Guest Musicians
Throughout the years the Treorchy Male Choir’s music staff has often included deputies and assistants, while on occasions they have relied on guest musicians to assist.
Also guest organists have been a regular feature for many of the Choir’s recordings and concert engagements, including Anthony Lewis, D.R. Rees, Idris Lewis, Bruce Denham, Charles Clements, David Bell, Hazel Davies, Huw Tregelles Williams, Canon Graham Holcombe and more recently David Geoffrey Thomas.
However at concert engagements the appointed music staff of the time has changed very little considering the Choir has performed 1,800 concerts since 1946.
During John Haydn Davies and Tom Jones’s long period in charge there was very little call for guest musicians, although naturally there were occasions when the Choir participated in massed choral events when specific conductors and accompanists were appointed. It was under such circumstances that the Choir performed under the baton of Sir Adrian Boult, Mansel Thomas, Frank Wright and Arwel Hughes during the 1950s and 1960s.
With the exception of one concert in Hope Chapel, Bridgend in 1962 when he was too ill to play the piano, Tom Jones was replaced temporarily by none other than Mary Carpenter Edwards, the long-standing accompanist of the Royal Welsh Male Choir.
There was of course the period when the maestro became ill prior to the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Swansea. Throughout the summer and autumn of 1964 a member of the Choir’s Second Tenor section, Cas Powell, was called upon to conduct the Treorchy singers in rehearsal and for a particular concert in Abercarn. BBC musician Alwyn Jones also led them through a radio broadcast.
Once John Haydn recovered sufficiently to return to the Choir he decided the time had come to appoint a third member of the Music Staff and so John Cynan Jones became the new Associate Conductor. His first concert was at Acton Town Hall in October 1965 and he conducted the Choir several times over the next three years, more notably leading them to victory at the Cardigan Semi National Eisteddfod and the National Eisteddfod, Bala in 1967. On this occasion a deputy accompanist was sought owing to the ill health of Tom Jones. For a short period it was a young student name Marion Williams who fulfilled this role and was commended by the adjudicators for her masterly performance.
John Cynan became the new Conductor of the Choir in January 1969. Within two years Tom Jones passed away and it was Jennifer Jones who replaced him. Together Jennifer and John Cynan led the Choir for seventeen years in perfect partnership.
Throughout this era there were of course the occasional engagements when other musicians were called for to fulfil the role if either the conductor or accompanist couldn’t attend. Some of the guest accompanists during this period included John Samuel, the former Conductor of the Royal Welsh Male Choir and later Pendyrus Male Choir and accompanist to tenor Stuart Burrows.
The Choir’s close friend and arranger of music Bryan Davies of Ferndale has also guest accompanied the Choir from the mid 1970s through to the present day in almost fifty concerts. His contribution to the Treorchy Male Choir has been immense and in 2007 he was presented with Honorary Membership.
In 1975 a local pianist and former pupils of John Cynan’s, named Neil Johnson was appointed the Choir’s Assistant Accompanist and also performed in the ranks of the Choir. It was a role he fulfilled for the next two years.
During periods of ill health, John Haydn Davies, the Conductor Emeritus replaced John Cynan on the podium and continued to play an active role in this regard until his final concert in Colston Hall, Bridgend in 1977. During this period Jennifer Jones also raised the baton at Treorchy, becoming the first woman to conduct the Choir at a concert with Harry Secombe in Rhondda Sports Centre, Ystrad. Her deputy, Neil Johnson accompanied her that evening.
In 1975 a local pianist and former pupils of John Cynan’s, named Neil Johnson was appointed the Choir’s Assistant Accompanist and also performed in the ranks of the Choir. It was a role he fulfilled for the next two years.
During periods of ill health, John Haydn Davies, the Conductor Emeritus replaced John Cynan on the podium and continued to play an active role in this regard until his final concert in Colston Hall, Bridgend in 1977. During this period Jennifer Jones also raised the baton at Treorchy, becoming the first woman to conduct the Choir at a concert with Harry Secombe in Rhondda Sports Centre, Ystrad. Her deputy, Neil Johnson accompanied her that evening.
The few occasions when John Cynan did not conduct the Choir in concert was at St David’s Hall, Cardiff in July 1984, when Owain Arwel Hughes raised the baton to Treorchy and Cwmbach Male Choirs, accompanied by the Halle Orchestra as part of the Welsh Proms series of concerts. It was an occasion which was repeated in the following series of Proms in the summer of 1985 and again for the Rhondda In Harmony Concert in 1988.
