We sang at 2 events to mark Armistice Day. The first was a massed choir concert of around 400 voices in St David’s Hall, Cardiff. The evening was billed as the Welsh Festival of Remembrance and was compèred by Roy Noble, from BBC Wales. Others to take part included tenor Wynne Evans (Go Compare advert!) and the Siren Sisters. We were accompanied by Huw Tregellis Williams on the organ, and the Band of the Royal Welsh. The musical directors for the evening were David James and Alwyn Humphries.
The following Thursday we took part in the ‘Silence in the Square’ at Castle Square, Swansea. There was a wet and windy start to the day which did not deter a large crowd from attending. Mal Pope hosted the event on behalf of the British Legion, bringing a mix of reflection and smiles to the crowd. Sarah Lark, finalist of BBC 1’s I’d Do Anything sang 2 songs and Brigit Forsyth, best known for playing ‘Thelma’ in Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads performed a reading. We sang 2 items, including ‘Bring Him Home’ before the two minute silence and then performed ‘There Is No Death’ to conclude the event. An article on the British Legion website recalled ‘The superb Swansea-based male voice choir, the Gwalia Singers moved the crowd with their powerful rendition of classic English and Welsh songs’. This event was linked live via satellite to Trafalgar Square, London and these were the only 2 events broadcast live to the nation via the internet.
On the membership side we acquired a new 2nd bass, as Adrian Crowley passed his audition. Well done Adrian
