Dolgellau Music Club’s 'Celebrating Talent' concert gave Youth Fund recipients a chance to showcase their skills.

The programme, presented at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor on Friday, 10 July, ranged from works by Schubert, Brahms, Liszt and Debussy to contemporary pop songs like From the Start (Laufey), Glued to the Bed (The Royston Club) and Say Something (Royel Otis).

The evening opened with a tribute to loyal club member and much-loved artist, Valerie Land.

Ben Ridler and Tudur Jones followed this with Schubert's An die Musik.

Tudur continued at the piano with two vivid Brahms waltzes, and then as accompanist for the brothers Celt and Liam Jones from Pwllheli - Celt with Y Brain and Liam with Dos Rosyn Teg - both sung confidently and with understanding. Liam added Cân y Masgiau (from Y Dyn Wnaeth Dwyn y 'Dolig), an 'encore' from last year's concert that went down every bit as well as before. Liam has already become a mature performer who knows how to engage an audience, and not just in his singing – his introductions were authoritative, and put listeners at ease. This was equally true later when, with Tudur, he presented Pyllau Golau, and Stars from Les Misérables.

Bala’s Nel Thomas contributed three piano solos in the course of the evening – Consolation by Liszt, Rêverie by Debussy, and Navajo Vocable No. 1 by Connor Chee. Nel's sensitive playing showed deep immersion in the music, and conveyed how much each piece mattered to her. She also spoke of an exciting adventure coming up in August, when she will travel to Colombia with the group TwmpDaith as part of the project Americadanza, playing percussion as well as keyboards.

The club was glad to be able to help her reach her target for the cost of the trip.

Tudur Jones, Isaac Roberts, Holly Morris, Leigh Matthews, Cadi Sutton, Nel Thonas, Liam Jones, Celt Jones, Ben Ridler
Tudur Jones, Isaac Roberts, Holly Morris, Leigh Matthews, Cadi Sutton, Nel Thonas, Liam Jones, Celt Jones, Ben Ridler (Picture supplied)

It is always encouraging to see how young musicians such as these grow in confidence from year to year. That was certainly true in the case of Dolgellau's Cadi Sutton who, using a backing track, showed complete mastery of the funky rhythms of Laufey's From the Start (a song streamed a million times within 24 hours of its release in May 2023!).

Isaac Roberts from Tywyn also deployed a new level of competence in his acoustic guitar accompaniments to the pop songs named earlier.

Celt Jones too was very confident in his unaccompanied rendition of the folksong Ffarwel i Dociau Liverpool, a cheerful number despite the sadness of its text. By way of contrast Ben added in Ffarwel i Aberystwyth, similar in subject matter (a sailor pulling away from Wales and leaving a sweetheart behind), but more nostalgic/'hiraethus' in its mood and minor key.

Special thanks must go to Duo Sereniti (soprano Holly Morris and classical guitarist Leigh Matthews) for supporting this event and for closing the first half with two classical pieces, Pie Iesu (Lloyd Webber) and Caro Mio Ben (Giordani); and, on a lighter note, the evening as a whole with It's Only a Paper Moon (Harold Arlen) and Songbird (Christine McVie), an ideal finale.

Heartfelt thanks also to Tudur for his accompanying, which included a couple of other items from Ben. It was gratifying to have a warm response throughout from the appreciative audience, who helped create just the right atmosphere for a concert of this kind.

Club members look forward now to the 2026-27 season, which opens on Friday, 2 October in the company of Pedair.