In 1985 Bryan Davies ’s own daughter, Sian, accompanied John Cynan at a concert in the Stour Centre, Ashford. Also for a short period a Deputy Conductor was appointed. John Beddoe joined the Choir on their tour of Canada and remained with them before being appointed Conductor of Llantrisant Male Choir shortly afterwards.
When the Choir was due to make a commercial video for their tour of Australia in 1986, heavy snow made it difficult for the Conductor to attend the filming but it was Ieuan Morgan, the famous Treorchy bandmaster who appeared on the screen which was transmitted “down under”. Also in 1986 pianist Jane Gordon performed for one concert while Jonathan Gulliford of Cor Meibion Pontypridd played at two engagements, both due to the unavailability of either Jennifer or Bryan Davies.
Throughout the early part of 1988, John Cynan again was taken ill and this time Jennifer Jones led the Choir through five concert engagements, including the Good Friday Concert at the Park and Dare Theatre. She was accompanied by Bryan Davies for four of these concerts, while Jonathan Gulliford returned to the Choir for a single performance. When Jennifer herself resigned as Accompanist later that year a young pianist named Jeffrey Howard, who would later become a leading light with the choirs Serendipity and Only Men Aloud, accompanied the Choir in Hinkley. Bryan Davies, Sian Davies and Jonathan Gulliford fulfilled the concerts for the remainder of the year, before Marion Williams made a welcomed return to the Choir after seventeen years in Kent and was appointed Accompanist.
When John Cynan himself resigned as Conductor, Jonathan Gulliford returned once more to the Treorchy family and conducted them in six concerts throughout the summer of 1991 before John Jenkins was appointed to the post.
It was John who appointed a young musician from Mountain Ash, called Andrew Badham, as his Deputy and he remained with Treorchy for two years before becoming Conductor of Cwmbach,. It was a role he would later vacant to return to Treorchy as John’s successor in 1997. In fact, on some occasions Andrew also accompanied the Choir when Marion was unavailable and on one occasion a young pianist named Robert Marshall played the piano at the Annual Concert in Treorchy in October 1993.
Owain Arwel Hughes followed in his father’s footsteps several times throughout the 1990s to conduct the Choir at various events, particularly at the Welsh Proms in St David’s Hall and in the World Choir events in Cardiff Arms Park. His nephew, Meuryn Hughes would also lead the Choir as Conductor for less than a year in 2006. In 1995 an Assistant Accompanist was appointed to the Treorchy Male Choir named Heather James. The former work colleague of Conductor John Jenkins, played in several concerts during her three-year period as part of the Treorchy music staff and assisted with the transition between Marion Williams and her successor, Rhiannon Williams.
Again Bryan Davies and Jennifer Jones came to the assistance of the Choir during the period before Janice Ball was appointed as the Choir’s fifth Accompanist in 2002. During this period a Deputy Conductor was also appointed to Andrew Badham, named Edgar Taylor and he joined the Choir on their tours of Scotland in 2002 and Australia in 2004, conducting several items in various concerts and also two full engagements.
In 2004 a new Deputy Accompanist was appointed named Helen Roberts, the accompanist for the Silver Ring Choir of Bath who was studying music at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. Helen was later appointed Accompanist when Jan herself became the Musical Director.
For the next few years several different musicians took the opportunity to conduct the Choir at both rehearsals and engagements. Jennifer Jones played the piano and conducted the Choir several times. The Choir welcomed two guest conductors in Dr Alwyn Humphreys MBE, the Conductor Emeritus of Morriston Orpheus Choir and Dr Haydn James, of the London Welsh Male Choir to lead the Treorchy men in various concerts. Both of whom were since made Honorary Members of the Choir. Dr Humphreys’s wife Joy, who is the Musical Director of the Morriston Orpheus Choir, also came to Treorchy to take the Choir in rehearsal.
In more recent years - when under the baton of Jeffrey Howard - the Choir continued to rely on a number of key musicians to assist when their conductor was engaged elsewhere. It was during this time that Ryan Wood was introduced to the Choir and became their Deputy Conductor in 2017.
