Entertainment

St Davids Cathedral Music Festival promises a spectacular line-up

Published

2 years ago

May 11, 2024

AFTER a pause last year, the beloved St Davids Cathedral Music Festival is set to make a grand return this May, bringing a vibrant mix of international talent to Pembrokeshire. The festival, a staple in the cultural calendar, will coincide with the May half-term week, offering six days of musical excellence.

The 2024 festival will open with a dazzling performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales on May 25. The orchestra will treat audiences to Mathias’s Festival Overture and Brahms’ Second Symphony. Adding to the splendour, award-winning violinist Inmo Yang will grace the stage with his rendition of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto.

This year’s festival will also introduce several new performers. The Choir of Royal Holloway is set to debut on May 27, enchanting attendees with choral arrangements of orchestral classics. Local talent is also in the spotlight, with Pembrokeshire-born horn player Simon Lewis performing alongside Trio Preseli on May 26, showcasing works by Welsh composer Anthony Randall.

Adding a touch of environmental consciousness to the festival, clarinet virtuoso Emma Johnson returns on May 28 with her Orchestra for the Environment. Their repertoire will include pieces by Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Johnson’s own composition, ‘The Tree of Life’.

The festival will kick off with the 150-strong Children’s Festival Chorus on May 24, captivating audiences with their youthful energy and a live band. Throughout the week, the cathedral musicians will feature prominently in several concerts, with the highlight being the full Cathedral choir performing Choral Evensong live on BBC Radio 3.

Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased online, over the phone, or at the box office. Entry for under-18s is free with an accompanying adult, with other tickets starting at £8. Early booking is encouraged to secure seats, although last-minute tickets may be available at the door.

Simon Pearce, the artistic director, expressed his enthusiasm for the festival’s return, hoping that it will draw a large crowd to celebrate the rich musical heritage and the serene setting of the cathedral. All cathedral services, including festival ceremonies, will be open to the public free of charge, making it a perfect family-friendly event.

PROGRAMME OF EVENTS

Friday 24^th May

6.00pm: Festival Launch Concert with Children’s Chorus

The 2024 Festival kicks off with a performance by the Festival Children’s Chorus, led by Mathew Wright MBE, Artistic Director of the Barnsley Youth Choir. Matthew is a member of the international jury representing the World Choir Games and in 2023 was appointed as a representative for Great Britain on the World Choir Council.

8.30pm: Vox Angelica and Vicars Choral by Candlelight

Join Vox Angelica and the Vicars Choral of St Davids Cathedral Choir for their annual late-night concert. Expect light-hearted songs and anthems, perfect for a late spring evening.

Saturday 25^th May

11.00am: Coffee Concert – Choristers Unplugged!

The Cathedral Choristers ditch the cassocks and present a programme of their favourite popular and musical theatre songs. One not to be missed!

7.00pm: BBC National Orchestra of Wales

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales return for their annual performance at the Festival. Conductor Dinis Sousa leads the orchestra in William Mathias’ ‘Festival Overture’, in the composer’s 90^th anniversary year. Violinist Inmo Yang joins the orchestra for Sibelius’ popular Violin Concerto in D minor. The programme concludes with a staple of the classical repertoire, Brahms’ 2^nd Symphony in D Major. This annual performance is one of the highlights of every Festival programme, and this year’s promises to be no different.

Sunday 26^th May

Choral Services: 11am Choral Eucharist, 4pm Choral Evensong

St Davids Cathedral Choir sing the services for Trinity Sunday.

7.00pm: Preseli Trio

The dynamic Preseli Trio join us from Santiago de Compostela in Spain, with strong links to Pembrokeshire. The trio, consisting of Soprano, Horn and Piano, are champions of contemporary composers and the work of Welsh composer Anthony Randall. Simon Lewis, the horn player, hails from Pembrokeshire, and named the trio after the rolling hills of our beautiful county. Join them for their debut UK performance, including the UK premiere of a new work by Galician composer Fernando Buide.

Monday 27^th May

11.00am: Coffee Concert – St Davids Cathedral Choral Scholars

Join our fabulous choral scholars, Lucy Dunn, Alto, George Webb, Bass and Nathanael Laidlaw, Bass, in a recital of arias, art songs and lieder.

Choral Service: 5pm Choral Evensong sung by the Cathedral Singers

7.00pm: Orchestral Classics for Choir with The Choir of Royal Holloway

The Choir of Royal Holloway is now well-established as one of the leading collegiate choirs in the UK. This crack team of 24 choral scholars and director, Rupert Gough are known internationally for their highly engaging performances and vast catalogue of stunning recordings, particularly in collaboration with Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo. In their Festival debut, they present a programme of popular orchestral music arranged for chorus, including Vaughan Williams’ ‘Variations on a Theme of Thomas Tallis’, Ravel’s ‘Pavane une infante defunte’, and a new mass setting based on Peter Warlock’s ‘Capriol Suite’ by George Arthur. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear this wonderful choir in Britain’s smallest city!

Tuesday 28^th May

11.00am: Coffee Concert – Young Musician of Dyfed

We’re delighted to announce that pianist Raphael James, winner of the 2024 Young Musician of Dyfed, will be performing in this morning recital. Full programme details to be announced soon, including music by Rachmaninov, Schubert and Chopin. The Recital will also include the first public performance of ‘Barbarica’ for harp by promising young composer Gerard Coutain – performed by the young professional harpist Nia Evans.

7.00pm: Emma Johnson with the Orchestra for the Environment

Join clarinettist Emma Johnson, winner of the 1984 BBC Young Musician of the Year, and her orchestra in a programme of music celebrating the beauty of our natural world. Expect classics in the repertoire such as Mozart’s Ein Kleine Nachtmusik, and Paul Reade’s ‘Suite from the Victorian Kitchen Garden’ complimented by Emma’s own composition ‘Tree of Life’, inspired by a wish to say something about the climate emergency.

