The London Welsh Male Voice Choir has had two opportunities to bid ffarwel to Dr. Haydn James, its Musical Director and Conductor for the past 30 years, and to Cliff Morgan, its retiring President. The first was Haydn’s last concert at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff in January, and the second was a glittering tribute dinner to both in London in March. Both occasions tugged at the heartstrings. Above all, however, music was the winner because this choir knows no better way in which to pay tribute than to sing. Both men are stepping down after many years of distinguished service to the choir
Haydn’s list of achievements since he joined the choir as a second tenor and soloist in 1966 are legion. His own fond recollections included his 12 years as conductor of the ladies of the Dylan Singers “in a little room at the back of the London Welsh Club”. “I took 25 women to Paris” was another highlight. Many of these delightful and delighted ladies had a table of their own at the dinner.
Overall, he remembered 1,400 rehearsals, 589 engagements and 1,200 committee meetings. But it would be the musical memories that he would cherish most, the association with Sir George Martin and Rick Wakeman, and soloists including Rita Hunter, Sir Geraint Evans, Bryn Terfel, and Katherine Jenkins. Ten nights with Take That at Earls Court also stood out, as did engagements at Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, the Sydney Opera House, and the unforgettable service at the Cenotaph on November 11th 2008 that marked the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
Even now, Haydn is working with a group of young voices at the London Welsh Centre. We will see him continue to pursue an active life as Musical Director of the Welsh Rugby Union. He is also in continuing demand as conductor of the British and Irish Lions touring choir, and with a number of Cymanfa Ganu festivals in North America.
Colin Jones, Chairman of the choir’s music committee, read congratulatory messages to both men from the Comrades Choir and the Hong Kong Male Voice Choir. A message, however, was not enough for Jim Burns, President of the Saengerfest Choir who had brought his wife Elaine on a special journey from Boston, USA, to present Haydn with the gift of a Paul Revere bowl and a commemorative certificate.
Proposing the toast to Cliff Morgan, OBE, CVO, who has been President of the choir since 1989 and a Vice-President for a number of years previously, Haydn noted that Cliff initially declined the invitation to succeed Doug Evans as President, thinking he wasn’t up to the job. However, Haydn said “this most unassuming man” had been “one of the most brilliant ambassadors the choir could have had, and a great inspiration to us all”.
Cliff won 29 caps as fly half for Wales. He was a natural broadcaster, talker and communicator, and his commentary on one of the best tries of all time, during the Barbarians’ match against the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in 1973, is rightly celebrated.
He became head of sports and outside broadcasts for the BBC for 11 years, and for ten years was the inimitable presenter of the radio programme Sport on Four. His sporting reputation is therefore secure. His love of music is not as well known. A pianist, he knows how the power of music can transcend barriers of geography and language, and can bring diverse people close together by expressing emotions that lie deep within the soul.
Cliff’s reply to the toast was necessarily brief in length, but full of his trademark warmth and appreciation. As 90 present and former choristers joined to end the evening with song, Haydn invited Cliff to conduct Gwahoddiad. He knew this one by heart. We could see from his face how important this moment was for him. This was “his” choir, and the pride was mutual.
86 Responses to “Nobody does it better”
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
Lavoro per il domani – uno sguardo di Yesturdays ad alcuni esempi…
Notato appena questo esempio, via arnold Messer sopra Facebook e trovato esso per essere molto informativo ed ugualmente il punto…
Yesturdays work for tomorrow – a look at some examples…
Was shown this example, via David McCormick on linkedin and imagine it to be extremely informative and too the point…
Yesturdays work for tomorrow – a look at some examples…
Just noticed this example, via megan halign on Twitter and believe it to be very informative and too the point…
Travail de Yesturdays pour le demain – un regard à quelques exemples…
Juste noté cet exemple, par l’intermédiaire de David Messer dessus Facebook et imaginez-le pour être très instructif et trop le point…
Lavoro per il domani – uno sguardo di Yesturdays ad alcuni esempi…
Notato appena questo esempio, via David Messer sopra Giornale in tensione e immaginilo per essere estremamente informativo ed ugualmente il punto…
Trabalho para o amanhã – um olhar de Yesturdays em alguns exemplos…
Foi mostrado este exemplo, através de jon hardvalder sobre Twitter e imagine-o para ser muito informativo e demasiado o ponto…
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]…
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Check this out…
[...] that is the end of this article. Here you’ll find some sites that we think you’ll appreciate, just click the links over[...]……
Awesome website…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related websites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Related……
[...]just beneath, are numerous totally not related sites to ours, however, they are surely worth going over[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Websites you should visit…
[...]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
… [Trackback]…
[...] Find More Informations here: londonwelsh.org/archives/1409 [...]…
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Websites worth visiting…
[...]here are some links to sites that we link to because we think they are worth visiting[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Recommeneded websites…
[...]Here are some of the sites we recommend for our visitors[...]……
You should check this out…
[...] Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine a few unrelated data, nevertheless really worth taking a look, whoa did one learn about Mid East has got more problerms as well [...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
… [Trackback]…
[...] There you will find 62988 more Infos: londonwelsh.org/archives/1409 [...]…
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Blogs ou should be reading…
[...]Here is a Great Blog You Might Find Interesting that we Encourage You[...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Gems form the internet…
[...]very few websites that happen to be detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well worth checking out[...]…
Cool sites…
[...]we came across a cool site that you might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]…
News stories…
I was reading the news and I saw this really cool info…
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Superb website…
[...]always a big fan of linking to bloggers that I love but don’t get a lot of link love from[...]……
Sites we Like……
[...] Every once in a while we choose blogs that we read. Listed below are the latest sites that we choose [...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Sources…
[...]check below, are some totally unrelated websites to ours, however, they are most trustworthy sources that we use[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Great website…
[...]we like to honor many other internet sites on the web, even if they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]……
Links…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]……
Online Article……
[...]The information mentioned in the article are some of the best available [...]……
Read was interesting, stay in touch……
[...]please visit the sites we follow, including this one, as it represents our picks from the web[...]……
Websites we think you should visit…
[...]although websites we backlink to below are considerably not related to ours, we feel they are actually worth a go through, so have a look[...]……
Visitor recommendations…
[...]one of our visitors recently recommended the following website[...]……
Recent Blogroll Additions……
[...]usually posts some very interesting stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]……