The sheer magnitude of talented musicians who have either conducted or accompanied the Treorchy Male Choir during the past seven decades is testimony to the high regard in which the organisation is held.
Soloists
Iona Jones
SOPRANO 2009-
Brought up in Cardiff, Iona is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Goldsmiths' College University of London, she also holds an LRAM Diploma for the teaching of singing.
A founder member and current tutor of the National Youth Choir of Wales she also tutors with the Cardiff County and the Vale of Glamorgan Youth and High Schools Choirs, and is a singing tutor at University of Wales, Newport, and Cardiff University.
She is busy both on the concert platform and as an oratorio performer and has toured to Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Brussels, Malta, USSR, Hungary, Prague, USA, Canada, Barbados and Vienna, appearing at such prestigious venues as the Sydney Opera House and New York's Carnegie Hall.
In August 2000, at the Llanelli National Eisteddfod, Iona culminated her competitive career by winning the prestigious David Ellis Memorial Prize - The Blue Riband.
Iona is frequently called upon to perform 20th century Welsh music, indeed she sang in a recital at the Gregynog Festival 2006 with Iwan Llewelyn-Jones, piano, and Sara Trickey, violin, commemorating Grace Williams' centenary.
Iona was also chosen to perform the winning song cycle during the Composers Medal Ceremony, at the National Eisteddfod. She was delighted to beinvited back to sing in a performance of Gounod's "St. Cecilia Mass" at the 2007 Eisteddfod. Her CD "Iona Jones Soprano" was released by Sain in 2001. She has made guest appearances on a further six CDs with Welsh Male Voice choirs and also with the Cory Band. Iona is delighted to be Honorary President of Cowbridge Male Voice Choir, with whom she has had a long and happy association.
In 2009 she performed in all twenty concerts with the Treorchy Male Choir on their tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Susan Coates
LYRIC SOPRANO 2003-
Susan was awarded a B A Honours Degree in Music by The University of Bath and the Licentiate of The Royal Academy of Music, London. She is a qualified vocal coach with several teaching diplomas and has also studied piano and viola to Grade 8.
Susan's musical career has covered a broad spectrum of professional performance experience and several posts in music education. She has an extensive knowledge of the operatic, oratorio and lieder repertoire and has performed at leading venues in the UK and Europe.
For several years she worked as a classroom teacher of music rising to the post of Director of Music at two independent schools, St Margaret's, Calne and Grittleton House School, Chippenham in her home county of Wiltshire. Susan continues her work in education as a visiting singing coach at Monkton Combe School, Bath.
Susan also regularly performs as a group leader for summer schools and opera workshops. She is a member of professional operatic ensemble Opera Sulis which is based in Bath and she also continues to perform on the professional concert and operatic platform as a soloist for many choral societies, choirs and orchestras.
Her solo work has taken her to Gibraltar, Florence and other venues in Tuscany (Italy), The Valley of The Loire (France) and many performances in the UK including those at Bath Abbey, Wells Cathedral, Bristol Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, The Pump Rooms, Roman Baths and The Assembly Rooms - Bath, St. Georges – Bristol and various venues for The Edinburgh Festival.
In 2008 Susan was honoured to be asked to perform as special guest artist at the Aberfan Memorial concert, (South Wales) with the Ynysowen Male Choir.
Susan has strong family connections with South Wales as her mother was born in Pentre, near Treorchy, Rhondda. She remembers visiting the Choir in rehearsal as a small child and her father organised concerts in which the Choir took part in her home town of Chippenham in Wiltshire.
Kate Woolveridge
MEZZO SOPRANO 2003-2013
Kate was born in Cardiff and obtained a Bachelor of Music degree at Sheffield University before going on to post-graduate study at the Royal Academy of Music.
Her copius awards include the Osborne Roberts Blue Riband at the National Eisteddfod, and the Alfreda Hodgson Memorial Bursary’ given by the National Federation of Music Societies.
Kate has performed with the majority of this country's opera companies including Welsh National Opera, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Wexford Festival Opera, Opera factory, Traveling Opera and Pocket Opera.
Her roles include Rosina, Carmen, Dorabella Hansel, Suzuki, Flora, Marcellina, Dinah and Varvara in a newly commissioned work for Welsh National Opera entitled Katerina.
As an Oratorio artist she has sung at the Wigmore Hall and with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, toured Hungary and Germany and has performed the majority of the Mezzo/Contralto repertoire.
