The Morriston Orpheus Choir (Welsh: Côr Orpheus Treforys ), based in Morriston , near Swansea , Wales , is a male voice choir , one of the best-known in the UK.
45-573: The choir was formed on April 23, 1935, by Ivor E. Sims and in its early days concentrated primarily on competitions and local concerts. In 1937, the Choir achieved its first success at the Royal National Eisteddfod in Machynlleth , going on to win at the "National" on six further occasions. The choir does not presently sing in competitions, preferring to concentrate on concert performances. Over
90-469: A concert tour of Australia and New Zealand . In October 2008 the Choir visited Geneva to perform a charity concert. During their stay they also visited and sang in the control room of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Highlights of previous overseas tours have included four appearances at British Military Tattoos and Concerts in the former West Berlin , participating at
135-443: A day. BBC Radio Wales was preceded in the autumn of 1978 by four experimental local radio stations broadcasting for a single week: Radio Wrexham , Radio Deeside , Radio Merthyr and Radio Rhondda . They were broadcast using an RTÉ Outside Broadcast transmitter. The first editor of BBC Radio Wales was Teleri Bevan , a former producer for Radio 4 Wales. Radio Wales commenced broadcasting at 6.30am on Monday 13 November 1978 with
180-548: A leading exponent of male choral singing. Within the United Kingdom the Choir is in constant demand with around 25 engagements a year, including concerts, TV and after-dinner performances. The Choir regularly undertakes concert tours overseas and in 2004 undertook two tours to Taiwan and to Abu Dhabi and Oman . In April 2007 the Choir returned to the UAE , performing in Dubai en route to
225-562: A long-standing policy of encouraging young Welsh singers through an annual competition organised by the Morriston Orpheus Choir Supporters' Association (MOCSA). The Young Welsh Singer of the Year Competition has been running for over 40 years, and previous winners include Rebecca Evans and Sir Bryn Terfel National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh : Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru )
270-533: A permanent stone circle. This also has the benefit of bringing the Gorsedd ceremonies onto the maes : previously they were often held many miles away, hidden from most of the public. As well as the main pavilion with the main stage, there are other venues through the week. Some are fixtures every year, hosting gigs (Maes B/Llwyfan y Maes/Caffi Maes B). Other fixtures of the maes are the Pabell Lên (literature pavilion),
315-514: A potential 91% of households in Wales. Regional opt-outs have been established for sports coverage on FM; specifically live football commentaries involving Cardiff City in the south-east, Swansea City in the south-west and Wrexham in the north. BBC Radio Wales's medium wave broadcasts on 1125 kHz were discontinued on 2 April 2020, with 657 kHz and most transmitters operating on 882 kHz following suit on 8 June 2021. The Washford transmitter on 882 kHz
360-410: A show each weekday until 1989, Vincent Kane , Noreen Bray and Alun Williams . By 1985, Roy Noble was also a regular daily voice, presenting weekday magazine shows for the station for 27 years. Old Radio 4 type continuity studios were modified to become "self-operated" by the early 1980s. Outside broadcasts from different towns in Wales were also introduced, with Mike Flynn and Alun Williams hosting
405-464: A weekly audience of 348,000 listeners and a listening share of 5.5%, as of March 2024. In November 1978, BBC Radio Wales launched on the former Radio 4 opt-out frequency of 882 kHz. Initially the station broadcast for only twenty hours per week, and relayed output from Radio 2 and Radio 4 at other times. However, the groundwork had been laid for the station to gradually become a full-time service and now Radio Wales broadcasts for up to twenty hours
450-512: A weekly three-hour live show on Friday mornings. BBC Radio Wales also began to use publicity similar to the type used by commercial radio stations in the UK. Other early presenters included Wyn Calvin, Maureen Staffer, Sylvia Horn, G. V. Wynne Jones (Geevers), Claire Vincent, Piet Brinton, Jackie Emlyn and Princess Anne's biographer Brian Hoey . Following BBC Wales' experiments with community radio in 1978, two permanent opt-out services were developed in
495-637: Is a Welsh national radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales , a division of the BBC . It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the Welsh opt-out service of BBC Radio 4 . As of August 2022, the station's managing editor is Carolyn Hitt, who is also editor of BBC Wales Sport. Radio Wales is broadcast in English, whilst sister network Radio Cymru broadcasts in Welsh . According to RAJAR , BBC Radio Wales has
