TWO WORLD acclaimed harpists are to link up at a special benefit concert to raise money for children with profound learning disabilities in war-torn Ukraine.
Veronika Lemishenko, who hails from Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, will play a number of solo pieces in the concert at Bangor University’s Powis Hall at 7.30pm on Thursday, November 21 when she will also perform some duets with concert organiser Elinor Bennett.
“It will be an opportunity to hear a world-renowned harpist play in north Wales and is not to be missed,” said Elinor who studied with the late, great harpist Osian Ellis before going on to have a stellar career as a harpist and helping to found Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias (Willliam Mathias Music Centre) in Caernarfon.
Also taking part in the concert will be young musicians from Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias, the Bangor University Chamber Choir conducted by Guto Puw and Côr Cofnod from Caernarfon.
It is one of a number of charity fund-raising concerts staged across Europe during 2024 by Veronika Lemishenko under the auspices of the Veronika Lemishenko Charitable Foundation which she set-up in her homeland nearly seven years ago.
Veronika’s mother, Alla, now lives in Gwynedd and teaches young musicians locally while her brother has moved to Italy. Her grandmother lives with her father in Lviv in western Ukraine
Elinor said: “Prior to the Russian military aggression of 2022, the foundation aimed to promote harp art in Ukraine by supporting talented Ukrainian harpists and composers.
“The foundation is also collaborating with the Glowing Harp – an international harp project, which includes a competition, festival, masterclasses, recitals and other musical events.”
Since the war started Veronika launched the fundraising campaign co-organised by her charitable foundation and Glowing Harp and about £34,000 has been raised so far.
Elinor explained: “All funds go to support Ukraine. The foundation accepts international donations and provides financial assistance to volunteer organizations, medical institutions, animal shelters, to purchase equipment.
“It is an extremely hard time for the education institutions in Kharkiv where it is impossible to have offline lessons without a fully equipped bomb shelter.
“Thanks to the Glowing Harp project 15 students aged from eight years old to 24 got a new place to continue their professional education in England, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, France and Canada,” she said.
Veronika Lemishenko is no stranger to north Wales. She has attended the Wales International Harp Festival staged at Galeri Caernarfon regularly since 2014 and has many friends in the area.
Elinor Bennett added: “Veronika says she feels very much at home in Wales. But of course since the Russian invasion life has been very hard for Ukrainians and the Lemishenko family are no exception.”
During the concert in Bangor Elinor and Veronika will perform a duet called Cambria by the Welsh harpist and composer John Thomas.
“His bardic name is Pencerdd Gwalia and he played both traditional Welsh triple harp and modern pedal harp and taught at the Royal College of music and Guildhall School of music in London when he was appointed harpist to Queen Victoria in 1872.
Elinor said: “Cambria is a harp duet based on several Welsh melodies including Gadlys, Y Ferch o’r Scêr and Tros y Garreg.”
Elinor said the other piece she will play with Veronika is Souvenir” by Ukranian composer Evgen Andreev.
She added: “He is a composer from Kharkiv and among his works are several compositions that have been performed by the young harpists worldwide.
Veronika said: “Evgen has a musical family – his wife is a violinist and both their children are students of the Kharkiv state musical lyceum. Lately the lyceum resumed their work but the education is online because of the high level of danger being very close to the frontline.”
The concert at Bangor University’s Powis Hall starts at 7.30pm on Thursday, November 21. Admission is free but a collection will be made at the end of the concert.
On the 8th of November 2024, Dafydd Wigley gave a fascinating lecture entitled ‘Murray the Hump: A Gangster in the Family’, tracing the life and story of the colourful character Llywelyn Humphreys.
We were very grateful to Lowri from Lingo for generously volunteering her time to provide simultaneous translation during the event, ensuring it was accessible to all.
The evening raised at least £210 in support of the Friends of CGWM charity – sincere thanks to everyone who contributed!
In addition to the lecture, there were musical performances by talented students from the Music Centre, including Rio Chung on the piano, and the William Mathias Music Centre Flute Trio (Christina, Fflur, and CGWM tutor – Rhiannon).
The work of one of Wales’s greatest composers will be celebrated at a concert to mark the 90th anniversary of his birth.
Professor William Mathias, who died aged 57 in 1992, won global acclaim during his lifetime and tribute will be paid to his musical legacy at the concert at Bangor University’s Neuadd Prichard Jones at 7.30pm on Saturday, November 2.
