Latest News
THE HILLS ARE ALOUD WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC
07 Mar 2014
THE HILLS ARE ALOUD WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Wales’ family of choirs – Only Men Aloud, Only Boys Aloud and the Wales Millennium Centre Only Kids Aloud Chorus – swap the high notes for the high hills on Saturday May 11 this year, when they don their walking boots to scale the highest peak in South Wales, Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons, to raise money for the Aloud charity.
The ‘Alouds’ have teamed up with an organisation called Welsh Women Walking who are celebrating their fifth anniversary of walking for good causes, during which time they have raised over £150,000 for charities in Wales. All funds from the Beacons walk go to the Aloud charity, set up to protect the long-term future of choral singing for youngsters in Wales. All-comers are welcome to take part, and they have the added attraction of a little concert on the summit of South Wales to look forward to! Under 16s go free, but they must be accompanied by adults, who can register for a fee of £10 on http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/penyfan
Only Men Aloud’s Craig Yates said: “May 11th promises to be a lot of fun, a great way to explore our fantastic Welsh landscape, and a really fitting way to help fund the valuable work we do with young people across Wales. We are very grateful to Welsh Women Walking for choosing us to celebrate their fifth anniversary raising money, and also to Arts & Business Cymru whose advice and guidance has been invaluable.”
Craig and his colleagues in the new OMA ensemble are currently on a 12 date tour of Wales, and are also busy with the Aloud charity which is developing opportunities for Welsh youngsters in discovering the joys and benefits of choral singing. This has already seen some remarkable achievements, including OBA coming third in the final of Britain’s Got Talent, playing at Buckingham Palace and recording a Top 40 Christmas album.
A Board of Trustees was set up to oversee the charity and safeguard its future, headed by the influential figure of Lord David Rowe-Beddoe, and featuring former BBC Cymru Wales Controller Menna Richards, lawyer Matthew Gough, accountant Rhian Owen, founder of the Atlantic Foundation Babs Thomas, art dealer Martin Tinney, and broadcaster and journalist Carolyn Hitt.
Welsh Women Walking pride themselves on ‘walking, talking and meeting new people whilst raising money for charities, promoting walking as a means of wellbeing for women.’ They already support a number of charities including Breast Cancer Care and Tŷ Hafan. Jacquie Williams, founder of Welsh Women Walking said: “We are delighted to mark our 5th anniversary with Aloud as our charity - it promises to be a very exciting day. We are also very grateful for the support of Arts & Business Cymru in this venture.” Pauline Fuller, the leader of Welsh Women Walking added: "Not only do the Aloud team help to keep the unique musical heritage of Welsh choral singing alive, but also provide cultural opportunities and an ethos of aspiration in young people, many of whom are from challenging backgrounds.”
To discover more and take part in the walk, please go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/penyfan