Recently, a group of choristers from the Tenby and Whitland Male Choirs were part of an invitational choir to visit and sing in Washington, New York and Boston, Massachusetts.
They sang in concert with the US Army Chorus who were a professional choir. All had degrees in music and were subject to frequent auditions.
In the audience of this concert was a young girl dressed in traditional Welsh costume and alongside was her grandmother a native of St. David's. She was deeply moved with the singing of 'Gwahoddiad', 'Myfanwy' and 'Take Me Home'.
In Washington, the choir sang on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and in Washington Cathedral. All members of the touring party enjoyed seeing the monuments and the various places of interest in the city. Some of the touring party even sat and listened to the US Congress.
In Boston, the visitors were royally received by the Sangerfest Male Choir and a memorable joint concert took place at the Regis College Theatre, which was enthusiastically received by the 800 strong audience. The visitors were able to take in some of the historical sites and see the modern Boston.
In New York, besides seeing all the sights such as the Empire State Building, Central Park, Grand Central Station, Fifth Avenue, Broadway and Times Square, the choristers joined New Yorkers to watch the US Open Tennis Championship at the Rockerfella Centre.
They also soaked up the sounds of the Big Apple by cruising by boat around Manhattan Island or visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
The choir, Comrades in Arms, sang in Greenwich Village and were subsequently invited to sing on the anniversary of 9/11, at the site of the British Memorial, in Hanover Place, where a Memorial Garden is to be constructed as a memory to those British citizens lost in the 9/11 atrocity.
Standing in the audience, listening to the concert was Narberth born, Julia Jones who had also performed that day. A soloist for the choir was Peter Totterdale, youngest member of the Whitland Choir. He was one of three soloists singing with the 'Comrades' choir. However, Peter received deservedly outstanding applause at all the concerts and clearly had made a big impression on many people.
After the concert at Hanover Square, the choir walked up Wall Street to pay their respects at the 9/11 site and were very well received by the huge police presence.
Later, the choir regrouped to sing 'Gwahoddiad' to the firemen at the adjacent Fire Station. It proved a fitting ending to a poignant day in Manhattan.
All that remained was a final social get together of the choir and supporters before regrouping at 5 am the next morning for the flight home.