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#1732880692641540-645: Is broadcast across Wales on FM , DAB and 882kHz medium wave. It is also available on Freeview in Wales and throughout the UK on Freesat , Sky , Virgin Media and the BBC Sounds service. As Radio Wales was created from an opt-out of BBC Radio 4, it inherited the medium wave transmitters previously used by Radio 4 across Wales — the main service coming from the Washford transmitter in Somerset on 882 kHz . This transmitter
585-666: Is produced and broadcast from the Cardiff headquarters with the Adam Walton show originating from the BBC's Wrexham studios on the Glyndŵr University campus. Radio Wales Sport is broadcast on Saturdays, generally between 14:00 and 19:00, during the football and rugby seasons (the programme is extended on occasions to include live commentary of early and late matches). Radio Wales Sport features localised FM commentary of Swansea City in
630-560: Is taken very seriously, and an award of a crown or a chair for poetry is a great honour. The Chairing and Crowning ceremonies are the highlights of the week, and are presided over by the Archdruid . Other important awards include the Prose Medal [ cy ] (first introduced in 1937) and Welsh Learner of the Year award (first introduced in 1983). There are three ranks of membership in
675-551: 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 typically number 6,000 or more, and overall attendance generally exceeds 100,000 visitors, the highest recently being 186,000 attending the 2024 festival in Pontypridd . The 2018 Eisteddfod
720-572: Is welcome at the Eisteddfod, whatever language they speak". The Eisteddfod offers bilingual signage and simultaneous translation of many events though wireless headphones. There is also a Welsh learners area called Maes D. These efforts have helped increase takings, and the 2006 Eisteddfod reported a profit of over £100,000, despite costing £2.8m to stage. The Eisteddfod attracts some 160,000 people annually. The National Eisteddfod in Cardiff (2008) drew record crowds, with over 160,000 visitors attending. It
765-775: The Independent on Sunday reported that the Choir received "five standing ovations" at the Carnegie Hall in New York City . In the Spring of 2018 the Choir conducted a week-long tour of Vienna and Kraków , singing in St Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna among other venues. In Wales and the UK the Choir has performed in a variety of venues ranging from chapels and village halls to cathedrals and concert halls. It appears regularly in Swansea at
810-479: The Maes (field). The space required for this means that it is rare for the Eisteddfod to be in a city or town: instead it is held somewhere with more space. Car parking for day visitors alone requires several large fields, and many people camp on the site for the whole week. The festival has a quasi- druidic flavour, with the main literary prizes for poetry and prose being awarded in colourful and dramatic ceremonies under
855-574: The Neuadd Ddawns (dance hall), the Pabell Wyddoniaeth a Thechnoleg (science and technology pavilion), Maes D (learners' pavilion), at least one theatre, Y Cwt Drama (the drama hut), Tŷ Gwerin (folk house), Y Lle Celf ("the Art Place") and hundreds of stondinau (stands and booths) where groups, societies, councils, charities and shops exhibit and sell. Since 2004, alcohol has been sold on
900-867: The headquarters of BBC Cymru Wales at Central Square , near the main railway station in Cardiff city centre. During the station's downtime, Radio Wales simulcasts the output of BBC Radio 5 Live . Weekday programming includes the flagship breakfast news magazine Radio Wales Breakfast with Claire Summers (Monday–Thursday), magazine shows with Jason Mohammad (Monday–Wednesday), Wynne Evans , Behnaz Akhgar (Monday–Thursday) and Eleri Siôn (Friday). Weekend programming includes Sunday afternoon shows with Lynn Bowles and Roy Noble , Adam Walton 's new music show on Saturday nights, Celtic Heartbeat with Frank Hennessy , Beverley’s World of Music hosted by Beverley Humphreys and entertainment shows with Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Bronwen Lewis. Most of Radio Wales' programming
945-434: The maes ; previously there was a no-alcohol policy. The Eisteddfod's most well-known awards are those for poetry. The chair is awarded for an awdl , a long poem in strict metre. A new bardic chair is specially designed and made for each eisteddfod. The crown is awarded for a pryddest [ cy ] , a poem in free verse . A new bardic crown is specially designed and made for each eisteddfod. In 2014,
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#1732880692641990-546: The mass in Latin are allowed and this has been controversially used to allow concerts featuring international soloists. The venue is officially proclaimed a year in advance, at which time the themes and texts for the competitions are published. The organisation for the location will have begun a year or more earlier, and locations are generally known two or three years ahead. The Eisteddfod Act 1959 ( 7 & 8 Eliz. 2 . c. 32) allowed local authorities to give financial support to
