AmeriCymru spoke to Lyn Anthony, Secretary of the Pontarddulais Male Voice Choir about their forthcoming visit to Toronto to perform at the North American Festival Of Wales .

AmeriCymru: Many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. The Choir will be performing at the 2013 North American Festival of Wales in Toronto, Canada. Can you tell us how this came about? Have you performed in Canada before?

Lyn: The invite to perform at the N orth American Festival of Wales (NAFOW) came directly from their president Mr Hywel Davies who now resides in America. Hywel is a descendant of our area and actually was a member of our choir many years ago. He actually assisted in organising our last tour to the USA when we visited Washington DC.

We were honoured to have been asked to perform at this prestigious event and gladly accepted the invite.

Our Musical Director Clive Phillips will also be conducting the Gymanfa (Music Festival) on the Sunday .

We have visited Canada previously on tours the last being in 1996 when we toured British Columbia from Calgary to Vancouver. Previous visits to Toronto and Ontario were in 1973 and 1977. No doubt we will see a big difference in the cities from that time.

AmeriCymru: When was the choir founded? Can you tell us something about its history?

Lyn: In 1960, under the leadership of the late Noel Davies M.B.E. the Pontarddulais Youth Choir had been successfully competing in youth Eisteddfodau. Suddenly they were too old for the youth competitions! The desire of the young men to continue as a choir was strong and so the Pontarddulais Male Choir was born.

At that time, as to this day, there were several established and distinguished choirs in a relatively small area.

The decision to step into the hotbed of male choral singing was therefore a momentous and courageous decision.

The Choir was formed in 1960 under the late Noel Davies MBE, who remained its conductor until 2002 when the now conductor Mr Clive Phillips took over. Clive had been the choirs accompanist for twelve years previously.

During this time the choir has asserted itself as a most credited ambassador of Welsh male voice singing. The choir has achieved prominence through a record fifteen first place at the Royal National Eisteddfod of Wales and two first places at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. In 2004 the choir achieved the double by winning the male choir competition at both Llangollen and the Newport National Eisteddfod. At Newport the choir were awarded the prestigious title Choir of the Festival and in the adjudication Brian Hughes (Adjudicator) said,

Their mastery of choral technique is sure and their imagination at all ti mes on fire. This is the best singing of male choirs I have heard for many years.

At Cardiff National Eisteddfod 2008 they achieved their fifteenth win. This was the fourteenth successive win for the choir.

Whilst the number of Choristers has fluctuated over the years we have always maintained a number in excess of 100. On this particular tour the choir will be nearly 60 in number as unfortunately due to the timing it was difficult for several members to be able to travel with us.

AmeriCymru: Where in Wales is Pontarddulais? Would you describe the area a little for our American and Canadian readers

Lyn: Pontarddulais is located on the Mid South Coast of Wales 9 miles West of Swansea6 miles north east of Llanelli just to the North of the Famous beautiful Gower peninsula and Coast.

The name Pontarddulais translates as the Bridge on the Black river. Presumably this came about during the early days when coal mining and tinplate works were the main industries of the area and the river often ran black in colour from the mines high on the mountains above the village.

Nowadays there are no more working coal mines and coal tips but beautiful green mountains and each of the 6 Tinplate works which in their early days between 1872 and 1910 were some of the main tinplate providers to several parts of the world.

This period saw the transformation in population for the Town which grew from 1200 to 10,000 .

Later the opening of two large Modern tinplate factories outside of the area at Trostre and Felindre forced the eventual closure of all the tinplate works where mostly modern housing estates now occupy the sites.

The current population is approximately 16,000 with main employment being outside of the Town boundaries.

There is a very strong community spirit in the Town with music very high on the agenda.

Apart from the Pontarddulais Male Choir there are several other choirs and a Town Band all of whom have achieved their own distinctions in the music world. Sport is also very popular with thriving Rugby teams, Football and Cricket teams.

The Tenor Dennis ONeil was born and raised in the Town, the choir recently performed at his 60 ^th Birthday party Concert with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and a host of other famous singers.

Welsh is widely spoken with a very popular Welsh Primary school and local Comprehensive schools (High Schools) who teach through the medium of Welsh.

The first Welsh dictionary was published by John Walters (17211797) He was a Welsh cleric from Llanedi a village overlooking Pontarddulais. He was a noted lexicographer , publishing An EnglishWelsh Dictionary in fifteen parts (1770 to 1794).

There are websites with photographic collections of the town. http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=2733641

AmeriCymru: The choir has a particularly distinguished record at the National Eisteddfod. Care to tell us more?

Lyn: The choir a re by no doubt the most successful competitive Male choir in Wales with a record 15 wins at the National Eisteddfod the last 14 being successive.

They have also won twice at the prestigious Llangollen International Eisteddfod.

The Choir have always supported the Eisteddfodau in Wales which is a fantastic Music Festival our website will provide the full list of or winnings on which our reputation has been based and although it is a demanding schedule to prepare the choir for competition we have always risen to the challenge and hope to compete again in the near future.

