Jo Williamson’s preparations for the Eisteddfod this year followed their usual precise course aided by the newest member of the team from Hereford Cathedral Schools’s Music department, Mrs Cuthbert, joining forces with Mr Lane our accompaniest.
The choir’s hard work was almost scuppered by a contagion of summer colds which left Jess Price, the lead soloist in ‘I got a Robe’, taking a hit for the team and withdrawing from her vocal solo competition to save her voice for the choir entries. Our other two soloists were Rachel Roper in ‘O Waly Waly’ and Charlotte Pawley in ‘A Bunch of Thyme’.
Although no choir to date has won three years in a row, Cantabile gave it their all and despite the strength of the competition won third place in the Children’s Folk Choir. They gained the third highest mark across the three Children’s choir classes for their renditions of ‘A Bunch of Thyme’ and ‘Bobby Shaftoe’.
The welsh choir Côr Heol-y-March , who Cantabile just pipped to 6th place in the Senior Children’s Choir competition, won Choir of the World. The Russian Krasnoyarsk City Children’s Choir in the Children’s Folk Choir competition was spectacular to watch.
You can enjoy all the entries at the Llangollen International Eisteddfod website on Llangollen.tv and have fun seeing if you agree with the judges who had some tough choices! You can also glimpse edited clips on the welsh television channel S4/C.
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