Songs for Jubilee
Royal composer had chosen cathedral for excellent acoustics
ANEW community choir will help a top music festival celebrate its 50th anniversary and two other major milestones. Organisers of the North Wales International Music Festival say the launch concert at St Asaph Cathedral on Saturday, June 4, will be a “big, brassy choral spectacular and it’s going to be loud!”
The concert is a curtain raiser for the main festival’s Golden Jubilee event that’s taking place from September 17 to October 1.
It’s all being made possible thanks to the support of the Arts Council of Wales and the headline sponsor, the Pendine Arts and Community Trust that was set up by the Pendine Park care organisation to provide funding for arts and community activities. Other sponsors include Jones Bros and Salisburys Accountants.
According to artistic director Ann Atkinson, the launch concert is being timed to coincide with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee while this year also marks 10 years since St Asaph was officially recognised as a city.
The festival was founded by Prof William Mathias, who was one of the first Welsh composers to win international acclaim.
He wrote music for a number of royal occasions, including the Queen’s Silver Jubilee in 1977 and the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer in 1981.
Prof Mathias chose St Asaph Cathedral as the venue for the festival believing it provided the best acoustic setting in North Wales.
Ann Atkinson, who is also a talented mezzo soprano, said: “St Asaph Cathedral is the perfect acoustic environment to showcase our highly talented line-up at the launch concert and the festival itself.
“The combination of the stone and the wood creates something really magical somehow.
“I have also performed in the concert hall at Sydney Opera House and, while it has a brilliant acoustic, I must say that St Asaph Cathedral is actually a much better venue acoustically.”
She added the cathedral would be the perfect place to showcase the new community choir, NEW Voices.
The Kana Chamber Choir, made up of talented musicians from across North Wales, and soprano Tesni Jones, from St Asaph, will also perform.
Tickets are £12 (£6 for children) and available online 24/7 at https:// nwimf.com or via Theatr Clwyd by phone on 01352 344101 (Monday Saturday, 10am-6pm), or in person from Cathedral Frames, St Asaph 01745 582929 (Wednesday - Friday, 10am-4.30pm).