In the world of Male choir its like going to the National football finals and singing at your very best. As Noel Davies would say and we maintain that ethos Its not Good unless its perfect

AmeriCymru: What is your repertoire? Is there a particular piece that you all enjoy performing more than others? Do you have a signature piece or one that's more often requested by audiences?

Lyn: I suppose our Repertoire encompasses Welsh folk songs, traditional hym n tunes, operatic choruses, Negro spirituals, light music from the shows as well as unaccompanied songs.

I dont think we have a particular signature piece I suppose a lot depends on the venue of our performance and the type of audience before us where we can adjust quite quickly.

One of the most requested songs probably is the Welsh Folk Love Song Myfanwy particularly Welsh Patriots living abroad.

The Lyrics of Myfanwy

Paham mae dicter, O Myfanwy,
Yn llenwi'th lygaid duon di?
A'th ruddiau tirion, O Myfanwy,
Heb wrido wrth fy ngweled i?
Pa le mae'r wn oedd ar dy wefus
Fu'n cynnau 'nghariad ffyddlon ffl?
Pa le mae sain dy eiriau melys,
Fu'n denu'n nghalon ar dy l?

Myfanwy boed yr holl o'th fywyd
Dan heulwen ddisglair canol dydd.
A boed i rosyn gwridog iechyd
I ddawnsio ganmlwydd ar dy rudd.
Anghofia'r oll o'th addewidion
A wnest i rywun, 'ngeneth ddel,
A dyro'th law, Myfanwy dirion
I ddim ond dweud y gair "Ffarwl".

I cant promise this will be sung during our concert

AmeriCymru: What is a typical year's tour schedule for your choir? What kind of events do you typically perform at?

Lyn: On average the choir will perform at about 12 concerts per year. The venues can vary from Large Cathedrals such as Lincoln to small Church or village halls to large concert halls of over 1000 capacity.

We have performed outside but unfortunately the British (Particularly Welsh weather Climate) often plays a part and performances are cancelled.

As a rule we normally only perform at venues where there is a particular fundraising event taking place, over the years I have no doubt we have helped raise hundreds of thousands of pounds possibly Millions for various charitable organisations. This we are very proud of. We only seek to recover our expenses and not make large profits on performances.

All Travel depends on engagements accepted as you will see from our website we have travelled extensively oversees but as the choir generally gets older and costs spiral these have been curtailed of late but we often travel long distances and stay overnight which is a good social side of the choir.

AmeriCymru: How often do you rehearse? Could you describe a typical rehearsal session for our readers?

Lyn: The choir always rehears twice weekly on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 7pm till 9pm. We average about 80-90 choristers at each rehearsal.

During rehearsal we will perform songs that are in our repertoire to keep on top of them and learn new music. We learn by Sol-fa thats the old d r m f s l t d for the none music readers.

I think Julie Andrews stole this from Male Choirs when they filmed the sound of music and made a song of it !!

Once we perfect the music we then add the lyrics. This is an excellent way of learning for someone who doesnt read music.

A lot of people say thats an old fashioned way of learning, but then we say Well thats how we win competitions !

AmeriCymru: You have recorded a great many albums over the years. What so far has been the highlight/s of your recording career?

Lyn: the years we have recorded many albums and these have been very successful, We have performed many times on Television and Radio including recently the BBC 2 World Armistice Day Service where we sang live on BBC Radio 2 to the World from our own St Michaels Church where the service was conducted.

I suppose one of the most memorable recordings was with Pink Floyd on their Album The Wall and later with Roger Waters on his hit Album The Tide is Turning. We also performed on the accompanying film to this album where we all dressed up as miners emerging from a Coal mine all blackened up singing.

We will have some of our latest Cds for sale at the Festival. If you like our performances why not take one home?

AmeriCymru: You'll be in Toronto this year but what's next for the Pontarddulais Male Voice Choir. Any new recordings or tours in the pipeline?

Lyn: Our Calendar is quite full for the next year we have no tours planned as yet but we always keep our options open. Our biggest problem probably has to be refusing concerts as we are already engaged. Normally we can accommodate probably for the following year.

With the National Eisteddfod appearing quite close to us next year I suspect we might rise to the occasion and see if we can improve on that winning streak.

AmeriCymru: Do you have any final comments for the attendees and organisers of the North American Festival of Wales?

Lyn: I can only repeat how honoured we are in being asked to attend this event and how excited we are.

We know how hard it is to organise such an event and we would like to thank all those concerned for their enthusiasm and assistance in making this event possible for us.

Catrin R. Davies will be performing at this year's North American Festival of Wales . Catrin is a former winner of the David Morris Memorial Award, the Solo Voice/Semi-professional competition at the annual NAFOW Eisteddfod. She went on to win first prize in the Mezzo-soprano category at the National in the Vale of Glamorgan last year. She will be performing at the Grand Banquet on Friday evening.

AmeriCymru: Hi Catrin and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed on AC. When did you first become aware of your vocal talents and how did you go about developing them?

