Youngsters will raise curtain on Llangollen 2015

 

* Young people from the Eisteddford parade through Llangollen town centre.

 

AROUND 4,000 schoolchildren will join in a day of music and fun to raise the curtain on this summer’s Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

 

They will be heading for the International Pavilion to take part in a concert entitled Bongos, Brass and Plenty of Dance which is the centrepiece of Children’s Day, the traditional prelude to the annual cultural festival being staged from July 6-12.

 

The 40-minute musical extravaganza will be staged twice, at 10.30am and again at 12 noon, on the opening day, Tuesday July 7.

 

The crowds of young visitors will later head out on to the Eisteddfod field to enjoy a packed programme of street theatre complete with clown, stilt walkers and Bollywood dancing.

 

There will also be music and dance performances on the outside stages and a series of workshops.

 

The junior choirs competition will be at 1.30pm and the centrepiece of the day will be the colourful parade of competitors which will start winding its way through the town at 4.30pm.

 

The concert will feature a rousing performance by The Alto Brass Ensemble, which includes a quintet of some of Wales’s finest brass players plus two percussionists, one of whom, Owen Gunnell, was voted a BBC Musician of the Year in 2000 and has gone on to become a star of the international performance circuit.

 

Children's Day is being sponsored by the Pendine Park care organisation who are also supporting the Alfie Boe concert on the Thursday night, July 9.

 

Other big draws include Oscar-winning music legend Burt Bacharach, the immensely popular Canadian singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright and TV choirmaster Gareth Malone.

 

There will also be the world premiere of a new work to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Welsh colony in Patagonia in a concert that will also star former royal harpist Catrin Finch.

 

For the final concert, Ali Campbell, the voice of UB40 who sold 70 million records, who'll be reunited on the eisteddfod stage with two other founding members of the group, percussionist, trumpet player and vocalist Astro and keyboard player Mickey in a concert sponsored by the Village Bakery.

 

The Children’s Day concert programme has been tailored to appeal to a young audience and includes such popular numbers as the rousing themes from the blockbuster movies Pirates of the Caribbean and Monsters Inc.

 

Owen Gunnell is famed for his expertise in introducing children to the excitement of music.     

 

In 2003, he graduated from the Royal College of Music and has appeared as a soloist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, BBC Philharmonic, Britten Sinfonia, Macedonia Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Sinfonia Viva.

 

He is one half of the percussion duo, O Duo, who have won many prizes and performed and been broadcast on television and radio all over the world.

 

O Duo are also well known as artistic directors for Children's Classic Concerts in Scotland, curating and performing in a variety of concerts ranging from chamber size to symphony orchestra size.

 

Owen, who is based in East Anglia but has family ties in South Wales through his parents, promised that the event would be “fun, slick and interactive”.

 

He said: “I’ve worked quite a lot with children over the years, so I know that you’ve got to give them something that’s entertaining. I think we’re definitely going to do that with the programme we’ve chosen.  

 

“We also plan to get some of the children in the audience up onto the stage so they can try for themselves some of the percussion instruments we’ll have like xylophones and vibraphones.

 

“I’m looking forward very much to being at Llangollen for such a fantastic occasion.”

 

Apart the ensemble, there will also be some dazzling performances by a number of the dance groups who are performing at the Eisteddfod later in the week and musical workshops which the children will be invited to join in.

 

Another highlight of the concert will be the delivery of the traditional Peace Message.  

Since 1952, young people have sent out a poignant Message of Peace and Goodwill from the stage of the Eisteddfod during the Children’s Day concert.

 

This year the message will be delivered by pupils from Mountain Lane Primary School in Buckley.

 

Later on Children’s Day there’s a further musical feast planned to thrill the young audience in the Pavilion in the shape of a junior children’s choir competition featuring singers from 10 schools.

 

Contestants come from across Wales, England and as far afield as St Paul’s Co-ed Primary School in Hong Kong.

 

Throughout the day from 8.30am young Eisteddfod visitors can enjoy a colourful selection of children’s activities on the field including Bollywood dance workshops and street theatre featuring clowns, musicians and stilt walkers.

 

Rounding off a busy day will the iconic International Parade in which competitors from across the globe will process in their national costumes, flags fluttering, through cheering crowds from the Eisteddfod field to Llangollen town centre led by bands and Eisteddfod president Terry Waite in an open-top vehicle.

 

Eisteddfod Musical Director Eilir Owen Griffiths said: “The whole Children’s Day programme will have the accent firmly on entertainment.

 

“It promises to be an excellent day out which matches many requirements of the National Curriculum, linking awareness of global citizenship and culture with a pleasurable experience.

 

“The concert by The Alto Brass Ensemble has been designed to introduce children to the brass family of musical instruments and should be the Eisteddfod’s most interactive concert experience ever.

 

“The concert programme includes two pieces – the themes from Pirates of the Caribbean and Monsters Inc – which children can very much relate to and enjoy.

 

“We are delighted to have Owen Gunnell as one of the ensemble who is a percussionist of international repute and famed for the way he works with children in an enjoyable and interesting way.

 

“This year’s Peace Message, to be delivered by the children from Mountain Lane Primary School in Buckley, is on the theme ‘one voice’ which signifies the way countries from many countries come together to sing together with one voice at the Eisteddfod.” 

 

* To book tickets and for more details on the 2015 festival go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk

 

Operatic reprises Sister Act at Dolywern

* Leonard Cheshire's Syliva Jones, left, explains to society

members how the money they raised from Sister Act will be used.

Thirty members of Llangollen Operatic Society visited Leonard Cheshire Disability in Dolywern to entertain the residents and staff with songs from heir recent smash-hit production of Sister Act.

