Choristers up close - Lyndon (Lyn) Price
Lyndon (Lyn) Price
Section - Bass
How did you come to join Risca Male Choir?
I had always enjoyed singing from a young age and sang in the chapel and in school eisteddfods, but as I grew older this all stopped. I was then persuaded to join Torfaen Choral Society and this restarted my desire to sing again. I really enjoyed singing with them but concerts were few and far apart, it seemed all we did was practice, so I left.
When I retired the urge to restart singing came and I listened to many Male Choirs in the area until I heard Risca and thought, that’s the one for me!
How long have you been with our choir, and what are the things which have helped you stay?
I joined in October 2004, and like most people was nervous entering choir HQ. But like every new chorister was made so welcome that all nerves vanished! Sitting listening to the rehearsal I knew I had made the right decision. A voice test wasn’t difficult and I was placed in top tenors! After a few practices, even though I could reach the high notes, it was obvious it was straining the throat so I moved to 2nd Tenor. Here I sat between ex-choristers Dave Barry and Paul Baglow who were really helpful in leading me through the many different pieces in the choir’s repertoire. Now, I sing in the bass section!
That first year was hectic having so many pieces to learn: Nabucco with Cross Keys College Choral Society, Beethoven Choral Symphony at St David’s Hall for Welsh Sinfonia, and the year ended with the Christmas themed shows which that year was The Movies. And all this in addition to the many, many pieces from the choir’s amazing repertoire.
What music do you particularly enjoy singing and why?
I enjoy the wide range of music which we have to learn, but found it hard when the choir sang items from before I joined.
RMC is well known for its themed concerts performed each year over the Christmas period. In these shows we sing selections of music from The Shows, The Movies, Disney, and Christmas music. The various styles of music within these shows when added to our Annual Celebrity Concert and all the other concerts show the amazing range in the choir’s repertoire, from operatic to sacred music. They all bring smiles to the audience, indeed which is one of the joys that the choir brings showing that we enjoy singing and want the audience to have the same enjoyment.
Some of my personal favourites are Bring him home (Martin’s arrangement from Les Misérables) and Can you feel the love tonight? (Again arranged by Martin from The Lion King).
Sacred music has so many fantastic pieces to select from, but favourites include This is the Day from Psalmody (by Newport composer, and friend of the choir, Richard Roderick Jones) and from the many great Welsh hymns, the famous Gwahoddiad. Also a piece by Bach which we sing in German, Bist du Bei Mir (another arrangement by Martin), ranks highly in my personal favourites.
Learning new pieces of music in many different languages which we have done over the years, is a challenge which this group of men rise to every time.
The huge choices within the repertoire makes listing personal favourites an almost impossible task.
Have you had any memorable musical moments that gave you pride and satisfaction?
Probably the most memorable piece of music I have sung was Carbon 12 which we sang first at the Millennium Centre. This was for Welsh National Opera, joining with the WNO orchestra, the male chorus of WNO, a specially formed ladies’ choir and a brass band. It was an amazing experience to join with the professional singers and orchestra under the baton of conductor Carlo Rizzi and sing two performances to a capacity audience in the Millennium Centre, and also at Birmingham’s Hippodrome, and a final one at the Rhondda Fach Leisure Centre.
Verdi’s Requiem sung with Crosskeys College Choral Society (Gwent Chorale) was another amazing piece to perform.
The tour to Vienna and Krakow in 2010 entailed singing in magnificent cathedrals, the sounds echoing around the buildings was amazing, and then to sing in Auschwitz was also an amazing experience which I will never forget.
Tell us briefly about your life outside of choir.
Outside of choir life has change dramatically since I took early retirement in 2002. Before that I had worked in the steel industry when leaving school and then Industrial Gases during which working long hours curtailed the opportunity to join a choir.
I have been married to Sandra for 54 years and have two wonderful daughters who we are extremely proud of and also two grandchildren. The support of the family is important for the many hours we spend at rehearsals and travelling away for concerts. We enjoy holidays and have had lovely holidays at both U.K and foreign destinations and I am an avid reader and my Kindle is rarely far away!
A final thought, if you have one
Looking back over the last almost 17 year of being a part of this amazing group of men, I just regret that I had not joined many years earlier. The friendships made and the camaraderie of all the choristers is something everyone should not miss out on in life. The door is always open to welcome men who would like a challenge in life, it is hard work but so rewarding when our voices blend together to make such wonderful sounds.