Wednesday 29^th May

4.00pm: Choral Evensong live on BBC Radio 3

St Davids Cathedral Choir sing the office of Choral Evensong live on BBC Radio 3, on the eve of Corpus Christi. Please be seated by 3.45pm.

8.00pm: Alaw

To round off the 2024 Festival in style, dynamic folk trio Alaw treat us to a concert full of soulful folk songs and toe-tapping melodies and dances. A joyful concert not to be missed!

Entertainment

St Patrick’s night celebration at Giraldus Centre

Published

2 days ago

March 18, 2026

Tom Sinclair

GET ready to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in style this Friday at the Giraldus Centre in Manorbier.

The community venue is hosting a lively evening of music, dancing and Irish-themed fun, with entertainment from popular local group The Slipway Ukes.

Doors open at 7:00pm on Friday (Mar 20), with free entry for all. A fully licensed bar will be open throughout the evening, serving drinks and snacks with an Irish twist.

Organisers are encouraging everyone to “unleash their inner leprechaun” and enjoy a night on the dance floor.

There is no need to book—just turn up and join in.

Donations on the night will be gratefully received in support of the Paul Sartori Foundation.

The event takes place at the Giraldus Centre, Manorbier, SA70 7TN.

Entertainment

Met Opera’s Tristan und Isolde comes to the Torch Theatre

Published

4 days ago

March 15, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Lise Davidsen leads star cast in Wagner’s epic tale of love and death in special cinema broadcast on Sunday (Mar 22)

AFTER years of anticipation, a truly unmissable event arrives in cinemas worldwide as the electrifying Lise Davidsen takes on one of the ultimate roles for dramatic soprano – the Irish princess Isolde – in Wagner’s transcendent meditation on love and death, Tristan und Isolde.

Heroic tenor Michael Spyres stars opposite Davidsen as the love-struck Tristan in what promises to be a powerful and emotionally charged performance.

The production also marks the arrival of a new staging at the Metropolitan Opera by Yuval Sharon, making his Met debut. Sharon has been hailed by The New York Times as “the most visionary opera director of his generation” and was the first American to direct an opera at the famous Wagner festival in Bayreuth.

Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin also leads Tristan und Isolde at the Met for the first time in this landmark production.

The cast includes mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova reprising her acclaimed portrayal of Brangäne, alongside bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny as Kurwenal following his celebrated Met appearances in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländerand the Ring cycle. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green makes an important role debut as King Marke.

Reviewing the production for The Observer, Fiona Maddocks described it as a “glorious production” and “well worth catching”, adding: “This was one of those rare and blissful nights when dropped jaws silenced noisy opinion in the queue for coats afterwards.”

The recorded broadcast of Tristan und Isolde will be screened at the Torch Theatre on Sunday (Mar 22) at 4:00pm.

For further information visit www.torchtheatre.co.uk or contact the Box Office on (01646) 695267.

ENDS

Entertainment

Record-breaking show for Torch Youth Theatre

Published

1 week ago

March 12, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Young performers wow audiences as Sycamore Gap sells out

THREE nights of outstanding performances from the Torch Youth Theatre culminated in a sell-out final night, with young performers from across Pembrokeshire dazzling audiences in their production of Sycamore Gap.

The show proved hugely popular, with 96% of tickets sold across the run at the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven. The production also received glowing praise from the theatre’s community and junior reviewers.

Director Tim Howe said the success of the show reflected the dedication and hard work of the young cast.

“We are so incredibly proud of our young people and everything they have achieved with this production,” he said.

“While breaking box office records with 96% of tickets sold is an incredible milestone, the greater triumph is seeing these performers gain the essential life skills that will define their future success.

“Sycamore Gap demonstrates what we at the Torch believe makes youth theatre so special. It provides a safe and creative space where young people can build friendships, grow in confidence and explore the issues that matter most to them.”

Freya, one of the Torch Theatre’s junior reviewers, said she was impressed by the standard of the performance.

“I was impressed with the singing at the beginning of the show. What a voice!” she said.

“Every actor delivered their lines as if it were a normal conversation. I didn’t even hear a single stutter or notice if anyone made an error. The skill it must take! I’d be shaking in my boots.”

The success of Sycamore Gap will be followed by one final performance at Aberystwyth Arts Centre as part of the National Theatre Connections tour.

However, the young performers will have little time to rest as preparations are already under way for their next major production.

Mr Howe explained that the Torch Youth Theatre will soon begin work on a brand-new summer show.

“Following our Aberystwyth Arts Centre performance, we move straight into our spectacular summer production, Robin Hood and the Legend of the Black Knight,” he said.

“Written specifically for our Youth Theatre, the production will see more than fifty young people take to the main house stage for a fresh retelling of the classic tale. It’s an incredibly exciting time for our performers, and we invite everyone to come along and support them.”

The story picks up ten years after Robin Hood fled into the forest. Now he has returned in search of adventure, leading audiences deep into Sherwood Forest alongside Maid Marian and a host of familiar characters.

With daring escapes, a legendary archery contest and the appearance of the mysterious Black Knight, the production promises a thrilling new take on the well-known legend as Robin and his allies stand against the tyranny of Queen Eleanor and the ruthless Sheriff of Nottingham.

Robin Hood and the Legend of the Black Knight will be performed at the Torch Theatre from Monday (July 20) to Wednesday (July 22).

Tickets are available from the Torch Theatre Box Office on 01646 695267 or online at torchtheatre.co.uk. Prices are £10, with concessions available for £8.

Image: Jasper Photography