All attendance records were broken last Thursday week when the choir held the second of its 40th year anniversary celebration concerts. Following on from a full house at Regency Hall for the first concert, we packed the much bigger St. Mary's Church for this event.

The concert featured guest choirs from near and far with Pembroke Male choir as the near neighbours and an Australian Male Voice Choir from Frankston, near Melbourne, being the much travelled visitors. It is an amazing thing how the concept of a male voice choir with its origins in the tiny chapels of mining communities has spread with Welsh ex-patriots to all corners of the world and with its basic format remaining the same. This is one of three different male voice choirs in the Melbourne area alone.

All three choirs were in fine form on the night to the delight of the audience, made up of local supporters and holidaymakers and a few celebrities, including renowned conductor and arranger Dr. Hadyn James, musical director for the WRU and of course the London Male Voice Choir, as well as many other prestigious appearances worldwide. We were also delighted to see Neil Dickinson, editor of a best-selling local newspaper which advertising rules prevent me from naming.

Compared with some nights, Paul Varallo, our soloist, had an easy time, with only two songs on the night, but he was on good form with the popular Stars from Les Miserables (or The Glums as he likes to call it) and the Italian song Turna a Surriento.

Adding to the evening was the delightful accompaniment of Jill Williams and occasionally, but unforgettably, by Dr. John Harrison on the church organ, with of course the irrepressible Ian 'Wilbur' Williams conducting with vigour and trousers supported by bracers featuring Welsh dragons. Comfortingly, the braces appeared secure as the twin dangers of the increasingly slimline MD and the vigour of the conducting must have put them under strain. It hardly bears thinking about what additional entertainment the audience and choir might have had. Perhaps Dr. Hadyn James picked up a few tips!

The night finished with a universal standing ovation of all of those who could stand and those who couldn't showed their enthusiasm too. Topping off the night was a fitting buffet laid on by the supporters of St. Mary's Church, which also deserved a standing ovation. The food was delicious and abundant.

Following the concert, presentations were made to the visiting choirs by choir secretary David Stewart-Walvin.

The next celebration concert, the third of four in all, will take place in August and there will be more about that nearer the time. That concert will feature the Integra Brass Band, so something very different.

However, there is a chance to see your local choir long before that as we have another concert next Tuesday (26th) at St. Johns Church, Tenby. Tickets will be available on the night, but if you wish to be sure of getting one, see our website at http://www.tenbymalechoir.org">www.tenbymalechoir.org. for details.

New members and supporters are always welcome, so why not come along to a rehearsal and learn about what choir membership is all about. Rehearsals are on most Tuesdays and Thursdays, unless we have a concert on one of those nights. So come along, have a listen and discuss what it's all about with other members with a post-rehearsal pint to learn how you can support the choir, join in its social side or join in and sing. As our musical director Ian 'Wilbur' Williams is fond of saying, 'It's simple.' Alternatively, check out our website (see above) for contact details and different ways in which you can get to know more about it all.

A.G.K.