Treorchy Male Choir, also known as Treorchy Male Voice Choir, is a choir based in

Treorchy Treorchy ( cy, Treorci; ) is a town and community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 c ...

in the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

, Wales, United Kingdom.

History

Choirs have existed in the Rhondda Valley for more than a 150 years and Treorchy is one of the best known from the area. One of its first male choirs was formed in the Red Cow Hotel in the summer of 1883 and developed into a

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...

winner, culminating in a royal command performance for Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in 1895. The choir would later disband after the South Wales Valleys suffered during the massive economic downturn of the Great Depression in the United Kingdom and two World Wars. The present Treorchy Male Choir was reformed on October 16, 1946 under the baton of John Haydn Davies, who led the choir for 20 years. They reached musical distinction in the national Eisteddfod by gaining a record eight national wins, making a total of twenty-two first prizes out of twenty seven entries. The Treorchy Male Choir is a registered charity. It has launched its own Junior Musician of the Year competition for children in the Rhondda area.

Recordings

Treorchy was to become the first male choir to venture into the field of popular music and subsequently the choir has made more than fifty commercial recordings. Their popular music production include an album of music by

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

and Queen and two recordings of music by Bob Marley, but they have also recorded more classical works and became the first British choir to perform Sibelius’ Kullervo Symphony in Finnish.

Collaborations

The choir has performed together with various celebrities, in concerts, on recordings, and on television. Their collaborations include performances with

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

, Ella Fitzgerald,

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

, Harry Secombe,

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

, Gwyneth Jones, Michael Ball,

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.Iris Williams Iris Williams OBE (born 20 April 1944) is a Welsh singer. Williams reached the peak of her popularity during the 1980s. Early life and education Williams was born in Rhydyfelin. Brought up in a children's home in Tonyrefail, and later adopted ...

, Max Boyce, Bryn Terfel, Aled Jones,

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 i ...

, Ozzy Osbourne,

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

, Cliff Richard, Andrea Bocelli, McFly,

Russell Watson Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. He began singing as a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club. He came to attention in 1999 when he sang "God ...

and Il Divo.

Tours

Since the early 1980s the choir has undertaken a number of overseas tours beginning with two visits to Canada and a performance in Strasbourg Cathedral for its congregation of almost 6,000 people. A series of four tours of the USA followed, with visits to the White House and performances in San Francisco, Denver, Seattle and the Mid West. Treorchy has also enjoyed a close connection with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, becoming the first Welsh choir to appear at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

in 1986. The choir has made two further visits to Australia appearing in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne and also making a return to the Opera House in Sydney. In Britain, the choir has appeared on the

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

and has become a regular entertainer on the turf of the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

for various rugby union international games.

References

External links

Treorchy Male Choir website

BBC Wales profile
* * {{Authority control Welsh choirs Musical groups established in 1883 Treorchy 1883 establishments in Wales