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PHOTO OF ABERTILLERY ORPHEUS MALE CHOIR DATED 1914
SHOWING MANY OF THE ORIGINAL CHOIR MEMBERS

Known at this time as:

Orpheus Glee Society.

 

 

Can you put a name to any of the four unknown members of the choir and the initial of pianist Mr. Silverthorn ?

 

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A MEMORIAL CONCERT is to be held in remembrance of choir member Ron Protheroe, in aid of Gwent Health Care Trust (Respiratory Equipment)

Ron spent 55 years with the Abertillery Orpheus and was a life member of the choir. He also served with the Moose, where he was a past president, and where he worked tirelessly for local charities.

Ron who was a Six Bells boy, and worked in the colliery as a carpenter, sadly passed away on September 14, 2001.

The concert features Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir, Abertillery Ladies Orpheus Choir and Cwm Male Voice.

The concert is to be held at St. Michael's Church Abertillery on Saturday January 26th (by kind permission of the vicar and church wardens).

Tickets are available from Back Trax Music in Church Street at a cost of £3.00 or from any choir member. Doors will be open at 6.20pm for the concert that commences at 7.00pm.

 

 

 

HASTINGS OBSERVER FRIDAY APRIL 2nd 1999

 

Old miners choir far

from pits.

The Dulcet tones of Wales Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir will fill the hall at St. Mary in the Castle this Easter on April 3 Organized by the local Lions Club, the event is a repeat of a successful sellout night tried two years ago in St. Clements Church.The famous choir was formed over 90 years ago by enthusiastic members of Abertillery Trinity Church many of whom were coal miners. Since then their mastery of vocal arts have seen them tour many countries including Germany, Italy, Holland and Spain. In Italy they even sang in Polish for the pope in St. Peters Square packed with 20,000 Easter pilgrims. The choirs repertoire is both sacred and secular Bringing together traditional Welsh favourites with tunes from around the world. The sixty strong group will perform tunes as varied as the Beatles Yesterday and the hymn How Great Thou Art. The choir will also be complemented by the soprano talents of Jill Padfield. Jill has recently triumphed at the Welsh National Eistedffod winning a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music.Next year they plan to tour the USA and Canada to celebrate the Millennium.The Lions Club is planing top donate all profits from the show to St. Michael' s Hospice. Tickets for the performances cost between and are available from St. Mary in the Castle on 781624 or the Lions on 445083 or 435564.

 

EASTBOURNE HERALD APRIL 9th 1999

Easter Saturday evening at St. Mary in the Castle provided the perfect venue for what is becoming a rare treat these days- a male voice choir, straight from the land of song itself in the form of the 60 strong Abertillery Orpheus Choir, under the persuasive baton of musical director Martin Budd. The great tradition, which sprang up in the mining villages of South Wales at the beginning of the century (in Lancashire and Yorkshire it was brass bands) provided a rainbow of comradeship and culture in the diversity of what was, in any terms, a hard life. Their programme, rich in nostalgia and entertainment, was well balanced and varied from the religious to the traditional from opera to the musical, plus the captivating soprano soloist Jill Padfield, the recitals of Trevor Wilde, a virtuoso piano solo of Chopins Fantastic Impromptu Opus 66 from splendid accompanist Penny Hughes , plus a peppering of the unscheduled. The choir through really came into its own with the Welsh traditional contributions, the rich harmonies filling every nook and cranny, stirring up a fervour so that the audience couldn't resist recruiting their own voices in We'll Keep a welcome and accepting with gusto the invitation to sing along with Sussex By The Sea. Jill Padfields warm presence matched the rich quality of her voice which soared into the upper acoustic reaches of this beautiful building especially with her rendition of Musettas Waltz song from Puccinis La Boherne. There was hardly any holding down the 85-year-old choir president Trevor Wilde, who savoured every syllable of his recitations and it was particularly good to be reminded of the searching eloquence of the works of Robert Service. Many congratulations to Hastings Lions Club who organized an evening which attracted a sell out audience, the proceeds from which go to our own local Hospice, St. Michael's.

