2020 NAFOW On-Demand Performers and Presenters
Performances
Côr y Penrhyn has its roots in the slate quarrying village of Bethesda in the Ogwen Valley south east of Bangor. The Penrhyn Male Choir is one of the busiest choirs in Wales with around 30 concerts a year. We last heard them when they gave the concert and sang in the gymanfa ganu at the Festival of Wales in Columbus, Ohio, in 2015. They were due to come to Philadelphia this year, but have agreed to come to our postponed Philadelphia festival in 2022. In this video, the choir is introduced by musical director Owain Arwel Davies. Then we see a performance of his arrangement of Pererin Wyf on the Welsh TV show Noson Lawen. Last we watch a promotional video the choir made for the launch of their newest CD Gwlad last December.
Go to Video |
Looking Forward to Philadelphia in 2022
The Welsh Society of Philadelphia sends regrets that we aren’t able to come to Philadelphia for NAFOW this year as we had planned, but encourages us to come to the rescheduled event in 2022. Their greeting starts with Men of Harlech, sung by baritone Todd Thomas. We hear from Jack R. Williams, president of the society, and from Rev. Carla Jones Brown of the Arch Street Presbyterian Church. We enjoy a duet with soprano Katherine Crusi and Todd Thomas singing Ar Hyd y Nos.“Alice Paul” of the Militant Wing of the Women’s Suffrage Movement puts on a skit commemerating the 100th anniversary of U.S. women’s right to vote. NAFOW 2022 co-chairs Jack R. Williams and A. Taylor Williams prepare to deliver the festival Welsh flag given them last year to Ottawa (temporarily), and we finish with a duet from Kathy and Todd singing We’ll Keep a Welcome.
Go to Video
The Welsh Society of Philadelphia sends regrets that we aren’t able to come to Philadelphia for NAFOW this year as we had planned, but encourages us to come to the rescheduled event in 2022. Their greeting starts with Men of Harlech, sung by baritone Todd Thomas. We hear from Jack R. Williams, president of the society, and from Rev. Carla Jones Brown of the Arch Street Presbyterian Church. We enjoy a duet with soprano Katherine Crusi and Todd Thomas singing Ar Hyd y Nos.“Alice Paul” of the Militant Wing of the Women’s Suffrage Movement puts on a skit commemerating the 100th anniversary of U.S. women’s right to vote. NAFOW 2022 co-chairs Jack R. Williams and A. Taylor Williams prepare to deliver the festival Welsh flag given them last year to Ottawa (temporarily), and we finish with a duet from Kathy and Todd singing We’ll Keep a Welcome.
Go to Video
Katherine Crusi Mini-Concert and Bonus Song Soprano soloist
Katherine Crusi is a graduate of the University of Akron with a Masters degree in Vocal Performance. She is a frequent soloist with the Welsh Society of Philadelphia, the North American Welsh Choir and lends her talents as Soprano soloist and guest Soprano section leader to Churches and Welsh Societies throughout Eastern Pennsylvania. As winner of the 2018 David Morris Vocal Award at the North American Festival of Wales, she represented the United States and Canada at the Welsh National Eisteddfod last Summer. When she isn’t singing or traveling, she can usually be found teaching in her private vocal studio in Amble, Pennsylvania. https://www.welsh-art-songs.com/ Kathy’s Mini-Concert is a presentation of Welsh art songs by composers Morfydd Owen, Meirion Williams, Dilys Elwyn-Edwards, Mansel Thomas, Gareth Glyn, and Eric Jones. Kathy also recorded another song for us, Yr Elyrch (The Swans), by J. Eirian Jones, with Welsh words by Osian Gwent, English words by John Stoddart; from the book Dolen o Gân published by Curiad. Go to Video Todd Thomas
Todd, originally from Elmira, New York makes his home in Philadelphia, PA with his wife of 26 years, Lisa Helmel Thomas. They have four children, Lydia, Gabriela, Samuel and Noah. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance and a Master of Music degree in Opera Theatre for the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Mr. Thomas encourages young singers to find a connection with their endowed musical gifts as a guest master teacher and clinician. In addition to his active singing career, in 2013 he formed the Todd Thomas Music Scholarship. The scholarship awards cash prizes to deserving graduating high school seniors from Chemung County embarking on their college careers in the full time study of music based curriculum. Todd will join us in 2022 when the North American Festival of Wales returns to Philadelphia. Go to Video |
Organist David Enlow will be the NAFOW accompanist in 2022 in Philadelphia. Hailed for his “enormous virtuosity” (Stuttgarter Zeitung), “arresting performances” (The American Organist), and his “gutsy, yet sensitive” playing (Organ Canada), David is a concert organist and church musician who has performed across the United States, in Canada, and across England and Europe. His recent recording of the complete major organ works of César Franck on the Pro Organo label, Pater Seraphicus, has been well reviewed, notably in the French language press.
