Community choir sings to support two good causes
ANORTH Wales community choir which hits the high notes at home and overseas will celebrate its tenth anniversary by hosting a glittering charity concert.
Côr Dre Caernarfon, which was formed by a group of twenty-somethings to give voice to their mutual love of music, aims to thrill a hometown audience with its gala event at the Galeri on March 24.
They are raising money for Tŷ Enfys which provides accommodation for the parents of children being cared for in the special care baby unit at Ysbyty Gwynedd.
Before that the choir has another important date when it sings for residents at the Bryn Seiont Newydd dementia centre of excellence in Caernarfon.
According to committee member Manon Owen, the choir was formed at the end of 2007 by a small group of local people in their twenties.
She said: “They were a mixture of people already living in Caernarfon and others who had recently moved back to the area after attending university who had a love of singing in common. We are a mixed community choir mixed rather than a professional one and anyone is welcome to join.”
She added: “Most of our members live in Caernarfon but others travel from places like Bangor and Anglesey and nearby villages.
“Some members have also learnt Welsh as adults and one of our members originally comes from Texas, USA. A few choir members are partners or married couples. We perform a wide variety of songs, including light classics, folk and classical, as well as popular music. We have sung in Welsh, English, Latin and even Swahili.”
Caernarfon choirs join together for the annual Christmas concert in St Mary’s Church and last year it was Côr Dre’s turn to organise the event to raise money for Tŷ Enfys.
The same good cause will benefit from the Gala Concert at the Galeri on March 24.
Starting at 7.30pm, this will feature Côr Dre accompanied by Welsh folk band Ar Log and singer/songwriter Dewi Pws. The presenter will be Welsh actor Dewi Rhys who has appeared in Welsh soaps Pobol y Cwm and Rownd a Rownd.
Manon added: “We are currently recording a CD – as yet untitled – which will hopefully be for sale at the concert and many of our songs on the night will be taken from that.
“We hope to raise as much money as possible for Tŷ Enfys, which is an excellent cause which we are delighted to support as many of our members have young children.
“Another major event to which we are very much looking forward is when we sing for residents at Bryn Seiont Newydd in Caernarfon. Again, we’ll be performing songs from our new CD. We love singing at new and different venues and I understand that music acts as a great therapy for people with dementia.”
Tickets for the Gala Concert at the Galeri are available for £15 and £12.50 concessions and can be bought from the ticket office on 01286 685 250, or online at galericaernarfon.com.