 

 

The wondrous 'Tyleri' sound

May I through the medium of you paper express on behalf of the officers and committee of the Oxford Welsh Exiles are sincere thanks and appreciation to the Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir and artistes who gave a magnificent St. David's Day Concert for us at the Oxford Town Hall on Saturday, March 3. Since we started 22 years ago, this must be the first time any choir and artistes have had a standing ovation from our audience lasting for quite some time. They were loathed to let them go. I and my chairman have had many requests to get them back again in the near future, so as you can see Abertillery can be justifiably proud of there choir, their musical director Martin Budd, accompanist Joy King and their guest artists. We all send our best wishes to them and may the Tyleri sound continue to give pleasure for many years to come.

Vera J Hughes, secretary, Oxford Welsh Exiles.

St. Tudor's Church Myniddislwyn 12th June 1998

It is no exaggeration to say that the main topic of conversation of those who attended the above concert on Friday 12 June has been What a superb concert and marvelous evening! Any report on the evening will be full of superlatives and I will make no apologies for that: I only wish I had the musical knowledge to really do it justice.

The choir sang a wide range of pieces from musicals, spirituals, opera and traditional backgrounds, including new arrangements , with superb control under sensitive direction from their musical director Martin Budd. The accompanist normally receives a passing comment, but on this occasion Penny Hughes was a star in her own right. Not only did she achieve a remarkable sound from t he piano (which has seen better days to say the least), but then proceeded to delight us with a wonderful voice!

Miss Jill Padfield, the guest artist, is no stranger to this area, and is rapidly becoming and developing talent on a nationwide/worldwide stage- and no wonder! I cannot do justice to her marvelous talent other than to use the word 'thrilling' . A few days earlier my wife and I had attended the final of the Welsh Young Singer of the Year in Cardiff, I shall be greatly surprised if Jill is not in that final in two years time.

An additional item in the program was a duet between Jill and Penny, which was magnificent to the point of bringing many people to tears. For the older one's present, part of the Icing on the cake was given by the president Trevor Wilde MBE, a truly remarkable character is 85 years young! He delighted us with a demonstration of what is almost a lost art- elocution (or as we call it; recitation) The pieces he recited were unashamedly emotional and heart rendering, but what a joy to here the spoken word so beautifully uttered.

A truly wonderful evening; not just because of the joy of being in the presence of superb talent, but because of the spirit which pervaded the whole event.

At the start, Vicar Lorna thanked God for the gift of music, and Trevor Wilde responded by thanking us for the opportunity to bring this gift to the Alter of Him who gave us everything.

At the end, the whole of the audience joined with the choir and Jill Padfield in the singing of the final chorus of the Battle Hymn of the Republic; 'Glory, glory Hallelujah, His truth goes marching on' with such vigor that Im sure the Officers of St. Tudor church council must have feared that it really would bring the house down!

A memorable evening. Our thanks to the organizers, and especially the choir, Martin Budd, Penny Hughes, Jill Padfield and Trevor Wilde. Please come back soon.

 

Colin Deneen

Gwent Gazette May 6th 1982

POPE SINGS WITH ORPHEUS CHOIR

 

Two Hundred Thousand Pilgrims heard Welsh hymns sung by Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir as they greeted the Pope during their tour to Rome. And the Holy Father even joined in on one song.
The tour which took place over the Easter period was highlighted by the choir's visit to St. Peters Square where they took part in a service in the presence of Pope John Paul II.
During the Papal address, he gave the choir a special greeting and paid tribute to the tradition of Welsh choir singing and the influence it had on Holy worship and the Welsh way of life. The choir were later received in audience by the Pope who expressed his pleasure with the choir's singing of a Polish song- a song in which he himself joined in the second verse. During the audience, the Pope was presented with the Coat of Arms of Monmouthshire and he responded to the choir's gesture by presenting their conductor, Mr. Martin Budd, with a commemorative Papal Medallion. Another memorable moment for the choir was the concert given at San Lorenzo Church, in which the choir sang items to suit all tastes in Welsh, Italian and English. Solo items were given by soprano Susan Robinson and Jacqueline Nelms, tenors Len King and Phillip Hill and trombonist Nigel Bard The visit to Rome came about through Patrick Coleman who is a student priest at the Vatican and son of chorister Ray Coleman. This was the first time a Welsh Male Choir had been invited to appear before the Pope and the choirs were proud to be able to represent the town of Abertillery.
Before the completion of the tour, the choir expressed excitement of another form, when one group of choristers and guest in the hotel in which they were staying were subjected to a boom threat by the Red Brigade Organization But all ended well and no one was injured. Accompanying the choir throughout the tour was their pianist Joy Havard.

