limelight issue 107

8/9/2019 Limelight Issue 107

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2/82 limelight

During his time spent with

the Eisteddfod the number

of people attending and the

nancial position have improved

dramatically.

Big Stars

During this period big stars haveappeared in the Pavilion including

Shirley Bassey, Bryn Terfel, Leslie

Garret and Jose Carreras. Children

now play a much larger part in the

festival and a wider range of world

music is being performed.

Relinquished Duties

The course for 2008 is now set.

Gwyn has, since the beginning of the

year, gradually relinquished his duties.

It is therefore possible that a new

appointment will not be made until

after the forthcoming Eisteddfod.

Biggest Show in the World

Gwyn will be based in the Arts

Council of Waless North Wales Ofcebut he will travel throughout Wales.

It is intended that funding will be

provided for cultural and sporting

events to take place over the period

up to the Olympic Games and that

Wales can maximise the benet ofbeing part of the biggest show in the

world.

Gwyn was born and educated in

Anglesey and studied music at Bangor

and London. He was previously Senior

Producer of Music BBC Wales and

Director of Theatr Ardudwy, Harlech.

The Friends thank Gwyn for all his

help and support since he became

Chief Executive. We wish him every

success in his new and challenging

post.

Gwyn Williams, who

has been the ChiefExecutive of the

Eisteddfod since 2001,

is leaving to become

the 2012 Cultural

Olympiad Creative

Programmer for Wales.

Former Chairman

Gethin Davies gives

us this appreciation of

Gwyns contribution to

the Eisteddfod

and goodwill between all nations.

He believes this still gives Llangollen

something unique, despite the large

number of international music festivals

that are around today.

International Champions

He announced that 110 groups

(not including the soloists) have beenselected to appear this year, most

of which are already national and

international champions, promising to

set even higher standards.

Mervyn also introduced Mark

Walmsley of UKvisas in the Foreign

and Commonwealth Ofce, who has

promised to give an update of the

visa situation for competitors in the

next edition of Limelight. Mervyn also

highlighted how Friends initiatives,

such as the Pre-Concert Talks,

are now an important part of the

Eisteddfods progamme.

The spirit of Llangollen was

highlighted by the performance

given by the Ataturk Dancers from

Northern Cyprus (main photo left,

front page). Also present was Elin

Manahan Thomas, sadly unable to

sing as she was recovering from a

long ight. But she will be singing in

the nal Sunday concert along with

Alfe Boe and David Kempster,

accomanied by the Orchestra of the

Welsh National Opera.

Super-Group

However, theAll Angels, described

as an all-girl classical super-group,

were able to give us a taste of what

we can expect to hear on the Friday

nights concert, by singing Steal

Awayand Simon & Garfunkels

Sound of Silence. Preparing them

for their rst visit to the Eisteddfod,

Hayley Westernra told them how

amazing the whole event is. Now they

are happy to add their names to thelist of stars to appear here.

Strapped for Cash

Also present at the launch was

Eisteddfod prize winner, Eleanor

Burnham, now Liberal Democrat

Assembly Member for North Wales.

She told the press that the Eisteddfod

is an excellent way to raise the prole

of Wales on the International Scene.

However, the funds that used to

support the festival and other good

causes in Wales are now being

diverted to the 2012 London Olympics.

She is concerned that this will make

it harder for such organisations to

survive as they become increasingly

strapped for cash.

Huge Impact

As Gethin Davies has told us

(above), Gwyn L Williams has made

a huge impact on the Eisteddfod as

CEO for the past seven years not the

least of which is a healthy balance

sheet.

Gwyn told those assembled for thelaunch that he was handing over to a

truly wonderful team when he takes

over his new duties, and wished them

every success for the future.

Eisteddfod Launch - Continued:

Moving

Onthe number of

people attending

and the nancialposition have

improved

dramatically.


3/8limelight 3

In December I found myself once

again singing for my supper only

on this occasion it was for my

lunch. I had been invited to talk to

Soughton Ladies Luncheon Club at

Soughton Hall in Flintshire.

