Welcome to Caerphilly Community Chorus

The choir was founded in 2009 by Nigel Jones on his retirement from a career as a high school music teacher and county music service choral animateur.  With 55 people turning up at the first rehearsal the choir immediately became established.  Nigel directed the choir for just over four years during which time he also re-established the children’s choir.  During his tenure, the Community Chorus sang at venues throughout the county – churches and chapels, Caerphilly castle, Blackwood Miners Institute & Bedwas Workingmen’s Hall plus a number of outdoor locations!  The culmination came in October 2013 when the choir gave a memorable performance of Nigel’s own “Requiem Cambrensis” written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Senghenydd Mining Disaster.

October 2013 saw the arrival of a new musical director, Rosie Howarth. Rosie developed and extended the choir’s repertoire to include a wide range of styles – from African song to Musical Theatre. 

In June 2019, Tomos Gwyn was appointed as our musical director. Tomos brought fun and challenging repertoire to the choir and set about planning for a Musical Theatre themed Summer Concert. This was our first performance in 2 years and was enjoyed by the performers and the audience.
In September 2022 we welcomed Anna Beresford as our Musical Director. Take a look at our Gallery below to see what we've been up to through 2023 so far. We've participated in community events such as the Caerphilly Food and Flower Festivals and Caerffili Pride. 

In June 2014 we learned that Caerphilly Community Chorus & Children’s Choir had won the W.S. Gwynn Williams Award – given annually by Ty Cerdd in recognition of the most improved amateur music organisation in Wales over the previous two years.  The award is named in memory of the founder of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod which began just after WW2.  The result was announced at a special ceremony at the Senedd, Cardiff Bay and we were presented with the award by the Welsh government minister responsible for the arts. We are joint winners of the award with the famous Cory Band. There are over 300 amateur music performance groups across Wales so this is a huge “feather in the cap” for our organisation and shows what can be done in a community that has some vision, drive and capability.

Message from the Choir Chairman

Welcome to the Caerphilly Community Chorus website and if you’re thinking of joining a choir, then you won’t get a warmer welcome than from our friendly group. Our members have a wide range of ages and abilities, so if you’re an experienced singer or have never sang with a choir before you’ll feel at home. There are no auditions to worry about and you can try before you buy and only pay fees if you like what you see. Just pop along to one of our rehearsals at the Vanguard Centre, which provides excellent easily accessible facilities. Don’t worry if you can’t read music and you’re bound to find music to enjoy from our varied repertoire, which includes music from around the world, traditional pieces and songs from the musicals. So why not give us a try, we’d love you to join us and I’m sure you won’t regret it.

Dennis Evans