Mr. Enlow is Organist and Choir Master of the Church of the Resurrection in New York, where he directs a professional choir. He is a member of the organ faculty of The Juilliard School, responsible for the service-playing component of the curriculum, and also Dean of the New York City Chapter, American Guild of Organists. In the video he made for our virtual festival, David entertains us with Calon Lân and Ar Hyd y Nos. Go to Video |
Hogia’r Bonc
The twelve members of Hogia’r Bonc are also members of Côr y Penrhyn, and are a group of close-knit friends from the Ogwen Valley, North Wales. They began by supporting various evenings accompanied by an acoustic guitar, and bass guitar at chapels, pubs, old people’s homes and community centres. They are very supportive of local charities, and their main driving force is the love of singing in harmony, and using their combined talents for good causes. The video we’ve assembled here begins with member Alun Davies introducing himself and the other members of the group sitting in a pub. The next clip, shot by Megan Williams, shows the group singing Strydoedd Aberstalwm in front of the Cymru Gogledd America booth at last year’s National Eisteddfod in Llanwrst, Wales. The final two clips show them singing Allt Waun Hir and Strydoedd Bethesda in the Literature Tent at the eisteddfod. Go to Video |
John Ieuan Jones Originally from the Welsh coastal town of Rhos-on-Sea, Welsh baritone John Ieuan Jones recently graduated from the masters course at the Royal Northern College of Music with distinction. Ieuan is a busy and in-demand concert singer having performed throughout the UK, in Europe and the USA. Recent highlights have included an Opera Gala at The Bridgewater Hall, making his solo debut at The Royal Albert Hall at the London Welsh Festival of Male Choirs and last year shared the stage with Sir Bryn Terfel at the Wales Millennium Centre in the opening concert of the National Eisteddfod of Wales. He is also an accomplished harpist.
We last saw him as the guest soloist at the NAWF Banquet at NAFOW 2018 in Alexandria. Ieuan was originally scheduled to be with us this year, singing with Côr y Penrhyn. Instead he entertains us here with a medley of songs. Go to Video |
Côr Cymru Gogledd America sings the winning tune from last year’s Daniel Protheroe Hymn Competition, Tir Iarll, by Welsh composer Kim Lloyd Jones, to new words in both Welsh and English written by Mererid Hopwood. Dr. Mari Morgan, the choir’s director, introduces the production. It was made by a virtual choir with choristers from Côr Cymru stretching across the country from Seattle to Ottawa to Washington, DC, singing and recording their parts individually to an organ track laid down by David Enlow at his church in New York. The title of the new hymn is Gweld y Byd Fel Dylai Fod/See the World As It Should Be. The words are shown on-screen so we can all sing along. Go to Video |
North America Wales Foundation
Philip Davies, President of the North America Wales Foundation (NAWF), welcomes us to the Festival. The NAWF is the co-sponsor at the festival every year of the Grand Banquet on Friday evening, where they present their annual Heritage Medallion Award to a person or persons for their “distinguished service to the Welsh-North American Community.” The award recipient this year is Edward Morus Jones, from Llandegfan, Ynys Môn, who has also recorded a greeting to us.
Entertainment during the banquet is provided by the Osbourne Roberts winner at the previous year’s National Eisteddfod in Wales, given to the champion soloist under the age of 25. The winner in 2019 was Dafydd Jones, who has also recorded a performance for us. Both Edward Morus Jones and Dafydd Jones will be coming to the Festival of Wales in Ottawa next year. Go to Video Edward Morus Jones is from Llandegfan, where he was a teacher and headmaster for 18 years. Over the years he has written and recorded scores of songs and albums for children, and written shows, plays, and musicals. He sings with the renowned Côr Godre’r Aran Male Choir in the Bala area. In addition, he teaches hymn-singing and has conducted many cymanfaoedd canu.
Few individuals have extended their contributions to the cultural and social lives of their communities in Wales to Welsh-American life as Edward Morus Jones. He is described as a folk singer, school headmaster, campaigner, and political candidate. That only begins to describe this gentle, warm-hearted person whose own viviality makes him no stranger to anyone he meets. He has long been a leader of Undeb Cymru a’r Byd, now Wales International, serving it in many capacities over the years. He is a familiar face in our gatherings, particularly at the North American Festival of Wales and especially in Philadelphia. The North America Wales Foundation is particularly pleased that he has accepted an invitation to receive the Foundation's highest honor, its Heritage Medallion – Y Tlws Treftadaeth. Go to Video Dafydd Jones
Welsh tenor, Dafydd Jones, is a 3rd year undergraduate at the Royal College of Music, London, under the tuition of Mark Tucker and Gary Mattewman. Recently, Dafydd was successful in winning the Osborne Roberts Memorial Prize – The Blue Ribbon at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, giving him the opportunity to perform at the North America Festival of Wales held in Philadelphia, USA. Other successes at the National Eisteddfod include 1st Prize Hen Ganiadau(Welsh Song) competition (2019), 2nd on the Tenor Solo under 25 (2019) and 1st in the Lieder solo under 25 (2018). Dafydd is in demand as a concert soloist performing the tenor solos in oratorios such as: Messiah by Handel, The Crucifixion by Stainer, The Hymn of Praise by Mendelssohn and St Cecillia Mass by Gounod. Dafydd has had the honour of being the tenor soloist in the World Premiere of Bob Chilcott’s remembrance work ‘Move him into the sun’ conducted by the composer himself. At the Royal College of Music, Dafydd has had the opportunity to sing the tenor solo in a set of choral works by Lili Boulanger as part of a concert of female composers and has worked in a masterclass with Rosa Mannion. In the summer of 2019, Dafydd made his operatic as Don Ottavio in Opra Cymru’s touring production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Go to Video |
Eisteddfod
Eisteddfodau are traditional Welsh cultural competitions in literature, music and dance. To win at the National Eisteddfod in Wales is a great prize. North America also has a history of eisteddfodau. The Cynonfardd Eisteddfod, begun in 1889, is still going and is regarded as the oldest annual eisteddfod in America. Surprisingly, an eisteddfod had never been held in conjunction with the National Gymanfa Ganu weekend until it was introduced by Alan Upshall at the National in Bellevue, WA, in 1994. It has been continued every year and is now a regular part of the North American Festival of Wales.
