A party of young choristers from Carmarthenshire are flying out to Eastern Europe today (Mon) on the trip of a lifetime.
Next Saturday (July 22) 42 secondary school pupils from the county will be representing Wales and the UK at Eurovision Choir of the Year 2017 in Riga, Latvia.
These young singers are members of Côr Merched Sir Gâr which is run by Carmarthenshire Music Service.
The choir has been given the opportunity to represent the country at this prestigious competition after winning Cor Cymru in April.
Choir members Annell Dyfri and Catrin Lewis of Ysgol Bro Myrddin, Carmarthen, spoke of their excitement on Shân Cothi’s programme on Radio Cymru on Friday morning.
They said: “We have been very busy with rehearsals but adrenaline has carried us through. Our conductor Islwyn Evans is a perfectionist and knows how to get the best out of us. He always chooses a programme and songs that suit us.
“We’d like to thank all the staff of the Carmarthenshire Music Service for working so diligently with us and also thanks very much to Islwyn Evans.
“We are all really happy to be going to Riga, it will be an incredible experience. We think there will be an audience of 8,000. The stadium looks huge!”
Carmarthenshire County Council director of education Gareth Morgans said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the pupils of our county and puts Carmarthenshire on the international stage.
“We are extremely proud of our Music Service here in Carmarthenshire and the staff and pupils have worked incredibly hard over the last twelve months.”
Executive board member for education and children’s services Cllr Glynog Davies said: “This has been a fantastic year for a number of our county ensembles with many groups representing Wales at festivals and competitions across the UK.
“The choir has already performed at the Albert Hall this year, singing in the last night of the Music for Youth junior proms before Christmas. We wish the young ladies every success this week and we will be tuning in to S4C on Saturday night to cheer them on!”
The choir is flying out on Monday for the competition which takes place next Saturday and will return home the following day.
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