Entertainment

Ex-royal harpist Claire helps pull strings to inspire new generation

Published

2 years ago

October 24, 2022

The woman who convinced King Charles to reinstate the position of royal harpist after a century-long gap is aiming to inspire a new generation to play the instrument.

Renowned harpist Elinor Bennett is going on a 12-stop Wales-wide tour, The Dwylo ar Dannau’r Delyn (Hands on Harp Strings) and will be joining forces with former royal harpist Claire Jones, who hails from Pembrokeshire.

The concerts, masterclasses and workshops will take Elinor, the Artistic Director of the Wales International Harp Festival, to places where she has close personal connections.

Claire Jones, who was the Official Harpist to the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles, between 2007 and 2011, will be joining Elinor at Ysgol Preseli in her home village of Crymych on Saturday, November 19.

She became a household name for her acclaimed performance at the royal wedding for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and has performed over 180 times for the Royal Family.

The tour also includes dates in Pwllheli, Llangefni, Llanrwst, Swansea, Barry and Denbigh.

Elinor will also be going to Llangadfan in Powys where she has close family links and Aberystwyth where she studied for a law degree at the town’s university.

She will also visit Swansea, Barry, Crymych in Pembrokeshire along with Merthyr Tudful where she once lived and Llanuwchllyn near Bala where she spent a large portion of her childhood.

The tour, which follows a launch concert for the festival at Bangor University’s PJ Hall, will feature some her former students and colleagues.

As well as re-igniting interest in harp music following the Covid pandemic, the aim is to promote the fifth Wales International Harp Festival which will be staged at Galeri Caernarfon from April 5-11.

She will also be inviting harpists 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.

She will be stepping down as the festival’s Artistic Director after next year’s event.

Elinor said: “At each location on the tour I will be joined by either a former pupil or someone I have worked with in the past.

“We hope local harp tutors and teachers will bring their pupils along. Each event will last for about four hours and at the start there will be workshops and master classes where the youngsters can play together and then some solos.

“To close the event there will be a concert where I will play along with the guest tutor and perhaps with some of the youngsters if they wish. The concerts, of course, will be open to the public.

“And there will also be an exhibition of harps by the Vining company from Cardiff. They sell Camac instruments and are sponsoring the festival.”

According to Elinor, one of the aims of the tour is to encourage youngsters to learn how to play the harp.

“I have heard that fewer children and young people are taking up the harp and the tour will create an interest in the harp and raise awareness of the festival itself,” she said.

She added tickets for the tour are available online at www.walesharpfestival.co.uk and some local shops but will also be available on the door.

Elinor said when she started learning to play the harp in 1954 when there were very few harpists.

Born at Llanidloes in the former county of Montgomeryshire, her family later moved to Llanuwchllyn near Bala in Merionethshire.

Her father bought her first harp when she was just seven years of age though she did not begin lessons for another four years as her legs were not long enough to reach the pedals.

She said: “My father was very musical, as were my mother and grandfather. After we moved to Llanuwchllyn my father joined Cor Godre’r Aran. In 1949 they went to London to sing at the Dorchester Hotel, and while in the city he bought a harp for £30 and brought it back to Llanuwchllyn on the (London) Underground and the train.

After leaving school Elinor studied law at Aberystwyth but later applied for and won a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Music in London, studying with Osian Ellis, the acclaimed Flintshire-born harpist. After graduating she played with numerous orchestras at home and abroad.

Though known mostly for classical music she has also played with some of Wales’ most renowned rock musicians. She has recorded twelve solo albums and founded the Coleg Telyn Cymru (Harp College of Wales) and helped set up Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias Music Centre in Caernarfon.

Finding herself seated next to the then-Prince of Wales at a dinner, she told him of the tradition of a Royal harpist but which had not been filled for more than a century.

“He was interested and asked me to send him a proposal which I duly did. That led to the revival of the tradition with the first being Catrin Finch in 2000,” said Elinor.

The fifth Wales International Harp Festival will bring together leading exponents of the instrument from around the world to Galeri Caernarfon next April.. Organised by Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias (Music Centre) it will feature concerts, masterclasses, workshops and lecture recitals.

Elinor said performances will be given by world-class artists representing various aspects of the harp spectrum.

