World-renowned vocal group return to Wales after Proms performance

Nation Cymru staff

An internationally acclaimed vocal ensemble is returning to north Wales for a special concert just days after performing at the BBC Proms.

The Gesualdo Six, one of Britain’s leading a cappella groups will perform music from their latest album, Wishing Tree, at the North Wales International Music Festival on Friday, 11 September.

The concert at St Asaph Cathedral will feature a programme that spans 500 years of music, from the 16th century to the present day.

It will conclude with a newly commissioned arrangement of the Welsh folk song, Ar Lan y Môr.

The festival, which features concerts, workshops and fringe events, has been made possible thanks to main grant funders the Arts Council of Wales and Colwinston Charitable Trust.

Other partners include the headline sponsors, Pendine Park care organisation, through the Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT), established by owners Mario Kreft MBE and his wife, Gill, along with Scops Arts Trust, Tŷ Cerdd, St Asaph City Council and Salisburys Chartered Accountants.

Directed by composer Owain Park, The Gesualdo Six formed in 2014 for a performance of Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories in the chapel of Trinity College.

The ensemble includes a bass, baritone, two tenors and two counter tenors singing in harmony creating what Owain described as an “aural experience”.

Notable highlights in the past 12 years have included a concert in the distinguished Deutschlandradio Debut Series and their debut at the BBC Proms in 2023. They will be taking part in the Proms again the week before their concert in St Asaph.

In 2024 The Gesualdo Six made their South American debut in Colombia and appeared in Japan, China and Singapore for the first time.

They last appeared at the North Wales International Music Festival seven years ago and say they are delighted to be returning to the cathedral.

Owain said: “It was lovely singing in the cathedral with its wonderful acoustics. We’re really looking forward to coming back and sharing this programme with the audience in north Wales.

“We sing in harmony and unaccompanied as a group of six but some of the songs have been written for three, four or even five voices so we give each other a breather from time to time,” he said.

The festival’s Artistic Director, Professor Paul Mealor, said: “The ensemble are known for their innovative programming blending medieval, Renaissance and contemporary choral music and have been praised for their beautiful blend and imaginative concerts, performing globally at venues like Wigmore Hall and the Sydney Opera House.

“They have recently returned from a tour of Australia and later this autumn will take part in concerts in the United States and I am very much looking forward to hearing them sing.”

The festival’s theme for 2026 is Macrocosm: Music and Conservation and honours and explores the close ties that exist between music and the natural environment.

“We will examine the ‘macrocosm’, which is the interconnectedness of all things, and how humans are both the problem and the solution,” said Prof Mealor.

“Scientists from all over the world have extensively documented the role that music and the arts can play in supporting and encouraging the preservation of our natural environments.

“We seek to explore these beneficial features for our environment in a specifically Welsh context through a series of concerts, workshops and conversations”.

Among the highlights in 2026 is the Pendine Young Musician of Wales Grand Final which will take place on Wednesday, September 16.

The popular competition returns with young musicians from throughout Wales competing for the £4,000 prize money and Pendine Trophy.

Professor Helena Gaunt, Principal of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Iwan Llewelyn-Jones and Alun Jones will be the adjudicators for the concert which will be broadcast on BBC Radio Cymru.

The following evening the NEW Sinfonia, conducted by Robert Guy, will mark the 90th birthday of Prokofiev’s innovative work, Peter and the Wolf.

It introduces children to the instruments of the orchestra through the story of a brave boy, Peter, who outsmarts a hungry wolf with the help of a bird, duck and a cat (which are represented by musical instruments). The narrator will be Zeb Soanes and the performance will be BSL interpreted.

The concert also includes three new commissions celebrating endangered animals of north Wales – the Red Squirrel, the Pine Marten and the Snowdon Leaf Beetle.

On Saturday, September 12 youngsters from the Denbighshire Music Cooperative (DMC) take centre stage.

Last April St Asaph Cathedral hosted the Royal Maundy service attended by King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It was the first time in 800 years that this ancient ceremony came to north Wales and only the second time in Wales.

Throughout the day, pupils from the North Music Cooperative performed for the Royal party, guests and visitors and in this special concert there will be performances from their Fusion Band, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Band, and a host of outstanding soloists.

The BBC National Orchestra of Wales conducted by Tianyi Lu and harpist Alis Huws will perform the premiere of a harp concerto composed by Cameron Biles-Liddell as well as Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending and Beethoven’s Sixth symphony.

The festival closes with a choral concert featuring two choirs, Anglesey-based Encôr and Hen Nodiant from Cardiff.

Both are long-time rivals who have only ever met in competition at the National Eisteddfod and they will unite in song for the very first time.

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 – 01352 344101 (Mon – Sat, 10 – 6).

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