I must have sounded a little

reluctant to commit myself to a 100

mile journey and the vagaries of

winter weather. However, I was won

over by the promise of a stunningsetting, a festive lunch and the Hall

decorated majestically for Christmas.

What was even better was that I

would be speaking before lunch

and could relax and enjoy my meal

rather than be subject to the slight

nervous apprehension that inevitably

accompanies such occasions.

Soughton Hall really does enjoy a

magnicent setting (see photo below).

It was built as a Bishops Palace in

1714, was reworked in the 1820s butfell onto harder times after the Second

World War.

18th century splendour

In 1986 it was purchased by the

Rodenhurst family and over the course

of 12 months the decline was arrested.

Modern technology was installed and

the interior refurbished to standards

approaching their original 18th century

splendour. It has been home to many

distinguished residents including

two knights, three High Sherrifs, aChaplain to Queen Victoria, a Lord

Chief Justice, a Lord Chancellors

Secretary and William John Bankes, a

renowned traveller and collector of the

early nineteenth century. Soughton

Hall is now a well established hotel

and restaurant.

It turned out to be a most

appropriate venue for me to talk

about Llangollen International Musical

Eisteddfod as this was the hotel used

by Lucianno Pavarotti when he last

visited Llangollen in 1995.The Llangollen Story

This was certainly a very different

speaking engagement in a memorable

setting. It was pleasant to meet up

with a previous acquaintance from a

local history society that I had spoken

to in the spring and I was warmly

welcomed. The Llangollen story and

peace video worked its usual magic.

By the start of lunch several members

were assuring me that the date

for 2008 was noted in their diaries

and that they would be visiting the

Eisteddfod. In return I promised that

I would forward copies of the 2008

yers and leaets as soon as they

were available.

Indeed it is that time of year when

2008 information is now in print.

Brochures will have been mailed form

early February to those who have

volunteered to distribute them in their

own localities and to speakers from

early February. I now dispatch thismaterial from my home address so

contact me by phone or e-mail if you

need additional supplies.

I had thought our magnicent

average of more than one talk a week

would be a difcult act to match this

year. As I write we already have 24

bookings for 2008 so we have made

an excellent start. We will be talking

to a variety of audiences including

W.I.s, Townswomens Guilds, Church

groups, Luncheon Clubs and WelshSocieties across England and Wales.

I send my best wishes to you all

for a successful and enjoyable year

of advocacy activity. Please keep

sending me anecdotes and snippets

of information from your travels; it is

really helpful.

If, on reading this, you feel that you

would like to be involved please do get

in touch.

Contact details:

[email protected]

or by telephone at

+44 (0)1939 260882

AdvocacyNews

Is there no end to the

hardships endured by

Friends Advocates?

Co-ordinator

Janet Boult (right)

describes what she

has to put up with.

we already have 24

bookings for 2008


4/84 limelight

The beginning of the year

is always exciting at the

Eisteddfod; though many of the

various parts to the preparation of the

festival had already started in earnest

a while ago (the 2008 Competition

Syllabus was planned and printed a

year ago, for instance). Things do start

to move into a different gear following

the Christmas break.

Farewell to Gwyn

Not least this year; as I write this and

the rain pours down for the fourth

day running, I am dreaming of a dry

summer, and, more seriously, we

are also saying farewell to Gwyn L

(above) as he moves on to pastures

(tracks??) new. We wish him well and his departure means that

many things have for me come

into a particularly clear and early

focus this year! For the Eisteddfod

evening concerts we will have to steer

successfully through to completion

in July, what Gwyn has, again with

enormous skill and an eye for both

artistic excitement and audience

interest, planned for us!

We start on Tuesday 8 July with

Elaine Paige (below) giving theAnniversary Concert. Ms Paige

celebrates her fortieth year of West

End stardom with us, and we will

doubtless hear the famed pieces

such as Dont cry for me.,

selections from Cats and Chess, etc

etc. She has done many things in her

time, including, I believe, even Strictly

Come Dancing.