In past years we’ve held competitions in recitation, both in Welsh and English, in hymn singing, solo youth and adult voice competitions, and, last year, competitions in instrumental solo music, visual arts, and hymn composition. In spite of the cancellation of the live Festival of Wales this year, we inaugurated a poetry competition, for a poem in Welsh or in English on the theme of Gobaith/Hope. The winner in each language would get a prize of $250. The contest attracted 13 entries in Welsh and 20 entries in English, from six nations spanning four continents. All entrants submitted under a pseudonym and were unknown to the judges, Menna Elfyn and Eurig Salisbury for Welsh, Tony Curtis and Robert Dayton for English. And the winners are... Go to Video Christine James for her poem Gobaith
Before her retirement, Emerita Professor Christine James was Head of the Department of Welsh at Swansea University. Her research interests focus primarily on the literature of late medieval and early modern Wales, in particular the native lawbooks (the Laws of Hywel Dda) and religious texts, and she has published numerous articles in these fields. In recent years she has become increasingly interested in Elizabethan ‘journalistic’ ballads in Welsh, and the evidence which they provide regarding the role played by Welsh men and women in the exciting political events and cultural developments of that period. Professor James is also an authority on literature emanating from industrial south-east Wales, and in 2001 she edited the complete poetical works of one of Wales’s most significant 20th century poets, D. Gwenallt Jones. She is also a published poet: she won the Crown at the National Eisteddfod held in Snowdonia in 2005, and her first volume of poetry, rhwng y llinellau (2013), won the Welsh Book of the Year Competition in the category for Welsh-language poetry in 2014. She was Archdruid of Wales 2013–16, the first female to be elected to that position, and is currently the Gorsedd Recorder. Robert Walton for his poem Alphabet
Robert Walton was born and brought up in Cardiff before going on to study English Literature at Exeter University and then moving to Bristol to start a long career as an English teacher in state comprehensive schools. He won the Welsh Arts Council’s New Poet Award in 1978 with his first collection, Workings (Gomer Press), but soon afterwards stopped writing for 20 years for reasons that remain a mystery to him. Since taking to the pen again after a year’s teaching in Australia, he has written a range of short scripts for theatre and the poetry narrative for a television drama-documentary Fighting to the End: Sisley in Wales (BBC2 Wales: dir. Colin Thomas), while his second collection of poems, Sax Burglar Blues, was published by Seren Books in late 2017. In recent years, he has completed a later-in-life MA and PhD at Cardiff University, where he now teaches Creative Writing, and has presented several academic papers to NAASWCH (North American Association for the Study of Welsh History and Culture). He lives in Bristol with his wife Carol, a French cat called Summer, and a tenor saxophone that has been the torment of numerous music teachers and neighbours for many years. Beth Feltes of Sioux Falls, SD, is a classically trained Lyric Soprano. She holds a BA in Music from Gustavus Adolphus College. As a Soprano soloist, Elizabeth has performed at several senior living facilities, churches, funerals, competitions, and family events. She has been teaching piano and voice lessons for the past 6 years.
Playing piano and singing are two of Beth's favorite things to do! Beth loves musical theater and, in 2016, portrayed Mary in a stage performance of "Mary Poppins." Beth currently resides in Sioux Falls with her husband and 3 young children. Most recently Elizabeth competed in the Eisteddfod at the North American Festival of Wales and received the top prize in the Semi-Professional Solo Voice category which included a scholarship to travel to Wales. She will compete at the National Eisteddfod in Tregaron in 2021. |
Cinema Wales
Elen ~ Go to the Film
Cinema Wales is excited to present a short film from Ie Ie Productions, Cardiff.
The film is in Welsh with English subtitles. Set in the mountains of North Wales, ELEN is a story of friendship and acceptance, which delves deep into the mind of a 10-year-old girl with Epilepsy. Intuitive and cheerful, Elen’s known for her imaginative, glittery feel good creations. But a misunderstanding involving the new girl at school triggers a chain of events, which threaten Elen’s happy-go-lucky view of the world. Feeling scared and alone, Elen runs up into the mountains, where she is finally reminded that the smile you send out really does come back to you.
