Last Sunday saw the beginning of our 10th anniversary celebrations, and that with a spine-tingling gala concert in St David’s Hall, Cardiff.
The evening commenced with an entrancing set from Only Boys Aloud, which included classic songs from their repertoire, such as Sospan Fach and Gwinllan. After a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19, it was wonderful seeing all Only Boys Aloud members back together on stage, including the three new West Wales choirs that were launched in October 2021.
Merched Aloud Girls then took to the stage to make their performance debut. Until recently, girls’ journey with Aloud ended after Only Kids Aloud. In 2021, after careful planning, the time was right and a pilot choir formed in November last year. The new group has been a real success, with nearly 70 girls from all over South Wales coming together to sing monthly. The energy in the room was electric as Merched Aloud Girls sang their beautiful melodies, including ‘It Means Beautiful’ from the hit musical Everybody’s Talking about Jamie. With the pilot project coming to an end this month, we are hoping to secure financial support to continue this project in September. Fingers crossed!
Last but certainly not least, it was Only Kids Aloud’s time to shine. As a result of the pandemic, this new cohort hadn’t had an opportunity to perform publicly before last Sunday, and their charismatic performance reassured us that the Welsh choral scene is safe for years to come. Considering how young some of the members were, their level of professionalism on stage was brilliant. Their dazzling performance of ‘When Children Rule the World’ from Whistle Down the Wind was especially memorable.
The concert saw our three choirs performing together for the first time, which included an emotional performance of ‘Just Breathe’, written by Aloud ambassador and Grammy-award winning Amy Wadge and The Aloud Charity’s founder Tim Rhys-Evans. The song was made especially for the Aloud choirs as part of Sound UK’s Song for Us project, and reflected on the pandemic’s impact on the cultural sector and a reminder to ‘just breathe’ in difficult situations. With all choirs coming together to sing the beautiful melody, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
Another pinnacle moment was seeing Aloud alumni members return to the main stage to sing Aloud’s ‘anthem’ – Calon Lân – alongside all current Aloud participants. It was a visual reminder of just how many lives have been enhanced through our work over the past ten years, and how many have gone on to do great things.
Our Creative Director – Craig Yates – was over the moon with the concert’s turn out, saying:
“We had the most fantastic evening on Sunday in St David’s Hall, celebrating 10 wonderful years of The Aloud Charity. All the singers did an amazing job and the audience absolutely loved it. It was a real celebration of youth and the wonderful music they make. Huge thanks to the incredible audience for supporting us, and we can’t wait to do it all again in Rhyl in a few weeks’ time.”
What a wonderful way to celebrate over a decade of talent, music and memories. A huge thank you to our supporters, friends and funders, including The Hodge Foundation and the Gaynor Cemlyn Jones Trust for their special support of this event.
If you missed the concert last Sunday, we will be holding a second anniversary gala concert in The Pavilion Theatre in Rhyl on 17th July. Tickets are still available and can be found here. Do not miss out on one of the musical highlights of the year!
We are accepting requests to join an Only Boys Aloud choir all-year round. For more information on joining a choir visit here.