The Fairmount Royal York Hotel, Toronto - This years NAFOW venue

Merry Christmas/Nadolig Llawen to all our members and readers

If you're visiting the site this Christmas dont forget to check out our new dropdown navbar.....like all the best new features on AmeriCymru it ALMOST works

But seriously, you may find a few pages and features that are new to you. For instance did you know that you could upload mp3's to the site and play them in your Jukebox? Or were you aware that all your Likes are stored on a page in your profile for future reference. Which is basically a handy in site bookmarking service. Explore the dropdown menus to discover these features and much, much more.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR/NADOLIG LLAWEN A BLWYDDYN NEWYDD DDA

No...we are not talking laundry. Some of our members may have noticed a great deal of discussion in the online tech press recently about 'real' identities on social networks.

Recently G+ has announced that it will not accept 'sock puppet' id's and Facebook appears set to follow suit.

This is an opportune moment to clarify AmeriCymru's position on this burning non-issue.

Of course we will accept fake id's from established members who wish to create a character on the site for the purpose of amusing other members. In fact we encourage people to be creative in this respect. Please be aware though that we will know your real identity ( probably ) and will not tolerate 'socks' that are created for malicious purposes. Such accounts will be deleted without debate or explanation.

If you decide to 'create' a character please have fun with it and try not to get too carried away

If you have any questions....please add them in comments below.

Diolch

Read the blog here:- Diary of A Crap Wife

AmeriCymru: Hi and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. I suppose the first question on many of our readers minds is:- What inspired Crap Wife? What is the story behind the blog?

Crap Wife: Thanks for having me, the site is marvellous- such a strong sense of community! Im sorry to say that CrapWife is me- its how I act and behave for the most part- the label CrapWife is just a way of filling my various shortcomings under one title and conning myself into thinking theres less wrong with me than there actually is.

Theres no real story to the blog, except that i love to write and struggle to find topics that flow easily, a friend had suggested writing about the battles at home, and being as Im no closer to breaking Husband, the blogs proving to be a great outlet. Its nice to know that even if my actions arent having the desired effect at home, theyre at least making people laugh online.

AmeriCymru: 'Husband' is of course a key character in your blog. May we ask how he feels about the project?

Crap Wife: He knows Im up to something- theres been a more sustained attack on him recently and Im nicer to him when I want peace to write the blog. At the moment, he thinks that I play a lot of online scrabble and am perhaps writing a Childrens book for my neice. Daily CrapWife on facebook has sent him a friend request which I have accepted on his behalf... he never logs in, and if he tried, Ive changed his password.

AmeriCymru: We learn from your bio that:- "The main objective of the blog is to make people laugh and break away from the Bridget Jones/Sex and the City ideas of relationship ideals." Care to expand on this a little?

Crap Wife: Im convinced that in 40 years time therell be Old Peoples homes full of spinsters wearing knock off Jimmy Choos still waiting for Mr Big- if I had a pound for every female Ive heard slagging off their significant other because theyre not comparable to someone from Sex and the City, then Id have eleven pounds, probably more if I had more friends. Bridget Jones the same, its just not my cup of tea. I dont really like the whole chickflick culture, not to say that there isnt a place for it, just that it doesnt appeal to me- also, I think Bridget Jones looks a bit like what would happen if someone left a waxwork of Cameron Diaz next to a radiator.

AmeriCymru: Humorous writing is not easy, yet you seem to have a natural talent for it. Have you written before?

Crap Wife: Thank you very much! I have written bits and bobs over the years, Im told as a child I showed promise, but I never really followed anything up. Before CrapWife there was CrapTeen. My family have a lot to answer for- theyre all very funny; my Father is very dry and quick witted- he doesnt say much, but when he does, its gold. My Mother has her own special brand of humour and my sister is able to floor me with a look. My grandparents are a fabulous comedy act, and after spending years with them, you learn to have an answer for everything! If I could get one of my Uncles to start blogging, I would- hes in a league of his own. Unfortunately, hes too old to see the keyboard now and the home only lets him out for an hour at weekends.

AmeriCymru: The choir sang Elvis at your wedding. Whose idea was this and which numbers did they perform?

Crap Wife: My mother arranged the Choir, they were absolutely wonderful, I have a great passion for Male Voice Choir music- especially when they sing the Welsh rugby songs (which they did, as a special treat for my extended English family The Elvis idea was Husbands, I love Elvis we had them singing Cant help falling in love with you, an highlight for me was Ar Hyd Y Nos.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Crap Wife?

Crap Wife: I intend to keep blogging, I am finding it immensely rewarding, and am having so much fun with it. The Husband-torture has gone on long before the blog, and itll go on long after no doubt, but its lovely to think that there are people out there enjoying reading about it.

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

Crap Wife: Of course! Thanks for reading and please support a local wife on the verge of braining her Husband- I would love to be able to reach more readers, so anyway you can pass on the blog would be appreciated greatly, also, if anyone of you has a suggestion for a torture method Ive not yet thought of then please, please let me know.