WIndow on the Eisteddfod World

Wednesday is again our Window

on the World, which surely means a

window on the very Eisteddfod itself;

and the potential line-up comes from

Tobago, Singapore, Thailand, Bulgaria

and Belgium; plus the nalists of the

Folk Instrumental Solo competition.

The evening starts as the competitors

march through the Pavilion onto the

stage to give that special and uniquepicture that is Llangollen. Over

the last few years we have honed

the evening, with Terry Waites

enthusiastic ownership of it, and the

trumpeters (another specially written

fanfare this year), plus a performance

of welcome for the competitors. Last

year it was the royal harpist well

keep you guessing on this particular

part of the evening just for now!

On Thursday, after the rst half

of Eisteddfod competitors, we willbe delighted by Onke-Ose, a show

performed by Siyaya, who will bring

their own joyful celebrations and high

energy dancing to the Eisteddfod.

We will hear Ghanaian Djembe

drumming and Zimbabwean Ngoma

music, complemented by other superb

rhythms and harmonies! In all, this

should be a remarkable evening with

singers and dancers tracing the history

of the continents music from the

townships to the mining communities.Not to be missed, and for all the

family; it promises to be a great, very

Eisteddfodic, show

Successful Press Launch

You will know from articles

elsewhere in this issue of Limelight

of the very successful Press Launch

of the Eisteddfod in January. We

were delighted to be joined by four

young ladies, namely Melanie Nakhla,

Charlotte Richie, Laura Wright and

Daisy Chute All Angels (photo

below). Their rst CD became the

fastest-selling debut CD ever; they

are our headline for Fridays concert,

bringing their fresh sound and bright

look to the Eisteddfod for the rst

time. Their repertoire is a full mix of

classical, choral, opera, and pop, and

we look forward to seeing them again

in July. They are all, it seems, multi-

talented; one is a very successful

athlete, for instance, and another

wants to be an airline pilot

Choir of the World

On to Saturday, with the Choir of

the World competition providing the

climax to the competitive week. The

last two years Choir of the World

have been up there with the best

ever. Who, we wonder, will follow

the Stellenberg Girls Choir and the

Mount San Antonio College Chamber

Singers to the Pavarotti Trophy? Andof course this the rst year we present

the evening after the great icons

death. There are plans to mark this on

the evening in an appropriate way.

Mervyn Cousins is

the 62nd Internat

Thanks to you, The

funds available to as

groups


5/8limelight5

We conclude, on Sunday 13

July, with an Opera Gala featuring

three brilliant young soloists; Ale

Boe, Elin Manahan-Thomas and

David Kempster, with a return of

the Orchestra of the Welsh National

Opera. Ale Boe has had many

highlights in his career, but the last

12 months have been exceptional.

He has enjoyed two chart-topping

classical releases,was nominated

for the Classical Brit Award for Best

Album, and accepted the invitation to

become an Ambassador for the Prince

of Wales Arts and Kids Foundation.

Something for Everyone

Elin Manahan Thomas (see photos,

front page) joined us at the Launch,

and she too has had an amazing year

(having presented some of the S4C

programmes from the Eisteddfod

in 2007!). Ive been going to the

Eisteddfod since I was a kid; music-

wise the Eisteddfod concert will

include something for everyone, with

something old, something new and not

a few surprises planned too! she told

me at the Launch. David Kempster

also brings a special element to theevenings proceedings, as he is, to

coin a phrase, local boy, made very

good. Born just a few miles away

from the Eisteddfod eld, in Chirk,

this is his rst LIME engagement too.

He recently represented Wales in the

Cardiff Singer of the World, which

speaks for itself.

