PROFILES OF FOUNDER MEMBERS STILL WITH CHOIR
Of the sixteen people
who met at the Railway Tavern in 1968 to form the Tonna Male Voice
Choir, there are still 3 who are active members of the choir, an
achievement of which
they can be proud.
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CLIVE POPE |
Clive was 26 years old
when he joined the choir, he is the current Secretary of the choir, a
position he has held several times over the years. Clive has always
sang in the second tenor section.
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PHILLIP WILLIAMS |
Phil was probably one
of the youngest of the 16 original members, as he was only 20 years old
when the choir was formed. Phil has been in the Baritone section since
joining the choir.
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KEITH THOMAS |
Keith is now one of the oldest members of the choir, he was 59 when he joined and is now 82 years old. Keith was the second Chairman of the choir, and has sang in every section, starting as a T op Tenor, he has gradually worked his way down to the Bottom Bass where he now sings.
A brief interview with Keith Thomas:
q. Why was it decided to form a choir ?
a. The choir was formed in the Railway Tavern, which was full at weekends, and where we enjoyed a sing along. This continued for some time before Mr. Harold Bradley (1st Secretary) suggested we start a choir, he found a conductor and pianist and the sing along took a more formal approach. The conductor, Mr. Les Davies was not satisfied with the mix of drinking and singing so an alternative practice hall was found, thus the choir moved to the old Junior School in Tonna.
q. When did you join the choir ?
a. I was a founder member, and along with Clive Pope and Phil Williams are the only founder members remaining in the choir.
q. why did you join the choir ?
a. I have always loved music, especially group singing. Singing in a choir with a good conductor and pianist with organised concerts, and doing this for charity I think is really worthwhile.
q. What is your fondest memory of life with the choir ?
a. There are many memories that have thrilled me over the years.
1. Being awarded the freedom of the Borough of Sterling (Scotland) for the charitable works of the choir
2. Being asked to appear on Scottish TV. at Glasgow
3. Winning an Eisteddfod at South Woodham Ferrers against 14 other choirs.
4. Competing for the first time at the Cork festival (Ireland) and coming third.
5. The friends we made with the Cornish people over several years of competition in Cornwall
6. travelling to Sweden, France, Germany and Italy
q. Are you proud to be a member of the choir and of its achievements ?
a. I believe that being a member of a choir is a dedication to be proud of. If I were not proud to be a member of the choir I would have left long ago. I am proud of the choirs achievements in competition and believe that for our size choir we stand high amongst the rest of the choirs in the area
q. Any amusing stories or anecdotes ?
a. There are two that spring to mind :-
1. Singing at Penscynor wildlife park at an ape's birthday party.
[A publicity gimmick for the park's owner Idris Hale, who was a Patron of the choir at the time, the park held a regular Chimp's tea party and for the first birthday of these chimps the choir were invited to go along and sing, one of the more unusual audiences that any choir has performed to I suppose. (the publicity didn't do us any harm either)]
2. Singing to an empty hall at a club in Pontrhydyfen.
[A concert at what is called locally "The Blue Scar Club" - alluding to the colour of the scars on injured miners. When we arrived there had obviously been a complete lack of advertising as there were only 3 people in the club, and they were playing pool, however, as we were there we still sang, and soon the 3 people playing pool left the club as well]
Keith has since retired from the choir due to ill health.
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THE MUSICAL TEAM |
The musical team of
the choir are very talented musicians.
Susan Hopkins A.L.C.M. Musical
Director
Although born in Resolven Susan now lives in
Tonna, she has progressed “through the ranks” of the choir so to speak,
she
joined the choir in 1986 as assistant accompanist, and was appointed to
the
post of Musical Director in 2002. Susan recently retired from a
teaching post at
Elizabeth (Liz)
Capra Accompanist
Liz, who hails from Port Talbot, is the latest
addition to our Music Team, she joined the choir in July of 2005. Liz
studied piano with Iverna
Ward Williams, became accompanist for the Port Talbot Afan Ladies
Choir, was a
member of the well known Port Talbot group ‘TRILOGY’ for whom she used
her many
talents including singing, playing piano and guitar. Liz was
accompanist for
the Cor Meibion Aberavon, and toured with them to
Joshua Stokes Deputy Accompanist
15 yr old Josh
joined the choir in the Autumn of 2007, he has immense talent and has
already demonstrated that he is a valuable member of the team.