Male order
The Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir are a boisterous bunch, no matter where they are. 'We have a habit of breaking into song on planes, at airport terminals, in restaurants and other places on our travels,' says chairman Shane Kelly. 'In fact, anywhere more than four choir members come together, we're liable to start singing.
'It's also not without precedent that we've been caught between venues for regular rehearsals and have had to resort to the most unpopular of places for us - the local [pub].' The group is well organised and prepared for most circumstances 'including singing in the dark', he adds.
There is little fear of that today as the choir take centre stage at the Sydney Opera House in a programme entitled A Massed Chorale Extravaganza. Along with other singers from Wales, England, Australia and New Zealand, the Hong Kong group will perform as a massed choir, backed by the Regimental Band of the Royal Welsh and the University of New South Wales Regiment Band under the baton of London Welsh Male Choir conductor Haydn James. The performance is part of the troupe's 30th anniversary celebrations.
This afternoon's programme was put together by James, the show's musical director, and includes pieces new to the Hong Kong choir, such as Anthem from the musical Chess, Soldiers Chorus from Faust and Stout-Hearted Men from The New Moon.
There will also be other numbers to mark the event, including the Australian national anthem, Advance Australia Fair.
'We view ourselves as ambassadors for Hong Kong. We're passionate about the music and songs and also welcome opportunities to perform and raise money for charitable organisations and other worthy causes,' says Kelly.
'We have also recently [welcomed] our new patron, Lord Thomas of Gresford, a singing patron, and he will be joining us on stage at the Sydney Opera House.'
Founded in 1978 by a small but enthusiastic group of local Welshmen, the Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir has since grown to its present strength of more than 70 and includes members from 10 countries, including local Chinese.
'Although it retains its Welsh roots, the choir is now much more international in character,' says Kelly. 'This has been a gradually evolving process over the 30 years of the choir, but has accelerated over the past decade as many expatriates left Hong Kong in the period around the 1997 handover.'
Members run the gamut of careers and include a judge, barristers, government officials, teachers, pilots, policemen, bankers, engineers, IT and PR consultants and several dedicated retirees, according to Kelly, who was a senior partner in an accounting firm before becoming a business consultant.
Four of the founding members - Berwyn Evans, Elford Roberts, Bill Morrison and Terry Brewster - still perform with the group.
'We are more interested in vocal ability and enthusiasm than what you do during the day, so we are open to anyone who thinks they have a reasonable voice joining our happy band of warblers.'
The choir has performed many engagements but one stands out: in 1979, Kelly says, the MTR was building the line under Victoria Harbour.
'They were tunnelling from both ends and had just broken through, so they held a celebration party for all the people involved, right in the middle of the harbour.
'The choir was invited to sing because [co-founder] Berwyn Evans was working for one of the main contractors. This was well before the tracks were laid. The choir went to the Admiralty station site, were taken down to the tunnel and then walked to the middle of the harbour to sing. Then afterwards they walked to Tsim Sha Tsui.'
With no government subsidy, the troupe relies heavily on box-office income, fund-raising and contributions by individual members. They give about 20 to 25 performances a year and sing at private functions.
Kelly says the choir 'has become more professional in recent years [but] the music we perform has not changed greatly over the years and is a core of great Welsh hymns and folk songs, blended with other popular classical and contemporary pieces'.
The choir sings mainly Welsh hymns and folk songs, including Gwahoddiad (Lewis Hartsough), Llef (Gulyn Arfon), Llanfair (Robert Williams), Rachie (Caradog Roberts), Morte Criste (Emrys Jones), Cwm Rhonddha (John Hughes), as well as Welsh love songs such as Calon Lan, Yvory (Robat Arwyn), and Myfanwy (Joseph Parry).
But it also sings more contemporary tunes including favourites such as You Raise Me Up, Unchained Melody and even Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.
The Sydney engagement is not the first time the Hong Kong choir has performed abroad. In 2004 it sang at the Festival of Welsh Choirs at London's Royal Albert Hall. It is scheduled to return to London next year.
Kelly has fond memories of the Royal Albert Hall engagement. At the end of a very long day, he recalls, from the start of rehearsals at 11am to the end of the concert at nearly 11pm, all 20 or so choirs trooped off to the nearby London University refectory for beer and refreshments. His choir carried on singing.
'The singing became something of a 'battle of the bands' between different choirs as we all became more well-oiled, but by 1am there was still one choir going strong and in good voice! Yes, it was us!' says Kelly. 'It's one reason why we've been invited back in 2008 - a rare honour for an overseas choir.'
