Caldicot Male Voice Choir

Lyn Gauntlett

Caldicot choir teams up with Usk and Chepstow Singing Club for SARA benefit

Last month, the Caldicot Male Voice Choir combined forces with the Usk and Chepstow Singing Club to stage a benefit concert at St Mary’s Priory in Chepstow. The event supported SARA, the Severn Area Rescue Association, which as compere Richard Newhouse outlined, conducts water and ground rescue operations throughout the Severn Estuary.

Operating entirely through volunteers, the organisation handles approximately 100 emergencies annually and has saved numerous lives. The evening received backing from Chepstow Town Council, with deputy mayor Vanessa Badderley-Potter present in the audience.

The programme began with the Caldicot Male Voice Choir, under musical direction from Sian Hatton with deputy musical director Shirley Anne James and pianist John Nicholson. The group performed an extensive selection of 15 pieces for an audience approaching 200 people, beginning with Rachie and African Prayer, which featured some Welsh language verses. The setlist included popular numbers such as Shenandoah, 16 Tons, Benedictus and Afonaf Angel, both composed by Robat Arwyn, alongside the traditional hymn Cwm Rhondda. Additional works featured You’ll Never Walk Alone, May You Always Have a Song, Autumn Leaves and concluded with This is the Moment from the musical Jekyll and Hyde. The performance drew sustained and passionate applause.

The evening also showcased the Chepstow and Usk Singing Club, directed and accompanied by Jayne Thomas. The mixed-voice ensemble offered an engaging collection of pieces, commencing with Lean on Me followed by Rags to Ritz, an arrangement of Irving Berlin compositions. Their programme continued with O Waly Waly, also known as The Water is Wide, a Scottish folk song, featuring violinist Sara Long and Suzanne Moore-Orly on whistle. The set included A River of Dreams, A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman and concluded with One Day Like This, arranged by the choir’s founder Karl Daymond.

The concert proved immensely popular with attendees, who departed having experienced an occasion that successfully raised vital funds for SARA.

For further details about the choirs and SARA, visit the websites https://www.sara-rescue.org.uk/ www.caldicotmalevoicechoir.co.uk and https://singingclubber.co.uk/.