Enormous Challenges

We surely have a line-up to be

proud of, yet again, in our professional

artists; and the Eisteddfod performerswhom we selected in November wont

disappoint either. Soloists selection is

still to follow as I write this article, but

we already have representation from

all of the following countries:

Algeria, Argentina,

Australia, Belarus, Belgium,

Bosnia&Herzegovina, Brittany,

Bulgaria, Canada, Canary Islands,

China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba,

Denmark, England, Finland, France,

Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Holland,Hong Kong SAR, PRC, India, Northern

Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Japan,

Kazakhstan, Kurdistan, Lithuania,

Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Philippines,

Poland, Romania, Russia, Sardinia,

Scotland, Singapore, South Africa,

Sweden, Thailand, Tobago, Turkey,

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,

Ukraine, USA, and Wales.

Wow - you need to read them

slowly, out loud, really, to take it in!

We know that there are enormouschallenges associated these days with

world travel, but we sincerely hope

that all these countries do arrive here

in July our 28 competitions over 5

days will be extraordinary again.

Thanks to the Friends

Thanks to you, the Friends, for

making specic funds available

to assist some competitor groups

nancially the Eisteddfod is most

grateful, and of course the groups are

too.

Within the competitions I am

delighted to conrm that Hilary Tann,

the Welsh-born composer now

working in the USA, has completed a

super Commission Set Piece for the

Female Choir competition, Wellspring,

and she will also be one of the

speakers at the Talks in the Friends

Tent the early evenings this year.

More details later, but expect to hear

Brian Kay and Conan Castle too in

this programme

It is always difcult to pick one

competition out as a potential

highlight beforehand, but I do know

that the Mixed Choir competition will

be as strong as it has been in many,

many years. The list of countries

represented in that competition alone

presently reads: Finland, Germany,

Lithuania, Philippines, Poland,

Singapore, South Africa, Ukraine and

the USA.

World Street Dance

Actually, given that Mixed Choirs is

one of our traditional favourites, let

me add our newest competition: if you

fancy a walk into town on any days,

Wednesday to Friday the World

Street Dance competition begun last

year will add colour there on each of

those days with all of the following

countries selected: Algeria, Argentina,

China, England - Morris Dancers forthe rst time for many years - and

also Traditional Rappers (more details

in the next issue.), Ghana, India,

Kurdistan, Nigeria, Sardinia, Turkey,

and the Turkish Republic of Northern

Cyprus.

In conclusion, there is little doubt

that we have the basis for another

fabulous Eisteddfod and surely we

will have had more than a years rain

by then and we will be in for a great

week of sunshine both artistically andmeteorologically! Looking forward to it

as ever, and perhaps with even more

anticipation this time...

ooking forward to

nal Eisteddfod

Onke-Ose

David Kempster

Photo: Brian TarrAlfe Boe

riends, for making

st some competitor

ancially.


6/86 limelight

Dear Friends/ Annwyl Gyfeillion

A Happy New Year to you all!

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda i

bawb!

I hope that you are making plans to

come to the 2008 Eisteddfod in July

- Tuesday 8th to Sunday 13th.

I am aware that many Friends have

become new Season Ticket holders

and that a large number have taken

advantage of the discount on session

tickets offered during the priority

booking period.

Again this year we have

competitors coming from 51 countries

and world class celebrities for the

evening concerts. It is a very exciting

programme with something for

everyone.

It is quiet here in Llangollen

during the winter months, but at

the Eisteddfod ofce it is a hive of

activity, planning for the Eisteddfod inJuly, with lots of very kind volunteers

coming to help with the mailing of

thousands of leaets and ticket

application forms. Their help is

invaluable to the Eisteddfod as well as

being a community contribution.

Many of you will be aware that fund

raising is very difcult in the present

climate, especially as Lottery funds

are being diverted from the arts into

the 2012 London Olympics. This can

have a dire effect on the arts and onour Eisteddfod. I urge you all to lobby

your M.P.s about this very important

matter. The arts must not suffer. The

arts and sport are equally important

for our society. In the meantime we will

plod on happily organising fund raising

activities knowing that every penny

counts for the success of our amazing

festival.

I wish to congratulate Janet Boult,

our Advocacy Leader, and John

Walling, one of our rst advocacyspeakers, for raising over 1,000 each

for Friends in their roles as speakers

at clubs and societies in many areas.

