On 9th December 2023, Cambrensis Choir and Orchestra celebrated Christmas along with a specially formed small Youth Choir in a concert at the BBC Hoddinott Hall in the Wales Millenium Centre. This was the first time that Cambrensis has performed in the Hoddinott Hall as well as the first major event directed by our new MD, Glenda Pasley. It was so good to sing to a full to capacity hall.
We had a very enjoyable evening singing and performing a wide variety of Christmas music including well known Christmas carols, classical choral pieces and popular Christmas songs: The programme ranged from Spirit of the Season from the film Polar Express, Winter Wonderland and Carol of the Bells through to pieces by modern composers Philip Stopford, John Rutter and Morten Lauridsen. The music was interspersed with poems and narration to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the audience enjoyed joining with us in some well known carols.
The Youth Choir, led by Glenda, delighted the audience by singing three songs. Well done to soloists Joseph, Millie, Aida, Grace, Manya, Pippa, Rhian, Jude, Mariale and Jingyi.
Cambrensis Orchestra, led on this occasion by Lydia Griffiths, accompanied Cambrensis and the audience during this event and they also performed the ever popular Sleigh Ride which was much enjoyed by all. Our thanks as always to all our orchestral players for their hard work and commitment to making our big events so enjoyable and to Jo Cresswell, our Orchestra Fixer
Many thanks go to Jonathan Davies our piano and organ accompanist.
Laura Dunn, accompanied by her son Isaac, sang two beautiful solo pieces which were greatly appreciated by ourselves and the audience.
The evening ended with soloists, Laura Dunn and Sarah Keenan leading Cambrensis in performing the stunning song by Eaton and Grant, Breath of Heaven. This was followed by the dramatic One Amazing Night by Cloninger and Stirling and finally the event closed with the orchestra, choirs and audience joining together to sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
At the end of the concert we had a retiring collection to raise funds for Holibobs, a local charity dedicated to helping children with cancer and leukemia spend precious time with their families on holidays and short breaks. Thank you to everyone who generously donated: we raised £890 for this very worthwhile cause.
There are a great many people who participated in the event and who worked behind the scenes to ensure that this event was successful. Thank you to everyone! We’d particularly like to thank the BBC staff at Hoddinott Hall for all their support and technical expertise both beforehand and on the day.
We loved using the BBC Hoddinott Hall as a venue and we have already booked it again for next Christmas. We look forward to seeing you there on Saturday 7th December 2024!
