Blogs

Welsh Choir To Perform


By Byn (Bynbrynman)Tavarn Ty Elise, 2010-05-28
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BAFTA Cymru is the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for Wales.

A Bit of Tom Jones , which won Best Film/Drama.

It's foul, definitely, and not for everyone but it's totally tongue in cheek, all foulness an affectionate joke. There's a few raw bits that could have been done better, not flawless, but I laughed a LOT and it's a darned funny film for grown ups who have a sense of humor. There's a lot of great lines in this film that caught me by surprise, I think personally Eve Myles got the single best line which would make a great but offensive t-shirt. I hope Sir Tom, His Royal Hotness, has seen it and got a good laugh, I sure did!


A Bit of Tom Jones premiered for American audiences in Chicago and we were fortunate enough to get permission to show it at the Left Coast Eisteddfod in Portland, Oregon in October.

Welsh language film Cwcw from writer/director Delyth Jones, starring Eiry Thomas, Aneirin Hughes and Rhys Richards, won Best Actress for Eiry Thomas' peformance as soap opera writer Jane Jones, and Best Original Music Soundtrack by composer John E.R. Hardy.



Read about the rest of the 2010 Awards here .

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Llangollen 2010 July 5 July 11
Monday 5th: Katherine Jenkins Opening Gala Concert An evening of stunning music to begin the festival and celebrate the reopening of the Royal International Pavilion. Katherine will be supported on stage by French phenomenon Amaury Vassili. This promises to be a night to remember!
55, 35
Tuesday 6th : Karl Jenkins: The Armed Man A Mass for Peace. Beethoven: Piano Concerto Number 3, Brahms: Academic Festival Overture. Sinfonia Cymru. Llr Williams, Piano. Sinfonia Cymru makes its Llangollen debut under the baton of Karl Jenkins as he conducts his own Mass for Peace with a Wales and the World choir. The extraordinary Llr Williams is at the piano for Beethovens third concerto. Extra information from Karl/Mervyn. An absolute must!
35, 25
Wednesday 7th : One World, One Stage: The legendary- and justifiably celebrated Welcome Ceremony and Procession of Performers through the Pavilion. As ever, this will be an unforgettable evening of truly global music and dance which is a favourite with Eisteddfod regulars and a marvellous taster of the week to come. Expect performances from Pakistan, Wales, USA, and North Africa, amongst others.
18, 14
Thursday 8th : Shine with the Bond Quartet: A typically eclectic Llangollen mix, with a new twist. Brilliant dancers perform everything from Bhangra to BreakDance. An international choir of 100 young children come together in peace and harmony, and then the upbeat string players of multi-million CD-selling Bond shine and sparkle.
20, 15
Friday 9th : Only Men Aloud: The hugely popular and Classical Brit Award winners Only Men Aloud at Llangollen for the very first time! The boys will be singing Welsh favourites and other exciting pieces and will be joined by musical friends from around the world. Only Men Aloud were awarded the NS&I Album of the Year Award at the 2010 Classical Brit Awards for their second album Band of Brothers.
30, 20
Saturday 10th : Choir of the World and Champions of Brass: The incomparable Choir of the World competition preceded by the world champions of brass! Wales own Cory Band in concert in the first half, before the weeks winning choirs sing off for the Pavarotti Trophy. The Cory Band were recently crowned victorious at the 2010 European Brass Band Championships in Austria, winning the title for the third consecutive year.
25, 15
