Community News

Ruth Returns

Professional oboe player, Ruth Watson, returns to Llanbedr, Crickhowell on Saturday 8th October to play Mozart’s evocative Oboe Quartet with members of the Cambrian Quartet but her last visit to the village, in May, was rather different. Accompanied by mid-Wales composer and viola player John Hymas, bassoonist Nathaniel Harrison and fellow oboe player Hilary Storer, Ruth brought the Mid Wales Music Fund Woodwind Road-show to Llanbedr Primary School. The pupils were introduced to the instruments, even the swannee whistle(!), through vibrant classical tunes such as the Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. They then participated in ‘Cycles’ a composition created for the road-shows by John Hymas, depicting the seasons of the year. Glockenspiels, chime bars, recorders, violins, keyboards and percussion instruments were integrated with the quartet’s instruments to create a wonderful medley of sounds including rain, thunder, crackling frost and birds singing.
The MWMF Woodwind Road-show made 12 visits in all to deeply rural primary schools in Powys last May and this was followed in July by the Cambrian String Quartet’s popular Strings Road-show, now in its third year, which visited another 11 schools around Hay, Crickhowell and Brecon. Both these ventures were entirely funded by Mid Wales Music Fund which exists to support live classical music in schools, churches and communities in rural mid-Wales. Friends of the fund offer their homes for money-raising concerts and entertaining. In June 85 people came to a wonderful summer’s evening piano recital at Llanarrow and in July ‘Music for Everyone’ an all-age music extravaganza was enjoyed by 50 families at Cabalva, home of Revel Guest-Albert, chair of the Hay Festival.
You can support the work of MWMF by coming to our concert at St Peter’s, Llanbedr on Saturday 8th October at 7 o’clock for a programme of Haydn, Mozart and Dvorak. Tickets cost £10, which includes an interval drink, and can be purchased from Abergavenny Music, Crickhowell Resource & Information Centre or contact 01982 552367.