FILM COPYRIGHT ÓS4C MMXVII - The film is currently licensed to the European Broadcast Union, via Welsh Broadcaster S4C. The full copyright of the film will be reassigned to ie ie productions ltd at the end of the license term. Elen was scheduled for broadcast by S4C in May 2018 as part of Epilepsy Awareness Week in the UK. The film was also broadcast by participating members of the European Broadcast Union’s Children’s Drama Series.
Introducing our presentation of Elen is Welsh actor John Ogwen
John Ogwen was born and raised in the Ogwen Valley, Bethesda, Wales. He attended local schools and then the University of Wales, Bangor, where he gained an Honours Degree in English and Welsh Literature, but spent most of his time either in the Dramatic Society or on the soccer field! He joined the Welsh National Theatre Company straight from college and so began a career of almost 50 years as an actor, writer and presenter. John has appeared in many outstanding television productions and recently passed his 3,000th performance on stage. He was awarded the coveted BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry in 2004. He has also been given an Honorary Fellowship at his old university. He has for a number of years been a very proud Honorary Vice-President of the Penrhyn Male Voice Choir as compère with his beloved band of brothers! |
Eluned Morgan, Minister for International Relations in the Welsh government, welcomes us to the On-Line Festival and stresses the importance of keeping in touch. “As a new Minister for International Relations, the first ever in the Welsh government, I am determined that we reach out and see to better relationships with our Welsh friends and relations who are scattered all over the world.
We know there is a very strong contingent in North America and we are absolutely desperate to make sure that we keep in touch with you. So please make sure that you visit our websites regularly, that you tell us what would be useful for us to be able to provide you with in order to be sure that we keep up that relationship not just for this generation but for generations to come.” Go to the video |
Cymanfa Canu on Demand
A cymanfa ganu is a celebration of Welsh hymnody where participants take part in the long-standing Welsh tradition of choral singing, raising their voices in four-part harmony under the guidance of a guest conductor. The Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association was founded in 1929 to encourage this tradition by holding an annual meeting, the “National Gymanfa Ganu,” somewhere in the United States and Canada every year over the Labor Day weekend. Renamed a few years ago the “North American Festival of Wales,” this meeting has grown to include other expressions of Welsh culture such as concerts, seminars and a banquet, but the National Gymanfa Ganu, held in two sessions on Sunday afternoon and evening, remains a central part of the event. This year we cannot meet as a large group and sing together, but we’ve selected four hymns that were recorded at the Nationals in 2018 and 2019, and are presenting the recordings here so you can sing along and enjoy some of the excitement of the big event. The words in Welsh and English have been added to the videos, running across the bottom in time with the music. The hymns are all from Welsh and English Hymns and Anthems, the hymnal published by the Welsh North America Association. The hymns chosen, with their index number in the book, are: 1. Rachie, I bob un sydd ffyddlon 96. Gwahoddiad (Arglwydd, Dyma Fi), Mi glywaf dyner lais 106. Mawlgan, Bendigedig fyddo’r Iesu 110. Tydi A Roddaist, Tydi a roddaist liw i’r wawr Featuring 2018 conductor Eilir Owen Griffiths and accompanist David Enlow, 2019 conductor Mari Morgan and accompanist Steven Jensen |
Lecture series
Ruthless Squires of Cardiganshire ~ Go to the video
With particular reference to Sir Herbert Lloyd of Peterwell and the Powells of Nanteos, Jane Blank explores how the few gentry families of Cardiganshire controlled the ‘Wild West of Wales’ in the mid Eighteenth Century, exerting power over the lives and even deaths of the people who lived there. Jane Blank is the author of three novels including the ‘Nanteos’ series (set on the haunting Georgian estate of Plas Nanteos, now a country house hotel). Jane now lives on a small holding in Ceredigion. A Welsh speaker, she works as a writing and cello tutor and for an environmental charity. |
Poetry: Welsh Women Luminaries ~ Go to the video
This talk will shed light on a few remarkable women throughout Welsh history who have inspired the poet to reimagine their lives through poetry. From Catrin Glyndŵr, Owain Glyndŵr’s daughter, imprisoned in the Tower of London with her children until their untimely death, to the remarkable Gregynog sisters Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, who left their artworks as a lasting legacy to the National Museum of Wales. Through short introductions, the reading will focus on half a dozen women who have enriched the life of Wales through their creativity. We get a glimpse through a poetic small window of how these extraordinary women artists still inspire us to this day. They also illuminate our need to celebrate and explore the richly diverse contribution women have made to Welsh history and society. Menna Elfyn is an award-winning bilingual Welsh poet whose thirteen