This is a very signicant achievement,

not only in raising the money but also

for spreading the word about our

Eisteddfod, and hopefully bringing in

new people who will enjoy all that we

have to offer.

We have many speakers all over

the United Kingdom, and we would

like to thank them too for giving theirtime to further our cause - proof that

they are enthusiastic Eisteddfod

supporters. Our grateful thanks to you

all.

Legacies are important to us too,

and can make a signicant difference

to the Eisteddfod. Any legacies

received by Friends are used in

negotiation with the Eisteddfod, and

treated with the utmost care and

sensitivity. One substantial legacy is

being used for prize money and trophyfor the Celtic Showcase (Massed

Ensemble) Competition. This year will

be the third time and we hope that

the remaining funds will nance this

competition for many more years.

Signifcant help

Another substantial legacy is

being used to fund a bursary to assist

overseas competitors and ethnic

groups from immigrants to the U.K.

who have nancial problems. Some

groups beneted last year from this

bursary fund, and many will benet

this year. This again is a signicant

help to the Eisteddfod in view of theever increasing cost of visas which

make it nancially difcult for many

groups to be able to come to the

Eisteddfod. The amount available this

year is approximately 16,000.

You will recall that in the June 2007

edition of Limelight a large part of my

message to you was in connection

with changes to the membership

fees and membership year and

also advising you of the decision to

introduce Direct Debit as an additional,and preferred, means of collecting

annual membership fees.

The response from members

to all the changes has been very

encouraging but as with any change

the volume of work involved has

been substantial and as a result the

membership records are not as up-

to-date as they should be. Elsa, our

Membership Secretary is in full-time

employment and has only a limited

number of hours per week to update

the records. The Eisteddfod ofce

staff are very helpful and take any

messages from members.

We therefore made an appeal

in the October edition of Limelight

for voluntary assistance for the

Membership Secretary. As a result

of our appeal one of our members,

Derrick Francis from Gobowen,

Message

from the

Chair


7/8limelight 7

volunteered his services. Since retiring

Derrick has been following a course

in I.T. at his local college and was

now in a position to make use of his

knowledge and qualications.

Derrick came on board towards the

end of 2007 and along with Selwyn

Evans, (a long standing member

and former Treasurer and Chairman

of Friends as well as having been

Treasurer of the Eisteddfod for 15

years prior to his retirement in 2006),

they have made a considerable

difference. In the short time they

have been assisting Elsa, substantial

inroads have been made into updating

records and sending out Membership

cards. This part of the backlog is

expected to be complete by the time

you read this.

Many of you will be wondering

why the Direct Debit authority you

have signed has not been activated.

The response to this method of

paying membership fees has been

very encouraging, but with the

problems encountered with updating

records, there has been a delay in

implementing the system. We are now

in a position to commence collecting

fees by this method and at the time

of writing this it is hoped that the

Advance Notice of debiting will be

included with this Limelight. Members

can be assured that although we

may not have debited your account,

the fact that we hold your authority

means that you are considered to be

a paid-up member. Some of you who

previously paid by Bankers Order mayhave noticed that the authority had

not been cancelled in time to prevent

the latest payment being made

despite us sending the cancellation

notice to the banks in good time.

In such circumstances, we will only

be claiming any shortfall now or if

fully paid the Direct Debit will not be

implemented until after 1st August

2008 for membership 2008/9.

Whilst the response to the Direct

Debit system has been very good,

there are still many of you paying by

Bankers Order, of which have not

been updated as to amount and date

of payment. To avoid us having to

write to you requesting the shortfall,

adding to the volume of work for themembership desk, I would please

request you either to complete the

Direct Debit authority sent out with the

last Limelight and enjoy a 1 discount

or request your bank to change the

amount and the date to 1st August

annually. Many thanks for your co-

operation and patience.

We hope that you enjoy reading this

latest edition of Limelight.

