A talented young harpist swapped Buckingham Palace for a concert “fit for a king” at a care organisation.
Bethan Conway was joined by flautist Charlotte Thomas for a series of performances at Pendine Park in Wrexham.
The pair are long-standing members of NEW Sinfonia, the flagship orchestra of North Wales which has struck up a new partnership with Pendine.
The concert was arranged as a token of thanks for the backing which NEW Sinfonia has received from the Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT) which supports a host of cultural and community activities in North Wales.
PACT was established by arts-loving Pendine owners Mario and Gill Kreft to champion cultural and community initiatives.
Among events PACT has sponsored is the inaugural Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition which will be a highlight of this year’s North Wales International Music Festival at St Asaph Cathedral.
As well as being the festival’s headline sponsor, they’re also supporting the world premiere of a new opera to mark the 90th anniversary of the Gresford Disaster which claimed the lives of 266 men and boys.
The music for the opera was composed Jonathan Guy, from Wrexham, who co-founded NEW Sinfonia with his brother, conductor Robert Guy, with the words being written by poet Grahame Davies, who hails from Coedpoeth.
Pendine has a particularly poignant reason for sponsoring the premiere of the new work, Gresford: Up from Underground, on Thursday, September 12.
The opera was co-commissioned by the festival’s Artistic Director, the royal composer, Paul Mealor, from Connah’s Quay, and NEW Sinfonia, with support from the Arts Council of Wales.
They cared for the tragedy’s last survivor, Albert Rowlands, who passed away in 2020. He was a 15 year old lamp boy at the colliery at the time and his father, John, was among those who perished on that terrible day.
The new opera will also be performed at St Giles’s Church, in Wrexham, on the weekend of September 19 to 22 as part of the Remembering Gresford Festival.
Among the pieces Bethan and Charlotte performed at Pendine was Gresford. also known as the Miners’ Hymn which the residents sang along to. It was written by Tyneside miner Robert Saint in 1936, two years after the September 1934 Gresford disaster.
The duo played a range of popular tunes including the Beatles’ “Let it Be” and Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” as well as Hollywood movie favourites like “Singing in the Rain” and “Somewhere over the Rainbow”.
As well as the performance at Bryn Bella, Bethan and Charlotte also delivered music sessions at Highfield home in Summerhill, and at Pendine Park’s two sister homes Hillbury and Gwen Alyn in Hillbury Road, Wrexham
Bethan can boast a Royal seal of approval for her beautiful playing style. A highlight of her career to date was performing for King Charles when he was then Prince Charles during his annual president’s visit to the Royal College of Music (RCM) in 2020.
She gained a first class honours degree from the college in 2017 and then went on to graduate with a Master of Performance with distinction. Upon completing her studies she was awarded the prestigious Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother Rose Bowl award.
She has also played with fellow RCM students at a Royal gala at Buckingham Palace.
Charlotte also has an impressive record, having played in the BBC Proms orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, watched by millions of TV viewers around the globe. She has also worked with Welsh National Opera.
Bethan said: “It has been a great project for us. It’s always a pleasure engaging with the residents at Pendine, they have some fascinating stories to tell and are always keen to hear about our latest music projects.”
NEW Sinfonia conductor Robert said: “We really value our friendship with Pendine Park. Mario and Gill have done so much to champion musicians and the creative arts generally in North Wales over recent years through PACT.
“We felt it was time we did something in return to show how much we appreciate their support. The best way to do that was by doing what we love – making music.
“I knew Bethan and Charlotte would be the perfect pairing to share our music with Pendine residents. They are amazing and have such a natural personable way of interacting with their audiences.
“It’s enabled us to take music to those who cannot attend the shows and let them engage with the story on their terms.
“I would also like to thank the Arts Council of Wales whose invaluable support has made the Remembering Gresford project happen, including the performances at the North Wales International Music Festival, Pendine and Gresford.”
Pendine Park Artist in Residence Sarah Edwards said: “We’re hugely grateful to everyone at NEW Sinfonia for arranging for Bethan and Charlotte to perform for our residents. It really was a concert fit for a king.
“Arts and music are integral to our recreational programmes and to have such accomplished musicians spend time with us is a real treat. All the residents loved their music and they both have such warm personalities that they quickly made friends here.”
Bryn Bella resident Carole Ball said the two instrumentalists were wonderful and she was not surprised Bethan had played for Royalty.
She said: “They play so harmoniously together it is a real pleasure to listen to them. When they played the Welsh Lullaby it sent me into my own little day dream. I hope they come back again very soon and perform some more.”
She added with a laugh: “I think Bethan should call her harp “Harry Houdini” because such beautiful music escapes from it, and Charlotte should call her flute “Tutti Flutti” it spreads such joy.”
Fellow resident Sandra Swift said: “We all thoroughly enjoyed meeting Bethan and Charlotte and hearing such lovely music. On behalf of all the residents I want to thank them for coming to visit us, it’s been a real pleasure.”
