Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir is a Welsh Male

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

based at

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...

in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.

History

On 1 September 1966, following Cardiff RFC's 35–0 defeat of Cardiff & District, a group of supporters came up with idea of forming a choir to improve the standard of after-match singing. The Cardiff Athletic Male Voice Choir first met on the following Monday, 5 September, in the old Skittle Alley at the Rugby Club. There were twenty-five members present for the first meeting. The choir changed its name in 2000 to become the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir, helping to raise the profile of the choir and perpetuate the name of the Arms Park. The choir made their first TV appearance within weeks of being formed, welcoming the Australian Rugby Team to Wales, and has since appeared on television on numerous occasions, including appearances on

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

, Sky Sports, ITV,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in ...

, New Zealand and Australian TV and MUTV. The choir sang live on Grandstand in 2002 and recorded an advertisement for the

's Six Nations rugby coverage alongside

Goldie Lookin Chain Goldie Lookin Chain are a Welsh comedy hip hop group from Newport, south-east Wales. The group produces humorous, controversial and often explicit songs that satirise hip hop, today's consumer society, the "chav" culture and life in Newpor ...

in 2006. The choir were also filmed for an in-flight advertisement for

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...

airlines. They appeared on the ''Rogue Trader'' section of Watchdog, made a very brief appearance on Strictly Come Dancing and supported

Ant & Dec Ant & Dec are a British television presenting duo, consisting of Anthony McPartlin (born 18 November 1975) and Declan Donnelly (born 25 September 1975), from Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Formed after their meeting as child actors on CBBC's d ...

in a link for

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

. The choir has performed alongside numerous stars, including

Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, '' Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million ...

Charlotte Church Charlotte Maria Church (born Charlotte Maria Reed, 21 February 1986) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress, television presenter and political activist from Cardiff. Church rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching ...

Max Boyce Maxwell Boyce, (born 27 September 1943) is a Welsh comedian, singer and entertainer. He rose to fame in the mid-1970s with an act that combined musical comedy with his passion for rugby union and his origins in a South Wales mining community. ...

Peter Karrie Peter Karrie (originally Peter Karagianis), born 10 August 1946, is a Welsh singer and an honorary fellow of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He played the lead role in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''The Phantom of the Opera'' in Lon ...

, Shân Cothi,

and Foreigner. The choir has travelled to Scotland ( Blairgowrie in 1993,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and

Crieff Crieff (; gd, Craoibh, meaning "tree") is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins the A823 to Dunfermline. Crieff has becom ...

in 2009 and 2011), Ireland ( Kilkenny in 1998), the Czech Republic ( Prague, Plzen and

Karlštejn Karlštejn Castle ( cs, hrad Karlštejn; german: Burg Karlstein) is a large Gothic castle founded in 1348 by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor-elect and King of Bohemia. The castle served as a place for safekeeping the Imperial Regalia as well ...

in 2004), France (

Pleyben Pleyben (; ) is a commune in the Châteaulin arrondissement of Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. The calvary in the churchyard dates from 1555. Population Inhabitants of Pleyben are called in French ''Pleybennois''. ...

in 2004

Chatte :''Chatte is also a synonym of Chardonnay.'' Chatte () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Twin towns Chatte is twinned with: * Roncone, Italy, since 1998 * Rot am See, Germany, since 2002 See also ...

in 2006 and Strasbourg)in 2012), Switzerland (

Le Brassus Le Brassus is a village in the Vallée de Joux in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. It is part of the municipality Le Chenit.Italy ( Milan in 2006), Germany ( Heilbronn,

Satteldorf Satteldorf is a municipality in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Satteldorf is located on the Hohenloher level on the Jagst, a right tributary of the Neckar, about 4 km north of Crailsheim. The eastern ...

and Stuttgart in 2007), Poland ( Kraków in 2009) and Spain ( Santander in 2010). Some of the choir joined as guests of Dowlais Male Choir in their performances at the 2008

Festival Interceltique de Lorient __NOTOC__ The (French), Emvod Ar Gelted An Oriant (Breton) or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient in English, is an annual Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France. It was founded in 1971 by . This annual festival takes ...