Yours in friendship - Dilys.

We have

had a

positive

response with

members

subscribing to

the direct debit

scheme. We have

had a few delays

with the collection

of payment due

to ironing out the

arrangements with the bank. These

issues are just about resolved, and

therefore r all direct debit subscribers

will be receiving notication of

collection in the near future.

New Support

I would like to thank Derek

Francis (Friends Member) who

has volunteered since December

in supporting the Membership

Secretary. He has done an excellent

job in entering data (12 new and 154

renewed subscriptions in the lastquarter of 2007 alone), and sending

out mail to members. He has offered

to support Friends even further,

and has now been co-opted to the

Committee.

Flime Coffee Mornings

We have arranged Coffee Mornings on the following dates:

8th April and 10th June

In the Memorial Hall, Llangollen. Please put them in your

diary.All offers of support and help welcome. We would particularly

welcome donations of items that can be sold on the day, eg

cakes, bric-a-brac etc

New Membership fees starting August 2007

TypeUK

OverseasCash/Card/Cheque Direct Debit

Individual (Single) 16 15 21

Joint (two persons at same address) 23 22 28

Family 29 28 34

Student 10 9 15

Membership DeskMembershipSecretary Elsa

Evans gives an

outline of the

progress on moving

over to DirectDebit for collecting

payments:

He has done an

excellent job in

entering data


8/8Printed by W H Evans & Sons Ltd, 5 Knutsford Way, Sealand Industrial Estate, Chester, CH1 4NS; tel: 01244 383456

Limelight is published by the Friends of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

Views expressed in the articles are those of the authors concerned alone, and do not represent the views orpolicies of Limelight, FLIME or LIME unless otherwise stated.

Ofcers of the Friends can be contacted via: International Eisteddfod Ofce, Llangollen, Wales, LL20 8SW (Great

Britain); Tel: 01978 862000; Fax: 01978 862002; e-mail: [email protected];

Web Site: www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk; Registered Charity number: 510797

Edited by: Barrie Potter & Cliff Greenhalgh

For the last eight years Ive

spent the rst week of my

summer holidays taking people

to their seats, stewarding, directing

cars, singing on stage or trying

(unsuccessfully) to sell programmes.

For the past three years Ive

helped out in the Competitors Club,

which has to be my favourite job yet.

Not even the torrential rain (or the

prospect of our cars having to be

dragged out of the muddy car park by

tractors) could dampen our spirits as

we made endless amounts of coffee

for chatty singing and dancing groups

from all over the world.

The competitors club was set up to

provide competitors with free drinks,

snacks and a place to rest while on

the eld, and is run by volunteers.

A great deal of our food and drink is

donated by local companies, and is

always appreciated by the armies of

hungry competitors we serve every

year.

Last years tent being bigger and

better than before we managed to

decorate with more colourful ags and

banners, and our extra space was put

to good use as many competitors used

it as a place to practice before going

on stage. National pride plays a part

as each dancing group tries to outdo

the last by involving more competitors

club staff and random passers by in

their performances.

Groups from Ireland, South

Africa, India, England and Croatia

all performed to entertain their fellow

competitors. The highlight of the week

for the competitors club staff had to

be an impromptu ballroom dancing

display to the dirty dancing soundtrack

(a club favourite), by a group from the

Czech Republic, where we all joined in

and I proved that I had two left feet!

Sadly, due to university timetables,

new jobs and holidays, many of the

usual volunteers were unable to return

to the club this year. However, our

new volunteers from Ysgol Dinas Bran

quickly got into the swing of things and

many have already signed up for this

year!

Competitors club 2007 will be a

hard act to follow, but I will denitely

be back for 2008 to make tea, clear

tables, squelch through mud (hope

not! - Ed) and dance (badly) into my

summer holidays!

Spending time at the

Eisteddfod has to be

the best way to kick

start the summer!

Holly Mathias (photo,

right) describes her

favourite job as an

Eisteddfod volunteer

Lets go

Clubbing!

limelight issue 107

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