 

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Choir members meet Rolf Harris during the closing ceremony of the Rugby World Cup at the new Millennium Stadium.

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ORPHEUS HOME AFTER CANADIAN TOUR

Many months of hard work and dedication by organizers on both sides of the world were drawn to conclusion and one more chapter was written into the history book of Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir when in July of this year they set out on one of the most adventurous period in the choirs history when they took the sounds that is the best of male voice singing to North America, with a 109 strong tour party embarked on a first concert tour of Alberta Canada. 

Led by musical director Mr. Martin Budd the choir performed five eagerly awaited concerts in front of what were mainly capacity audiences made up of many Welsh exiles who still have a strong connection with the valleys and a passion for the music of their homeland ‘Wales’.

Rehearsing for many months the choir took with them a repertoire of traditional and modern music many of which were of a strong Welsh flavour including old favourite's such as Myfanwy, Men of Harlech, and Gwahoddiad, extra rehearsal time also being given to two new numbers specially learned for the tour the Canadian anthem ‘ O Canada’ and ‘They Call it Canada’ which were favourably received by the people of Canada.

The choir who are no strangers to foreign travel undertook their first continental tour in 1982 with a visit to Rome and have since had very successful overseas tours to Germany, Holland, Spain and France with home tours to Eastbourne / Hastings and Scotland.

Travelling as guest artist of the choir was the superb singing voice and vocal talent of soprano Jill Padfield.  Locally born Jill has been a firm favourite with the choir having accompanied them as guest soloist on many occasions. Jill’s career to date has already taken her on tours of America, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, performing in venues such as the Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto and the Sydney Opera House, she has also been featured in a BBC Documentary called Wales Opera Factory with Robert Fear, and is the winner of the prestigious W Towyn Roberts Scholarship at the Royal National Eisteddfod, which together with a bursary from S4C has recently enabled her to complete a postgraduate performance course at the Royal Academy of Music.

Jill’s extensive repertoire of operatic and popular music combined with her natural talent and stage presence ensured that she was as popular in Canada as she is at home.

 

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TOUR REPORT

Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir has undertaken many overseas tours but none can compare to there recently completed tour of the Canadian Province of Alberta, after experiencing what can only be described as the tour of a lifetime, amidst the majestic, awe-inspiring, Canadian Rockies which deserve every accolade they have ever inspired, no amount of description can adequately convey the beauty of Alberta's most prized geographical asset and only a tour through the Canadian Rockies as Orpheus have done will confirm what the guidebooks say.

Using the Stampede City of Calgary, the venue for the 1987 winter Olympics as there home base, enabled the choir to participate in day and overnight trips to many of the surrounding areas of natural beauty and interest, including The Athabasca Glacier a massive accumulation of ice and snow that remains from the last ice age extending down into the valley from the Columbia icefield were the landscape is of a proportion that must be seen to be believed. Not to miss out on the opportunity of singing in this unique and special place and with such a splendid backdrop the choir formed up and sang on the Glacier using the many excited visitors that had gathered as there audience.

The Picture Postcard Perfect Banff, the beautiful Bow Falls, the famous Lake Louise referred to as the jewel of the Canadian Rockies featuring turquoise waters, shimmering glaciers and towering peaks, and the Badlands of Drumheller ,a mysterious moon like landscape revealing more than 70 million years of geological history.

While travelling back from Banff the tour party stopped at the famous hot springs on where choir members took the opportunity after a long days travelling to soak in the soothing natural waters of the springs. The choir in high spirits after the experiences of the day performed an impromptu concert while in the springs, singing in four different languages at the requests of the many foreign tourists that had quickly gathered around, the reward for the choir rejuvenated bodies and an enthusiastic and an appreciative audience.

As well as leisure and sight seeing the choir led as usual by Mr. Martin Budd also had a musical side to the tour and performed a total of five very successful concerts the first and last of these being held at the 264 Canadian Legion Calgary. Both concerts being received with generous applause and standing ovations from well satisfied audiences some of which being so impressed with the first concert given that they immediately purchased tickets for the second one which were by this time in very short supply due to the enthusiasm shown by the people of Calgary to hear one of Wales premier male choirs.