It’s a joint initiative between the School of Music at Bangor University, where he taught for 18 years, and Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias (William Mathias Music Centre) and the Gwynedd and Anglesey Schools Music Service.
Prof Mathias, who was born in Whitland in Carmarthenshire, was a child prodigy who started playing the piano at three and was composing music by the age of five.
In 1981 he famously wrote the anthem, ‘Let the people praise thee, O God’, for the royal wedding of the then Prince Charles and Princess Diana which had a worldwide television audience of one billion people.
His lasting contribution also includes the North Wales International Music Festival which he founded in 1972 and is now one of the highlights in the UK’s cultural calendar.
The concert, that’s being supported by Tŷ Cerdd, will be an emotional occasion for his daughter, Dr Rhiannon Mathias, who is a musicologist, talented flautist and flute tutor at Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias.
William Mathias with his wife, Yvonne, and daughter, Rhiannon
She said: “The idea of the concert came from the community and I think it is a marvellous way to mark what would have been his 90th birthday.
“The Prichard Jones Hall is a wonderful place to stage the concert as it was his place of work for many years and so many of his pieces have been played there.
“Many, many people will remember him being there for concerts and seeing him walk through. I can’t wait for the concert,” she said.
Rhiannon was invited to take part in the concert but thought it best to give her students the opportunity.
“Two of my students gained their performance diplomas this summer. To achieve this qualification they had to present a 30-minute recital and both chose one of my father’s pieces, the sonatina for flute and piano.”
Wyn Thomas, chair of Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias, said the first half of the concert will feature solo pieces for organ, flute, harp and piano and choral works.
Among the solo artists taking part are harpist Angharad Wyn Jones, organist Elis Massarelli-Hughes, pianist Teleri Siân and flautists Gwenno Wyn and Christina Hutchinson-Rogers.
Choral items will be performed by Côr Dre from Caernarfon directed by Sian Wheway.
The climax of the evening will be a performance of Culhwch ac Olwen – a work for a choir and an instrumental ensemble and is based on a famous love story from the Mabinogion, the earliest Welsh prose stories from the 12th and 13th centuries.
“The aim of the occasion at the Prichard Jones Hall is to identify William Mathias’ special contribution to Welsh music. November 1st would be Mathias’ 90th birthday and so the event is timely,” said Mr Thomas.
Tudur Eames, director of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Schools Music Service, who will conduct the work in the concert, said William Mathias referred to Culhwch ac Olwen as an ‘entertainment’.
“It’s not an opera, a cantata or an oratorio but a combination of several musical elements that illustrate the legend including a storyteller, instruments, accompaniment of two pianos and children’s voices,” he said.
Wyn Thomas added: “He was a prolific composer and a versatile musician. He produced pieces for solo instruments, wind ensembles and , concertos but his main interest was choral/vocal music.
“Mathias built a Music Department in Bangor which was among the best in the British Isles and secured the respect and admiration of generations of future students and fellow musicians.
“Many of us are indebted to Mathias for first class musical training and as a result his former pupils are seen active in the music world here in Wales, in Britain, the United States and beyond.”
The concert at Neuadd Prichard Jones, Bangor on November 2 starts at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £12 and £10 or £5 for students and children. Further details online at www.cgwm.org.uk
Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias is keen to appoint an enthusiastic and reliable individual who has strong interpersonal skills to work as a part-time receptionist at the Centre’s main office in Galeri, Caernarfon.
We are currently looking for an individual to work 16 hours a week (term time only) with the possibility of additional shifts from time to time. The shifts will usually be 5-6 hours in length and will be a combination of daytime and evening hours.
Application by letter and CV including contact details of two referees. Address your application to Gwydion Davies and email to gwydion@cgwm.org.uk
On the 5th July 2024, a Promises Auction was held at the Celtic Royal Hotel, Caernarfon.
This event raised funds towards two special causes: Cyfeillion CGWM (The Friends of CGWM) and Alaw Ward Ysbyty Gwynedd. The proceeds from this fundraising event will be shared between both causes.
As part of this event, entertainment was provided by Hogia Bodwrog, Cor Law yn Llaw, a jazz ensemble as well as a host of talented students from Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias.
The auction was expertly held by Morgan Evans.