Sunday 11th : Nigel Kennedy: One of the worlds great musical stars, the inimitable Nigel Kennedy returns to the festival in spectacular style with his full orchestra and band to perform a smash-hit programme of Bach and Ellington which he is performing in Wales for the first time.
55, 40, 25
Day Sessions:
Tuesday 6th: International Childrens Day: Exotic Traditions: Be transported to the Indian subcontinent, and Sudan, by musicians, dancers and acrobats. Includes Kawa Circus breathtaking brand of dance and fun. This is especially for Primary Schools and 5000 children are expected. 5 per child pre-booked teachers free.
Wednesday 7th: International Song and Dance: Choirs and folk dancers from 20 countries. Also featuring the best young soloists in the world in an event that has been the launching pad for young stars such Faryl Smith in recent years. Performers from five continents on the outside stages the whole world in one place!
Pavilion ticket (including ground entry): 20, 15, 12 Ground Admission: 9 (senior citizen 8, children under 16 5)
Thursday 8th: Youth Entertains: Young singers and Folk Dancers of the world Join the musical party with 1000 young performers; Childrens Dance, Youth Choirs, the biggest Junior Childrens Choirs competition, and Songs from the Shows. Enjoy Jazz and Roots, Hip-Hop and Bollywood, and colour everywhere. There will be special Youth Day packages for Secondary Schools.
Pavilion ticket: 15, 12 Ground Admission: as Wednesday.
Friday 9th: International Celtic and Folk Day: For many this represents the true essence of Llangollen: Mixed and Chamber Choirs, plus the spectacular all-new Folk competitions. Folk music spills out onto the Eisteddfod field, with an extra Celtic flavour. Bands from Wales lead a colourful mix of sights, sounds, dance and art to the outside stages.
Pavilion ticket: 15, 12 Ground Admission: as Wednesday.
Saturday 10th: International Family Day: Simply the best male and female choirs in the world singing everything from Bach to Barbershop. Luciano Pavarotti won on this day in 1955 so expect high standards! Also, of course, the Peace Message will be delivered to the world by local children. On the field there will be activities for all the family; music, dance, arts, crafts, story-telling, and competitions.
Pavilion ticket: 20, 15, 12 Ground Admission: as Wednesday but note that Family ticket @ 20
Sunday 11th: During the day, the festival spills out into the town in a carnival atmosphere. Music all over Llangollen! This is the Peoples Day with local, regional, and international performers combining their talents. A relaxed day for everyone, culminating in the evening concert of course!
Further details later.
Tickets: 5 adults, 1 for children under 16.
Season Tickets: This year sees an expanded range of Season Ticket offers; the full Season from 2009 is now known as a Gold Season, and the daytime-only package is the Silver Season. For 2010 Llangollen offers a PLATINUM Season, covering everything from Tuesday to Sunday inclusive. This represents a fantastic saving of around 25% on the full prices, with a guarantee of the same seat throughout. If you can, do take this opportunity of making it a holiday week and join us for the whole span of the festival. For those coming on the Monday evening and staying through Tuesday; there is a wonderful Vocal Solo Competition (the 15 to 20 age-range) in the Town Hall on the Tuesday afternoon before the Parade of Nations at 4.30pm (weather permitting) through the streets of Llangollen including Commonwealth Games Team Wales athletes as well as all the competitor performers from all over the world.
Ticket Office: 01978 862001
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Mersey Primary School cites Festival as a major factor in Ofsted report success.