These include the Latin-American harpist from Colombia, Edmar Castaneda, French harpist Isobel Moretti, who makes a return visit to Caernarfon and jazz harpis Deborah Henson-Conant from the USA.

The festival commission is a new work, Llechi (Slate), by harpist and composer, Math Roberts, with poetry by Wales’ National Poet, Ifor Ap Glyn.

Elinor said this has been written for a chamber ensemble and vocal soloists and will celebrate the unique culture of the slate-mining areas of Gwynedd, recently awarded World Heritage Status by UNESCO.

“Participants in each of the categories in the four competitions are encouraged to create their own choice of programmes and include one or two items listed in the published syllabus.

“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/

“Please join us over Easter in Caernarfon for a joyful and enriching experience.,” said Elinor.

Further details about the tour, the festival and the competitions are available on the Festival website www.walesharpfestival.co.uk

Entertainment

Miles Jupp: On I Bang

Published

7 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Tom Sinclair

SINCE Miles’ last tour finished at The London Palladium in 2017, he’s been in The Full Monty on Disney Plus, The Durrells and Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? on ITV, as well as a heap of episodes of Frankie Boyle’s New World Order and Have I Got News For You. He’s made an award-winning radio series and he’s published a novel. But for Covid, he would have played a lead at the RSC. Hey ho. Nevertheless, he’s done a play in the West End and played the Emperor of Austria and Europe in a Ridley Scott film and now he heads here to the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven!

Yet one sunny day in the middle of all this, he suddenly suffered a brain seizure. This led to the discovery of a tumour the size of a cherry tomato, and a rather pressing need to undergo major neurosurgery. Obviously, one doesn’t wish to make a big deal of it, but the experience has left him with a story to tell and a few things that he’d like to share with the room. So that’s exactly what he’s doing in his new show On I Bang – a tale about surprise, fear, luck, love and qualified medical practitioners.

Having received rave reviews by The Times, The Guardian and The Telegraph, On I Bang with Miles Jupp is one not to be missed here at the Torch, and tickets are selling like hot cakes. Awarded four stars and described as “Elegantly funny, terrible English account of a tumour” by The Guardian and awarded five stars by The Arts Desk 2024, this a performance that will be talked about for months to come.

Join Miles Jupp: On I Bang when he visits the Torch Theatre on Friday 10 January at 8pm.Ticket price: £25. For tickets phone the Box Office on 01646 695267 or visit torchtheatre.co.uk.

Entertainment

How to improve your home in a cost of living crisis

Published

2 days ago

November 19, 2024

Staff Writer

Welsh households have faced an increase in the cost of living over the last few years. Between 2022 and 2023, nearly half of Welsh residents (43%) reported a worsening of their financial situation.

With bills ever on the rise, things like home improvements have taken a back seat in an effort to save money. However, making some improvements to your home can be advantageous and there are plenty of ways to make positive changes without having to break the bank.

Benefits of home improvements

Enhanced comfort

Your home should be a positive and comforting place to be. When there are aspects of your home that you’re not happy with, it can create a negative environment. As the cost of living crisis takes its toll on people’s mental wellbeing, creating a safe and comfortable space is more important than ever.

Increased house value

Perhaps the biggest advantage to home improvements – increasing the value of your home. It’s important to make your home as valuable as possible if you’re looking to sell. A few touch ups and improvements here and there can make a significant difference to your home and increase its value substantially.

Better energy efficiency

Swapping out older elements, like lightbulbs, for more energy efficient ones is a great way to not only improve aesthetics but also keep costs down in the long run.

How to improve your home for less

Get painting

Painting is one of the easiest and most effective ways to transform a home. A fresh coat of paint on a tired looking wall or a splash of colour in a dull room can make all the difference in a bedroom, living room, or hallway. Professional decorators in Wales cost around £15 to £25 per hour or £150 to £190 per day, but you can save a lot of money by doing it yourself.

Kitchens and bathrooms can also benefit from a lick of paint. Painting kitchen cabinets is an easy way to modernise the space and bathrooms can be completely revamped with a bit of colour.

Upcycle furniture

With platforms like Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and Gumtree, it’s easy to find inexpensive furniture that you can transform into great pieces for your home. Instead of spending hundreds of pounds in IKEA, you can spend significantly less purchasing old furniture that with some cleaning, sanding, and painting, can be remoulded into a lavish piece for your home.

