Saturday, September 5, 2026 at 7:00 p.m. - 9:00p.m.
Location: Symphony Hall, 34 Court Street, Springfield, MA | Ticket Required, not covered by a NAFOW day pass
Concert ~ Voices of Wales
Directed by Tim Rhys-Evans and accompanied by Zoe Smith, featuring soloists Jess Robinson, Rhys Meirion and an ensemble of 16 students from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, the concert will share the power of music from Wales. The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama attracts the best creative talent from across the globe. As Wales’ national conservatoire, it fires imagination and drives innovation, offering training to more than 800 actors, musicians, designers, technicians and arts managers from more than 40 countries.
Jessica Robinson
Jessica Robinson
Welsh Soprano Jessica Robinson graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama gaining a distinction in MA Opera Performance. As an oratorio and concert soloist, she regularly appears in concerts across the UK as guest artist with many renowned male voice choirs. Internationally, Jessica has performed in New York, China, Switzerland and Italy. Concert highlights include performing with the CBSO in a performance of Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music for Radio 3, Soloist at Royal Albert Hall for the 1000 Male Voice choir Gala, soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the Wales Millennium Centre and performing for HRH The Prince of Wales and guests at Buckingham Palace. In June 2023 Jessica represented Wales in the prestigious Cardiff Singer of the World, she won her round thus gaining her place in the final round, a fete Wales had not managed in 27 years and the first time for a Welsh female to ever reach the final.
Welsh Soprano Jessica Robinson graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama gaining a distinction in MA Opera Performance. As an oratorio and concert soloist, she regularly appears in concerts across the UK as guest artist with many renowned male voice choirs. Internationally, Jessica has performed in New York, China, Switzerland and Italy. Concert highlights include performing with the CBSO in a performance of Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music for Radio 3, Soloist at Royal Albert Hall for the 1000 Male Voice choir Gala, soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the Wales Millennium Centre and performing for HRH The Prince of Wales and guests at Buckingham Palace. In June 2023 Jessica represented Wales in the prestigious Cardiff Singer of the World, she won her round thus gaining her place in the final round, a fete Wales had not managed in 27 years and the first time for a Welsh female to ever reach the final.
Rhys Meirion
Rhys Meirion
Welsh tenor Rhys Meirion has enjoyed international success in opera and recording and national success in broadcasting. After two years on the Opera Course at the Guild Hall of Music and Drama in London, he joined the English National Opera Jerwood Young Singers Programme and was subsequently a Company Principal before becoming a freelance performer. Rhys Meirion has an extensive catalogue of recording work, including a duet album with Bryn Terfel (Benedictus on the SAIN label), which was nominated for a Classical Brit Award. He has also released two albums for the Australian label Stanza AV, Bluebird of Happiness and Awesome Wonder, and five solo CD recordings for the SAIN label, the most recent being In Verita. He has also released two albums with The Three Welsh Tenors.
Welsh tenor Rhys Meirion has enjoyed international success in opera and recording and national success in broadcasting. After two years on the Opera Course at the Guild Hall of Music and Drama in London, he joined the English National Opera Jerwood Young Singers Programme and was subsequently a Company Principal before becoming a freelance performer. Rhys Meirion has an extensive catalogue of recording work, including a duet album with Bryn Terfel (Benedictus on the SAIN label), which was nominated for a Classical Brit Award. He has also released two albums for the Australian label Stanza AV, Bluebird of Happiness and Awesome Wonder, and five solo CD recordings for the SAIN label, the most recent being In Verita. He has also released two albums with The Three Welsh Tenors.
Tim Rhys-Evans
Tim Rhys-Evans
Tim Rhys-Evans, MBE, FRWCMD, was appointed Director of Music at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2020. He is also a highly sought-after choral conductor, arranger, composer and TV presenter. He created the award-winning Only Men Aloud in 2000, with the aim of reinvigorating the Welsh male choir tradition. In 2010 he established The Aloud Charity which runs the choirs Only Boys Aloud, Only Girls Aloud and Only Kids Aloud, in order to try to affect real change in the lives of young people from areas of social deprivation; these initiatives have improved the lives of thousands of children from some of the poorest communities in Wales. In addition to his fulltime role at RWCMD, Tim is proud to be the current conductor of the National Youth Choir of Wales. He is also an outspoken advocate for mental health issues and the documentary programme he made about his own mental crisis, Tim Rhys-Evans – All in the Mind, won a BAFTA Cymru award following its network broadcast on BBC One.
Tim Rhys-Evans, MBE, FRWCMD, was appointed Director of Music at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2020. He is also a highly sought-after choral conductor, arranger, composer and TV presenter. He created the award-winning Only Men Aloud in 2000, with the aim of reinvigorating the Welsh male choir tradition. In 2010 he established The Aloud Charity which runs the choirs Only Boys Aloud, Only Girls Aloud and Only Kids Aloud, in order to try to affect real change in the lives of young people from areas of social deprivation; these initiatives have improved the lives of thousands of children from some of the poorest communities in Wales. In addition to his fulltime role at RWCMD, Tim is proud to be the current conductor of the National Youth Choir of Wales. He is also an outspoken advocate for mental health issues and the documentary programme he made about his own mental crisis, Tim Rhys-Evans – All in the Mind, won a BAFTA Cymru award following its network broadcast on BBC One.
Zoë Smith
Accompanist: Zoë Smith
Zoë Smith is head of Postgraduate Music Programs at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. As an accompanist, Zoë Smith has worked extensively in the UK and internationally with singers and instrumentalists. A graduate of Oxford University and the Royal Academy of Music, she has performed in many of the principal London recital venues, Since 1999, Zoë has worked at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where she is now Head of Postgraduate Programmes (Music). Zoë is currently working in partnership with Tŷ Cerdd to research Welsh instrumental music of the 20th century, seeking to raise awareness of this rich repertoire and promote its performance amongst musicians in Wales and beyond. She has been collaborating with Tŷ Cerdd since 2016, working on performances of music from their archives, both personally and with students from RWCMD. She continues to develop projects researching and performing Welsh music, in close association with the National Library of Wales. Her most recent output is the National Welsh Instrumental Music Keyboard Database, listing 880 Welsh keyboard works.
Zoë Smith is head of Postgraduate Music Programs at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. As an accompanist, Zoë Smith has worked extensively in the UK and internationally with singers and instrumentalists. A graduate of Oxford University and the Royal Academy of Music, she has performed in many of the principal London recital venues, Since 1999, Zoë has worked at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, where she is now Head of Postgraduate Programmes (Music). Zoë is currently working in partnership with Tŷ Cerdd to research Welsh instrumental music of the 20th century, seeking to raise awareness of this rich repertoire and promote its performance amongst musicians in Wales and beyond. She has been collaborating with Tŷ Cerdd since 2016, working on performances of music from their archives, both personally and with students from RWCMD. She continues to develop projects researching and performing Welsh music, in close association with the National Library of Wales. Her most recent output is the National Welsh Instrumental Music Keyboard Database, listing 880 Welsh keyboard works.