North American Welsh Choir to Present Seattle Concert on May 20, 2000

EVENT DATE: May 20, 2000

FOR RELEASE: Immediate

CONTACT: Cynthia St. Clair(206) 543-1186pehcst@gte.net

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The North American Welsh Choir — Côr Cymry Gogledd America, in Welsh — will present a concert in Seattle on Saturday, May 20, at 7:00 p.m. in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 111 NE 80th, Seattle (near Green Lake). Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door. For information, call (206) 440-7283 or (206) 522-9853.

Côr Cymry Gogledd America, led by conductor and artistic director Mari Morgan, now has more than 110 choristers drawn from 26 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces, with ages ranging from 14 to 80+. Members of Seattle Welsh Choir (Côr Cymry Seattle) make up a sizable percentage of the national choir. 

This “community choir that spans a continent” is committed to bringing Welsh music of the highest musical standard to all audiences. Their repertoire stretches across a century with “something for everyone,” from Welsh hymns and folk songs to commissioned new music from leading Welsh and Welsh-North American composers and writers. In addition, the May 20 concert will feature two pieces composed by Richard Lind, assistant conductor and accompanist for the North American Welsh Choir. Lind is choirmaster and organist for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

Mari Morgan, Artistic Director & Conductor
Born and raised in Llanelli, South Wales, Mari Morgan graduated from the University of Wales College, Cardiff, and Trinity College of Music, London. Since 1989 she has pursued a career as a mezzo-soprano, performing across North America, in the United Kingdom, and France in recitals and concerts, and giving seminars and master classes. In 1996 Morgan was granted permanent residency in the United States on the basis of her professional accomplishments as an illustrator and interpreter of Welsh music. She currently lives in New Jersey.
Dedicated to the presentation of new music, Morgan has premiered the works of many composers and writers, including Dilys Elwyn Edwards, Hilary Tann, and Menna Elfyn.The most recent was the work commissioned for her from Hilary Tann and Menna Elfyn, A Girl's Song to Her Mother (for voice and oboe).This will be included in an album featuring Morgan and Côr Cymry accompanist, Richard Lind, to be released in the summer of 2000. Morgan has made several recordings, including Songs of Wales, on the Green Dragon Productions Label.

As a conductor, Morgan is well known to Welsh audiences across North America. She has directed gymanfaoedd ganu (traditional Welsh “festivals of [hymn] singing”) in cities from New York to Los Angeles. She is the founder and first artistic director and conductor of Côr Cymry Gogledd America, the North American Welsh Choir.

Richard Lind, Assistant Conductor & Accompanist

Organist and Choirmaster at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Seattle, Washington, Richard Lind is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Music, where he earned his B.Mus. and M.Mus. degrees in organ performance as a student of Clyde Holloway. Previously, Lind served congregations in Indianapolis, Houston, and Sarnia, Ontario. He was an active recitalist in Texas, both as soloist and accompanist, performing several recital series around the state. Lind was one of four Houston area organists invited to participate in a pre-convention concert at the 1988 AGO National Convention in Houston. He has been a featured soloist in Seattle at the First Covenant Church, the Plymouth Congregational, and First Methodist noon recital series, and has appeared as a Compline recitalist at St. Mark's Cathedral.
Lind has been accompanist for Côr Cymraeg Seattle (Seattle Welsh Choir) since 1991, playing for numerous Welsh events in the Puget Sound area.

Augsburg-Fortress has published a set of four chorale preludes for Christmas entitled "On December Five and Twenty" composed by Lind.

The North American Welsh Choir: A Brief History
The idea to create a North American Welsh Choir (Côr Cymry Gogledd America in Welsh) took shape in the mind of conductor Mari Morgan in the spring of 1997. While traveling North America as a singer, Morgan met members of North American Welsh communities and recognized their passion for singing together. It struck her how powerful it could be if their voices were united.
She shared her idea with the Executive Committee of the 1999 Minneapolis National Gymanfa Ganu, the premier event for the North American Welsh community. They agreed, and gave Morgan six months to prove that there would be enough people to form a choir to perform at its national event. In November 1997, four months later, the “proof” was in and the decision made – Côr Cymry Gogledd America, the North American Welsh Choir, would debut at the 1999 Minneapolis National Gymanfa Ganu. The committee had booked a choir that did not even exist yet!

The choir's board of directors was assembled, and on March 2, 1998, Côr Cymry Gogledd America was incorporated.

Morgan selected the repertoire and commissioned pieces from internationally known composers and writers. Singers came forward, and a series of regional rehearsals stretched from February 1998 to July 1999, culminating in a week-long intensive rehearsal in Minnesota.

Côr Cymry Gogledd America now has more than 110 choristers drawn from 26 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces, with ages ranging from 14 to 80+. Their debut concert at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis in September 1999 before an audience of 1,500 people was recorded on video and CD.

The "Virtual" Community Choir
To assist in the regional development of the choir (e.g., concerts, rehearsals, local communications), six regional coordinators cover the following areas: the Northwest (Seattle), Central West coast (Los Angeles), Upper Midwest (Minneapolis), LowerMidwest (Kansas City), Eastern Canada (Toronto) and the Mid-Atlantic (Philadelphiaand New York).
Communications are carried out via e-mail, through weekly electronic newsletters, and through the choir's Web site, www.nawr.com/corcymry, which was created as a resource for communications and reference. Choristers can access information on schedules, concert programs, concert dress, choral notes from the conductor after each rehearsal, quarterly newsletters, and any additional information that is needed for coordinating events — even directions and logistics for assembling the choir at each location. This site will also provide access to media information that can be downloaded for use in advertising regional events. Pronunciation and practice sound links are also provided.Weekly electronic newsletters and semi-annual printed newsletters are sent to each chorister and “friend” of the choir.A “buddy” system within the choir has choristers with e-mail passing on the messages to their friends and colleagues without electronic access.
The Music
Conductor Mari Morgan and accompanist Richard Lind select the choir’s musical repertoire and commission new music.
The choir commissioned two major works for its inaugural performance. One of these works, Psalm 104 by Dr. Hilary Tann, has been published by Oxford University Press and is distributed worldwide, carrying information on the choir.

Music is sent to choristers and parts tapes are prepared by the conductor to help with learning both the music and Welsh pronunciation. These tracks are also on the choir’s Web site and can be downloaded by choristers.

Regional rehearsals are held at regular intervals at the six regional locations (Seattle, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia and Toronto).The conductor travels to these one-day events. Choristers travel to the rehearsal nearest to them — a journey often ranging from two to six hours.

The conductor prepares rehearsal tapes of all the music and sends out a newsletter, Côr Notes, which includes instructions about and history of the music. The newsletter issent out electronically, via snail mail, and is also held on the Web site ( www.nawr.com/corcymry).

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