Swap out old lighting

Lighting can make a huge difference to the ambiance of a room. Consider replacing old bulbs with energy efficient warm white LEDs. Not only will the room have a cosier feel, but you’ll also be lowering your energy bills.

Add a touch of nature

Plants are a great way to make a house feel more like a home, and they have plenty of health benefits. To keep costs down, fake plants are a great alternative. They offer the same aesthetic benefits but are less expensive and require very little maintenance.

Home improvements worth spending more on

Some aspects of home improvements are better left to the professionals in order to get it right the first time.

Upholstery cleaning

Refreshing something you already own is almost always a cheaper and easier alternative to buying brand new. Professional upholstery cleaning services start from £49 per hour which is significantly cheaper than re-carpeting your entire house or purchasing a new sofa which could set you back thousands. By giving dull furniture a good clean, you can give your home a new lease of life.

Electrics and plumbing

Whilst there is a lot you can do yourself, it’s important to leave things like plumbing or electrical elements to the professionals as it can be difficult, or even dangerous, and getting it wrong could cost you considerably more in repairs. On average, the hourly rate of an electrician is £33 and a plumber is £32 per hour in Wales.

Small changes can have a big impact

Improving your home during a cost of living crisis is entirely possible as long as you’re smart about it. By doing things yourself or giving old items a new lease of life, you can massively cut down on costs and give your home the refresh that it needs.

Entertainment

Is attending the theatre still popular in Wales despite technological advancements?

Published

2 days ago

November 19, 2024

Staff Writer

The digital age is radically changing entertainment. As time passes, more shows are being released for online platforms, rather than having drawn-out residencies at theatres. This allows producers to showcase their work to billions of people worldwide, without having to put on a show, night after night.

A single show can be recorded at a prestigious venue, and then released in a format that allows the user to experience the performance at home. With that being said, trends like this don’t mean that theatre is dying out. In fact, it’s now more prevalent than ever.

Theatres are embracing technological advancements

Theatre is, in a way, more popular than ever right now. Various theatres are embracing the digital era by uploading their shows in a digital format, or by posting snippets of them on social media to try and encourage people to buy tickets.

By providing people with a snapshot of the experience they could be having, theatres can reach more fans, while encouraging attendance at venues across the country. The movement as a whole is comparable to that of the live casino sector. Live online casino games can be played across a range of devices, with the opportunity to connect with a live dealer in the same way you would if you attended a game at an establishment. This hasn’t taken away from traditional casinos, as it’s made such games more accessible for all.

The theatre sector is working in the same way, as people who don’t have an interest in theatre may be a bit reluctant to pay a lot of money for a show. This is especially the case if they have no idea what the story is about, or the theme of it. People can delve into stories and performances by uploading key moments of shows to social media. This can translate to more tickets being bought, helping to ensure that the art of theatre survives the digital transformation.

Source: Pexels

Theatres across Wales are thriving

Theatres across Wales, including the Wales Millennium Centre and the Venue Cymru are thriving right now. The Donald Gordon Theatre, which can be found at the Wales Millennium Centre, is the second biggest in Europe. It also hosts several opera performances, including drama and music celebrations. You also have the Aberystwyth Arts Centre, which is the biggest centre in Wales for art.

As bigger theatres find ways to navigate the digital era, smaller venues stand to benefit. Simple advancements like screens, effects and the opportunity to use digital tickets on a mobile device help to make the process of attending a show more convenient. Effects can also be programmed, using tech as a way to take the manual process of managing a show, out of the equation. This makes it easier to put on different shows, as the effort to manage each one is significantly reduced.

Another important element is that even though live-streaming theatre shows are helping to bolster the sector, the acoustics and atmosphere you get to experience when attending a show at the theatre cannot be compared. The thrill of hearing an opera singer live evokes emotion on a whole new level. Even though tech is paving the way for the theatre sector, and is helping to bring more people to shows, the shows themselves still have a lot to offer.

Regardless of how many shows might be uploaded to social media, YouTube or released on DVD, live shows will always have a place because they help to show a side that can only be experienced if you’re there in person. The way the performers connect with the audience cannot be translated the same through a digital format, so although live shows and digital releases benefit each other, live shows will always have something to offer music fans in Wales. With people travelling from across the country just to attend the live shows held here, it’s evident that the theatre scene is now thriving more than ever.