Sherborne Town Band With Pendyrus Male Choir

Sherborne Town Band will be joined by the world renowned Pendyrus Male Choir from Wales.
An exciting evening of live music to suit all tastes.Pendyrus Male ChoirFounded on 24 May 1924 in the mining village of Tylorstown at the heart of the Rhondda Valley, Pendyrus Male Choir proudly celebrates its centenary this year as the longest-serving male choir in continuous existence in the Rhondda Valley.The start of 2026 has been particularly memorable, highlighted by sold-out concerts at Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff for the Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir's 60th anniversary, as well as a packed performance in Ebbw Vale with the Can Aderyn Singers.The choir's schedule for this year is extensive, featuring performances in Burford, Swansea, Amersham and a special concert at Llandaff Cathedral in October to honour renowned musician Dr Alwyn Humphreys. Over the years, Pendyrus Male Choir has shared the stage with many distinguished ensembles, including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Cory Band. Their history also includes successful tours across the USA, Russia, Australia, Canada, Europe and the UK. Notably, they were the first Welsh male choir invited to perform at the opening ceremony of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay, at the invitation of Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott in 2005.Television audiences may recognise the choir from their appearances on BBC, S4C, and ITV, or from their many recordings. Their most recent release, a collaboration with tenor Rhys Meirion, was particularly poignant as it marked the final performance of their dedicated accompanist of 51 years, Mr Gavin Parry, who retired on 21 September 2024.We are delighted to be sharing the stage with the Sherborne Town Band and are overwhelmed with the welcome we have received from the warm people of Sherborne.G L Haines
General Secretary
Pendyrus Male ChoirSherborne Town Band HistoryIn 1961, the "Old Boys" of the Sherborne Boys Brigade gathered to put on a concert to celebrate the retirement of the Boys Brigade's Bandmaster, Charlie Parsons. They borrowed instruments, performed the concert and had so much fun, that they decided to start a band of their own. The first band chairman was Colin Cosh and there are relatives from those "Old Boys" in the band today, including our principal cornet player and E flat bass player. By 1965, the town band had progressed to become 3rd Section National Champions.In 1999, the Band came 2nd in the West of England Regional Championships (known as the Areas) qualifying again for the National Second Section Finals (competing against Second Section finalists from the other seven regions of Great Britain), where they achieved a commendable eighth place. This promoted the band to the First Section. The band again made steady progress; successes included fifth place in the Areas in 2003 and in 2004. In March 2005, the Band was awarded its best Area's result, third place. This result together with previous years' results meant that the band was promoted to the Championship Section - a fine reward for the years of hard work and dedication given by the band members and band's conductors. After two years of hard work in the Championship section, the band rejoined the first section, where they gained third place in the Areas in 2008, narrowly missing being promoted back into the Championship section! In 2009 the band did much better, gaining 2nd place at the areas and in September 2009 came 7th after competing in the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, in Harrogate.
2010 saw even more progress with the band being promoted to the Championship section once again, where the band held its own in the 2010 South West Areas. After months of hard work and practice the band came 7th in the section and became the highest placed band in Dorset and Somerset and gave the Sherborne Town Band its highest ranking in its history.The Band plays a significant role in the life of the community, helping local organisations and charities with their fund-raising events and in 2008 launched the Youth Education Scheme, this continues as 'Sherborne Youth Band' which now has a thriving youth band of around 20 children ranging in ability, 2024 has seen joint sessions with the senior band, with the hope of encouraging and challenging the younger players.From 2016 the band held its own in the 1st section managing to keep the standard high and kept going through the dreaded Covid days with online 'pub quiz's' and virtual community spirit, brass bands were some of the last musical groups permitted to reform after the lock downs. During this time frame the band gained success with consistent contest scores that enabled us to qualify for the National Championships-1st Section 2023. We were so delighted to perform in Cheltenham and felt we did ourselves proud. After competing in the Championship section and maintaining our standard by being placed 3rd in the Wessex BBA Festival Nov 2024. We worked hard to maintain our standards and performed well on stage at the 2025 southwest areas but the competition was just too much. We are in a good place in the 1st section now, building our youth section, welcoming new players and looking forward to more concert/competition and banding success in the future.