Complimenting all five concerts was the superb vocal talent of Soprano Jill Padfield who was travelling as guest artiest of the choir, and once again as she had on many occasions before performed to the very high standards that she has set herself in recent years, once again n stealing the hearts of her captive audiences with her charm and vocal ability. Special thanks must also go to accompanist Penny Hughes who apart from accompanying the choir and playing piano recitals to a standard seldom heard, also singing with Jill Rossinie's The Cats Duet at each concert venue bringing the house down with hoots of laughter and spontaneous applause.

The choir have had the opportunity over the years of singing at many special venues and events but few can compare to performing as part of the Edmonton Heritage Days Festival. This festival celebrating its 25th anniversary bringing together over 50 ethnic pavilions, international singing and dancing crafts and cuisine. Singing on the main performance platform (an open air amphitheatre) and in the presence of many hundreds of spectators the choir were inspired to turn out one of there top performances, a performance that was indeed a very special one to the point where the concert had to be extended in order to satisfy the cheering public . A day that will long live on in the memories of all that were privilege to have been there.

Another significant event on the tour was the evening spent at Grace Church Calgary while performing there 2nd concert, where the near capacity audience were moved to give the choir a standing ovation at the conclusion of the first half of there programme. During the second half of the concert the audience was made aware of the presence Mr. Paul Carter who was sitting in the audience. Paul's Grandfather Isaac Carter being the long serving organist at Ebenezer Baptist Church and composer of the popular Wit Sunday School Walks March Brightly Gleams The Banner Unknown to Paul the choir had been rehearsing this song prior to the tour and added I t into the concert programme. A Presentation was then made to Paul by the choirs life president Mr. Trevor Wilde MBE containing the sheet music to Brightly Gleams The Banner and choir plaque.

Trevor Wilde who despite his advancing years rejected out of hand the suggestions that the tour might prove to be energetic for him and performed with the choir as he has been doing for the last 67 years. Once again enthralling audiences with his control of the spoken word, how pleasing it was for Trevor and the choir when during one such performance the audience were moved to giving him a standing ovation. A fitting accolade and testimony to a man who has given a lifetime to the services of the arts and for the benefit of others.

In the words of the song They All Call It Canada My country is my cathedral the northern sky its dome they call it Canada but I call it home that is now also a home to many Welsh exiles who were presented with a rare opportunity to revive past cherished memories of their time spent in Abertillery. A very special vote of thanks must go to them for the courteous manor in which they received the choir and also the major contribution they played in the setting up of this tour and concert arrangements. A highly successful tour that will long live on in the memories of both choristers and supporters alike together with the people of Canada who were privileged to have heard a fine choir at the top of there form.

More Canadian photographs posted in the choir's photo album

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Scotland Tour April 2001

Abertillery Orpheus will be taking the music of the Wales to Scotland this Easter when they return to for there second visit following a very successful tour to West Killbride in 1992. During the tour the choir performed at four different venues including a two hour open air concert at the Rivergate Centre Irvine as part of the Annual Merry Mass Festival, the choir leaving with the words ''Will Ye No Come Back Again?'' ringing in their ears.

On this occasion the tour will take the choir to Glasgow were they will be staying at The Beardmore Conference Hotel.

Traveling as guest artist of the choir will once again be the superb singing voice of soprano Jill Padfield.  Jill being a firm Favorite of the choir having accompanied them as guest soloist on many occasions. Including their recent tour of Canada.

WILL YE NO COME BACK AGAIN ?

Another historic page will be added to the archive of the Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir following their unique invitation to take part in the Festival of Mary Mass which takes place annually in Irvine, Ayrshire.

Concert one saw the choir giving a two hour open air concert in Rivergate Centre to a very large audience, hardly anyone moved during the performance and the cry of 'More' followed. To add welshness to the accession Chris Budd and Jean Hunt wore Welsh costumes and received great attention.

Gig two was at St. Andrews Church, West Killbride and
the audience enjoyed an outstanding concert by the choir and artistes. The varied programme arranged by musical director Martin Budd with music to suit all tastes, the lyrical tenor voice of Len King, and the equally pleasing baritone voice of John Reece supported by bass singer Brian Tucker added an extra dimension to the wonderful concert. In between all this Martin Budd narrated Dylan Thomas's 'The Outing' and 'The Eisteddfod'.

