It was a cool, but sunny morning, as a group of Tenby choristers, wives and supporters waited in Kilgetty for the Edwards’ coach which would take them on their weekend trip (writes Christine Hesslegrave). Soon they were boarding, to join others who had got on in Pembroke Dock, and the trip, which had been discussed and planned for so long, was finally on its way.

Their destination was London, and the reason was to sing at the Festival of Massed Male Choirs in the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, May 19, a three-yearly event arranged by the Welsh Association of Male Choirs. For many of the choristers, this would be their first experience of singing there, but a few were ‘old hands.’ A smooth ride seemed to take us quickly to London to be received at our hotel, which stood at the southern end of Westminster Bridge, affording fine views of the Houses of Parliament and the top of Westminster Abbey. It was a wonderful location for exploring that part of London.

For ‘the choirboys,’ of course, there was a Saturday morning rehearsal at the Albert Hall with some 700 or so other singers, only a few of whom they had had the opportunity of singing with before, during four all-too-brief rehearsal evenings across South West Wales.

Those who went with Tenby Choir had seats in various boxes at the Royal Albert Hall. It would be tempting to describe it in detail, but, suffice it to say, the whole evening….. boxes, atmosphere, singing, surroundings….. was an amazing and unforgettable experience. Seats for the performance had been sold out many weeks before, and there was an air of expectancy as we waited for the concert to begin. Necks were craned trying to pick out familiar faces from the sea of jacketed figures in shades of grey, red, blue, navy and green on the stage, before silence fell and we stood to sing God Save the Queen.

To say that this huge choir provided a feast of music would be to understate. It was magnificent in content and in execution. There were so many wonderful songs, and, interspersed with them, we had performances from a number of solo artists, as well as from Pembrokeshire’s Bella Voce who received rapturous applause.

Following the interval, the musical directors from all the choirs were called onto the stage. Sadly, Tenby’s MD, Ian Williams, didn’t manage to get down into the line-up, but we knew where he was anyway, singing in the bass section, so we looked over and applauded him enthusiastically. So much of the success that Tenby Choir enjoys is down to the expertise and commitment of Ian and their accompanist, Jill Williams, a rare, if ‘unrelated’ team.

Stage manager for the night was Phil Lloyd from Pembroke and District Choir, who over many years at this event, has brought his own particular brand of Pembrokeshire humour to the London stage. Phil was thanked warmly on this occasion, his last time of performing this duty. He will be a hard act to follow!

Duncan Hilling from Tenby Choir was called to stand up as the oldest singer on stage that night, and needless to say, the applause for him was warm and well received, as was the reaction for the very youngest chorister of the evening, a 13-year-old called William.

The music resumed for an inspiring second half, including such favourites as Rachie, Y Tangnefeddwyr and With a Voice of Singing, but all too soon, the evening drew to its close. After the applause, the excitement and the appreciation, the audience were called to their feet again for the singing of the Welsh National Anthem, which surely was in danger of raising the Albert Hall roof a foot or two! At 10.30 pm, we spilled out of that great hall with the thousands of others, to find our coaches and give a final nod to the gilded statue of Prince Albert staring at us from across the road.

Our thanks are due to Charlie Mcfee, who made the organisation of our weekend’s superb accommodation and travelling look easy, to our driver Andrew from Edwards’ Coaches for his courtesy and helpfulness, and to the members of Tenby Male Choir for once again helping to provide us with a wonderful selection of music, which many of us have probably had on the brain for the past week. Of course, if you want to hear this famous choir, all you need to do is look out for their concerts which are held regularly at St. Mary’s Church in Tenby. Visit their website for details of their full programme: www.tenbymalechoir.org