poetry collections in Welsh and English are studied in all schools and universities in Wales and further afield. Her collection, Murmur (2012), was a Poetry Book Society Recommended translation, and the first book in Welsh/English to be chosen. Her work has been translated into 20 languages including Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Lithuanian, Catalan, and she is the best known, most travelled of Welsh poets, reading at International Poetry Festivals worldwide. Winner of many prizes and awards such as Welsh Book of the Year 1990 and Anima Instranza International prize in Sardinia, she was made Welsh Children’s Poet Laureate in 2002.These mini-seminars are sponsored by the Welsh Government. Her latest collection, Bondo (2017), a bilingual collection by Bloodaxe Books, has recently been translated into Italian, and Cennad, a Welsh language literary memoir, was published by Barddas in 2018. Absoliwt Optimist, her biography of the poet Eluned Phillips, appeared in 2016 and was shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year and the English translation was launched at NAFOW in 2018. Both books are published by Honno Press. The first woman Professor of Poetry in Wales at Trinity Saint David, Lampeter, she performs her work mostly in English to audiences outside Wales and has adopted a style of presenting her work in public by interweaving extracts of the musicality of Welsh into English translations, and in so doing reflecting the cultural diversity of the UK. She is President of Wales PEN Cymru. |
The Anthea Bell Lecture: What’s Wales in Welsh? ~ Go to the video
Given at the Hay Festival, 25 May 2020.What is Language? It’s not just words. That much we know. It’s grammar. It’s context. It’s meaning. It’s communication. It transacts. It conveys. It imagines. It thinks.... Is it an external frame or an internal engine? And what is it then to live in a bilingual mind and a multilingual world? Mererid Hopwood was born in Cardiff and now lives in Carmarthen. A first-language Welsh-speaker, she studied Spanish and German at Aberystwyth University and gained a PhD from University College London. Mererid has taught throughout her career and is now at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David. Mererid is the only woman to have won the three main prizes for poetry and prose in the National Eisteddfod, becoming the first woman to win the Chair at the Eisteddfod in 2001. She has been Children Laureate for Wales and was awarded the Glyndwr prize for her contribution to literature. She is in great demand as a poet, tutor and television presenter. She is a highly accomplished translator, mainly working between German and Welsh. She is also a Fellow of the Academi. Her book Singing in Chains (2004) is an introduction to ‘cynghannedd’, Welsh poetry’s most distinctive feature, and she is also co-editor of a book about contemporary German poet Sarah Kirsch. Her collection O Ran was published by Gomer in 2009. Her most recent poetry book is the collaboration with Damian Walford Davies and photographer Paul White, Poets’ Graves/Beddau’r Beirdd (2014), a record of 71 Welsh gravestones coupled with prose and poetry responses from Hopwood and Walford Davies. Her collection Nes Draw won the poetry section of the Welsh language Book of the Year Awards, 2016. She has also published many books for children, including Plentyn (2005), Ar Bwys (2007) and Trysor Mam-gu (2010). In 2005 she translated the children’s book Seren Lowri by Klaus Baumgart from German into Welsh. Mererid also wrote the words for NAFOW’s 90th anniversary anthem last year, Lle mae llais yn cyffwrdd lleisiau,with music by Robat Arwyn. |
Robert Humphries ~ The Welsh Bards of Wisconsin ~ Go to the video
Welsh immigrants in the United States brought with them a rich tradition of poetry in their native language. They used poetry to celebrate births and marriages, eulogize the deceased and to articulate their opinions about political topics such as slavery, the Civil War and elections. The Welsh also held eisteddfodau and published their poetry in Welsh-language periodicals. In this talk, Robert Humphries discusses Welsh-language poetry and literary culture in Wisconsin from the 1840s into the 20th century, and explains how it helped these immigrants develop and maintain their ethnic identity during the period. The Welsh on the Great Plains ~ Go to the video Beginning in the mid-19th century, Welsh immigrants settled on the Great Plains of North America from Kansas to Saskatchewan. While they settled in smaller numbers than they had in areas further to the east, the Welsh nevertheless created distinctive ethnic communities where they maintained their own language and cultural traditions. Robert Humphries provides an outline of this history followed by an overview of the Great Plains Welsh Heritage Project, which keeps the memory of Welsh settlement in the region alive in Wymore, Nebraska.Originally from Newport, Wales, Robert Humphrieshas an MA in Celtic Studies from the University of Wales Trinity St. David, and is an independent historical researcher. |
Great Plains Welsh Heritage Project is the only cultural resource in the United States dedicated to interpreting the cultural legacy of Welsh immigrants on the Great Plains. They reveal this history as told by the settlers themselves through their own words, images and artifcats.
