Christian Aid benefited by several hundred pounds when Tenby Male Choir gave a concert on their behalf at St. Mary's Church last Wednesday.
The Rector, Canon David Jenkins reported an audience upwards of 300 and remarked upon the importance of the work of Christian Aid in countries where grinding poverty is the norm for most of the population.
The audience at St. Mary's was swelled by many visitors to the area, including people from Germany and the United States. For the choir, it was encouraging to see the large queue at the church door half an hour before the concert began.
Beginning with a mixed selection of new and established pieces, Tenby Male Choir got off to a good start, after being welcomed and introduced by Dr. John Harrison, music master at St. Mary's.
Paul Verallo, having sung the soloist's item in 'With Cat-like Tread' from 'Pirates of Penzance', was followed by another 'new' soloist in the choir, David Llewelyn.
David, accompanied by Jill Williams on piano, sang 'If With All Your Heart' from Mendelssohn's 'Elijah'. This sounded lovely in that ancient church. It was sung with ease and fluency, modestly and appropriately.
The invited guest soloist for the evening was Joanne Cooper, a violinist. A Year 13 pupil at Greenhill School, Tenby, Joanne was accompanied by the head of music at Greenhill, Paul Rapi.
In her first selection, Jo played 'Andante and Presto for Violin' by Tartini. This was a fast and lively introduction to her talents. It was followed by Dvorak's 'Romantic Pieces, Opus 75'. This was very different, sweetly and tenderly played, and expertly accompanied by Paul.
The choir's next selection was the romantic 'Plaisir d'Amour', beautifully accompanied by Jill, the lovely 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes' and then 'Battle of Jericho', which is another new piece in the choir's repertoire, and which illustrates their excellent timing.
An audience favourite, 'Blue Moon' followed, which gives the bass section their chance to shine and then 'Katyusha', a traditional Russian folk song in which Calvin and David B. sang a duet. This piece provides Jill with some very hard-work to do on the piano!
When Jo returned for her final slot, she followed Eric Mullin's solo spot. A very popular and polished performer, Eric always gains loud applause.
Joanne, again accompanied by Paul Rapi, played Elgar's 'Chanson de Matin', its very familiar tune lulling the audience, but her last choice woke everyone up. It was a series of Romanian Folk Dance tunes by Bartok; numbers 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.
This last piece was particularly well played, as Jo relaxed and enjoyed the performance herself. Jo will be leaving Tenby after taking her A-levels, to read Folk and Traditional Music at Newcastle University.
In their final selection, Tenby Male Choir sang 'Just as I am', 'Take Me Home', 'Amen' and 'American Trilogy', being joined for the last by a visiting chorister and non-conformist minister.
With thanks and congratulations from the Rector for an excellent evening's entertainment, the concert ended with the Welsh National Anthem.
On Sunday evening, Tenby Male Choir again performed a concert at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Cold Inn on behalf of the Noah's Ark Appeal.
The programme of choir pieces for the evening was very similar to that sung at St. Mary's Church, but the audience's warmth and enthusiasm created a wonderful atmosphere, and the intimacy of the small chapel produced an excellent sound.
Following a welcome by the church secretary, Mr. Howard Allan, the congregation stood to sing the first verse of 'Cwm Rhondda'.
Soloists from the choir included Richard Williams, a 'new' soloist from the Bass section who sang 'How Great Thou Art'. Richard has a very fine voice indeed and the well known hymn soared through the little chapel, touching the hearts of many.
Guest soloists were Laura Court, a Year 12 pupil from Greenhill School, who played the flute, and Robert Hodge, who, having just left Year 13 and due to sit his A-levels very shortly, played the piano superbly.
Laura chose Haydn's 'Sonata No. 8' for her first item. This was accompanied by Robert. Laura's performance was excellent. Such wonderful music played so well by someone so young was a joy to listen to, as was her second performance, when she played 'The Italian Connection' and 'A Russian Encounter' by Cecilia McDowell.
Robert, who has played previously as a soloist in a Tenby Male Choir concert, plans to go on to study music at the Royal Holloway College in London, for which we should be glad. He is an exceptional pianist, who has natural flair and the unbounded enthusiasm of youth, demonstrated in his confident playing.
He chose to play Scarlatti's 'Sonata in F' and Kufleau's 'Rondo' in his first set. These made delightful listening. In his second set Robert played 'The Elves' Caprice' by Valentine Hemery. It was much applauded, with shouts of 'encore' from the audience. We hope that 'losing' Robert to a London college does not mean we lose him in Tenby altogether.
In the interval, the president for the evening, Mr. Jim Codd, spoke to the gathering about the Noah's Ark Appeal and about the famous names that have supported it.
He also told the congregation that the Welsh Assembly Health Minister, Jane Hutt, cut the first sod of the earth on the site for the dedicated Children's Hospital of Wales in April this year, so the project, having had the backing of the Welsh Assembly since the year 2000, is at last underway.
Mr. Codd thanked the members of Tenby Male Choir for their generosity in giving their services freely to this cause.
In the second half of the concert, Paul Verallo, from the second Tenor section sang a solo 'On the Street Where You Live', as well as the solo item in 'With Cat-like Tread' which the choir sang so well.
It was good to hear the excellent responses, spoken and applauded at the end of the concert. The doxology was sung to complete a fine evening's singing and playing.
The choir's next concert is at St. John's Church next Thursday (May 29), when Robert will again be playing as a soloist. Do come. Hear him before he leaves!