Kate is equally at home on the recital platform as she is on the operatic stage and has given recitals across the country, specializing in American and English song. She recently performed at the Cathedrals of Gloucester, Chichester, St David’s and Llandaff and join the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra at the Cheltenham Festival. In 2008 she serenaded Dame Vera Lynn at Chichester with a performance of the wartime’s favourite, “Well Meet Again.”.
The mezzo soprano participates in extensive choral projects and workshops in conjunction with the Welsh National Opera and has recently performed at the Llangollen Music Festival where she performed Verdi’s Requiem with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales before setting off to perform aboard the Orient Express.
Kate has now completed a nationwide tour of a new commission for Welsh National Opera called Dolffin with a libretto by Gwyneth Lewis. In it Kate took the lead role of a pregnant dolphin!
Ray Daniels
BARITONE 1998-
Ray started singing as a young boy in St. Mary's Church Choir, Treherbert. At the age of sixteen, he joined Selsig Operatic Society, where he sang in the chorus and later performed in a number of leading roles.
In 1971 he was advised to receive voice training, which he undertook at Cardiff Castle under the direction of Miss Valetta Iacop. He later began performing as a soloist with various choirs and also on the club and cabaret circuit around Wales.
He joined the Treorchy Male Choir in 1998, as a member of the baritone section, where he is enjoying the new challenge of being part of a large choir.
As an addition to the choir he is becoming the regular baritone soloist in the choir ranks and performed at the Sydney Opera House on his birthday in 2004! He returned to the southern hemisphere during the Choir's tour of 2009 and performed in all twenty concerts throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Helen May
MEZZO SOPRANO 1999-2004
Helen studied singing at the Royal College of Music, London, under the direction of James Lockhart and Marion Studholme. Whilst there she won an Opera Scholarship and on leaving she joined the Glyndebourne Opera Company.
Following this she entered the National Opera Studio in London, during which time she was chosen to represent Wales in the 'Cardiff Singer of the World' competition. Although having trained as an Opera singer, Helen has become far more well-known for her concert, radio and television performances.
She has performed in most of the major concert halls in the UK with such orchestras as the BBC Welsh Symphony and Bournemouth Symphony. Such is her success that following concert engagements in Czechoslovakia, with the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra she was invited back to perform the title role in Bizet's opera 'Carmen'. Helen has been a soloist with numerous Male Voice Choirs and during overseas visits has performed in prestigious venues in Moscow, Prague, Vancouver, Dublin and Montreux.
The Treorchy Male Choir were privileged to acquire the services of Helen as their Guest Soloist for their November 1999 tour of Australia. She was made an Honorary Lady Member of the Choir in the summer of 2008. Helen is the daughter of the late Welsh choral conductor Richard Williams.
Ros Evans
SOPRANO 1993-
Born is Swansea, Ros was educated at King’s College, London and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Operatic roles include Berta Il Barbiere di Siviglia, First Lady, Die Zauberflote, Marcellina, Le Nozze di Figaro for WNO, Boris in WNO’s commissioned work Katerina, Mother Kite, Red Flight Barcud and Kikimora, The Magician’s Cat.
Also, Lady Billows in Albert Herring and Leila Pearl Fishers for Opera de Bauge, Lisa Das Land des Lachelns, Fiordiligi, Cosi fan Tutte, Belinda Dido and Aeneas for Musica Redivia in Rome and Fenena Nabbucco for National Eisteddfod 2000.
Elsewhere, Countess Almaviva Le Nozze di Figaro, Giorgetta Il Tabarro, Tebaldo Don Carlos and Anna Page in Nikolai’s Merry Wives of Windsor. Oratorio performances include Haydn’s Maria Teresa Mass in Paris, Verdi’s Requiem Mass and Te Deum with NOW, John Rutter’s Requiem and Karl Jenkins’ Mass for the Armed Man, both under the baton of the composers.
Other concert work includes Mahler’s Second Symphony, Walton’s Troillus and Cressida, Sieglinde in Wagner’s Die Walkure and Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate and Britten’s Les Illuminations with National Chamber Orchestra of Wales.
