Matt’s blog # 1- January 2023
Why did you want to audition to become MD of Risca Male Choir?
I’d been involved with Male Choirs since 2014 and due to time constraints and pressures whilst completing my Undergraduate degree at the Royal Welsh College, I left my post as MD of Torfaen Male Choir.
This was a difficult decision for me to make and since then I’ve missed everything about it.
The camaraderie, concerts, Christmas with a choir and most importantly, the sound. There really is nothing quite like a well trained Welsh male choir.
Having recently completed my joint masters degree I felt it was more than time to reacquaint myself with the choral tradition. Then as if by magic, and award winning, highly motivated and professional choir not 20 minutes away from me were advertising for a new MD.
And the rest, as they say is history…
What was the audition process like?
The audition process can be easily described in three words: challenging but rewarding.
The initial steps involved an interview with members of the committee alongside accompanist Alison Thomas and Music Director Emeritus, Martin Hodson MBE. We discussed many things including my previous experience, why I wanted to become MD and my future plans for the choir. I learned a lot about the choir’s ethos and history during this meeting and was even more excited about the opportunity upon leaving. It wasn’t very long before I was invited back to an audition with the choir and was given two pieces of music to prepare. Anfonaf Angel by Robat Arwyn and Psalmody by Richard Roderick Jones, which coincidentally was commissioned by the first choir I joined as musical director, Cwmbran Male Choir, now part of Torfaen Male Choir.
It was great to spend time preparing these brilliant pieces and even better to be able to hear them sung by the choir first hand in the 50 minutes I was allotted with the choir to work on both pieces.
I remember doing a lot of work on phrasing and ensemble when rehearsing Anfonaf Angel and more rhythmic and pitching work on Psalmody, particularly with some of the very tricky baritone lines. I quickly became aware that the choir responded well to humour and honesty, and found them to be a very flexible and intelligent group. After what felt like 10 or 15 minutes I was told my time was up, congratulated, and then accompanied back to my car.
A few days later I received an email to inform me that I was one of two candidates who had been asked back to the second round of auditions. This time with 6 pieces to study in the space 3 days. A much more challenging event than the first round, and yet still very rewarding. Having the luxury of the full two hour rehearsal time meant that I was able to communicate and talk about my ideas much more, and this is where I really saw the potential in the choir. Again, after what felt like half an hour, I was told our two hour rehearsal was at an end. This time instead of waiting to be contacted by email regarding news, I was taken aside by a member of the committee and informed by the chairman Paul Phillips that after the first half of the rehearsal the decision had already been made to offer me the job. This was a very reassuring position to be in, as I knew I wanted to work with the choir, so after just one hour into our session for the choir to decide they wanted to work with me, felt right. I graciously accepted and the next day was sent a letter of appointment to sign and confirm.
How have your first few weeks with the choir been?
Busy. Not even a week into my tenure as MD was I stood in the middle of the ICC (Celtic Manor) at a convention for the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry with 30 minutes before we were scheduled to perform, being asked to organise a dry ice infused flash mob of Men of Harlech to open the proceedings. After some quick thinking this was organised, practised and ready to go. This was a momentous occasion for myself and the choir, and to be able to sit in the audience and slowly hear the rich tones of prize winning baritone Andy Jenkins lilt through the fog of the dry ice being accompanied by other dark figures slowly appearing to join the chorus of voices piercing through the mist was exhilarating.
Joining the gents on stage to conduct the final few bars we wrapped up Risca’s first ever flash mob experience (see photo opposite). To loud cheers and applause we continued our set of three patriotic Welsh numbers and on completion, proceeded to exit the venue out into the courtyard to wild applause from the audience. After many congratulations and words of praise from the organising team and quick snapshot of the choir stood in front of the epic Welsh dragon we all dispersed, ready to reconvene that evening for the second concert of the day, a Remembrance Concert on the choir’s doorstep in Moriah Church.
Since then the choir has been working hard on their unique and high standard Christmas repertoire. This has been a difficult yet enjoyable experience for me on the whole.
It’s been extremely fast paced with the choir since the first audition, so to be thrown a folder of 18 odd Christmas songs, all with four part harmony and “personal additions” to each one was something I was quickly growing accustomed to. After working hard with the gents on touching up some of the notes, reinforcing some of the other details in the music alongside bringing out the magic of the Risca sound wherever possible, the Christmas repertoire is in a great shape and really shows how well the choir can grasp pieces that they either haven’t done in the case of some of the newer members, or haven’t done for 8 years plus for others. So I’m really looking forward to seeing them in action throughout the Christmas period.
What does the future hold for yourself and Risca Male Choir?
I’m extremely optimistic about my future with the choir. Each rehearsal I attend I can hear the improvements the choir is making and there is a particular drive within the members of this choir to want to achieve the best they’re capable of on an individual and group basis. The “Risca sound” was something if I’m honest, I was quite sceptical of at first. I may only be 25 but I’ve worked with a lot of choirs and especially being a Cwmbran boy, a lot of choirs in this area. And over the years I’ve heard similar stories from other choirs telling of their distinct sound, and often this is often a relic of the past in relation to the “Glory Days” of the choir’s history, as opposed to something tangible in the here and now. However in the month I have spent with the choir so far, I’ve seen more than a few clues as to the existence of this special sound, something I will be nurturing even more during my tenure as Music Director.
As a group we have a big year ahead of us. Our annual concert, tour to Chester, our quadrennial Christmas show and also our acceptance into the 2023 International Eisteddfod in Llangollen. The anticipation from the choir is palpable and only increases their motivation to improve even further. Alongside these events I’m sure we will continue to enjoy each practise singing and studying some of the best music in the world, all the while laughing and joking through it.
Finally I would like to add that I’m very much looking forward to the future with Risca. This is all thanks to commitment and dedication of all the guys (and accompanist Alison) in the room. Particular thanks must be given to Andy Williams whose technical skills, ideas and drive to recruit new members for the choir can only be described as admirable. Despite Andy being in the choir for less than a year, I can already tell with his help and expertise the future of the choir is in more than safe hands. Alongside this is Mike Sullivan the choir’s social secretary, who does a fantastic job of organising social events for the choir and all its friends which I believe has had a huge contribution to the feeling of community within the choir. Deputy accompanist, music director, baritone, concert coordinator, arranger of many of the choir’s repertoire and conductor emeritus Martin Hodson also has my sincere thanks. He’s been a confidante and mentor throughout this busy period, and the ethos he’s instilled into the choir throughout his time is still in evidence today and is exactly the reason why I feel so positive about my future with the choir.
Of course there are many, many others I could name here of which I owe thanks, Paul Phillips, Leigh Tucker, John Lacy, Trevor Baker, Dave Tutton, Kevin Lovett, Tim Stone, Henley Cegielski, Andy Jenkins…. the list is endless… all of who know (or at least could have a good guess at) the reasons why they are being mentioned here.
Here’s to a very bright future and a fantastic and exciting year ahead for us all.
Music Director: Matt Harrison