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is famous throughout the world for its colour, spectacle and exuberance but in addition to its reputation for melting down cultural barriers and in presenting the very best of the worlds singers and performers the Festival also aims to encourage a more general sense of harmony within communities, both nationally and internationally.
St Matthews Primary School in Liverpool has just gained Overall Effectiveness Outstanding in its Ofsted report and the school was especially praised for its creative involvement in community cohesion events and cultural development. The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is proud to have been cited directly in the Inspectors letter as a major contributory factor in the schools achievements.
The International Eisteddfod has greatly helped our pupils to develop their understanding of people from other cultures, through their music and dance says St Matthews Headteacher, Veronica McDonnell, This was acknowledged in our recent Ofsted Inspection when we were awarded Outstanding for overall effectiveness. Our strong Community Cohesion work was also rated outstanding with the International Eisteddfod contributing to our international links.
We have been coming to Llangollen for the past four years, says Donna Jones, Senior Teacher and Music Coordinator at St Matthews Primary School whose been involved along with Mrs Letitia Wilkins, Deputy Headteacher. We have attended once on Childrens Day, once on Song and Dance Day- where we saw HRH Prince Charles!- and we have also competed in the Junior Childrens Choirs competition and taken part in the inclusive All the World, One Smile project in 2009.
As a direct result of their visits to the Llangollen Festival St Matthews Primary School has made strong cultural connections with children and schools from other countries throughout the world and, this year, the school hopes to forge specific links with both India and Hong Kong. Mrs McDonnell explains Our pupils have benefited socially, emotionally and spiritually through their participation in this wonderful annual event. They have had the opportunity to meet and forge on-going links with children from India and China. What a wonderful way of helping children to experience first hand the cultural diversity and unity of people from all corners of the world.
Veronica McDonnell continues to explain Our own pupils come from a wide variety of different backgrounds, and abilities and so for us, having a wonderful event like Llangollen on our doorstep is so important. We have a wealth of talent, enthusiasm and spirituality, and the Eisteddfod helps us to develop this.
The children of St Matthews Primary School have fond memories of their previous visits to Llangollen Festival:
I love going to Eisteddfod. You see people from all over the world wearing such beautiful colourful costumes. Ying Yu Fang aged 10.
I enjoyed watching the Chechnyan dancers. They were so fit and strong. Even the tiniest children could kick their legs so high. They made us feel so excited. Paige Lancaster aged 10.
Our school choir felt so proud when we sang on the main stage at the Eisteddfod. We competed against children who came from as far as China. It was great. Katie Jones aged 10.
I couldnt believe I saw Prince Charles at the International Eisteddfod. The golden Harp was shining so brightly on the stage. We waved at Prince Charles and he waved back at us. Jack Bradley.
Llangollen Festivals Chief Executive Mervyn Cousins is delighted that the event is having such a positive effect in schools and in the community as a whole. It is great to hear once again that the international reach of Llangollen has such a positive effect on young people, he says. We naturally believe that what we can offer to schools and families is special and it is wonderful to know that this experience has a legacy beyond their actual attendance at the festival. I am also delighted personally, as before coming to work in Llangollen I worked in Liverpool and I know what brilliant work is done in schools there.
The City of Liverpool is often cited as being the capital city of North Wales and the connections between the Mersey and the Dee appear to be as strong as ever in 2010 because, this year, in addition to welcoming a choir from St Matthews Primary School, Liverpool will also be represented in this years Eisteddfod by the Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir.
Some tickets are still available for this years Childrens Day (Primary Schools, Tuesday 6 July), and for Youth Day (Secondary schools and colleges) and, because of the continuing high demand for these tickets, Llangollen is also offering school packages, including workshops from performers from all over the world, on the other days of the festival week.
Culturally and geographically we are not far away from Liverpool, says Mervyn Cousins, and, of course, the continuing and enduring philosophy of Llangollen is that the rest of the world is also much closer to us than we think!

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Hi from the Cardiff Girlie


By Wendy Lee, 2010-05-27

Hi All

Thanks for your warm welcome from over the water. Tis warm & sunny in Cardiff today and everything's growing like mad in the garden here. Cardiff is still recovering from Cardiff City Football Team losing their Play-Off Match to get into the top championship league - but our Rugby Team (The Cardiff Blues) won their first European Trophy in France the next day! No I'm not sports mad in the least, just patriotic....

Am beavering away on my website Discover Cardiff and taking time out for a cuppa tea and a look at AmeriCymru. Am also looking for ways to trace an American student who lived with us for 9 months back in 1985ish - her name was Amy White and I last heard from her when she was living in Colorado in 2002 and then lost touch as we moved & she moved. Any ideas anyone? You never know, she may be a member?

