September 03, 2025 - 574 views
Music written by Prince Albert for King Charles's 75th birthday will be performed in Wales for the first time at a festival in St Asaph Cathedral on September 19th.
The concert will feature the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and tenor Gwilym Bowen. This event will be recorded for BBC Radio 3 and Radio Cymru.
The festival will also include performances by the BBC National Orchestra, Apollo5, and the Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition.
Paul Mealor, in his second year as the festival’s Artistic Director, said: “The importance of music and the arts in supporting and promoting good mental health is well known and well documented by scientists and psychologists world-wide.
“This year’s festival theme is Perceptions and through a series of concerts, workshops, masterclasses and discussions, we attempt to examine the positive aspects of music for our mental wellbeing.
“The Festival Lecture on September 20 will be on the subject of Music and the Mind and will be given by Prof Henrietta Bowden-Jones OBE, a leading psychiatrist and Vice-President of the Royal College of Physicians,” said Paul.
The festival’s opening concert on Thursday, September 11, stars Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja who Paul Mealor believes is “the world’s finest lyric tenor”.
Headliners this year include the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, world class choral group Apollo5 and the renowned Black Dyke Band.
Making her festival debut this year will be the acclaimed film and TV composer, Debbie Wiseman OBE.
Her theme tunes for Wolf Hall, Wilde, Father Brown, Tom’s Midnight Garden, Jack Frost, The Glorious Garden and many others will be played by the NEW Sinfonia orchestra.
Another highlight this year will be the second Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition that was launched last year and is being funded by the Pendine Arts and Community Trust set up by Pendine Park.
The final concert will feature the North Wales Choral Union and Orchestra under the baton of conductor Trystan Lewis.
Also returning will be the festival fringe which Paul Mealor introduced as a new element last year to create closer links with the local community in St Asaph.
The fringe events will include a cabaret and American song night, stand-up comedy, and a poetry night led by one of Wales’s greatest poets, Mererid Hopwood, the current Archdruid of Wales.
Tickets and further details about the festival programme and the Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition are available online at https://nwimf.com. Tickets are also available from Cathedral Frames, St Asaph – 07471 318723 (Weds – Fri, 10 – 4) and Theatr Clwyd by phone – 01352 344101 (Mon – Sun, 10 – 8).