Come visit our Heritage Centre in downtown Wymore, Nebraska, where exhibits tell the story of immigration from Wales and the contributions of Welsh settlers to the development of the Great Plains region. |
Forging a National Welsh-American Identity: The First Decades of the Welsh-language Periodical Press in the United States. ~ Go to the video
This lecture will provide a brief introduction to the history of the Welsh-language periodical press in the United States from the 1830s to the 1860s, examining ways these publications helped create and maintain a national Welsh-American community and forge a national Welsh-American identity. Jerry Hunter is Professor, School of Welsh and Celtic Studies, Bangor University. The fields of his research are extremely varied and he has published about Welsh-language literature from all periods, from the Middle Ages to contemporary literature. He has published five monographs, one about connections between literature, prophecy and historiography in the sixteenth century, and four treating various aspects of nineteenth-century Welsh-language literature in America. One of them won the Literature Wales ‘Book of the Year’ Award in 2004.Also a creative writer, he has published five novels - Gwenddydd (2010), which won the National Eisteddfod’s Prose Medal, Gwreiddyn Chwerw (2012), Ebargofiant (2014), Y Fro Dywyll (2014) - translated by Patrick K. Ford and published as Dark Territory (2017) - and Ynys Fadog (2018). He has also published a short novel for children. |
Images of Slavery and Welsh Print Culture, 1790-1840 ~ Go to the video
The campaign to abolish the Atlantic slave-trade began in earnest in Wales around 1790. One can identify three main phases in that movement. The first focussed on the abolition of the slave-trade itself, which reached a successful conclusion when the British Parliament voted to abolish it in 1807. The second phase was the campaign to abolish the institution of slavery in British territories overseas, and in Jamaica in particular, which was accomplished in the 1830s. Subsequently one sees campaigners focusing their efforts increasingly on the abolition of slavery in the USA. Print culture was a key element in these campaigns. This talk will examine the ways Welsh print culture was used to promote the abolitionist cause. It will concentrate in particular on the first two phases of the campaigning and pay special attention to broadside ballads and illustrative material. E. Wyn James was, before retiring, a Professor in Cardiff University’s School of Welsh and co-Director of the Cardiff Centre for Welsh American Studies. He has published widely on various aspects of Welsh literature and culture. He is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and was in 2012 a Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Fellow at Harvard University. |
A Thoroughly Modern Medic: The Remarkable Life of Dr. Frances Hoggan (1843-1927)
~ Go to the video Born in Brecon and raised in Glamorgan, Frances Hoggan (née Morgan) was the first female British doctor to gain an MD in Europe. She also played a key part in debates about the future of education for girls in Wales. She and her husband supported many causes including anti-vivisection. She spent a year in America, advocated racial equality and spoke at the First Universal Races Congress. She sounds like a 21st century figure, yet this talented and dynamic woman was born in early Victorian Britain. Angela John lives in Pembrokeshire but was for many years Professor of History in London and is currently honorary professor at Swansea University. She is the author of a dozen books, including a number of biographies. She spoke at the 2017 Festival in Rochester about her home town of Port Talbot and its actors. Her most recent book is Rocking the Boat: Welsh Women Who Championed Equality 1840-1990. |
Wales, the Survival of an Identity ~ Go to the video
The former first minister answers the questions: How did Wales disappear? How did Wales reappear? and What happened with the law to make sure that was the case? The story starts in 1536, ends with the state of law in Wales today and raises questions about establishing a legal Welshness in the future. Carwyn Jones was born in Swansea and brought up in Bridgend. His parents were Welsh speaking school teachers. He was a pupil at Brynteg Comprehensive School and later went on to study law at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, graduating in 1988. After graduation, Carwyn trained as a barrister and was called to the Bar [Gray’s Inn] in 1989. He practiced as a barrister for 10 years in Gower Chambers Swansea. For two years he worked as a professional tutor at Cardiff University on the Bar Vocational Course. A Welsh Labor politician, he was elected to the National Assembly for Wales representing the constituency of Bridgend for the first time in May 1999, and was First Minister from 2009–2018. Carwyn is now Professor of Law at Aberystwyth University. Married to Lisa, they have two children. |
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Size of Wlaes– Connecting Communities for Climate Action ~ Go to Video
This lecture describes how Wales is inspiring climate action through the ambitious Mbale Tree Planting Programme. An area the size of Wales is frequently used to measure the rate of forest destruction. Through the Size of Wales , we are turning that negative use of the country’s size on its head. Our goal is to plant 25 million trees in Mbale by 2025. This will support communities through providing income and food security, whilst restoring and securing vital tropical forest on the equator in Uganda that can keep absorbing CO₂ and mitigating climate change all year round. Elspeth Jones joined Size of Wales as Director in January 2019. A passionate environmentalist, she previously worked as a barrister at the environmental law NGO ClientEarth, where she was a founding lawyer in ClientEarth’s climate litigation team, developing and securing funding for its innovative programme using legal challenges to combat climate change. More recently she held a senior strategy role at ClientEarth, working on the strategic development of the organisation. Elspeth is also Vice-Chair of the Sumatran Orangutan Society. |
Joseph Parry: Welsh-American Composer... and more! ~ Go to Video
Wales-born and Pennsylvania-raised Joseph Parry was the nineteenth century’s most famous Welsh musician – if not person. Idolized in his native Wales as well as within Welsh immigrant communities of America, he lived up to his bardic name of Pencerdd America, principal musician of America. Today, Parry is mostly remembered as the composer of My fanwy for male voices, the hymn tune Aberystwyth and a comic love duet colloquially known as ‘Hywel a Blodwen’ from Blodwen, the first Welsh opera.But Parry was more than a composer – he was also an accomplished singer, organist, accompanist, teacher, lecturer, journalist, eisteddfod judge and publisher. His fascinating life story is a soap-box drama that takes place on both sides of the Atlantic. Dulais Rhys: Born in Wales, I have been a professional musician for over 30 years and am currently based in Billings, Montana. My music and teaching qualifications include Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of Wales. I also studied composition and conducting at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland. I mostly lecture on Music/Wales/America - or any combination of all three areas :) My hobbies include reading, movies, golf, cooking, and flying a plane! |
Gangster in the Family ~ Go to Video
In his abridged lecture, now reduced to 30 minutes, Dafydd Wigley focuses on the life of the Chicago gangster, Llewelyn Morris Humphreys, together with the Welsh background of his father Bryan Humphreys and mother Ann Wigley, who lived in Racine, WI, before moving to Chicago. Humphreys became the most-wanted gang-criminal in the USA when Robert Kennedy was Attorney General. The lecture also contains material which only became known after the Minneapolis lecture. Dafydd Wigley hails from Bontnewydd, Caernarfon. He served as Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament for Caernarfon from 1974 until 2001, and as an Assembly Member for Caernarfon from 1999 until 2003. He was leader of the Plaid Cymru party 1981–1984 and again 1991–2000. He was granted a life peerage by the Queen in 2010, and took his seat in the House of Lords as Baron Wigley of Caernarfon in 2011. Dafydd Wigley is also an author and published the fourth volume of his autobiography, Be Nesa!, in 2013. He has taken a strong interest in the affairs of disabled people and was vice-chairman of the Parliamentary all-party disablement group and sponsor of the Disabled Persons Act in 1981. He is a former Pro-Chancellor of the University of Wales. He is married to acclaimed harpist Elinor Bennett |
New York Welsh Podcasts - Wyt ti’n siarad Cymraeg?