Anyhow, good to be in touch again with some new American friends. Bye for now Wendy

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andy keeling of welshsteel

CERI: Can you tell us a little about Welsh Steel, what is it's mission?
ANDY: Having been in the music business professionally for thirty years, twenty years in the US, I realized hardly anyone knows what or where or who is in wales. Being a Welshman in the US, I wanted to introduce our talents to the world.
CERI: Do you have any immediate plans for signings, tours, etc?
ANDY: Yes, absolutely. Between June 2nd and 17th, I'll be in the UK, having industry meetings with music professionals and through my connections with AmeriCymru, I realized I could access musical information and contacts that were previously unavailable to me. I have bands singed in the US and bands coming on tour to the UK and Europe this year, and I thought by coming home to Wales for a few days it would be a good opportunity to view some of the recommended talent in the area.
There's so much opportunity in the US for touring and promoting that I want to represent my home country, Wales, sign the best few bands in certain genre categories of music with a view to recording contracts and bringing them to the US to tour for next year.
CERI: I understand that you're holding an audition in Cardiff in June? Care to tell us where and when that will be?
ANDY: Yep. There'll be an audition on the 12th of June at the MusicBox in Penarth Rd ,Cardiff between 10 and 6.
CERI: What kind of bands are you looking for?
ANDY: I really don't care about genre of music, age or race. All I care about is quality.
CERI: How should bands and musicians get an audition?
ANDY: Join Americymru and Welsh Steel , put up some audio files, performance videos, anything that will show me what you do and although it's last minute, we can contact you. We'll contact the bands for this particular audition, even though it's last minute, don't think we're going to overlook you, there might still be an opportunity to meet and greet, you can give me material for the next set of auditions and we can keep in contact on the networks.
CERI: What's your background in the music industry?
ANDY : I started really young, my first show on stage was with Ronny Corbett and Clodagh Rogers at age five. My local church choral group were asked to sing and my mother claims I snatched the microphone from Ronnie Corbett's hand and decided to sing a locally popular hit, Jimmy Osmond's "Long Haired Lover From Liverpool," to the delight and amazement of the audience, the pit orchestra and especially Ronny Corbett! Since then, my career's been downhill!
No, seriously, music school, classically-trained trumpet player and singer, followed by twenty years of prostitution in the pop business left me in Brazil, Jamaica, subsequently Miami, Florida playing pop music to the masses and being dropped by various labels due to the general public downloading free music, which took all the money out of record labels, subsequently led to the fall of the establishment, so I retired from music. A few years ago I realized a giant hole in my soul by not being involved in the music industry and decided to represent my fellow country men and musicians by managing promoting and touring on their behalf with my experience as the foundation on which to help them succeed. for twelve years straight playing almost 300 shows a year, managing, booking, preforming, scheduling, negotiating contracts and roadying my band and others, I've done it all.
CERI: What do you listen to, who do you like?
ANDY: Anything, really, as long as it's good.
CERI: What's the music scene in Portland like?
ANDY: Portland is small city of a bit over 500,000, of which all are musicians or it seems like that! There are over 150 independent venues that play music every night, so it's music, music, music, of all kinds, all the time. People here like experimentation, they like fusion, they're willing to try anything and they're pretty supportive, it's very creative.
After retiring professionally from performing in 1999, I moved to Portland because I found it to be one of the most exciting artistic communities I'd ever visited and now I'm set, immersed in talent and opportunities with local artists who have little further guidance to go beyond their semi-local, national scene. I feel very privileged to be able to represent quality artists in this area and will endeavour to help them in any way possible, via recording or promotion or touring, so they can achieve their creative goals.
CERI: Care to tell us a bit about where you're from?
ANDY: I was born in Blaina, both pairs of my grandparents lived in Bryn Mawr and I spent a lot of time there as a child. I moved to Pontypool as a youngster to go to school. My father worked in Panteg steel works, then he went to Cardiff College to study PE and Special Education, which then dragged me around the country for ten years whilst he opened the (then) new emerging special school system. During this period, I was stuydying music and arts heavily and was privileged to grow up in areas where music was exploding in the UK in the '80s. My grandmother still lives in Bryn Mawr. Portland is the closest town I've ever seen that reminds me of home: the weather, everything's green and lush, it's a really creative place and it's that bit anti-establishment, "People's Republic of Portland," and all.
CERI: Do you miss home? Hiraeth and all that?
ANDY: Of course I miss home. (ED: At this point in our interview, Andy broke down crying, crushing a leek and an unopened can of Brains SA to his chest and singing 'Green, Green Grass...':) Heads of the Valley is always in my heart.
CERI: Any final message to our readers and the members of Welsh Steel and AmeriCymru?
ANDY: Can't wait to meet some of you! Probably won't get to meet you all this this time but never give up, keep the faith and Cymru Am Byth!

