Choir History: 2006 - today

The choir celebrated their fortieth anniversary in 2006 with a series of high profile events.

In February they recorded a TV advert for the BBC with Goldie Lookin Chain (pictured top right). For more information on this, click here.

In April the choir sang at a ceremony at City Hall at which the Freedom of the City of Cardiff was granted to Sir Tasker Watkins.

The choir's fortieth anniversary tour started in the exotic land of England, with participation in Canoldir Male Choir's fortieth anniversary concert at Symphony Hall, Birmingham. From there we travelled to Milan, then in to Switzerland, including a performance with a local male choir in Le Brassus, and then on to a choir festival in Chatte in the South of France (pictured middle right).

The main highlight of the celebrations was the Massed Male Choral Celebration at St David's Hall on 17th June 06 (pictured bottom right). The concert featured over 400 singers in a massed male choir made up of choristers from Canoldir, Dowlais, Gwent, Kenfig Hill, Maesteg, Neath, Penybontfawr, Pontarddulais and, of course, the Arms Park choir. They were accompanied by an orchestra of 53, and guest artists were the Llanishen Fach Primary School choir and Hayley Westenra.

In September, the choir rounded of their celebrations with a special dinner at Cardiff Rugby Club.

In 2007 the choir travelled to Germany, giving performances in Heilbronn, Satteldorf and Stuttgart. Later in the year the choir performed alongside AngloAmerican rock group Foreigner at St David's Hall, Cardiff. The South Wales Echo review (here) mentions the choir, as does the review in the Times (here), calling us "dapper old boyos"!!

Plans for the future are already well developed, with another trip to the Royal Albert Hall in October 2008. The choir has joined forces with Canoldir Male Choir from Birmingham to organise the AngloWelsh Festival of Male Choirs, which will take place every two years in Birmingham and Cardiff. The first festival will take place in Symphony Hall, Birmingam on 18th April 2009 and St David's Hall, Cardiff on 2nd May 2009. There are also plans underway to tour abroad in the near future, probably to Eastern Europe.