1035-643: The 40 kW ERP Wenvoe transmitter to its network on 103.9 MHz FM, replacing a low-power FM transmitter on the Wenallt Hill . This FM output covers South Wales and the West of England, including the city of Bristol. On 24 October 2018, the station increased its FM coverage in North East and Mid Wales by taking over 32 transmitters previously used by BBC Radio 3 . The changeover allowed an estimated 400,000 listeners to receive Radio Wales on FM, extending its reach to
1080-503: The Choir since 1979. Sian left the Choir in 2007 and Joy Amman Davies, who in 2004 had been made a Life Member of the Choir in recognition of her outstanding contribution and commitment as accompanist, was appointed musical director. After over a decade in the role Joy Amman Davies retired in August 2021, and after a competitive interview and selection process was succeeded by Conal Bembridge-Sayers. The Choir enjoys an international reputation as
1125-475: The Choir's 85th year, a busy schedule of events had been planned, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the choir ceased performances and rehearsals for the first time in its history. With assistance from Swansea University however the choir has been able to restart rehearsals online, which has been the subject of features on BBC Radio Wales , BBC Radio 5 Live , BBC Radio Cymru , and BBC Wales Today . The Choir has
1170-652: The Eisteddfod began to award a Welsh-language Album of the Year (Albwm Cymraeg Y Flwyddyn) during its Maes B event. (Venues in England are in italics) The Eisteddfod has visited all the traditional counties of Wales. It has visited six of the seven current cities in Wales: Bangor, Cardiff, Newport, St David's, Swansea and Wrexham. It visited Wrexham when it was classified as a town; Wrexham attained city status in 2022. It has never visited St Asaph , which attained city status in 2012. BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales
1215-425: The Gorsedd. Until 2012 they were, in ascending order of honour: If no stone circle is there already, one is created out of Gorsedd stones , usually taken from the local area. These stone circles are icons all across Wales and signify the Eisteddfod having visited a community. As a cost-saving measure, the 2005 Eisteddfod was the first to use a temporary "fibre-glass stone" circle for the druidic ceremonies instead of
1260-781: The International Choral Festivals in Nancy, France , and Toronto in Canada , representing Wales at Expo '92 in Seville, Spain , and becoming in 1996, the first British choir to perform at the International Choral Festival in Bydgoszcz, Poland . The Choir has performed in all the major cities of Australia and New Zealand and received standing ovations at their appearances at the world famous Sydney Opera House . In October 2001,
1305-545: The auspices of the Gorsedd of Bards of the Island of Britain, complete with prominent figures in Welsh cultural life dressed in flowing druidic costumes, flower dances, trumpet fanfares and a symbolic Horn of Plenty . However, the Gorsedd is not an ancient institution or a pagan ceremony but rather a romantic creation by Iolo Morganwg in the 1790s, which first became a formal part of the Eisteddfod ceremonial in 1819. Nevertheless, it
1350-739: The closure of Radio Clwyd, local bulletins for north-east Wales continued until March 2002 - staff having moved from Mold to Wrexham in June 1998. BBC Radio Gwent , based in Cwmbran , broadcast from 18 April 1983 until March 1991. Radio Gwent was available on FM, and since its closure has continued to relay the national Radio Wales service on the same FM frequencies to the Gwent area. Both of these stations operated at peak times only and carried Radio Wales at other times. BBC Radio Wales broadcasts each weekday from 05:30 to 00:30 and from 05:00 to 01:00 at weekends, live from
1395-454: The creation of opt-out service, BBC Radio Gwent. After the breakfast programme, Radio Gwent simulcast most of Radio Wales' output. When the station closed in 1991, the FM frequencies were retained to broadcast Radio Wales. From 1999 onwards, the BBC was able to start creating an FM network for Radio Wales, including a 120 kW ERP transmitter near Aberystwyth . On 6 December 2011, Radio Wales added
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1440-511: The event. Traditionally, the Eisteddfod venue alternates between north and south Wales; the decision to hold both the 2014 and 2015 Eisteddfodau in South Wales was thus seen as controversial, but the decision was later reversed and Montgomeryshire named as host county for 2015. Occasionally the Eisteddfod has been held in England, although the last occasion was in 1929. Hundreds of tents, pavilions and booths are erected in an open space to create
1485-402: The famous Brangwyn Hall in the city centre, as well as the newer Great Hall, at Swansea University 's Bay Campus. The Choir features regularly on TV. It has produced over 50 recordings and feature in more than 100 compilation albums. Successful ventures into the "pop" world have included recordings with T'Pau , the Welsh group The Alarm , and most recently Howard Jones . With 2020 marking
