The concert was jointly compered by Rotarian Phil Thompson MBE, president of Narberth and Whitland Rotary, and choir member David Thomas.

At the end of the concert, President Phil thanked everyone who had contributed to the success of the evening, all the performers, the Queen’s Hall staff who had been magnificent, fellow Rotarians and of course the paying public for supporting the event so generously.

The choir, the Queen’s Hall and Narberth and Whitland Rotary all agreed that they would love to make the concert an annual event. Watch this space!