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~ Saturday, July 7, 2018 ~Topsail United Church, 2426 Topsail
Rd., Conception Bay S.
~ Monday, July 9, 2018 ~St George's Heritage Church, Middle
Ridge Rd., Brigus
~ Wednesday, July 11, 2018 ~St. Paul's Anglican Church, Church
Rd., Trinity
~ Friday, July 13, 2018 ~Cochrane Centre, 42 Bannerman St., St.
John's
Ode to NewfoundlandWhen sunrays crown thy pine-clad hillsAnd
Summer spreads her handWhen silvern voices tune thy rillsWe love
thee smiling land, we love thee, We love thee, we love thee smiling
land.When spreads thy cloak of shimm'ring whiteAt Winter's stern
commandThro' shortened day and starlit nightWe love thee frozen
land, we love thee, We love thee, we love thee frozen land.When
blinding storm gusts fret thy shoreAnd wild waves lash thy
strandThro' spindrift swirl and tempest roarWe love thee wind-swept
land, we love thee, We love thee, we love thee wind-swept land.As
loved our fathers, so we loveWhere once they stood we standTheir
prayer we raise to heav'n aboveGod guard thee Newfoundland, God
guard thee, God guard thee, God guard thee Newfoundland.
WELSH NATIONAL ANTHEM
Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi, Gwlad beirdd a
chantorion, enwogion o fri; Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra
mad,
Dros ryddid collasant eu gwaed. Gwlad, gwlad, pleidiol wyf i'm
gwlad. Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i'r hen iaith barhau.
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The Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir (TWMVC) was established in
1995when its founding member and first president, Gwyn Roberts,
gatheredtogether a group of like-minded men of Welsh heritage to
kindle the spiritof traditional Welsh male voice singing in their
adopted country. Althoughmany of the current members still lay
claim to Welsh connections, theTWMVC has members from a variety of
ethnic backgrounds. The choirproudly draws on the great Welsh
tradition of singing songs born of themountains and valleys of
Wales. At the same time it emphasizes a multicultural context in
its broad repertoire including spirituals; operaticarias, Canadian
folk songs as well as Broadway show tunes and contemporary music.
Their blend of traditional and contemporary music,all sung off
book, appeals to a broad audience.
The Choir has performed in churches, cathedrals and concert
hallsthroughout Ontario, Quebec and New York State. In August 2002
andJuly 2013 the choir completed highly successful tours of Wales.
DuringJuly 2005 they toured the Maritimes where they performed five
concertsfor appreciative audiences in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward
Island. InSeptember 2008, the choir was invited to take part in a
combined choir of400 voices at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New
York City and in 2010the choir had a very successful tour of the
Canadian Rockies. The choirwas privileged to perform as the
headline choir at the North AmericanFestival of Wales in Rochester
New York August 31 to September 3,2017. Our concert repertoire
includes the simple message that what wehave in common with one
another far outweighs our differences. Ourcommon ground is our
humanity, and best expressed by what we at theTWMVC do best –
promoting choral traditions that have enriched thehuman experience
through the ages.
For more information about the choir and future concerts please
go to our website welshchoir.ca
WILLIAM WOLOSCHUKARTISTIC DIRECTOR & PRINCIPAL CONDUCTORBorn
in Sudbury, Ontario, William Woloschuk beganhis musical career
after receiving his first piano at theage of seven and completed
his graduate studies inchoral conducting from the Faculty of Music,
University of Toronto. He studied under the tutelageof Volodymyr
Kolesnyk (Kyiv State Opera, Ukraine).From 1997-2000, William was
Artistic Director for theSouth Florida Men’s Chorus – Fort
Lauderdale, FL,and for fifteen years was Dean of Music for St.
Sophia
Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Montreal. In the summer of 2004,
Williamattended the Kunstuniversität in Graz, Austria, where he
studied under Rodney Eichenburger. William founded Counterpoint
Choral in 2001 and wasits Artistic Director for 6 years. In August
2006, William enthusiastically accepted the position of Principal
Conductor and Artistic Director for theToronto Welsh Male Voice
Choir. In November 2007, William conducted theWorld Premiere
Performance of Hilda Morgan’s orchestral arrangement of“Nidaros”,
incorporating additional material by Bob Marshall, featuring
theTWMVC with the Northumberland Orchestra in Cobourg, Ontario.
Williamdebuted at Carnegie Hall where the TWMVC performed this
stirring piece inSeptember 2008 & again as Guest Conductor of
the Ontario Philharmonic inNovember 2009. William has greatly
impressed the North American Welshcommunity with his ability to
empower the “Welsh soul” into the choir’s performances even without
his being Welsh.
MATTHEW COONSPRINCIPAL ACCOMPANISTMatthew is an award-winning
organist and pianist. He has been the accompanist for the Toronto
WelshMale Voice Choir since 2014. He was the former accompanist of
Counterpoint Chorale. Matthew collaborates frequently with local
choirs, notably Cantores Celestes Women’s Choir. He has served as
Organist at a number of churches in Toronto. Hecurrently is
organist for Dewi Sant Welsh UnitedChurch in Toronto. Matthew holds
a Bachelor of
Music Degree from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music
where hestudied organ performance with Dr. Patricia Wright.
GREG BROWNCOMPÈRE – Baritone
We are so pleased to be here!In 2016, when we started planning
our next tour, it did not take verylong to understand that the
overwhelming first choice of the provincewhere every Choir member
wanted to visit was Newfoundland. Eversince that decision was made
there was a palpable level of excitementevery time the tour was
discussed. The two years of planning havepassed very quickly &
now we are here ready to enjoy the renownedNewfoundland
hospitality. Everyone we talked to about our tour whohad already
visited, without exception, remarked on what a wonderfultime they
had and how friendly everyone had been. We are excited tobe here
and will, no doubt, be very sad to leave.