Concert three was held at The Magnum Leisure Centre in Irvine,and another capacity audience enjoyed another outstanding performance of choir and artistes. The impact of the choir's previous concerts brought folk from many miles and another great ovation was received and the choir truly were the 'Talk of the Town'. The expected excellent accompaniment of Joy King was as usual loudly applauded, and the organ accompaniment of Aled Liddington added that extra dimension to the music.

Saturday brought the crowning of the Mary Mass Queen and her four Mary's, followed by a most spectacular parade, pipe bands, Shetland ponies to huge Clydesdale horses, and people dressed as characters of the past.

On Sunday morning at the Old Parish Church, the choir gave a fifteen minute programme before the service and the unusual experience of applause at such time. After the service the church members provided a grand buffet before the choir set off for home.

The sale of tapes and records was outstanding as a result of the choir's impact on the public, much to the delight of Les Meredith who looks after this department. The memorable tour was arranged by Don Powell, and thanks to Vice President Ken Mason for his services in the selling of tapes and records. The hospitality of the Scottish folk made the tour all that more enjoyable, and their last words were

'' WILL YE NO COME BACK AGAIN ''

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Germany Tour 2002

Abertillery Orpheus will be taking the music of Wales over seas again this year when they travel as Ambassadors of Harmony to be a part of an International Choirs Festival being held in the German city of Lingen. Organised by the Lingener Mannerquartett the festival attracting choirs from all over the world. The last festival held in 1992 attracting 34 choirs with approximately 1200 singers and singers participating .
Traveling from Abertillery on August 26th the choir will proceed to an overnight stop at Ghent Belgium, the capital of East Flanders, which has been given several pretty names: historic heart of Flanders, a city of all times, one of the most beautiful historic cities in Europe, before travelling onto Lingen to meet up with other choirs from Wales, Poland, Finland, Holland and England for the International festival.

The choir is no strangers to continental tours having travelled to Germany, Rome, Holland, Spain, France and most recently Canada, gaining many new friends and experiences along the way.

Stephen Bard will be leading the choir on this occasion, his first continental tour since taking over as Musical Director, having already started rehearsing the choir on new music to be sang in German as a mark of respect to our hosts along with the fine tuning of the choirs own repertoire of traditional and modern music many of which being of a strong Welsh flavour. During the festival the choir will be singing in Welsh, German, Italian and English.

The choir is looking forward in anticipation of the tour when they will once again be given the opportunity to promote Wales and Welsh male voice singing to a world wide audience.

Travelling back from the festival the choir party will be stopping for an overnight stay in Antwerp before arriving home on September 2nd when after a short break they will be commencing rehearsals for there forthcoming engagement at Devizes.

Continental tours are only a small part of what Abertillery Orpheus has to offer to its members. You can be a part of this type of event by become a member of our organisation. We always welcome prospective new members to our organisation, so why not come along to Bryngwyn School where rehearsals are held every Tuesday and Friday evening 7.00p.m.until 9.00p.m. and find out what Abertillery Orpheus is all about. You can be assured of a warm friendly welcome together with what we hope will be the start of a long and exciting membership.

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The 'Millennium Promise'

You will no doubt have heard about or seen the campaign on T.V inviting people to make A Millennium Promise This could be a very simple thing such as knocking on an elderly neighbours door to see if they are alright or promising to take the dog out for a walk every morning. Although humorous in content, the campaign obviously intended to encourage people to lead a better quality of life.

In 1908 a few men from all walks of life, just like you and us, decide to form a choir, probably to make use of their leisure time as much as their love for music. This choir has gone from strength to strength over the years and is now known as Abertillery Orpheus Male Choir.

The Orpheus has made its Millennium Promise to continue keeping music in the valleys alive. Through their music, the choir has raised thousands of pounds for charities both at home and abroad helping various organisations to provide a better quality of life for many people.

Have you made A Millennium promise? Why not join with the choir? you do not need a voice like Pavarotti or our Patron Robert Lloyd, you need not be a music reader, although this would be a bonus.

As well as performing at home or abroad, this choir has a good social aspect, ask about our after concert functions. Wives and partners are invited to take part in all choir events. July of this year we will be making a concert tour of Canada, sorry you may be too late for this but other tours are already being considered.

Why not come along to our practice and find out more? We are sure the Millennium Bug will bite you. Rehearsals are held in Bryngwyn School on Tuesdays and Fridays between 7pm to 9pm where you will receive a warm, friendly welcome.

 

COME ON- MAKE A

'MILLENNIUM PROMISE'