Interview by Ceri Shaw Email

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AmeriCymru Member Needs Our Help


By Ceri Shaw, 2010-05-25

Please consider taking a minute to vote for AmeriCymru member Mike Heap and The Legendary Clampetts at this url:- http://www.battleofthebands.com/theclampetts

Read the interview with Mike here:- http://americymru.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mike-heap-the-legendary
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Mike Heap, THE LEGENDARY CLAMPETTS


By Ceri Shaw, 2010-05-24
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MIKE HEAP is bassist and songwriter for The Legendary Clampetts from Springfield, Illinois. Mike talked to Ceri Shaw for Welsh Steel and AmeriCymru

CERI: How long have The Clampetts been playing together?

photograph of Mike Heap

MIKE: The band's been together about 3 years. We originated from a project that Matt (Erley - drums) and I were involved in called 'Banzai Kitty'. The Legendary Clampetts was more or less the moniker that Matt and I chose as an inside joke after our original guitarists left to start another project, and it just sort of stuck. We've actually been recording and performing as The LC's for about 16 months now.

CERI: How would you describe your sound?

MIKE: Our sound is really a 'mash-up' I suppose. I know there's punk, funk, progressive metal and a lot of old school classic rock sounding type stuff in there. It actually depends on what I'm trying to convey in the song. For example; 'Riot In The Hospital' has a straight up punk / rockabilly feel to it. The melody and progressions were written to capture and express the tongue in cheek outrage of the lyrics. All of our material is meant to 'stand alone' and tell a story or express an idea or opinion, so we don't really pay any attention to, or try to stick to any particular 'genre' or label.

CERI: You are the main songsmith for The Legendary Clampetts. What inspires your lyric writing?

MIKE: Lyrics, to me, are the most important part of songwritting. So, I take a lot of time with just that aspect of the song writting process. Everything I've ever written starts with expressing a story, an idea or an opinion. The subject matters are diverse, 'Cry Havoc' is an anti-war protest song, while 'Bird Thing' is a song about growing up and leaving home and how scary, exciting and sometimes sad that can be.

CERI: Who would you count amongst your musical influences?

MIKE: Wow, musical influences. Okay, here we go....I do this in a couple of ways. As a bassist, my all time 2 greatest influences are John Entwistle and John Paul Jones without reservations. As a lyricist and composer, I really admire Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull. As far as bands go, Blue Oyster Cult, Queen, Thin Lizzy and Genesis top a really really long list.

CERI: Any tours or live appearances in the near future?

MIKE: We're currently in our home studio working on some new material at the moment, so other than the possibility of appearing on the Ernie Ball Stage at The Warped Tour stop in St. Louis, MO , we don't have any shows scheduled until late August in the midwest.

CERI: Where can people go to hear/buy your music?

MIKE: You can hear us at several different sites - We're on ReverbNation and of course Myspace . On both Myspace and ReverNation, you can stream all the songs there and the ReverbNation site has some special free downloads available to anyone that becomes a member of our fan base. I'd like to take this opportunity to announce that we'll be launching a new website this coming fall where among other things friends and fans will be able to 'rent' and 'recommend' (R&R) our material ( songs and videos). Long story, short answer - we believe the old methods of 'selling' music is dead, and we're approaching this is a new manner that befits the digital age.....stay tuned for more, is all I can say at the moment. You can also find us twitter at ww.twitter.com/clampettsspfld , on www.imradio.com/theclampetts and our youtube channel

CERI: Care to tell us something about the Ernie Ball Battle of The Bands?