Thanks to everyone for their support on the night – and to all of the local shops and individuals who contributed items towards the auction.
A special thank you also to Edith Jones for working so hard to organise this special event.
The money is still coming in, but we estimate that the event raised around £5,772.
We are very pleased to announce that we have received a grant from the Steve Morgan Foundation to continue with the work of Canfod y Gân (Discover the Song).
“Founded in 2001 by businessman and philanthropist, Steve Morgan CBE, we provide funding, support, expertise and best practice to the charities and organisations we support. By harnessing the power of working together, we address a range of areas including poverty, homelessness, health and wellbeing, and education and training, and have helped to improve the quality of life for more than four million people.“
Merry Christmas from Canfod y Gân. The Harlech crew have been very busy writing an original new Christmas song. The song is a combination of the members’ favorite things about Christmas, from Christmas lights to delicious gravy. To go with the song we filmed a music video – you can watch the video below!
Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!
Behind the Scenes: Canfod y Gân Christmas Song
We started by writing down all our favourite things about Christmas and we workedon putting them into verses. In the next session we recorded the sog with instruments and singing.
The final step was to film a music video to go with the song, so we all dressed up in our Christmas clothes and danced and sang along with the music.
The founder of an international harp festival will be signing off in style with a long goodbye.
Renowned harpist Elinor Bennett will be centre stage at a special concert to launch the Wales International Harp Festival next spring.
The launch concert will be taking place at the Pritchard Jones Hall at Bangor University at 7.30pm on Saturday, October 22, celebrating 55 years of performing by Elinor and the 100th anniversary of the university’s School of Music.
Other highlights will include performances from tenor Aled Wyn Davies, soprano Mary Lloyd Davies, flautist Rhiannon Mathias and the Côr Seiriol choir.
It will feature pieces played over the years by Elinor, who has been the festival’s Artistic Director since 1978 and also signal the end of her tenure in the post.
After the launch, Elinor will embark on a tour 12 concerts and masterclasses across Wales where she will be playing with different harpists – most of whom she has taught – at each venue.
The aim of the tour is to drum up interest in the harp among young musicians and encourage harpists of all ages to compete at next year’s festival.
Approaching a significant birthday next April, Elinor, who lives in Bontnewydd near Caernarfon with her husband, former Plaid Cymru President Dafydd Wigley, said it was time to step back and allow someone else to take over the reins.
Looking forward to the launch concert, she said: “There’s a varied programme which I hope will appeal to everyone and also raise awareness of the harp festival itself.
“This will be my last harp festival, I’m not going to do any more organising after this one and the baton will be passed onto someone else.
“I don’t know who yet but there are many, many people who have the ability to take it on but I want to go out with a bit of a bang.”
Elinor will play the famous Concerto for Harp by Handel with the Bangor University Ensemble and the programme will also feature The North Wales Harp Ensemble, conducted by Tudor Eames who was a pupil of Elinor.
Meanwhile, the Gwynedd & Anglesey Youth Brass Band will perform alongside the Society of Triple Harpists and Côr Seiriol .
Elinor added: “The artistes taking place have some connection with myself over the years. I’m pleased that Aled Wyn Davies, the acclaimed tenor, from Llanbrynmair. His grandparents once lived in the farm where my parents lived.
That is under Llyn Clywedog now but I was able to go down there with Aled in the summer after the water levels dropped and was able to see the building again. So he’s coming to sing and that will be lovely.
“Soprano Mary Lloyd Davies is from Llanuwchllyn where I spent a large part of my childhood.
“The other soloists are Mared Emlyn who will play a concerto by Debussy on the harp and flautist Rhiannon Mathias. She is of course the daughter of William Mathias and the connection with him is very important.”
She said the programme is varied because her career has been quite varied ranging from classical performances as a soloist and with orchestras to accompanying rock musicians on various albums.
“I wanted it to be as varied and as accessible as it was possible to be,” said Elinor.
The pre-festival tour called Dwylo ar Dannau’r Delyn (Hands on Harp Strings) will include masterclasses conducted by Elinor and some of her ex-students and colleagues, held in community locations throughout Wales, to promote the festival and re-ignite interest in harp music following the Covid pandemic.
