By Cathy Buckmaster

Wales is known as the land of song for good reason — as anyone who has attended a Welsh rugby game will know. The Welsh sense of lyricism and song pervades almost all their most famous cultural output, from Dylan Thomas to Tom Jones. Singing, and especially male voice choirs, is as much a part of Welsh national identity as their pantomime dislike for the English. 

However, there are many reasons why a Welshman might find himself in a different part of the world than his own — as evidenced by the Welsh choirs dotted globally, from Hong Kong to South Africa.

The London Welsh Male Voice Choir was formed in 1902, and has gained a reputation for excellence. Although briefly disrupted by both World Wars, the Choir has kept going and growing — now with over 100 men. While the choir’s average age is over 65, there has been a movement among younger members of the Welsh population to keep the tradition alive. As a result, the choir’s membership has boomed with young men in recent times, who the older boys affectionately refer to as ‘the crèche’. 

The choir meets up weekly at the London Welsh Centre for practice, pints and of course, an après — a post-event singsong in the nearest tavern, that’s more akin to a Welsh flash mob. They also perform regularly, from cabaret gigs around the UK and tours abroad to a bi-annual concert in the Royal Albert Hall. While they favour large venues like cathedrals — the bigger the acoustic, the longer the echo, the better the experience — the LWMVC is nothing if not adaptable, as they’ve proved in recent times.

With the advent of a worldwide pandemic, the 100-strong weekly meet-ups for choir rehearsal proved unfeasible and the choir, like the rest of the world, has resorted to meeting up via Zoom. James Brady, a choir member for the last 7 years said this of their sessions: “Our inaugural Zoom was a bit of a learning curve — everyone was trying to sing in unison, with dramatically varying internet connections and tech capabilities.”

“However thanks to everyone’s patience, and especially the efforts of a few, we’ve mastered it. Now it's more like guided solo practice, as every member is (supposed to be) muted while singing aloud and each of the groups (Bass, Baritone, Second Tenor, Top Tenor) are parcelled into smaller practice sessions. Unfortunately we won’t be able to mute some of the membership when we get back to normal rehearsals.” 

While concerts this year are cancelled of course, many have been rearranged for 2021 and they are still taking bookings. While you wait, you can listen to London Welsh Male Voice Choir Live at Westminster on Amazon Music and Spotify.

Find out more about the London Welsh Male Voice Choir.
Watch them perform.