She also appears regularly with male choirs, the Three Other Tenors from Welsh National Opera and in Proms concerts, most recently with Nick Davies and the Royal Philharmonic. She has performed on some of the world’s greatest concert platforms, including the concert halls at Perth and Melbourne, the Usher and Reid Halls in Edinburgh, the Basilica in Cairo and in 2004 made her debut at Sydney Opera House.
She also features regularly on television and radio; on S4C’s Musicale, Noson Lawen and Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol, and with Dennis O’Neill on BBC TV’s Masterclass series. Ros appears regularly with her friend and colleague Jeff Howard under the guise of Humouresque – their witty take on the otherwise slightly wacky world of show business!
Ros first became involved with the Treorchy Male Choir in the early part of 1993 and has performed many times with the Choir in concert halls throughout the UK. In 1996 she appeared on their anniversary CD, “Fifty Years Of Song In Concert” and in 2004 accompanied them on their tour of Australia as soprano soloist. Ros was made an Honorary Lady Member of the Treorchy Male Choir in June 2008.
Dean Powell
TENOR SOLOIST 1992-
MASTER OF CEREMONIES 2004-
Dean Powell is a guest speaker, journalist, author, broadcaster and vocalist. His prolific workload varies from presenting high-profile engagements in some of the world's largest concert halls to lecturing on the life of Welsh radical Dr William Price, of which he is considered the leading expert.
Dean has performed as a master of ceremonies in such diverse venues as the Sydney Opera House and Monte Carlo’s Hotel de Paris and before celebrity audiences including HRH The Princess Royal and HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco. He has compered engagements for the likes of Katherine Jenkins, Max Boyce, Iris Williams, Elaine Paige and Dame Vera Lynn. Dean has chaired numerous functions with actors Glyn Houston and Ruth Madoc, broadcasters Katie Adie, Roy Noble and Wyn Calvin, sportsmen Clive Thomas, Phil Steele, Nobby Styles and the Association of Manchester United Players.
Dean has toured USA, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia as soloist and Master of Ceremonies for several Welsh male voice choirs, particularly Treorchy Male Choir and Morriston Orpheus Male Choir. He joined a star studded line up at the Royal Variety Performance where he was presented to her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Dean has recorded as a soloist on albums released by EMI and Infinity Records. In 2016 he led the Centenary Commemoration Service of the Battle of Mametz Wood in the Somme.
Dean has also presented concerts for The Three Other Tenors and Orchestra of the Welsh National Opera, Opera Galleria, Diva! Diva! Diva! and the Anglo-Welsh Festival of Choirs at St David's Hall, Cardiff. He is a regular compere for the male choirs of Dowlais, Beaufort, Morriston Orpheus, Treorchy, Tredegar Orpheus, Caldicot, Chepstow and the Richard Williams Singers and Gentleman Songsters.
Dean remains in demand as a lecturer on Victorian Welsh history and his work in the fields of journalism and public relations have been prolific. The author of 14 history books, he is regarded as the expert on the life of Welsh surgeon Dr William Price. As a guest lecturer he has appeared before such diverse organisations as the Royal College of Surgeons and the Honourable Cymmrodorion of London.
For a decade he worked with Owain Arwel Hughes and the Welsh Proms and Cardiff Singer of the World. As a former BBC journalist, award-winning newspaper editor, theatre critic and literary editor for several Welsh newspapers and magazines, his anecdotes of interviews given with the likes of Hollywood greats Gregory Peck, Joan Fontaine and Sir Richard Attenborough along with TV star Larry Hagman and international singer Sir Tom Jones have made him a firm favourite as a guest speaker.
Mair Roberts
SOPRANO 1977-1993
Mair Roberts was born in London, and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and the Italia Conti Stage School. She served her apprenticeship working in theatre, cabaret, pantomime and television.
It was television that took Mair to Cardiff in 1966; a year later she married and settled on the outskirts of the city, and now has three daughters.
In 1969 Mair formed a choir and has been its conductor since its inception; Cantorion Creigiau is a mixed choir of 85 voices and gives concerts regularly all over the country and has gained first prizes at the National Eisteddfod.
The Choir also toured Hong Kong and also appeared in the Inter-Celtic Festival in Brittany.
In addition to this Mair continues to perform as a professional soprano singer. Combined with this Mair teacher singing, adjudicates at eisteddfodau and appears as guest conductor at cymanfaoedd ganu throughout the country.
