Dowlais Male Choir/Côr Meibion Dowlais


Photograph by John Kinsey Photography. E-mail John Visit John's Website

You can hear the Choir sing by clicking here, but be prepared for a long wait if you don't have broadband, about 7 or 8 minutes if you have a 56k modem, double that if you have a 28k modem. It's much easier to buy one of our cds, then you don't have the long wait, you don't need an mp3 player, and you get an extra 22 tracks! Go on, you know it makes sense!

This internationally known male choir is based at Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, UK.

This website is (fairly) regularly updated by Mike Edwards, so please re-visit when you can. The last update was on 25th November 2005


Musical Director - Stewart Roberts
Accompanist - Huw Evans
President - Lord Rowlands of Merthyr Tydfil and of Rhymney
Chairman - Grahame Clark
Secretary - Geraint Jones
Treasurer - William Thomas
Public Relations Officer - Mike Edwards
The Choir always welcomes visitors to its rehearsals, which are held each Sunday and Wednesday between 7.15pm and 9.15 at Market Square United Reformed Church, Three Salmon Street, Merthyr Tydfil CF47 8DS. For a map of Merthyr Tydfil showing the rehearsal venue, visit www.multimap.com/ and enter the postcode in the search area at the top left hand of the screen. Alternatively, telephone or email for a similar map. You will be made very welcome, and be able to sit and enjoy all the elements that go to make up a 'Dowlais Rehearsal'. Then, if you wish, join us afterwards for a drink, where you are likely to hear many tales of past escapades of the Choir. Please telephone 01685 389591 to confirm details of the rehearsal on the particular night you wish to attend, as it is sometimes necessary to change the time or venue.
Dowlais Male Choir is always looking for new members. All you need is a reasonable voice and plenty of enthusiasm. Stewart, and the many friends you will make in the Choir, will do the rest. To join either:
send an e-mail to: The Secretary, Geraint Jones
or send an e-mail to: The Public Relations Officer, Mike Edwards
or write to: The Chairman, Dowlais Male Choir, Laburnam House, Cross Thomas Street, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 0DE
or telephone Grahame Clark on (01685) 386860
or just turn up at rehearsal at:
Market Square United Reformed Church, Three Salmon Street, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8DS, on a Sunday or a Wednesday evening at 7.15 p.m. For a map of Merthyr Tydfil showing the rehearsal venue, visit www.multimap.com/ and enter the postcode in the search area at the top left hand of the screen. Alternatively, telephone or email for a similar map. (Please call 01685 389591 before hand to ensure there has been no change to the time or place.)

200 Club

You could be in with a chance to win one of three cash prizes every month, and help the choir into the bargain. All you have to do is join our 200 club. For just £2 a month, payable by direct debit, you could win £75, £50 or £25 and know that you are helping to ensure the future of this great choir. To join, simply send an e-mail requesting a direct debit form for the 200 club. When we receive your completed form, we'll issue you with two numbers, each of which could win any of the three prizes each month.

Fund Raising

If you are raising funds for a charity, it is possible that the Choir would give its services free of charge to help you. You would normally, however, have to pay our travelling expenses, and, unless the venue was local to the Choir, some light refreshment would be appreciated, either before or after the concert. If you are not involved with a charity, but still want us to give a concert, there would normally be a fee. Details can be obtained as listed above. It is advisable to book a date as soon as possible before the calendar becomes full.

Tours

The Choir is always looking for new venues for International Tours, and for new Sponsors to help fund them. If you think you can help to organise a tour for us, we would be pleased to hear from you (details above). We usually organise tours about two years in advance.

Sponsorship

Although the Choir makes every attempt to be self-supporting, by collecting subscriptions from members, holding fund-raising events, running a 200 club, selling our recordings, and various other methods, it becomes increasingly difficult to meet the ever-mounting costs involved in running a large choir. As a result the choir is continually seeking mutually beneficial partnerships with commercial and entreprenerial concerns. You provide the sponsorship, we provide the publicity. We need money for:
* Replacement of Uniform/ Purchase of new Uniform.
* Replacement of Music/Purchase of new Music
* Staging our Annual Concert
* Production of Choir Brochure
* Production of Tour Brochures
* Production of new recordings
* Financing individual concerts
* Financing Concert Tours
What can we offer in return?

* We will acknowledge your sponsorship in all our publications, including our regular newsletter.
* We will acknowledge your sponsorship on our internet website for a whole year from the date of your sponsorship.
* We will place a link on our website to yours, if applicable, for the same timespan.
* If you don’t have a website, we’ll help you create one (for sponsorship of £1000 or more).
* We will publicise your firm in our brochure (for brochure sponsorship).
* We will publicise your firm in our programme and acknowledge your sponsorship on stage (for concert sponsorship).
* We will publicise your firm in our Tour Brochure (for Tour sponsorship and sponsorship of Tour Brochure).
* We will favourably consider any other requests you may put to us as a condition of your sponsorship.
* And, finally, the knowledge that you have contributed to keeping alive one of the great traditions of Welsh culture. If you would like to enter into such a mutually beneficial partnership, we would like to hear from you. Please contact the choir as listed above

Sponsors of the Annual Concert


We are very grateful to the Stephens and George Print Group for their continued generous sponsorship of our Annual Concert, our most important concert of the year. It was with great sadness that we learned of the recent passing of Gareth Jones, Chairman of Stephens and George, and great friend and supporter of the Choir over many years. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.

Newsletter
Each month a newsletter is produced for choristers. If you would also like to follow the progress of the choir month by month, and at the same time help us to make it self-financing, you may subscribe to the newsletter for a nominal fee of £5 per annum by e-mail or slightly more by snail-mail due to postage charges. E-mail for details. Also e-mail for details of how to advertise in the newsletter at very competitive rates.

Merthyr Tydfil

Please sign our Visitors' Book
If you would like a link to your local group to be included here, just E-mail me the details.

Other links

Celtic Stitches
Need a choir logo embroidered?
Look no further!		 The Rondellers
Close Harmony Singers
A Song for any Occasion
Male Voice Choir Net Choral Net
La Bodega Tapas Bar and Restaurant, Dowlais British Choirs on the Web
ArtNetDirectory - the U.K.s most comprehensive directory for artists, art societies, art holidays and every art-related enterprise The Gwent Bach Society - a mixed choir, rehearsing in Abergavenny

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