Our History

Early Days

The Cape Welsh Choir was established in 1982 following the transfer to Cape Town of the late Rosa Salmon who, incidentally, had established Cor Meibion Cymru in 1978 in Johannesburg.

There were nine initial members present at the inaugural meeting, most of whom were members of the Cape Welsh Society. The initial meeting laid the foundation for membership and commitment to be of public service and after much discussion, the meeting ended without a note being sung.

There were to be no barriers to entry, other than that this is a MALE voice choir and would welcome choristers from all walks of life, irrespective of age, race or religion. The Choir will foster the art of choral singing in the tradition of Welsh Male Voice Choirs and would promote and assist Public Benefit Organisations.

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Tours

The attraction of ‘Welsh’ choirs arises from their being based on the male voice choirs of Wales, which in turn have become famous for their musical excellence and the nature of their repertoire.

The Choir has undertaken many tours in the past, the highlight of which was attending the 1000 voices concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2007.

Other local tours have included a West Coast tour to Springbok, performing concerts at smaller towns on the way up and down and a South East coast tour which culminated with a concert at Port Elizabeth University, and also included three other concerts along the way.

Notable Performances

The Choir has performed in Bloemfontein and with the two Johannesburg Welsh Choirs and with international visiting choirs at die Groote Kerk, the Artscape and Baxter theatres. The choir was also invited to sing with Peter Karrie, the Welsh singer of Phantom of the Opera fame.

A further highlight was being invited to sing on board the QE2 when it berthed in Cape Town. And also another cocktail concert aboard the HMS DRAGON in Cape Town Harbour.

The Choir is very popular in out of town venues and often travels 50+kms to entertain country audiences which have included Hermanus, Gaansbaai, Tulbach, Worcester and Montagu.

Our Choir is a voluntary group, the only benefit we receive is the applause of the audience and the absolute camaraderie we share through singing.