MIKE: The Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands is an annual contest that the Ernie Ball company conducts in conjunction with the Vans Warped Tour. The concept is to give a platform for undiscovered bands to showcase their talent to a larger regional or national audience. The contest has launched the careers of several major artists over the last 10 years or so. We're currently in the running for one of 5 available slots during the tours stop in St. Louis, Missouri. At last glance, we occupied the # 2 position after having spent 20 days as the number one contender. Fans must create an account in order to vote, but don't let that stop you - you won't be inundated with junk emails from either the Ernie Ball or the Vans companies or any other sponsor or participant. What we've seen thus far, is that a lot of the bands involved have their fans go 'trolling' for return votes from other bands and fans in order to benefit their chosen band.....and it seems to work. We'd certainly appreciate all the help and support that we can get. We've been discussing offering logo t-shirts to any of our friends and fans that are helping us out, not only in this contest, but in any of our efforts.

CERI: On your AmeriCymru profile you describe yourself as a first generation Welsh american. Care to tell us a little about your Weslsh background?

MIKE: My dad was born in Swansea. He and his mother moved to New Bedford, Mass. when he was 7. My brothers and I were constantly exposed to our culture and heritage from my dad, but more so from our grandmother. She insisted on speaking to us in Welsh as much as possible. My dad was a history nut, and had an extensive library of Welsh history and social traditions, which he 'tutored' us boys on....he went so far as to insist that we watch the movie Zulu at least once a month....why? Well, as he put it, and I'm paraphrasing here - ' the most glorious victory in the british army belongs to a Welsh Regiment'. My Welsh heritage was and still is the most defining aspect of who and what I am....I even have the goch ddraig with the words Wales Forever tattooed on my left arm.

CERI: Are there any Welsh or Celtic influences on your music?

MIKE: I couldn't claim that my writting has any more Welsh or Celtic influence than anyone elses music I do, however, like to image myself as keeping alive the old bardic traditions of my ancestors in some remote fashion.

CERI: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru and WelshSteel?

MIKE: I'd just like to say to you Ceri, thank you for the opportunity to introduce myself and speak to the members of AC and WS and connect with them via these forums and websites. And, on behalf of The Legendary Clampetts, thank you for taking the time to give us a go, we hope you enjoy the music.

Interview: Ceri Shaw Email

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The formation of Llangollen Community Choir and its debut performance at Llangollen 2010

In preparation for this year's Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod the festival organisers have teamed up with local businesses to form a special Community Choir which is expected to forge a new and harmonious link between the festival and the surrounding communities. The Community Choir will make its inaugural appearance on Wednesday 7th July at the One World, One Stage Evening Concert and will play a major part in welcoming the world to Llangollen. In addition, local residents and businesses will be eligible for discounted ticket prices for this spectacular event.

Since its inauguration in 1947 the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod has welcomed singers, musicians and dancers from all over the world and audiences in the North Wales town have been thrilled and exhilarated by their vibrant performances. The joys of experiencing what it must be like to sing on the famed Llangollen stage is a privilege extended to very few but, this year, the Llangollen Eisteddfod is offering local people and businesses the opportunity to taste a little of this magic for themselves with the creation of the Llangollen Community Choir.

This is a wonderful opportunity for people in Llangollen to be directly involved in welcoming the festival performers from all over the world and to have the chance (maybe of a lifetime!) to sing on the unique Llangollen stage says Mervyn Cousins, Chief Executive of Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod: It is really important the Eisteddfod and the town work together, and this is a new and exciting venture. Singing in a choir is such good fun and brings people together too, and I am sure they will really enjoy this new experience. I am really looking forward to hearing the choir!

