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October 23, 2015
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A Musical Bond
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Welsh choir’s visit renews historical tradition
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Times-shamrock communiTy newspapers 149 Penn Avenue Scranton, PA 18503 Phone: (570) 348-9185 Fax: (570) 207-3448 E-mail: advantage@ timesshamrock.com
Côr Dathlu Cwmtawe is a 50-voice male choir from the Swansea Valley in Wales.
by Christopher Cornell ADVANTAGE EDITOR
The inhabitants of the Swansea Valley in Wales and the people of the Lackawanna Valley have a shared heritage of coal and iron — and music — that spans more than 185 years since Welsh families first arrived in this area. In celebration of that connection, Côr Dathlu Cwmtawe, a 50-voice male choir from the Swansea Valley in Wales, is coming to America, and naturally they will visit the Lackawanna Valley. Their first appearance will be Monday, Oct. 26, at 5:30 p.m. at the miners’ monument on Seventh Avenue in Carbondale. They will be accompanied by the Carbondale Area High School Band. But that’s just the start of their swing through the area. Following the miners’ tribute, the choir will be the guests of honor at a dinner at the Best Western Pioneer Plaza, 25 S. Main St. in Carbondale, beginning at 6 p.m. The choir will be welcomed and presented with proclamations by regional and local officials. There will also be a performance by the Carbondale High School Chorus. Tickets to the dinner are $15, and can be purchased by calling 570-
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536-6020 or at the door. On Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. the choir will perform at the Elm Park Methodist Church, 712 Linden St. in Scranton. And on Thursday, Oct. 29, the choir will be back in Carbondale for a performance at the Best Western Pioneer Plaza, at 7 p.m. At that performance, they will be joined by the Valley View High School choir, under the direction of Gina Lupini. The choir will perform Welsh traditional, American spiritual, classical and modern selections. The history of Welsh immigrants to the area, and the tradition of them forming musical groups, goes back to the first settlements in the region. The 1830 recruitment of 90 Welsh mining families to Carbondale had a major impact, both economically and culturally, on the region. Welsh miners worked the first underground mine in 1830, and in 1840 Welsh anthracite iron workers built the Scranton Iron Furnaces. By 1850, the Welsh inhabitants in Carbondale held an eisteddfod (a Welsh festival of literature and music). The tradition of Welsh
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choirs spread and soon choirs of all sorts were popping up. The Scranton Catholic Choral Association held competitive music festivals in 1891 featuring more than 20 choirs, 25 singing societies and 65 soloists. Scranton took first place in the choral competition of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir coming in second. The 1928 Scranton Anthracite Chorus took first place at the Royal National Eisteddfod in Wales. The choir was formed in 2011, on the 150th anniversary of the building a local church. A group formed and gave two concerts to celebrate the occasion, and to help raise money for the maintenance of the building. It is this choir which has become Côr Dathlu Cwmtawe. Although Côr Dathlu Cwmtawe has only been in existence for a few years, many of its members have been singing for more than 50 years. Tickets to Thursday night’s performance are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Call the Best Western Pioneer Plaza at 570-536-6020. For tickets to the Elm Park Church concert in Scranton, call 570-342-8263.
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