| The
Montgomery County Music Festival was established
in 1921 and the first Festival was held in the
Old Pavilion at Newtown on 21st July 1921. The
choir of 1300 voices was drawn from 19 choirs
from all parts of the County, and was conducted
by the late J. Morgan Nicholas. The works
performed consisted of a miscellaneous programme
of choruses and solo items by artistes in the
afternoon, and a performance of Mendelssohn's
"Hymns of Praise" and Part One of
Mozart's "Requiem" by the whole choir
in the evening. You can see a scan of the
original 1921 programme here.
The tradition of performing major works has
continued to this day, and those performed since
1988 are detailed here.
Apart from the War years of 1939-1945 and the Covid years of 2020-2022, the
Festival has been held every year since 1921 and
has been conducted by many well-known and eminent
conductors, including Sir Adrian Boult, Sir
Malcolm Sargent, Sir John Barbirolli and Sir
Charles Groves.
The Festival Choir
now consists of two affiliated choirs -
Llanidloes Choral Society and Welshpool Choral
Society - supplemented by individual singers from
Machynlleth and surrounding areas.
A work that was especially commissioned for
the Millennium Festival, “Goroesiad
Cenedl”, the music composed by Richard Elfyn
Hones of the University of Wales, Cardiff, words
by the Poet Alan LLwyd, was chosen for the 2003
Royal National Eisteddfod Choir in Meifod,
Conductor Gwyl L Williams.
The performance of Bach's
St. John Passion in Newtown Baptist Church, 2008
The present conductor, Patrick Larley, was
first invited to conduct the choir in 2008 when
the choir sang Bach's St. John Passion
in Newtown Baptist Church. Patrick has brought a
new dimension to the choir and for the first time
in 2010 encouraged the involvement of school
choirs.
To celebrate the choir’s 90th anniversary
in 2011, Patrick wrote a choral cantata called The Gentle Earth of
Wales.
Due to Covid, the programme for
our centenary year in 2021 was delayed until 2023.
2022 - 2023 Montgomery County Music
Festival Committee
| President |
Lord Davies of Llandinam |
| Chairman |
Eurwyn Pierce Jones |
| Secretary |
David Collington |
| Treasurer |
Zoe Allan |
| Concert Coordinator |
Stella Gratrix |
| Vice Chairman |
Sue Holmes |
| Librarian & Webmaster |
Jane Dards |
With Vice-Presidents, Officers and Conductors of
Choral Societies.
For more information, contact the Secretary,
David Collington, on (01686) 689082.
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