2024 Shepparton Arts Festival
Once again Shepparton Arts Festival included the Australian Welsh Male Choir as part of their festival itinerary.
Saturday saw us as part of a dinner and performance item on the itinerary. First we were treated to a fantastic meal in the church hall where some of our members jumped in and helped get the meals out to the public which was much appreciated by the festival organisers.
A short walk across to St Augustines wonderful Church for our performance by candlelight.
Sunday was a contrast to the previous night where we performed at the Shepparton Brewerey. What a welcoming venue. We had a very inclusive performance with the choristers spead thoughout the brewery and when the singing began the audience were encouraged to join in.
Thank you Shepparton Arts Festival for all you hard work and for including our choir for the second year in a row.
Where it all began - Frankston Pines Soccer Club
After a fantastic 50th Anniversay Concert we decided to get together and take the choir back to where it all began - The Frankston Pines Soccer Club.
We had a fantastic night keeping the event "old school". We all bought a plate and everyone was happy to socialise and remember "the old days". It was great to see some old faces and lovely for everyone to have a casual get together and sing-a-long. Great night to wind down after such a big concert on the Friday night.
50th Anniversary Concert
What a fantastic night we had for our 50th Anniversary Concert.
Performing to an almost sold out Frankston Arts Centre was one of the highlights of our Birthday Celebrations.
So lucky to have two of our founding member's join us on stage to be recognised for their contribution to the
Australian Welsh Male Choir.
With so much history we put together our 50th Anniversary Program including the mention of various celebraties
such as Tom Jones and Harry Seacombe.
It was great to see so many people come to support the night including Frankston Mayor Nathan Conroy and our
Patron Tammie Fraser just to mention a few.
Geelong Bascillica
Although it was a very hot day we had a great bus ride to Geelong compliments to Neil Armstrong for his excellent bus driving skills.
From humble, uncertain beginnings, the town of Geelong grew with the gold rush years, survived two world wars and the ensuing years, rich and lean, to become Victoria's second largest city.
Over the years St Mary of the Angels, too has grown and today is certainly one of the finest churches in Victoria, an icon for Geelong and the State. Such is the majesty and historical significance of St Mary's, that is is officially recognised by the National Trust of Victoria and the Historical Buildings Council.
It all began on 27 November 1842, when a small wooden chapel was erected on Geelong's Yarra Street, thanks to donations from the congregation. This modest hut was one of Geelong's first churches. The town of Geelong had only been officially proclaimed four years earlier, the area being pioneered by squatters. The town of Geelong was in its infancy and, much like the rest of the state, still a rugged place to live.
A fantastic performance and a very appreciative crowd, followed by a dinner at a local Geelong pub topped off a great day.
Brewery Bash #2
Once again a great night was has at the Brewery Bash #2 presented by the AWMC. This was a fun and fundraising event with many friends and relatives of the choir attending. Great renditions of 500 miles, Sweet Caroline and You'll never walk alone. Will never quite sound the same again.
To add to the night we all got to support the Matilda's win their match over France. Hearts were in the throats of all that attended as we put off the start of the night to see the end result. Thank goodness for mobile phones.
Thanks to Brick Lane Brewing Co. for letting us host our night at your fantastic venue.
AWMC Presents Bold as Brass
WOW! Is all that can be said about the performance at The Edge, Fed Square, Melbourne on Saturday 24th June. Singing to a sell out audience and featuring on stage with the Darebin City Brass - Preston Band has been a huge endeavour for the Australian Welsh Male Choir and the biggest accomplishment since before Covid. The Edge was the perfect venue as can be seen from the photo's. Let's not forget the wonderful "Afterglow" the the audience stayed on for, wrapping up the night with a sing-a-long. Thank you to all of those who attended and performed on the night. Let's do it again!
Shepparton Arts Festival
What a fantastic weekend for the Shepparton Arts Festival.
The Australian Welsh Male Choir were lucky enough to be able to perform in in a sold out state of the art SAM - Shepparton Art Museum.
The building is fantastic and the exhibitions held here are second to none.
We were very so grateful for the Fairley Foundations generous support it really made our trip very exciting to be able to perform in such diverse venues across the weekend.
Thank you Shepparton for having us we really look forward to next year.
The Junction Hotel - Toolamba
What a great night getting back to nature at The Junction Hotel, Toolamba as part of the Shepparton Arts Festival 2023.
No better way to spend a Saturday night than singing amongst the gum trees with Kookaburras joining in while the sun sets on a glorious balmy night.
Thank you to everyone that came out to see us and to the locals who stayed back in the pub to have a good old sing-a-long.
BAFR - Bring a friend rehearsal
The Australian Welsh Male Choir held a Bring a friend Rehearsal night giving all member's the chance to bring a mate along to see if they would be interested in joining the choir.
Lot's of people say "I'd love to join the choir but I don't speak Welsh". These BAFR nights give anyone the chance to "have a go". Being or speaking Welsh is not a pre-requisite, we just want you to come along and have a good time whilst being excellently conducted by our very own musical director Tom Buchanan OAM.
If your interested in joining one of our BAFR nights or have any questions please contact Larry on 0408 332 972.
The AWMC Brewery Bash
Well done to everyone that attended the Australian Welsh Male Choirs very first Brewery Bash Sing-a-long.
Supported by many friends and family the night was a lot of fun.
Tom and Michelle had the very hard task of trying to make many voices sound brilliant in a very short amount of time and they succeeded. Although I'm not sure "What about me" and Uptown Girl" will ever sound quite the same.
Really looking forward to the next one.
Breaking News
The AWMC is pleased to announce that our very own Musical Director, Tom Buchanan, has received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). This award is in recognition of Tom's 'services to music, particularly through choirs'. Tom has worked with the AWMC since 2007, first as our Principal Accompanist, and commencing as our Musical Director in 2015. Congratulations Tom on receiving this award.
The Australian Welsh Male Choir Tour of Western Australia.
The Australian Welsh Male Choir has just completed their tour of Western Australia, the first by the choir to this state. The tour was planned to coincide with the WA wildflower season and travelled between Geraldton and Albany.
The first leg of the tour was from Perth to Geraldton and return. On the way to Geraldton the choir visited the Pinnacles. While in Geraldton the choir performed a concert in the QEII Community Centre at 2pm on Sunday 18th September accompanied by the St Francis Xavier Primary School singers. The tour visited the Kalbari National Park, the HMAS Sydney Memorial and returned to Perth via New Norcia and the wildflower way.
Once back in Perth the choir performed two concerts with the Perth Male Voice Choir and the Sydney Male Voice Choir. Our boys did themselves proud and the combined choir numbers raised the roof. Some Welsh visitors commented on the emotional experience hearing our boys singing in their own language. Choristers and their families took advantage of rest days to have a good look at Perth and surrounds and enjoyed the hospitality of the locals especially in a pub event in Fremantle.
The second leg of the tour was from Perth to Albany and return. The first stop was Busselton where we were hosted by "The Voices of the Vasse" an acapella choir who were very impressive. We also visited Margaret River and Cape Leeuwin a lovely area.
The final stop was in Albany. The choir performed two concerts in the historic Wesley Church accompanied by the Albany Chorale Society. Both concerts were a sell out and very well received.
Back home again and rehearsing for a busy concert period and Christmas.
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