Cor Meibion Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir

 

 

Wales  is  renowned  throughout  the  World  for  producing  Male  Choirs  of  the  highest  quality  and  one  of  the  most  distinguished  is  the  Froncysyllte  Choir.

 

Froncysyllte  is  situated  in  the  beautiful  Vale  of  Llangollen  in  North  East  Wales  near  Wrexham.  The  village  attracts  many  tourists  to  view  the  famous  Telford  Aqueduct  and  explore  the  lovely  valley

 

Froncysyllte  Choir  was  formed  in  1947  mainly by J R Davies and Wilfred Jones  under  the  baton  of  Lloyd  Edwards , with  the  object  of  competing  at  the  then  newly-established  International  Musical  Eisteddfod,  a  competitive  festival  which  is  held  annually  in  the  nearby  town  of  Llangollen.  To be eligible to compete the choir needed 60 voices, and Wilfred Jones leader of the Fron Youth Club, trained  and press ganged the youth of the village to sing in the choir. At that time Fron Choir had more young members than any other welsh choir.

 

Having  honed  their  vocal  and  musical  skills  on  the  competitive   stage  they  started  winning  all  the  major  prizes  including  Llangollen,  Malta  and  Athens  International  Music  Festivals  and  the  National  Eisteddfod.

 

The  Fron  Choir  has  toured  extensively  and   thrilled  audiences  in  London,  Paris,  Cologne,  San Sebastian,  Athens,  Toronto,  Vancouver,  Seattle,  Chicago  and  many  other  places.

 

Although Lloyd Edwards was relentless in his dedication to the choir. There was a time that due to illness he was unable to perform his duties. For about 12 months Sub Conductor  J.R. Davies took over the baton. Even taking the choir to the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, and attaining a respectable result.  J R was an unassuming character who did not want any accolades. However without his input and enthusiasm the choir may not have continued to be one of the finest choirs in Wales.

 

Lloyd  Edwards  died  suddenly  in  1970  after  establishing  the  Choir  at  the  highest  level.  He  was  succeeded  by  John  Daniel  who,  over  a  period  of  20 years  did  much  to  refine  the  choirs  vocal  finesse  and  the  Choir  was  very  successful.

 

For  the  next  11 years  Val  Jones  held  the  baton  and  the  Choirs  musicianship  was  further  refined  with  much  success  in  International  Music  Festivals.

 

The  Choir  now  has  a  new  Musical  Director,  Ann  Atkinson  and  they  look  forward  to  continued  progress  and  success.

 

Apart  from  their  competitive  successes,  the  Choir  appears  regularly  on  television  and  radio  and  has  produced  a  wide  range  of  recordings.

 

The  65  Choir  members  are  drawn  together  by  their  love  of  singing  and  the  strong  camaraderie  that  exists  within  the  Choir.