. In the UK, the choir has performed in a variety of venues, including nine appearances at the London Welsh Festivals of Male Choirs in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

, singing before Wales v Fiji in 2002 and Wales v South Africa in 2008 at the Millennium Stadium and numerous appearances at

itself. The choir took part in the World Choir at the National Stadium in Cardiff in 1993. In 2009 the choir sang at the opening of the new Cardiff library. The Manic Street Preachers opened the library, and the choir sang a specially arranged version of their song A Design for Life, which was described by bassist Nicky Wire as "spine-tingling". The choir sang at the opening of the new

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

department store in Cardiff in September 2009 as well as recording their radio advertisement. The choir's involvement was included in a subsequent

documentary.

Massed Choir Festivals

The choir celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2006 with a number of events, including a dinner at the Arms Park and a European tour. The main event was a massed male concert at

St David's Hall St David's Hall (Welsh: ''Neuadd Dewi Sant'') is a performing arts and conference venue in the heart of Cardiff, Wales. St David's Hall is the National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of Wales. It hosts the annual Welsh Proms and the bienni ...

, Cardiff on 17 June. The concert featured over 400 singers made up of choristers from Canoldir, Dowlais, Gwent, Kenfig Hill, Maesteg, Neath, Penybontfawr and

Pontarddulais Pontarddulais (), also known as Pontardulais (), is both a community and a town in Swansea, Wales. It is northwest of the city centre. The Pontarddulais ward is part of the City and County of Swansea. Pontarddulais adjoins the village of Hend ...

male choirs alongside the Cardiff choristers. They were accompanied by a 53-strong orchestra, and the guest artists were the Llanishen Fach Primary School choir and

. Following on from the success of the massed concert in 2006, the choir joined forces with Canoldir Male Choir (based in Birmingham) to create the AngloWelsh Festival of Male Choirs. The first concerts of the biennial festival took place in April/May 2009 in

Symphony Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall is a 2,262 seat concert venue in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991, although it had been in use since 15 April 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hos ...

and

, Cardiff. Participating choirs were Cardiff Arms Park, Canoldir, Dowlais, Kenfig Hill, Kidderminster, Leigh Orpheus, Neath, Shrewsbury, Penybontfawr and Pontypridd male choirs. The guest artists were Les Chansonelles and John Garner in Birmingham, and Llanishen Fach Primary School choir and Shân Cothi in Cardiff. The second AngloWelsh Festival of Male Choirs took place in

, Cardiff on 10 September 2011. The massed choir was made up of Biddulph, Budleigh Salterton, Cardiff Arms Park, Canoldir, Cotswold, Dowlais, Mynyddislwyn, Newtown & District, Pontypridd, Shrewsbury, Tenby and Ynysowen male choirs. Guest artists were the Llanishen Fach Primary School choir and Gary Griffiths.

Recordings

The Blue Blacks

# Sloop John B # Cwm Rhondda # Calon Lân # World in Union # Comrades in Arms # Sanctus # The Lord's Prayer # Oh Isis And Osiris # A Roman War Song # An American Trilogy # The Rose # Bring Him Home # Ivor Novello Medley # Steal Away # Let It Be Me # Take Me Home # Amen (This Little Light) # Sloop John B LiveCD

Live!