1530-454: The first edition of AM , a breakfast magazine show presented by Anita Morgan, which replaced the news-driven predecessor Good Morning Wales . Chris Stuart later took over AM , presenting the programme for almost a decade, before it was replaced by a revival of Good Morning Wales , which was again axed in May 2019. The other main presenters for the first decade on air included Mike Flynn, who hosted
1575-452: The first event held in 1861, in Aberdare . One of the most dramatic events in Eisteddfod history was the award of the 1917 chair to the poet Ellis Humphrey Evans, bardic name Hedd Wyn , for the poem Yr Arwr (The Hero). The winner was announced, and the crowd waited for the winner to stand up to accept the traditional congratulations before the chairing ceremony, but no winner appeared. It
1620-667: The first national Eisteddfod. Even before they became a regular annual event, Eisteddfodau were held on a national scale in Wales, such as the Gwyneddigion Eisteddfod of 1789, the Provincial Eisteddfodau from 1819 to 1834, the Abergavenny Eisteddfodau of 1835 to 1851, and The Great Llangollen Eisteddfod of 1858. However the National Eisteddfod of Wales as an organisation traces its history back to
1665-652: The north-east and the south-east. Radio Deeside was relaunched in February 1980 in response to the closure of the Shotton steelworks. Its coverage area was expanded to the rest of Clwyd in October 1981 and the station was subsequently renamed BBC Radio Clwyd , broadcasting on 657 kHz, and featuring extended local news bulletins, a mid-morning show and occasional special programming from studios in Mold until its closure in October 1993. After
1710-556: The south-west of Wales, Cardiff City in the south-east of Wales, and Wrexham in north Wales with a rolling service of match updates and results on medium wave. The station's commentators are led by BBC Wales football correspondent Rob Phillips and BBC Wales rugby correspondent Gareth Charles. The summarisers include former Wales football captain Kevin Ratcliffe and former Wales flanker Martyn Williams . Notable current presenters include: Past presenters include: BBC Radio Wales
1755-406: The usual Prose Medal) were awarded. From 1950 onward, a newly created rule required all competitions to be held in Welsh . However, settings of the mass in Latin are allowed and this has been controversially used to allow concerts featuring international soloists. In recent years efforts have been made to attract more non-Welsh speakers to the event, with the official website stating "everyone
1800-422: The years, successive musical directors have developed and broadened the repertoire. Variety is now the hallmark of the Choir's performances which include arrangements by Alwyn Humphreys M.B.E. , musical director from 1979 to January 2005 and now the Choir's Conductor Emeritus. In 2005 the Choir appointed its first female Musical Director Sian Pearce to replace Alwyn Humphreys who had decided to retire after serving
1845-561: Was held in Cardiff Bay with a fence-free ' Maes '. In 2020, the event was held virtually under the name AmGen ; events were held over a one-week period. The National Museum of Wales says that "the history of the Eisteddfod may [be] traced back to a bardic competition held by the Lord Rhys in Cardigan Castle in 1176", and local Eisteddfodau were certainly held for many years prior to
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1890-572: Was originally built to cover southern Wales and most of the West Country , and has a far greater coverage than its intended transmission area. It can be heard across the Bristol area, in much of Devon and northern Cornwall , as well as in eastern and south-eastern counties of Ireland. Initially, Radio Wales was not broadcast on FM as Radio 4's former FM transmitters in Wales were used for BBC Radio Cymru . In 1983, Radio Wales gained some FM coverage with
1935-463: Was postponed for 12 months because of the international COVID-19 pandemic . This was the first year no Eisteddfod had taken place since 1914, when the event was cancelled at short notice because of the outbreak of the Great War . ( incomplete ) The National Eisteddfod is traditionally held in the first week of August, and the competitions are all held in the Welsh language . However, settings of
1980-495: Was proposed that the 2018 National Eisteddfod in Cardiff would use permanent buildings to host events, rather than the traditional Maes site and tents. This was due partially to a lack of suitable land that could be repaired affordably after the festival. It was billed as an "Eisteddfod with no fence" in the media and was held at Cardiff Bay. The 2019 Eisteddfod in Llanrwst returned to the traditional Maes . The 2020 Eisteddfod
2025-639: Was then announced that Hedd Wyn had been killed the previous month on the battlefield at Passchendaele in Belgium. These events were portrayed in the Academy Award nominated film Hedd Wyn . In 1940, during the Second World War , the Eisteddfod was not held, for fear that it would be a bombing target. Instead, the BBC broadcast an Eisteddfod radio programme, and the Chair, Crown and a Literature Medal (as opposed to
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