It was a wonderful way to end St. David's Day listening to the music of Tenby Male Choir and Miss Lara Thomas, at St. Johns Church, Tenby, last Thursday evening, raising funds for St. johns.

Being the first concert of the season, and being a very special day for Wales, the choir turned out in their dinner suits and bow ties, with daffodils in their button holes, to present an excellent range of music, including many numbers sung in Welsh and a number of new pieces, learned over the winter period.

The choir was almost at full strength with 40 staged, so that they spread right across the front of the church. In full voice, they sounded magnificent.

Accompanied by Jill and conducted by Ian, the singing was disciplined and yet joyful. Several times, their conductor seemed to walk off to the side, showing the confidence he has in the choir to keep the rhythm, the pace and the harmony going perfectly. (There were one or two in the audience that looked quite startled at this, but, all was well.)

With an audience of well over 100, it was good to see so many choir wives, local people and visitors come to the concert, when there were several other events going on in and around town, to celebrate our Patron Saint's Day.

Guest artist for the evening was one of St. Johns' young people, Lara Thomas. Just 15-years-old and studying GCSEs through the medium of Welsh at Ysgol y Preseli, Lara played four beautiful pieces on her violin.

When the choir, after their first rousing set, which included the lovely Christian Salvatore, a new piece for this year, left for their break, Lara and her accompanist and teacher, Lisa Richards, were introduced by Mrs. Mollie Neate, church elder.

Firstly, Lara played Concerto in E Major by Antonio Vivaldi. Lively and up tempo, this piece was very challenging, but Lara rose to it and, made evident by the applause she received, the audience much enjoyed it. In complete contrast, she next played Meditation from the opera Thais by Massenet. A familiar tune to many in the audience, it was again loudly applauded, and appreciated.

In the choir's second set of pieces, they included several Welsh pieces, amongst them Pan Fo'r Nos yn Hir and the dramatic new piece Hiraeth, which is the sort of piece to raise the hairs on the back of the neck!

Lara, in her second set, played the well-known Ave Maria by Schubert. Written by Schubert when he was only 28, yet only three years before he died, it evoked all those memories of 'churchy' music often played or sung at special church ceremonies.

Again, with a complete change of mood, Lara completed her performance with Hungarian Dance No. 2 by Johannes Brahms. This 'gypsy' piece was played with confidence and a light heart and again the audience showed their delight and enjoyment, by their applause. In all, it was a charming presentation by Lara.

In their final set, Tenby Male Choir performed a new set of three Yugoslavian folk tunes and the lovely ballad Portrait of My Love, as well as one or two pieces from West End shows. Such was the applause, that the compere David Blackmore offered an encore, and this was Men of Harlech.

On behalf of St. Johns' members, Mollie thanked all those who made the evening such a success; Jill, Ian, Lara, Lisa and all the choristers, and she was especially pleased to present Lara with a cheque donated by Tenby Male Choir, who have a long tradition of supporting young musicians in Pembrokeshire.

The evening ended with the singing of the Welsh National Anthem which, of course, had a very special significance on this significant day.

The next concert by Tenby Male Choir to take place in Tenby will be on Saturday, March 31, at St. Mary's, Tenby, when the Australian Welsh Male Voice Choir will be their guests and co-presenters of an evening of singing. This is one of several concerts the Australians are giving on their tour of England and Wales. They love coming to Tenby and feel a special affection for this town which they last visited about five years ago. Some of the choristers, who came then as guests of Whitland Choir, stayed in Tenby with a member of Tenby Male Choir, and they have remained correspondents since. They are coming again and look forward to a warm welcome, as always, from Tenby people.

The concert will begin at 7.30 pm and payment can be made at the door of St. Mary's.

Footnote: Chorister Eddie Stapleton's book on his experiences as an evacuee, published last year, is now available to read on the internet. See Tenby Male Choir's website or go direct to eddiestapleton, to view this amusing collection of anecdotes.