Saturday 16th March 2024, at Islwyn High School One of the joys of singing with RMC is the opportunity it gives to perform alongside a variety of other musicians, in a variety of contexts. Though our own programme was almost the same as at the St David’s Hospice event in St Basil’s Church two weeks ago, this was a very different experience. Pontllanfraith Rotary Club had invited us to sing for their annual concert, alongside students from Islwyn High School led by their Head of Music, Katey Day. Entry was free, but the audience were invited to make a donation to raise funds for some staging t ..read more

St Mary’s Priory Church, Usk The annual Choral Festival brought together thirty six different choirs and ran from the evening of Thursday 29th February until the evening of Sunday 3rd March. Choirs sang in various locations throughout Usk. Risca Male choir was invited to sing on Saturday 2nd March at 3:30pm in St Mary’s Church, just off the main square in Usk. By Friday evening everything had been arranged, Saturday morning was to be spent preening, relaxing and having a bite to eat. Saturday morning dawned wet and cold and by mid-morning the phone had started ringing. Someone who had sung in ..read more

Thursday, February 29th Another successful concert was held at St. Basil's Church, Bassaleg, in the presence of Jayne Bryant, Member of the Senedd for Newport West. The benefactors on this occasion being St. David's Hospice. Indeed many of the capacity audience and / or members of their families / friends had benefitted from the palliative care work provided by St. David's. After a brief introduction to the evening by Choir Chairman, Paul Phillips, and St. David's representative, Beth Harrington, the choir commenced the evening's entertainment with Let all Men Sing followed by Hodie! which th ..read more

A day at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre for the semi-finals of the Côr Cymru Competition Sunday February 18th, 2024 A real “glamshot” of some members of RMC. One wonders if they were chosen for their looks, or their vocal prowess! This is a transcript of a message that Matt (MD: Matthew Harrison), sent to me after the competition. It was such fun to read as all these amazing thoughts were still buzzing in his head. I thought it worth sharing. Most of it is as Matt wrote, and there is very little I’ve had to edit, so that what you read is very much what he sent. Enjoy the experience of the day at ..read more

December 16, 2023 Crosskeys Campus Sports Hall RISCA MALE CHOIR in a WINTER WONDERLAND It was four years ago, in December 2019 that RMC performed its last theme show before the lockdown that was to close us down for a long time. That concert was conducted by Tomos Gwyn and accompanied by Alison Thomas. So it was certainly good to be back in the sports hall at Crosskeys for a very special Winter Wonderland, this time directed by MD, Matthew Harrison and accompanied by Jeslyn Asir, both for their first annual theme show. A most welcome return was made by three Risca musicians as our guests: Dan ..read more

Saturday 2 December 2023 14 of us arrived promptly at HQ in Risca on a cold and frosty morning and boarded the coach that would take us to savour the delights of the Bath Christmas market.  We were all wrapped up warmly to brave the weather around the stalls. Andrew was our driver for the day and we set off at 9.30am to collect the rest of our party from Newport station making the total of 19 travellers that day. On arrival in Bath Andrew was able to drop us off very near the centre on Terrace Walk and arranged to pick us up from the same location at 6.00pm. Most of us completed a quick ..read more

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Friday, 10th November 2023, Moriah Church Risca   Ian, centre photo, on Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph in Risca waiting to lay a wreath on behalf of RMC   This is always a very meaningful event for many people in Risca including some of us in the choir, myself very much so. Participants included Croskeys Silver Band, Ty Sign Primary and Junior School, Risca Community Comprehensive School, Risca Primary School and, of course, Risca Male Choir. The service started with the presentation of the Royal British Legion standard and the standard from the Air Cadets Service. A warm and he ..read more

Risca Male Choir – Ladies Social Society – Meal at the Tamarind Restaurant – Thursday 19 October 2023 After a break for the summer, the members of the ladies’ social group are active once again, this time out celebrating a meal at the Tamarind restaurant in Risca.  We were joined by a few new faces (Ruth Williams, Judith Evans and Sue Morgan) as well as the “old” faces (you all looked stunning in your finery ladies). An enjoyable evening was had by all - catching up on recent events, including the Annual Concert and the birth of baby Isobel.  Congratulations to grandparents Cliff and ..read more

FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER, 2023  MORIAH CHURCH, RISCA   Having had a very successful Community Fundraiser in October 2022, I thought it would be a great idea to have another one for 2023, having had such great feedback following the first one.  This year it was organised with the Royal British Legion, Risca Branch, and we had the support of Risca Male Choir, Risca Salvation Army Band, Risca Primary School and Ty Sign Primary School.  Unfortunately, two other schools needed to pull out for different reasons. However, this did not take anything away from the success of the evening!   ..read more