Culture

Welsh stars to take centre stage as BBC Proms comes to north Wales

27 Aug 2026 2 minute read

Cerys Hafana will be among the performers in Mold. Image Am

Nation.Cymru staff

The BBC Proms will make its first visit to a north Wales town this weekend with a concert inspired by Welsh legend and folklore.

Welsh actors Owen Teale and Sian Reese-Williams will join broadcaster Huw Stephens to present BBC Proms: Words and Music at Theatr Clwyd in Mold on Saturday, August 29.

The concert will combine classical and contemporary music with literature and storytelling, drawing on the medieval tales of the Mabinogion.

Music will be performed by Welsh multi-instrumentalist Cerys Hafana and Sinfonia Cymru, conducted by Iwan Davies.

The programme will also feature a newly commissioned poem, Un Tro (One Time), by National Poet of Wales Hanan Issa.

It marks the first time the BBC Proms has been staged in Mold and is a live concert edition of BBC Radio 3’s Words and Music series.

The programme includes the world premiere of Tynged, a new BBC commission for string orchestra by Simmy Singh.

Other works include Gareth Glyn’s Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed, Morfydd Owen’s Threnody on the Passing of Branwen and Joseph Parry’s Divine Breath (Awen).

Cerys Hafana will perform Wife of Usher’s Well and Tragwyddoldeb, both arranged by Patrick Rimes, while the programme will conclude with Calan’s Tale of Two Dragons.

Music by Dvořák, Wagner and Mussorgsky will also feature alongside Donald Grant’s The Witch of Leanachan.

Teale, known for roles including Game of Thrones and Line of Duty, and Reese-Williams will provide the spoken-word elements alongside Stephens.

The performance will be interpreted in British Sign Language by Hannah Wilson.

The concert takes place at Theatr Clwyd at 4pm on Saturday. It will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and made available through BBC Sounds.

The Mold concert forms part of the BBC Proms, which was founded 131 years ago and has been organised and broadcast by the BBC for 99 years.

The festival runs for eight weeks and features orchestras, conductors and soloists from the UK and around the world.

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