The fifth Wales International Harp Festival will bring together leading exponents of the instrument from around the world to Galeri Caernarfon from April 5-11, 2023.. Organised by Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias (William Mathias Music Centre), it will feature concerts, masterclasses, workshops and lecture recitals.
According to Elinor, performances will be given by world-class artistes representing various aspects of the harp spectrum.
“The Latin-American harpist from Colombia, Edmar Castaneda, will share a concert with Welsh harpist, Catrin Finch.
The great French artist, Isobel Moretti, returns to Caernarfon to perform the classics of the French harp repertoire. It will be wonderful to welcome back the iconic Deborah Henson-Conant from the USA, to present a jazz and improvisation evening in her own inimitable way.
“Retiring President of the United Kingdom Harp Association, Sioned Williams, will present a lecture-recital on John Thomas, Pencerdd Gwalia, a composition workshop will be given by John Metcalf,
“The festival commission is a new work, entitled Llechi (Slate), by harpist and composer, Math Roberts, with poetry by Wales’ National Poet, Ifor Ap Glyn.
“Written for a chamber ensemble and vocal soloists, it will celebrate the unique culture of the slate-mining areas of Gwynedd, recently awarded World Heritage Status by UNESCO,” said Elinor.
Harpists are also invited to take part in four competitions at the festival, with the aim of giving children and older harpists a platform to perform, receive comments from internationally esteemed harpists and make friends with young musicians from other parts of the world.
The closing date for applications for the competitions is January 2, 2023
“From the Chief Musician competition to the young harpists’ section, there are opportunities for many varied styles and genres, including the World Music competition on any kind of harp from Celtic to Triple and Kora to pedal..
“Participants in each of the four categories are encouraged to create their own choice of programmes, and include one or two items listed in the published syllabus.
Elinor said: “In the youth and children competitions, equal scholarships will be awarded for the three top performances, to help talented young harpists to receive continuing expert tuition.
The Wales International Harp Festival team is extremely grateful for the support given by Camac Harps and Telynau Vining and for sponsorship from many funding bodies including the Arts Council of Wales, Ty Cerdd and Colwinston Charitable Trust and invites anyone interested in sponsoring scholarships and prizes at the Festival to get in touch.
“Please join us over Easter in Caernarfon for a joyful and enriching experience.”
Details about the launch concert, the tour and the competitions are available on the Festival website www.walesharpfestival.co.uk
The Canfod y Gan crew had a very special day on the 2nd of September 2022 at the official Canfod y Gan Celebration in Neuadd Dwyfor, Pwllheli.
After 3 years of running the project, it was about time we celebrated all the hard work the members, tutors and everyone who has been part of the project has put into Canfod y Gan!
Each group had the opportunity to perform some of their favorite songs for us as part of the celebration. We heard a variety of different music ranging from well-known songs such as ‘Ceidwad y Goleudy’ by Bryn Fôn and ‘The Wonder of You’ by Elvis Presley to some original songs written by Canfod y Gan members such as ‘Can Adra’ which was written by the Harlech group and ‘Running Around in My Mind’ which was written by a member of the Caernarfon group.
It was a great opportunity for us to be able to celebrate all the talent that can be seen in the Canfod y Gan sessions, and everyone in the audience seemed to be delighted with the feast of music that the crews had prepared!
We finished the performances off as the 3 groups came together to sing an original song called ‘Can Cadw’n Positif’ – but the fun wasn’t over yet…
To the surprise of all the members, Dafydd Iwan walked into the room, clutching his guitar, ready to finish the performance off by singing ‘Mam Wnaeth Got i Mi’ and ‘Yma o Hyd’ with the members!
After that shock, and after everyone had the chance to take a photo with the special guest, we had a small tea party to celebrate the success of the event, as well as to celebrate the success of the last 3 years of the Canfod y Gan project!
A day to remember for all who took part, I’m sure!
We had a very special day at the National Eisteddfod in Tregaron on the 30th of July.
We heard great performances from the Meirionydd and Arfon groups, with a set that was a perfect mix of original songs written by the groups, and performances of well-known Welsh songs such as ‘Harbwr Diogel’ and ‘Mam Wnaeth Got i Mi’.
The audience seemed to love the feast of songs that were performed, as they enjoyed singing along with us!
A huge thank you to the National Eisteddfod for the invitation, and a huge thank you to our members from the Meirionydd and Arfon groups for their fantastic performance!
