Our Story

Singing for Llantrisant since 1898.

A choir of the town

It began, improbably, at a wax works exhibition: St David's Day, 1898, the choir's first concert in Llantrisant. We've sung continuously ever since — through two world wars, the Coronation celebrations of 1953, and the opening of the Royal Mint in 1968, where we performed for Queen Elizabeth II herself.

The choir has been a hundred strong in the 1930s and down to twelve men in the 1960s; today we're around sixty voices, rehearsing twice a week in the town as we always have. We've sung at the Royal Albert Hall nine times, at Cardiff Castle and the Millennium Stadium, and in eleven countries — in Welsh, English, and the occasional brave attempt at French, German, Spanish, Italian, and most recently, Maltese.

But the heart of it has never moved: every Remembrance Day we stand at the Bullring in Llantrisant and sing for the town, as the choir has done for over 125 years.

The choir at the Royal Albert Hall, 1979

Our Music Team

Matthew Nash

Matthew has led the choir since 2013 — a Bristol-trained musician (BA First Class, MA) who's performed at the Barbican, accompanied Nigel Perrin of The King's Singers, and composes in his own right: his orchestral work Nightingales premiered in 2018. He also writes many of our arrangements himself — most recently turning Bon Jovi's Bed of Roses into a piece for fifty Welsh voices — which is why a 128-year-old choir can sing Adele without embarrassing anyone. Demanding in rehearsal, generous with new singers: the man at the front is half the reason we sound like we do.

Musical Director

With us since 2009, Jane trained at the Welsh College of Music and Drama and is one of South Wales' busiest event pianists — when she's not with us, you might find her playing the Celtic Manor or St David's Hotel. 

Accompanist

Jane Coles

Llinos joined us in 2023, bringing a BMus from Manchester and a day job making radio documentaries for the BBC. From Llandeilo originally, she completes a music team that between them can play anything we dare to sing.

Accompanist

Llinos Jones