Celebrating Welsh Music
19 February 2015
The Palestrina Singers of Cardiff University, one of the many student-run ensembles at Cardiff, will be celebrating St David’s Day on 2 March with a lunchtime concert of Welsh music. Musical Director Kieran Jones, a 3rd-year BMus student, tells us about this upcoming event…
As I embark on my final year of studying music at Cardiff University’s School of Music, it is a great honour and a privilege for me to be conductor of The Palestrina Singers of Cardiff University. This is a choir that holds great stature in the choral scene of Cardiff and it is important to me to keep the reputation of this choir alive.
I’m originally from North Wales and a first language Welsh speaker so St David’s Day has always been a special date in my calendar each year. Throughout my years at school this day would be celebrated with an eisteddfod and an annual walk made by the whole school across Flintshire. It became increasingly important to express the Welsh language and what it means to be Welsh on this day.
In Cardiff, this day is even more special as the city is thriving with parades, concerts and other various events throughout the day. I look forward to these celebrations each year and am fortunate to be able to contribute this year through organising this concert to celebrate St David and the long standing tradition of Welsh music.
Music has always been an important part of Wales’ culture and Wales is often regarded as the ‘land of song’. This concert is a celebration of all things musical and Welsh. The Cardiff University Male Voice Choir, of which I am also musical director, will be involved in this concert singing modern arrangements of classic Welsh folk melodies.
Alongside this will be a combination of choral spectaculars from the Palestrina Singers of Cardiff University with music ranging from Mathias, Paul Maelor and Geraint Lewis. In addition to this, we are so lucky to share the stage with two prolific talents. International Soprano Gail Pearson, who will be singing a variety of songs written by Welsh composers, and Jeffrey Howard who will be accompanying both choirs and Gail Pearson.
Not only are these guests special to me personally but they are also alumni of the School of Music and it is an enormous pleasure for me to welcome them back to perform in this special concert.
This concert is taking place on St David’s Day in the heart of Wales’ capital city with two outstanding Welsh musicians joining the Cardiff University Male Voice Choir and the Palestrina Singers of Cardiff University. I can’t think of a more perfect way to celebrate St David’s Day and expose the most wonderful music that really proves Wales to be the “land of song”.
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