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2007 WSCO Gymanfa Ganu and Te Bach -- Sunday, October 21
Mary Ellen Morgan
Join us for WSCO’s 58th annual Gymanfa Ganu at Central College Presbyterian Church, 975 South Sunbury Road, Westerville, Ohio, Sunday, October 21st at 2:30 pm.
Our special music will be presented by tenor Robert O’Brien. Robert has deep Welsh roots in Jackson County, Ohio, is part of the extensive Brynele clan and is a cousin to the Dafydd Edwards family and many WSCO members. The Brynele ancestors were tenants on a farm of that name, which means “the soft wind on the hill.”
After a 28-year legal career, Mr. O’Brien retired in 1986 to pursue a number of interests including singing. He is a member of the Palm Beach Opera Chorus and the Nevada Opera Chorus and, in 2004, toured South America with the Yale Alumni Chorus.
Mr. O’Brien appeared as a soloist, to great acclaim, in the opening concert of the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales, in 2001 and has been a prizewinner in Welsh eisteddfodau in both the United States and Wales. In September, 2006, he was winner of the David G. Morris prize for semi-professional vocal soloists at the North American Festival of Wales held in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Our gymanfa will be conducted by Thomas Lloyd, who earned his bachelor of music education degree at Otterbein College and master’s degrees in both education and music at Wright State University.
He has been teaching in Ohio for 33 years, most recently as conductor of the Concert Band at Columbus State Community College where he also teaches music history.
Mr. Lloyd is the music director at the First Presbyterian Church in London, Ohio. His choir frequently performs Welsh hymns and in 2004 he organized a Gymanfa Ganu to celebrate the church’s 175th anniversary. He directs the London Silver Cornet Band, a brass band which traces its roots to 1855.
His paternal great-grandparents were born in Wales and came to the United States in the late nineteenth century and settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
We are pleased to welcome James D. Hildreth back as the accompanist for the Gymanfa. James received his Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, and a Master of Sacred Music in Choral Conducting from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
From 1982-1987, Mr. Hildreth was Director of Music Ministries at the First United Methodist Church in Griffin, Georgia, and a member of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
Since 1987, he has been Organist at the Broad Street Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio, and an active member of the American Guild of Organists. He has served as an Adjunct Professor at Capital University in Columbus and teaches private piano and organ. Since 1988 he has been Organist for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra and has performed numerous times with the Columbus Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, in addition to giving solo organ recitals in various locales.
After all the wonderful music, you are invited to join us for a complimentary te bach, or little tea, in Ballard Hall immediately following the gymanfa.
Remember your loved ones and honor the living -- information for a written tribute to be included in the gymanfa program needs to be received by October 18th. For your convenience, click here for a form.
Questions about the gymanfa or te bach can be directed to (614) 470-4999 or centralohiowelsh[at]aol[dot]com.
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WELSH BUS TOUR - Sat., Oct 6, 2007 – seats still available!
Come along with us on the Granville and Welsh Hills area day trip – when this newsletter went to the printer there were still about a dozen seats left – we can put YOUR name on one! See article on page 3.
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