Part I - History of the Language Part II - Fate of the Language In a two-part series exploring the history and future of the Welsh language, Richard Swain and Gideon Jensen guide us on a journey through time, featuring interviews with expert guests and historians. In part one, History of the Language, Gideon and Richard ask, “Do you speak Welsh?” They discuss the falling numbers of Welsh speakers and the various factors behind this decline. With contributions from special guest experts, they delve into the history of Cymraeg, the roots of the language and how key events in history have impacted its usage—from the Roman Occupation, the English Reformation and the Industrial Revolution all the way to the 20th century. In part two, Fate of the Language, Gideon and Richard pick up the story by looking at the catalyst for Welsh language activism in the 60s and 70s, the successes of the movement and the changes brought about by the establishing of the Welsh Assembly. With more contributions from special guest experts they learn about the sociological and neurological benefits of learning a second language and share some of the many tools for learning Welsh available today. |
Esquel – A Journey through Welsh Patagonia ~ Go to Video
This movie is photographic journey through Welsh Patagonia from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andes, following routes of the first Welsh explorers. Professionally produced, it is a stunning protrayal of the town of Esquel, located in the lee of the Andes in the northwest of Chubut Province in Argentine Patagonia. Jeremy Wood is one of the best-known experts in Welsh Patagonia. He lives in Esquel with his Esquel-born wife, Cristina, and young son, Tomos. He is on the committee of the Welsh Society in Trevelin and is actively involved in fundraising for the Welsh school in Trevelin (Ysgol y Cwm - www.ysgolycwm.com). He is featured extensively in Jon Gower’s 2015 book, Gwalia Patagonia, the sales proceeds of which have been generously dedicated to Ysgol y Cwm, and is often referred to as “Mr Patagonia”. He is involved in numerous projects relating to Patagonia and to the Welsh in Patagonia, about which he writes regularly for newspapers and magazines in the UK and the United States. He has contributed important and newly discovered archive material to the Welsh museums across Patagonia, including a long lost manuscript regarding the murders of three young Welshmen in 1884 by John Daniel Evans about which he has recently published a book. Jeremy is also involved with film, writing Esquel as part of the programme of twinning with Aberystwyth (which he initiated and completed). Jeremy also worked with Matthew Rhys to produce a Spanish version of Hollywood Gaucho. While as a film historian he has unearthed from the BBC archives 22 films made prior to 1980 about the Welsh in Patagonia and not previously seen in Patagonia. He was the Patagonia-based “fixer” for Huw Edwards’ Patagonia documentary released by the BBC in 2015. He has a special relationship with the Palaeontological Museum in Trelew, featured in David Attenborough’s 2016 documentary about the largest dinosaur (and animal) ever to have walked the Earth. He was one of only 30 Patagonians honoured to have been chosen to re-enact the landings of the first Welsh Patagonian settlers in the 150th Anniversary celebrations in Porth Madryn in 2015. In 2019, he gave a presentation at NAFOW Milwaukee about the new Welsh school in the Andes. |
Special programming
Amgen ~ Programming from the National Eisteddfod of Wales
Can y Clo by Pedair Featured in the 'Folk tent' at the National Eisteddfod, enjoy a piece by Gwyneth Glyn, Sian James, Meinir Gwilym+, and Gwenan Gibbard Sonata i 5 offeryn (enillwyr Rhuban Glas dros 19) Performance of a new commission by Patrick Rimes, by an ensemble of some of the Instrumental Blue Ribbon Winners Pont y Glaw A national choral and brass band project. Music and words, Gareth Glyn and Eleri Cwyfan Pedwar Ban Byd Get to know Welsh learners from all over the world with videos from Canolfan Iaith Nant Gwrtheyrn |
Cymru a'r Byd – Wales International is an organisation based in Wales which connects Welsh people across the world and gives them a platform to communicate and network. ... It's also a fantastic opportunity for Welsh businesses to promote their services and products to an international market.