Mair first performed with the Treorchy Male Choir in 1977 when she performed as soloist at the Choir’s concert in Llandaff Cathedral. Four years later Mair became the Choir’s regular soprano soloist and over the next 16 years she performed in 147 concerts – a record only beaten by baritone soloist Sam Griffiths.
In 1985 Mair toured Canada with the Choir and also accompanied them on their tour of Australia in 1986 where she charmed the audience at the Sydney Opera House. Mair received Honorary Lady Membership of the Treorchy Male Choir in 2008.
Wyn Davies
TENOR 1976-1990
Few tenor voices ever equalled that of Treorchy Male Choir soloist Wyn Davies. The lyric tenor left audiences the world over spellbound with his nightingale-like quality of sound, which raised the spirits and broke your heart in equal measure.
Wyn Davies originally came from Ystrad in the Rhondda but lived his married life in Pontypridd where he ran his own furniture store. It was as a chorister in Cor Meibion Pontypridd that he first developed his solo voice and following extensive training entered the competitive arena, winning first prizes and the praise of each adjudicator.
On joining the Treorchy Male Choir as a member of the First Tenor section, his reputation for being gifted with such a talented voice was nurtured by the Conductor John Cynan Jones and from 1976 to 1990 Wyn gave 59 solo performances plus many hundred performances of songs for solo voice and choir combined.
His first concert was in the Parc Hospital in Bridgend in December 1976 and over the next twenty four years he enchanted audiences throughout the UK. In 1980 he was the Choir’s tenor soloist for their first overseas tour to Canada and thrilled at every performance.
He returned to the concert stage in 2009 following a 16 year absence to perform several solo items with the Choir including "Prayer Perfect". Wyn’s voice was also captured on many EMI recordings by the Choir throughout the 1970s and 80s. It was an opportunity to preserve this angelic tone in such arrangements as “Lost Steppe”, “Smile Beyond The Looking Glass”, “Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn”, “Kalinka”, “Bring Him Home” and his most famous item, “The Jimmy Brown Song”.
Josephine Jones
SOPRANO 1979-1983
A native of Merthyr Tydfil, Josephine studied at the Welsh College of Music and Drama for three years before gaining a place at the London Opera Centre.
It was during her studies there that she first came into contact with the Treorchy Male Choir in 1979.
She appeared as a soloist with the Mid Glamorgan Youth Choir and Orchestra in various concerts in South Wales and gained a high reputation as an oratorio singer throughout the country.
Josephine appeared in 29 concerts with the Treorchy, during which time she joined them on their tour of Strasbourg in 1981 and also appeared on their EMI albums during this time. She emigrated to South Africa in 1983.
Elvira Henry
SOPRANO 1962-1968
Elvira Henry came from Treherbert and was taught music through Sunday School classes at her local chapel.
By the time she reached her teenage years it was obvious that she possessed a beautiful soprano voice, making her very much in demand for public performances. In 1962 she was noticed by John Haydn Davies, Conductor of the Treorchy Male Choir and invited to appear with them at a concert in Caerphilly on May 1st.
So the relationship between the Choir and the young soprano began and continued in this vein for the next six years during which time she enchanted audiences throughout Wales and beyond its borders. She appeared in a total of fifteen concerts with the Choir over the coming years, mostly held in the South Wales area and was a firm favourite with audience and Choir alike.
She retired not long afterwards and moved to the Swansea Valley where she currently resides. In 2010 she made a welcomed return to the Treorchy Male Choir by attending the unveiling of a Blue Plaque in honour of the organisation at the Red Cow Hotel where it was first formed in 1883. She was made Honorary Lady Member in 2013.
Herbert Jones
ELOCUTIONIST 1957-1978
Herbert Jones was a master of the art of elocution who captivated audiences throughout the country with his impressive presence and natural gift of the spoken word.
He spent the whole of his working life at Cambrian Colliery in Clydach Vale and gave years of service as a lay preacher and Rhondda Borough Councillor. Herbert was first elected to the Council in 1953 and became Mayor of the Rhondda from 1968 to 1969, receiving the honour of being an Alderman of the Borough in 1969.
Naturally these gifts as a public speaker worked to his advantage in the political arena. As an elocutionist his success was outstanding, winning a record 200 eisteddfod prizes and receiving the first prize on three consecutive years at the Porthcawl Miners' Eisteddfod in the Champion Recitation category. Herbert was a member of the famous Mid Rhondda Garrick Dramatic Society and appeared at the Old Vic in London during the final of the British Drama League.
