A Gwynedd grandmother has found a new lease of life after joining a choir two years ago.

Fran Dale of Llandderfel, near Bala is a mum of four and grandmother to 10, so joining the Welsh National Opera’s Community Chorus North was an opportunity to do something for herself.

Commenting on being part of the choir, Fran said: “This is my second year and I still think it’s absolutely fabulous. The music is exhilarating. We learn so much and we always leave rehearsals feeling better than when we arrived. The experience is so uplifting.

“As an amateur I’m so proud to be able to stand on the same stage as some of the most admired singers in Welsh opera.

“Even my husband, who gives me a lift to rehearsals, is pleased I signed up. He loves to sit at the back and listen to us rehearsing.”

Other singers from across Gwynedd are being given the chance to join the community choir coached by Wales’ top opera professionals.

Amateur singers of all levels and ages are part of Welsh National Opera’s Community Chorus North, which is brought together for specific performances and gives members the opportunity to learn from hugely respected singers and composers.

Launched three years ago, the chorus has impressed its audiences at numerous major venues in North Wales.

With a full 2020 calendar ahead, it is now encouraging more people to sign up to boost its numbers, ahead of the next project due to start in the new year.

Budding singers with no prior operatic training have been playing their part in the chorus, which meets at venues in Llandudno, with many, like Fran, describing the experience as “unmissable”.

Their latest performance was at the North Wales International Music Festival at St Asaph Cathedral in September and the current group is preparing for a rendition of the moving Carmina Burana at the close of Venue Cymru’s Winter Light parade in Llandudno in November.

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