Cymru a'r Byd presents a Welsh language interview with radio personality Huw Stephens and BBC One Show presenter Alex Jones. ~ Go to Video |
Ottawa 2021 ~ performers featured
Greetings from Ottawa for 2021
Myfanwy Davies, the Chair of the local committee helping organize the North American Festival of Wales next year in Ottawa, greets us on a windy day downtown. She describes some of the highlights of the festival, including proposed tours to the city of Ottawa, to Diefenbunker (look it up), to 1000 Islands, and perhaps an extended 4-day tour to Quebec city and Montreal. The opening ceremony will feature songs from Caitlin McKee from Cardiff, who has recorded one for us. Myfanwy describes some of the attractions of Ottawa, including the national Parliament building, the Rideau canal, museums and galleries. Two workshops planned for the festival are one for harpists (rentals available) and carving lovespoons. The Saturday concert features the Dunvant Choir. Choir conductor Jonathan Rogers introduces the choir singing Pennant. Myfanwy points out the Delta Hotel where we’ll be staying, and the clip ends with Sunday’s gymanfa ganu organist Steven Jensen.
Go to the Video
Myfanwy Davies, the Chair of the local committee helping organize the North American Festival of Wales next year in Ottawa, greets us on a windy day downtown. She describes some of the highlights of the festival, including proposed tours to the city of Ottawa, to Diefenbunker (look it up), to 1000 Islands, and perhaps an extended 4-day tour to Quebec city and Montreal. The opening ceremony will feature songs from Caitlin McKee from Cardiff, who has recorded one for us. Myfanwy describes some of the attractions of Ottawa, including the national Parliament building, the Rideau canal, museums and galleries. Two workshops planned for the festival are one for harpists (rentals available) and carving lovespoons. The Saturday concert features the Dunvant Choir. Choir conductor Jonathan Rogers introduces the choir singing Pennant. Myfanwy points out the Delta Hotel where we’ll be staying, and the clip ends with Sunday’s gymanfa ganu organist Steven Jensen.
Go to the Video
Caitlin McKee was born and bred in Cardiff, Caitlin has always had a passion for performing since a young age. She received her BA Performing Arts degree at Trinity St Davids Carmarthen and spend a semester studying Musical Theatre at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania. Caitlin went on to study for an MA in Musical Theatre at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Here she was awarded The Worshipful Livery Company of Wales - Excellence in Musical Theatre Award. In 2019 Caitlin had the privilege of traveling to Hong Kong with Theatr NaNóg to perform their award winning musical Eye of the Storm at the Spark Science and Arts Festival. Later on in the year she embarked on a UK tour with the same musical.
Caitlin's credits include - Hen 1 (Warren -BBC1) Karen (Eye of the Storm - Theatr Na’nóg) Angry Wife / Whore ( My Lands Shore - All Star Productions) Bethan Bimbo ( Cysgun Brysur - Arad Goch), Principle Soloist for A Tribute to Dame Shirley Bassey and a featured role in BBC's Casualty. Caitlin’s credits at college include - Jacks Mother / Cinderella's Mother (Into The Woods) Various Women (I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change) Vocalist (Broadway To the Bay) Go to the Video |
Côr Meibion Dyfnant / Dunvant Male Choir has the unique achievement of over 125 years of unbroken history and enjoys the distinction of being the oldest in Wales with a continuous history. It was formed in January 1895 by a group of miners, steelworkers and quarrymen from amongst the members of Ebeneser Congregational Chapel Dunvant. It is the archetypal Welsh Choir that sprung naturally out of the community and the mood of the times.
Acknowledged universally as one of the more accomplished choirs it has been ably supported throughout its existence by dedicated Conductors and Accompanists and the current Musical Director Jonathan Rogers and Accompanists D.Huw Rees and Tony Phipps form an outstanding multi talented team that sustain it’s tradition of musical excellence. Its achievements are well known having won all the major choral competitions open to the nation’s male choirs. The Choir has performed as the sole male choir at the Royal Albert Hall,London, the Chapel of Kings College Cambridge, the Chapel of Havard University,U.S.A., the Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto and in the ancient Catherdrals of Chichester,Exeter,Hereford,Gloucester and York Minster. Côr Meibion Dyfnant / Dunvant Male Choir pursues the philosophy that music above all else is a communicable happiness and although local surnames dominate, local pride supports, and nurtures it. The singing like all great Welsh Choirs excels with adrenaline flowing free, be it the polyphonic intricacies of Benjamin Britten or the compelling surge of Welsh hymns. Go to the Video |
Steven Jensen began playing the piano and organ at the age of 9. He had his first regular church job at the age of 13. During grades 9–12 he studied at the Lawrence Conservatory of Music in Appleton, WI. He continued his organ study during college at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The first gymanfa ganu that he played for was in 1977 in Fort Atkinson, WI. The conductor was Lyn Harry of Canada. Mr. Harry requested that Mr. Jensen play the following year at the National Gymanfa Ganu in Minneapolis in 1978. Since then Steven has played for many local and state cymanfaoedd. He is currently employed as a Compliance Officer for US Bank in Milwaukee, WI, and serves as Organist at Immanuel Presbyterian Church.
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