Graham Parker, President
TORONTO WELSH MALE VOICE CHOIR2018 Newfoundland
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THE WELSH FLAG AND THE RED DRAGONThe proud and ancient battle
standard of the Welsh is The Red Dragon(Y Ddraig Goch) and consists
of a red dragon, standing with one foot raised,on a green and white
background. The red dragon has been associatedwith Wales for
centuries, and as such, the flag is claimed to be the oldest
national flag still in use. But why a dragon? The answer to that
particularquestion is lost in history and myth. One legend recalls
Romano-British soldiers carrying the red dragon (Draco) to Rome on
their banners in thefourth-century, but it could be even older than
that. It is considered that theWelsh kings of Aberffraw first
adopted the dragon in the early fifth century inorder to symbolise
their power & authority after the Romans withdrew fromBritain.
Later, around the seventh century, it became known as the RedDragon
of Cadwaladr, king of Gwynedd from 655 to 682. The red dragonwas
even said to have been used as the British standard at the Battle
ofCrecy in 1346, when the Welsh archers, dressed in their beloved
green andwhite, played such a crucial role in defeating the
French.
As the national flag of Wales, the red dragon appears to have
regained popularity in the early part of the twentieth century,
when it was used for the1911 Caernarfon Investiture of Edward,
Prince of Wales. It wasn’t until 1959however, that it became
officially recognised as the national flag of the principality. The
Red Dragon now flies proudly over public and private buildings
throughout Wales, and thousands still cross the border into England
every other year, when the two nations meet for their ‘historic
struggle’ on the rugby battlefield known as Twickenham. Welshmen,
womenand children carrying the dragon as a symbol of pride in their
history andculture.
MALE VOICE CHOIRS IN WALES - A Brief OverviewThe Welsh male
voice choir has become the country’s most treasured andremarkable
feature, with nonconformist (e.g. Baptist, Methodist) origins in
the18th century. During this time, congregations in both the north
and south ofWales formed tenor-bass choirs that led chapel-goers in
the singing ofhymns, both in English and in Welsh. Singing in these
choirs was one of thecrucial methods the Welsh used to establish
their rugged individualism, especially in the wake of their dying
language, political struggles (miners’strikes and unionist
skirmishes) and cultural constraints from the English (the
Anglicization of Welsh national schools). Choirs & solo singers
alike performed their repertoire at festivals, namely Eisteddfod
(roughly pronounced: “ei-steth-VOD”), an annual gathering of
performers in differentcities around the nation. Fortunately, these
traditions are still (mostly) robusttoday. Since its pious and
political 18th century heyday, Wales has been appropriately
referred to as “the Land of Song.”
TORONTO WELSH MALE VOICE CHOIR
1st Tenor: Charles Barrett; Michael Conroy; Arthur Jones; Kevin
Morris; Gwyn Roberts;
Michael Stevens; Niels Christensen; Nigel Finan; 2nd Tenor: Greg
Andre-Barrett; Greg Douglas; Ray Freebury; Frank McMichael; Jim
Osborne; David Riches; Al Sadegursky; Gordon Yanchyshyn; John
Tayles; Baritone: Brad Archer; Harry Blackburn; Greg Brown; Gareth
Jones;Stephen Jones; Cliff Marsh; Bruce Mullock; Graham Parker;
David Thomas; Robert Varga; Bill Watson; Colin Worley; Bass: Peter
Andrews; Richard Challenger; Ed Golem; Phil Jones;Brian Morey; Gary
Clipperton; Don Maudsley;
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RHAGLENPROGRAMME
Intermission ~ Toriad
Anthems Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau O Canada
Ode to Newfoundland
Yma O Hyd (Still Here!) Words and Music by Dafydd Iwan;Soloist:
Greg Brown – Baritone;
Brian Morey on the Bodhran and Kevin Morris on guitar
Gwahoddiad (Invitation) Welsh Hymn; Welsh words by Ieuan
Gwyllt
Northwest Passage Words and music by Stan Rogers; Soloist: David
Thomas – Baritone
Arranged by Rob Smail
Carrickfergus Traditional Irish Folk Song arranged by Mark G.
Siren
Soloist
Deus Salutis Words by G.H. Jones; Arranged by Mansell Thomas
The Sound of Silence Words and music by Paul Simon;Arranged by
Benjamin Bedroske
Nessun Dorma Music and Words by G. Puccini; Arranged by Meuryn
Hughes
Fogarty’s Cove Words and Music by Stan Rogers;Arranged by Ron
Smail
Finlandia Music by J Sibelius; Words by Elfed
Suo Gân A Welsh Lullaby; Arranged by Lance Wiliford
Hallelujah Words and Music by Leonard Cohen; Arranged by
Jonathan Wikeley
Trilogy from Les Misérables Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg;
Words by Alain Boublil
and Herbert Kretzmer;Arranged by John Samuel
Calon Lân Music by John Hughes; Words by Daniel James;
Soloist: Gareth Jones - Baritone; Arranged by Tim Rhys Evans
Soloist
Y Tangnefeddwyr (The Peacemakers) Music by Eric Jonesand words
by Waldo Williams
Cyfri’r Geifr - Counting the Goats Traditional; Arranged by
Caradog Roberts
We’ll Rant and We’ll Roar Arranged by Mark Sirett
Sosban Fach Traditional Welsh Folk Song
We Rise Again Words and music by Leon Dubinsky;Arranged by
Stephen Smith;
Soloist: Robert Varga - Baritone
Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir ~ 2018
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