To quote Andy Williams, ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year’ and on the 13 December I had a wonderful opportunity to add just a little more magic into my festive season, an evening of pure joy performed by the Liverpool Welsh Choral.
I attended the Tung Auditorium for an evening of carols and festive tunes in their production ‘Festive Fanfare’ featuring the nationally recognised Northop Silver Band who is steeped in history and have proven themselves time and time again in many competitions as they go from strength to strength. They were perfectly timed and outstanding in their performances.
The choir themselves are consistently growing with new members and they have enjoyed many successes throughout the last few years, this choir is long established and this year marks their 125th anniversary. They have had the opportunity to perform in venues such as Liverpool’s very own Philharmonic Hall. Watch out for them in 2026 as they already have performances set to showcase.
The pieces which were performed by the choir spanned the decades and they had a varied and inclusive program for everyone to immerse themselves and join in by singing along to really bring the Christmas spirit to life.
The master of ceremonies and conductor Keith Orrell oozes passion and enthusiasm. His warmth exudes into the audience. Orrell (who is very accomplished in his career with his own commissioned works) conducts the programme beautifully. Alongside Orrell is Stephen Hargreaves, who accompanies wonderfully on piano in various pieces throughout the production, Hargreaves has also had a prestigious career and won the coveted Limpus Prize twice. The band themselves have a very strong and prestigious conductor who we had the honour of on this evening, Thomas Wyss. Wyss has overseen Northop band through many successes over the years and is one of the most respected band trainers and conductors in the UK.
Throughout the production, the beautifully blended choir were accompanied by the tones of soprano Danielle Thomas, who also delighted the audience with some solo pieces.
With a culmination of such high end talent, expertise and skill, this show was set to be a performance not to be missed from the outset.
I urge anyone to take a look at not only the Liverpool Welsh Choral and follow future productions, as I will be doing, but also, check out Liverpool’s Tung Auditorium for their selection of events.
Thank you for such a spellbinding evening which really captured the joy of Christmas and sent everyone away with huge smiles. An honour to have been in the presence of such an outstanding plethora of sound to soothe the soul.
A symphony of angelic sounds from start to finish. I was in absolute awe of the performance throughout. Every member intertwining, perfectly timed and culminating in one magnificent performance.
I will being seeing you in 2026.
