Neyland Ladies Choir held a celebration concert at St Clement's Church to mark 45 years since the late Ivor Thomas decided to resurrect choral singing in the town with formation if a new choir.
The event on May 5 was a great start to the Coronation weekend for Neyland, and the ladies were delighted to perform to a large audience.
The evening opened with a welcome and introduction by Dr. Simon Hancock, choir President.
Under the direction of Lynne Kelleher and accompanied by Miranda Davies, the choir started the first part of the programme with an old favourite, As Long as I Have Music, which highlighted the importance of music to everyone especially after a difficult few years when rehearsals were put on hold.
A few Welsh pieces rounded off the first section before founder member Joan Leckie gave the audience an insight into her musical journey and her involvement in choral singing in the town.
Jan Rodriguez introduced guest soloists, sisters Glesni Edwards-Clancy and Eleri Edwards, daughters of chorister Maria Edwards, and the granddaughters of the late Shirley Edwards. Glesni , a former chorister with Neyland Ladies, performed Home from Beauty and The Beast. Eleri followed with All Falls Down from the musical Chaplin before they joined together to sing In his Eyes from the Jekyll & Hyde musical.
In the second set, the choir performed some new pieces - Getting to Know You from the King & I, Sway and Africa . Lynne also introduced the Coronation Gavotte with lyrics relating to the new King's Coronation day.
Noreen Hadfield introduced the next guest artiste - Harpist, Sarah-Jane Absalom, who delighted the audience with a beautiful selection of items. Neyland Ladies were proud to perform the traditional Welsh tune Ar Hyd y Nos accompanied by Sarah-Jane on the harp which was well received by the audience.
The choir ended the concert with a Beatles medley, supported by Glesni and Eleri, and the audience had fun joining in with the popular tunes. It was remarked that many of them would have liked to dance in the aisles as well as waving their arms in the air!
The proceeds of the concert went to local charity Get The Boys a Lift and one of the charity founders, Greg, thanked everyone for their support whilst outlining the work of the charity. The evening raised £1,000.
Finally, Chairlady Sandra Western thanked the audience for making the evening so special and invited them to join the choir in the Church Hall where the ladies had prepared a buffet fit for a king. What a start to the Coronation weekend!