The Llangollen Community Choir will be under the expert supervision of Tim Jones, Musical Director of Yale College Choir- and himself a veteran of the Llangollen stage. Performing on that famed Llangollen stage is such a thrill, he says, and I want the local people of Llangollen to taste it for themselves. I am absolutely convinced that Llangollen has Talent and that we can create something truly special here- something magical and unforgettable. What we need now is for one hundred local voices to come forward and to make themselves heard!

Places for the choir are allocated on a first come, first served basis and they are offered to people living or working in the Llangollen area or to people who are connected to the Eisteddfod. The hotline number for anyone interested in joining is 01978 862000 and rehearsals will begin on Tuesday 25th May at St. Johns Church, Abbey Road, Llangollen and will continue on Tuesday evenings throughout June. The Rev Andrew Sully, who presides over the church, will also be singing in the choir.

It will be great for local people to sample the true magic of participating in the Llangollen Eisteddfod says Rachel Jones, Director, Arts & Business Cymru. It is also, of course, a very effective way for local businesses to get involved in what is, after all, a truly global cultural event and to highlight the fact that businesses in the Llangollen area are very supportive of this unique and historical festival.

The formation of a Llangollen Community Choir is such an excellent idea, says Ian Williams, Director North Wales Enterprise & International Business Wales. Every year, choirs travel from all over the world to visit Llangollen and to perform on its world-famous stage and this is a golden opportunity for local people- and local business people too of course- to match their enthusiasm and to express their support for the Eisteddfod through the medium of music by singing together in the Llangollen Community Choir!

The choir will give its inaugural performance on the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod stage on Wednesday 7th July at the One World, One Stage evening concert. This event is a well-established favourite with Llangollen audiences and- in addition to the celebrated Welcome Ceremony and Procession of Performers through the Pavilion- it will be an unforgettable evening of truly global music and, with performances from countries such as Tibet, USA and Wales it offers a marvellous taster of the week to come. Ticket prices for the concert range from 14 to 18 but there will be special 3 discounted seats for local residents and local businesses, and support their friends and colleagues taking part in the Community Choir.

I really hope the people of the Llangollen area will join me in this marvellous choir, says Eisteddfod Treasurer Simon Orton-Jones who has signed up as a member of the choir. We all know that the Welsh have great singing voices and this is a superb opportunity for Llangollen to prove that it is, probably, the most musical town in the whole of Wales. We really are going to make such a glorious sound on that stage and I am thrilled at the prospect of being a part of it. So come on, people of Llangollen, lets get singing!


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I just heard a news item on NPR radio this morning about this store and that it's looking at closing - Ceri says it's a tiny shop near the Hayes Island snack bar and that they've been threatened with closure forever but I thought this was so cool - the first record store in the world is in Cardiff! They also sell online and I hope that will help them survive, it'd be a shame if it closed - apparently they can't make their rent, I don't know if prices have gone up as Cardiff has been built up and they have this on their home page:

http://www.spillersrecords.co.uk/

"AND IN RECENT NEWS...

"Spillers Records
has been featured in a few newspapers recently, and there has been a
lot of gossip on facebook and twitter about us too. We would just
like our customers to know that our situation may not be as dramatic as
some people are making out. It is true however, that we will be leaving
our current premises by the end of June 2010 . We would also
like to point out that we do not blame our landlords for the situation
we are in, and are in fact grateful for all their help in finding us a
temporary home until we find a new one.
Spillers Records do have afacebook account, and its great to get positive feedback from you
guys. There have been a few accounts set up under the name save
spillers, and the like, and wed like to stress that they are not
directed by us at all, and we have not set up a petition against our
landlords. Thanks to you all for the support - and keep a look out for news on where we move to!
"SPILLERS AM BYTH! "

and they have a Welsh section with lots of stuff, icluding The Alarm, 9Bach, Geraint Griffiths, Amy Wadge, Mabon, Goldie Lookin Chain, Bryn Terfel, The Fron Male Voice Choir and TON more:

http://www.spillersrecords.co.uk/shop/welsh_acts/
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