He first appeared with the Treorchy Male Choir in Hermon Chapel, Treorchy in 1957 and for the next 21 years appeared in a phenomenal 152 concerts as elocutionist. At first his audiences were largely within Wales, but he was soon performing with the Choir further afield, most notably at Battersea Town Hall, Micheldean, Ealing, Acton, Chippenham and Clacton.
For his services to the Choir he was awarded Honorary Membership in 1967. Herbert Jones passed away in January 1979.
Harry Price
BASS 1954-1986
Harry Price was one of the best bass-baritone voices ever to be produced in the Rhondda Valleys. His rich, deep, melodic sound entranced audiences throughout the UK and beyond.
Harry was affectionately known as “The Singing Dustman” because by day he worked for Rhondda Borough Council’s refuse collection department, while by night he performed on stage and screen.
For seven years Harry appeared weekly on the Sunday night TWW programme “Land of Song” with Ivor Emmanuel. He also performed on such television shows as “Cabin y Cowboi” and “Praise To The Lord.”
Harry, who lived in Prospect Place, Treorchy, first sang with the Choir in Horeb Chapel, Treherbert in October 1954 and for the next thirty years was a regular feature of concerts at home and abroad.
He gave twenty four solo concerts with the Choir but many hundreds of others by performing solo sections in Choir songs. His performances of “Amazing Grace” and especially “Just a Closer Walk With Thee” were truly mesmerising. The latter was arranged especially for Ella Fitzgerald who presented the music to the Choir following their joint appearance in the Tom Jones Show in 1971.
Harry undertook the Choir’s first tour of Canada where he charmed the Ontario audiences and he also appeared on many of the Treorchy Male Choir’s EMI recordings throughout the 1970s.
Agnes J Griffiths
SOPRANO 1953-1965
Agnes Jenkins-Griffiths was a much-respected soprano soloist in the Rhondda valleys following the Second World War.
It was her reputation as such an outstanding performer that first brought her into contact with the relatively young Treorchy & District Male Choir.
Born in Treherbert, Agnes started to sing from a very young age in her local chapel.
Following the war years her popularity as a performer in local concerts grew and in December 1953 she made her first appearance with the Choir at a concert in Bethany Chapel, Treherbert where she received rapturous applause.
Over the next twelve years Agnes appeared in a total of thirty-two concerts with the Treorchy Male Choir, enthralling audience and choristers alike.
Although all of her concerts between 1953 and 1965 were largely in Wales, she gave many notable performances and the memory of her beautiful voice remains cherished by all who had the pleasure of listening to her.
Agnes Jenkins-Griffiths died in Treherbert in 2006.
Idris Higgon
TENOR c.1930-1968
Idris Higgon was a well-known tenor soloist who was born and raised in Cwmparc.
A multi-awarding winning soloist, who also claimed the Blue Riband at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, he regularly shared the stage with the Treorchy Male Choir for over 35 years.
Idris and his family were associated with the Treorchy Male Choir during the pre and post-war years as choristers and administrative staff. In fact Idris was more closely associated with the famous Royal Welsh Male Choir, for which he was a tenor soloist for several decades and undertook several successful overseas tours with them.
The young tenor first became involved in the Treorchy & District Male Choir in the early 1930s and performed the solo section in one of the Choir’s test pieces at the Royal National Eisteddfod in Port Talbot in 1932 when they competed under the baton of John Isaac Jones.
When Jones’s successor, W.D.Evans took the baton he organised a celebrity concert at Bethania Chapel, Treorchy in February 1934 and Idris joined the line up of talented soloists which included Madame Cassidy Morris, Madame Griffiths, Bryn Jones and elocutionist Tom Thomas. During the following year he joined Emlyn Jones as one of the two soloists to perform Dr Joseph Parry’s “Iesu o Nazareth” for the Choir’s first radio broadcast at the Park and Dare Hall.
When the Treorchy Choir was reformed under John Haydn Davies in 1946, Idris was one of the experienced singers who, despite being a member of the Royal Welsh Male Choir, assisted this young organisation with his singing expertise in the rehearsal room.
