About Us: Formed in 1966, by a gentleman named Idris Parfitt due to the demise of a small local choir – The Wyllie Glee Party; Mynyddislwyn Male Choir takes its name from a local ancient parish/borough, with the design of its badge based upon a drawing of the Churc... moreFormed in 1966, by a gentleman named Idris Parfitt due to the demise of a small local choir – The Wyllie Glee Party; Mynyddislwyn Male Choir takes its name from a local ancient parish/borough, with the design of its badge based upon a drawing of the Church at Mynyddislwyn. Idris was adamant that there should be a male choir in the Blackwood area and so advertised his intent to the local people. His campaign received a good response and led to a meeting being held by the interested parties with the choir being formed in April of the same year. The design of the Choir's badge has changed a little since then with pupils from the local Libanus Primary School (where the choir used to rehearse) entering a competition to design the new badge which is still in use today.
The Choir has travelled widely over the years performing and raising lots of money for charitable causes wherever it goes. It has appeared in concerts at internationally recognised venues such as The Grand Hall at Eton College, The Royal Albert Hall (as part of a massed choir and in its own right), The Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay and the mighty Millennium Stadium.
It has also travelled abroad to Germany, Holland, Guernsey, Normandy and Malta with the highlight being a tour to, the then, Czechoslovakia in 1991 where they stayed in a town called Pisek. They were the first Welsh Choir to make this trip following the recent break up of the old Iron Curtain and in the process set up the link between the Councils of Islwyn and Pisek and between the Risca and Pisek Rotary Clubs.
In 2010, the choir visited Ireland where it stayed in the Capital City, Dublin, along with their friends from Bedford Brass. They received a very warm Irish welcome and performed in concert at the world renowned Temple Bar and Dublin’s No. 1 tourist attraction The Guinness Storehouse to a warm and very appreciative audience.
The last tour made by the Choir was to The Channel Island of Guernsey in September 2011 where they performed at one of St. Peter Port's premier concert venues, St. James Concert Hall raising funds for the Islands Alzheimer's Society and their "Singing for the Brain" Group.
In 1992 the choir purchased the second oldest Independent Church in Wales, Penmain Chapel, for use as their headquarters/practice rooms. With a lot of hard work and fund raising the building can now be used for practice, social gatherings and concerts. The building is also available for use by associations within the community.
Following this and now with a stable base to work from, the choir sought to re-enter the competitive arena and gained great success, securing fourth place at the Welsh National Eisteddfod at Llandeilo in 1996, third place at the same event in Bala 1997, no mean feat when you consider we were the only non Welsh speaking choir competing!! This was followed by a win at Cardigan also in 1997. In the year 2000 the choir competed again, this time coming second at the Pontrhydfendigaid Eisteddfod. In 1999 the choir became a Registered Charity. less
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