Society spokeswoman Louisa Jones said: "We sang a selection of songs from the show, lasting around 45 minutes.

"All those who had played nuns wore their habits to add to the effect and our audience all seemed to enjoy the performance.

 

"At the end, we presented Sylvia Jones, the volunteer coordinator and activities organiser, with a cheque for £882.

 

"This, together with a donation from HSBC, who very kindly matched the sponsorship raised by Elaine Ansloos, its manager in Chirk, came to £1,000.

 

"Sylvia thanked us for the donation and said the money would be used for residents' activities such as arts and crafts, IT, in-house entertainment and outings.

 

"It would also help to support two Japanese volunteers who stay with them for a year a time and do activities with the residents."

 

Louisa added: "It is a pleasure for our members to go and perform at the home following our production each year and we are always given such a warm reception.

 

"It really is a fantastic organisation and we are proud to have been able to raise funds on their behalf.

 

"The remainder of the money raised by the Nun Run, the charity event we did just before the show, will be used to cover Sister Act production costs and specifically, the costume spend, which was significant as all of the fantastic habits were made from scratch, by hand, by our very own costume team." 

Silver Band plays at VE Day event

* Llangollen Silver Band members with veterans at the

VE Day anniversary celebration in Bellevue Park, Wrexham.

Llangollen Silver Band were delighted to be invited to play at Bellevue Park, Wrexham last Monday  as part of the VE Day 70th anniversary celebrations.

On a beautiful Bank Holiday afternoon the band began by accompanying hymns in a service led by the Rev Gerald Griffiths.

Tributes were also paid by Councillor David Griffiths and the chairperson of the Friends of Bellevue Park, Barbara Jones.

Attending the service were a number of World War Two veterans and all in attendance observed a two-minute silence to remember the fallen.

The band's principal cornet player, Mia Thomas, ended the silence with the haunting call of The Last Post.

Following the service the band performed a varied musical programme whilst the veterans and audience enjoyed a tea party in the sunshine.

County gets new chairman



Councillor Gwyneth Kensler of Denbigh has been elected chairman of Denbighshire County Council for 2015/16.

Councillor Kensler's chosen charities for the year will be the Samaritans, Mudiad Meithrin and autism initiatives.


At the full council meeting in County Hall, Ruthin,  Councillor Ann Davies of Rhuddlan was also elected vice chairman for the year ahead.


Out-going chairman, Councillor Brian Blakeley of Rhyl, presented cheques of £1,250 each to representatives of his two chosen charities for the year -  Ty Gobaith and the Rhyl RNLI.

Davies hits out again over A5 roadworks

* The controversial A5 roadworks.

WITH revelations of an “unprecedented” number of calls about drivers rat-running through a residential area to avoid it, a councillor claims Llangollen people are being treated as “mushrooms” over controversial roadworks on the A5. 

A lengthy section of the road was closed just before Christmas to allow investigations to go ahead into problems with the retaining wall opposite the Tyn y Wern hotel.

This has led to complaints about congestion caused by the long-phase lights controlling traffic flow through the works and a lack of information from the Welsh Government about how long they will last.

Now, Llangollen county councillor Stuart Davies has had information from a Denbighshire County Council official that shows a high volume of complaints about drivers going out of their way to avoid the blockage.

He said: “I have been told by an officer in our transport department that they are receiving an unprecedented number of complaints about the number of vehicles using Maesmawr Road as a way of avoiding the temporary traffic lights.

“The high number of vehicles using that road is creating a safety issue as it is predominantly residential in nature and is not designed to carry the level or class of vehicles now using it.

“I also understand that the traffic management arrangements are likely to be in situ for a sustained period of time

“Our transport team recently asked the Welsh Government if they have any time scale on the works and about any proposed remedial works.

“They also asked if a temporary prohibition of through traffic accept for access would be an option in the short term pending North Wales Police's approval.

“However, a reply from the Trunk Road Agency simply notes these comments and confirms they are dealing with the A5 retaining wall.”

He added: “I am disgusted with the reply, which is basically a cop out by the people in charge of this project. They are treating us like mushrooms.

“I have been fighting this battle now since last year.

“I have involved the Minister, Edwina Hart, through our local AM, Ken Skates.

“Residents are fed up, local members are fed up, there is the potential for children to be harmed and we are still being treated like mushrooms.

“There has been no news of what has been found, no news of resolutions, no news of time scales. What exactly is going on?

“MPs had a rude awakening last week. The Welsh Government needs to wake up and smell the coffee.”

Town Council meeting re-arranged

We have been asked by the Town Clerk to inform readers that the next meeting of the Town Council will been re-arranged for THURSDAY 28 MAY 2015, at 7pm.

Twenty Club revisits Fawlty Towers

* (Above and left) scenes from the Twenty Club's last production of Fawlty Towers. Pictures by Chris Noble.  

FOLLOWING their sell-out production of Fawlty Towers in 2012, the Twenty Club in Llangollen will be performing three more episodes of the iconic sit-com this November and are holding open auditions this summer.

The auditions will be held in Llangollen Town Hall on Tuesday July 28 at 7pm.

All main roles and supporting parts will be up for grabs.

Fawlty Towers, by John Cleese and Connie Booth, was one of the major TV comedy hits of the Seventies and the three episodes being performed this time round will be Communication Problems, Waldorf Salad and Basil the Rat.

They will be staged at Llangollen Town Hall during the week commencing November 2.

* For further information, email: contact@twentyclub.co.uk or visit facebook.com/twentyclub.