On song

THE countdown is on to two big concerts being staged in Carmarthenshire in October.

The annual Gala Concert of Loud Applause Productions will be at Llanelli’s Ffwrnes Theatre on Saturday, October 12 (7pm).

And the Royal British Legion Charity Gala Concert will be at Carmarthen’s Lyric Theatre on Saturday, October 19 (7pm).

Both events are being coordinated by Llanelli-based impresario Cerith Owens.

The first event is billed as A Night With The Stars.

Sharing the stage with the Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS) singers will be Samantha Thomas, who has been busy in London’s West End starring in Wicked.

Also taking part will be the very popular Kenfig Hill and District Male Voice Choir, a group from of young students from the Royal Welsh Music and Drama in Cardiff, called ‘Melodynamic’ and fronted by LARS member Callum Howells, and Halfway Primary School Choir.

Hosting the concert for the first time will be Samuel Wyn-Morris. Supporting accompanists to the LARS singers will be Catrin Hughes and Andrew Pike.

The Royal British Legion Charity Gala Concert the following weekend will feature a terrific line-up, with an emphasis on local talent.

The mighty sound of a 100-strong male choir, under the baton of the renowned maestro Dr Alwyn Humphries, will ‘raise the roof’ of the Lyric.

Four of Carmarthenshire’s famous male voice choirs will share the stage - Côr Meibion Caerfyrddin, Côr Meibion Dyffryn Tywi, Côr Meibion Mynydd Mawr and Côr Meibion Porth Tywyn.

The guest accompanist will be Caradog Williams.

Also on stage will be Côr Persain, the popular ladies choir based in Carmarthenshire.

Guest soloists will be young tenor Osian Bowen, Forces Sweetheart Kirsten Orsborn and Lauren Fisher, one of the young singers of LARS (Loud Applause Rising Stars).

The evening will end with the Tribute to the Fallen with stirring sounds from the 215 (City of Swansea) Squadron Corps of Drums and the Service of Remembrance.

This special evening will be hosted by Brian Sullivan and produced by Loud Applause Productions for the Royal British Legion.

The members of the Hospital Notes Choir, based in Llanelli, are getting ready for a big concert next month.

Hospital Notes will be joined by Côr Meibion Llanelli Male Voice Choir for ‘The Greatest Show’ on Friday, September 6 (7.30pm) at The Diplomat Hotel, Llanelli.

You can expect plenty of excerpts from the hit film musical The Greatest Showman.

It’s been quite a year for the Hospital Notes choir as they were featured as the Choir of the Week on the popular Roy Noble radio programme on Radio Wales earlier this year.

The Hospital Notes Choir was founded last year to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the National Health Service.

The initial aim of the choir was to bring together colleagues from the hospital and community sectors, past and present, to celebrate the anniversary of the NHS.

Under the talented leadership and direction of musical directors Andrew Harries and Stacey Harris, the choir rehearses at Prince Philip Hospital.

On the same night (September 6), there will be a Cyngerdd Mawreddog (Grand Concert) in Neuadd Sant Iago (St James’ Hall) in Cwmann, Lampeter (7pm).

The concert will feature soloists Ellen Williams, Cardiff, and Kees Huysmans, Lampeter.

It will also feature Plant Ysgol Carreg Hirfaen and Côr Meibion Cwmann a’r Cylch.

The president for the evening will be Twynog Davies, of Pentre-Bach. Tickets are £8.

It’s a busy August at St Peter’s Church in Carmarthen.

Today (Wednesday, August 7 at 1pm) sees the accomplished organist Carl Grainger performing at the church.

Carl is well known as an organ recitalist and has performed widely throughout the England and Wales.

On Wednesday, August 14, the Wales Clarsach (Harp) Society will be performing at Carmarthen’s St Peter’s Church (1pm).

Wednesday, August 21 (1pm) sees classical guitarist Duncan Leigh perform at St Peter’s.

Duncan is a classical guitarist, composer and teacher based in Swansea.

He performs the Renaissance and Baroque era music of Scarlatti and Handel, the Classical and Romantic compositions of Sor and Giuliani, traditional Spanish and Latin American guitar music (e.g. Tarrega and Villa-Lobos), up to modern day pop tune arrangements and his own original compositions.

The summer concert season at St Peter’s will finish on Wednesday, August 28 (1pm), with the organist Meirion Wynn Jones.

In other news, tickets have been released for the popular Loud Applause Rising Stars (LARS) afternoon concert at The Orangery in Margam.

It takes place at 3pm on Sunday, September 1, at The Orangery.

The concert will feature LARS singers, the group Melodynamic from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (which includes Callum Howells), Crescendo Youth Choir from Kenfig Hill and host Huw Tregelles Williams.

Sensational Welsh brother duo Richard and Adam Johnson return to Carmarthenshire on October 20 (7.30pm) after wowing the nation with their extraordinary harmonies on Britain’s Got Talent.

Having performed to more than 14 million people around the world, they return for their much-anticipated UK Tour.

Their success on Britain’s Got Talent was followed by their debut album ‘The Impossible Dream’, which sold more than one million copies. The album shot straight to the No.1 spot for four consecutive weeks, making it the UK’s longestrunning No.1 album of the year. Their success continued with their next three albums, which reached top 10 positions in the UK, and each one was No.1 in the Classical Charts.

Richard and Adam are now on their The Greatest Songmen tour – a night of world-class music, including A Million Dreams, Volare and The Impossible Dream, performed by the duo with flawless technique and robust clarity.

Welsh brothers Richard and Adam first burst onto the nation’s TV screens on Britain’s Got Talent, making it to the final in 2013 performing their classical crossover version of The Impossible Dream. The show established them as two of the greatest vocalists singing opera in this country.

They credit their “Nan” as being their biggest influence. When they were young, she played music by Caruso, Mario Lanza and The Three Tenors and she encouraged them to sing along, building their confidence and encouraging them to follow an opera career.

Finally, the choristers from Llandyfaelog-based Côr Meibion Dyffryn Tywi are getting ready for their annual concert. It will be at the Princess Gwenllian Centre in Kidwelly on Saturday, October 12, 7pm. The choir will be joined by Gwendraeth Valley’s Côr Meibion Mynydd Mawr. The evening will also feature special guests Pantel and Trio.

Trio are a male vocal group from Snowdonia - formed by renowned pianist/accompanist Annette Bryn Parri in 2012.

The group gave its first public performance at Galeru Caernarfon in June 2013.

If you have news about the choral or concert scene in Llanelli, email robert. lloyd01@ walesonline. co.uk or rlloydpr@ btinternet.com