# With A Voice of Singing # Let It Be Me # The Rhythm of Life # Soldiers' Chorus # Heaven Is My Home (with Australian Welsh Male Choir, Katie Murphy and Richard Colvin) # Amen (This Little Light) # There Is Nothin' Like A Dame (with Jack Gardiner) # The Rose # Bui Doi (with Richard Colvin) # My Lord, What A Morning (with Wessex Male Choir) # An American Trilogy (with Wessex Male Choir) # Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (with Australian Welsh Male Choir) MassedMaleChoralCelebration

Massed Male Choral Celebration

Recorded live at St David's Hall, Cardiff on 17 June 2006, featuring the massed voices of Cardiff Arms Park, Canoldir, Dowlais, Gwent, Kenfig Hill, Maesteg, Neath, Penybontfawr and

male choirs and a 53-strong orchestra. # Welsh Prelude rchestra# This Is The Moment assed Choir# Gwahoddiad assed Choir# Men of Harlech assed Choir# Consider Yourself lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# My Friend lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (Speed Your Journey) assed Choir# Soldiers' Chorus assed Choir# My Lord, What A Morning assed Choir# An American Trilogy assed Choir# Love in My Heart lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# There's Me lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# Finlandia assed Choir# Deus Salutis (

Llef Llef (in English "A Cry") is a popular Welsh hymn, written by David Charles (1803-1880) (son of David Charles (1762–1834)). The tune was composed in 1890 by Griffith Hugh Jones (Welsh language name Gutyn Arfon) (1849–1919) and was written ...

) assed Choir# Llanfair assed Choir# Morte Criste assed Choir# Whistle Down The Wind lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# As One lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# Nidaros assed Choir# God Save The Queen assed Choir# Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau assed Choir HeartsAndVoicesRaising

Hearts And Voices Raising

Recorded live at Symphony Hall, Birmingham and St David's Hall, Cardiff at the inaugural AngloWelsh Festival of Male Choirs, 2009, featuring the massed voices of Cardiff Arms Park, Canoldir, Dowlais, Kenfig Hill, Kidderminster, Leigh Orpheus, Neath, Shrewsbury, Penybontfawr and Pontypridd Male Choirs. # Christus Salvator assed Choir# A Roman War Song assed Choir# Morte Criste assed Choir# Love, Shine A Light lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# You Are My Brother lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# Comrades in Arms assed Choir# Hava Nagila assed Choir# Dream A Little Dream of Me es Chansonelles# The Rose/Hello My Friend es Chansonelles# Autumn Leaves assed Choir# Give Me That Old Time Religion assed Choir# Blaenwern assed Choir and Audience# Stand By Me lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# I Wanna Sing Scat lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# Trust lanishen Fach Primary School Choir# Softly As I Leave You assed Choir# The Rhythm of Life assed Choir#

Fields of Gold "Fields of Gold" is a song written and performed by English musician Sting. It first appeared on his fourth studio album, ''Ten Summoner's Tales'' (1993). The song was released as a single on 7 June 1993, reaching 16 on the UK Singles Chart an ...

es Chansonelles# Somebody To Love es Chansonelles# Myfanwy assed Choir# Tydi A Roddaist assed Choir# An American Trilogy assed Choir and Les Chansonelles

We Raise Our Voices High

Provisional title of the recording of the 2011 AngloWelsh Festival of Male Choirs, which took place on 10 September at St David's Hall, Cardiff.

Musical Staff

Ieuan Jones is the current musical director of the choir, and Joseph Cavalli-Price is the accompanist.

Musical Directors

* 1966–1982: John Davies * 1982–1987: Bill Cooper * 1987–1989: David N Jones * 1989–1994: Mary Lloyd * 1994–2001: Edgar Taylor * 2001– 2016: David Last * 2016–present: Ieuan Jones

Accompanists

* 1966–1983: Justin Beynon * 1983–1985: Dorothy Lewis * 1985–1988: Marjorie Collier * 1988–1989: David Huw Rees * 1989–2002: Mary Jones * 2002–2004: Joseph Hood * 2004–2004: Kirsten Watson * 2005–2017: Jo Scullin * 2017–2020: Joseph Cavalli-Price * 2020–present: David Last

Notes

External links

* {{authority control Welsh choirs Musical groups established in 1966 1966 establishments in Wales