In August 1947 the Choir held one of its first concerts since reformation at Salem Chapel in Cwmparc and Idris Higgon was the tenor soloist that evening. He continued to perform regularly with them for the next six years before moving to Ashford in Middlesex, where he remained for the next fifteen years. On his return to the Rhondda in 1968 he resumed his position as tenor soloist and performed his 25th, and last concert as tenor soloist in the Top Rank, Cardiff.
Sam Griffiths
BARITONE 1948-1987
As both a soloist and chorister Sam Griffiths made a massive contribution towards the success of the Treorchy Male Choir.
He learned his craft as a baritone soloist in the ranks of Madam Danford George’s Pentre Operatic Society from 1947 to 1964.
Sam Griffiths joined the Choir shortly after it was reformed in 1946 and throughout the years gave distinctive service to the cause of music making. His sense of musicianship, style and natural voice made him a soloist who has delighted audiences in some of the major concert halls of the UK.
A factory manager by profession, Sam first appeared as baritone soloist with the Choir in July 1948 and over the next 39 years performed in a staggering 297 concerts.
Sam toured Canada with the Choir in 1980 as soloist and recorded on countless EMI albums during his tenure. His private recording of “Little Liza Jane” in 1951 was the first time the Choir was professionally recorded.
One of his personal highlights was performing the solo section of the "Coronation Scene" from Mussorgsky's "Boris Gudonov" at the Miners' Eisteddfod in Porthcawl, for which the Choir gained the first prize.
Todd Jones
TENOR c. 1885-1895
Born in Troedyrhiw, Merthyr Tydfil in March 1872, he came to River Row, Penyrenglyn as a baby and while still a boy began working as a miner in one of the Bute Collieries.
From a young age he started his singing career in the village’s Royal Exchange where he sang in Penny Reading Concerts.
Unable to read a single note of music, he refused any formal training from Madame Clara Novello Davies but rose to become one of the finest singers in Wales.
The “Todyn” as he was affectionately known, gained prize after prize in the eisteddfod arena, claiming a first prize at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.
A soloist with the Treorky Male Choir he performed before Queen Victoria and the Royal Family in the Choir’s Royal Command Performance
at Windsor Castle on November 29th 1895.
As tenor soloist with the Royal Welsh Male Choir he had opened music festivals throughout the United Kingdom. He enjoyed audiences with King Edward VII, King George V and David Lloyd George who called him the “God Sent Tenor.” During a performance in New York he was even approached by international tenor Enrico Caruso and they exchanged tips on performance. His voice was heard around the world as he undertook tours with the Royal Welsh Male Choir to America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
According to reports, during the visit to New Zealand the gold magnate Llewellyn Williams rewarded him handsomely for a private concert.He spent his final years in Pencader, where he continued to perform locally until the week of his death in 1932. He left a wife, Maud, and nine children. His funeral in Treorchy was one of the largest ever seen n the history of the Rhondda.
Aneurin Edwards
BARITONE c 1885-1895
A native of Treorchy, Aneurin Edwards was one of Wales’s foremost baritone soloists of his generation. The son of an undertaker, he spent most of his adult life in Railway Terrace, Cwmparc.
He began his career as the soloist with the original Treorky Male Choir and performed with them at the Royal Command Concert before Her Majesty Queen Victoria in Windsor Castle in 1895. Aneurin was chosen by the Conductor, William Thomas, to become one of the founder members of the Royal Welsh Male Choir in 1896 and remained a faithful member for the next thirty years.
Aneurin Edwards toured America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa as a soloist with the Choir and was best remembered for his heart-wrenching performance of “Thou Art Passing Hence”. It was that item which moved 3,000 people to tears in Adelaide when he performed it in memory of the late Prime Minister of Australia.
He was a popular singer throughout the country, his most famous item being “Make New Friends But Keep the Old”. He had the distinction of possessing one of the largest amount of Eisteddfod trophies and won the most substantial prize money of any baritone in Wales.
Conductor Harry Evans, a well-known adjudicator during this period, spoke of him as the most careful and perfect soloists he had ever heard. His solo performances with tenor William Todd Jones produced some of the most memorable concerts in the history of Rhondda music-making.
Aneurin was a stalwart member of the Royal Order of Buffalos. He continued singing until August 1924 when his health began to fail him. He died in March 1925, aged 52 and his funeral procession of choristers from both the Treorchy & District and Royal Welsh Male Choirs performed on foot from his home to the graveside.