Children’s voices putting a song in Bronwen’s heart
HER mission has always been to bring Welsh-language music to a mainstream audience.
And although judges on The Voice didn’t share her passion despite a memorable performance of Sting’s Fields of Gold, complete with a verse in Welsh, singer songwriter Bronwen Lewis is now using her music to inspire the next generation of stars.
Thanks to one of her biggest fans who is a teacher, Bronwen has started doing workshops in schools, helping pupils to convey their own feelings, likes and dislikes through the lyrics of a song.
She also treats the schools she works with to a performance and on Monday, her young audience at Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Ogwr in Brackla, Bridgend, even joined in, requesting everything from classics like Calon Lan to Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You.
Bronwen also performed songs from her album Home, which was released at the end of last year and is officially launched in London on Tuesday and then in Swansea on June 1.
“I hosted camp fires last year for school children as part of the Duke of Ed- inburgh’s Award scheme and it just went really well,” said Bronwen, 23.
“Children really responded to Welsh music, Welsh translations and just hearing their favourite songs on guitar.”
So when Year 5 teacher Ruth Davies-McHugh who, like Bronwen, is from Neath, approached her at a gig and asked if she would do a workshop with the pupils she saw an opportunity to continue to promote the language she loves.
“I now have 10 to 11 schools I am working with over the summer and the pupils range in age from four to 11,” said Bronwen.
“I run an hour’s workshop and ask them to re-write the lyrics to the children’s song Jac y Do ( Jackdaw) and that’s what I did on The Voice with Fields of Gold. It gets a brilliant response.
“I’m just trying to make Welsh-language music cool really.”
Bronwen, who also won a part in the miners’ strike film Pride and led the spine-tingling rendition of Bread and Roses, said Monday’s performance in the school hall was particularly poignant for her.
“It’s the first time I have actually heard children sing my own material back to me and I had to stop myself from crying!” she said.