ClevelandPeople.Com
2011 North American Festival of Wales

North American Festival of Wales
2011 - Cleveland, Ohio

The 2011 North American Festival of Wales annual convention was held in Cleveland, Ohio.

Festival of Wales banner

Once a year, a four day North American Festival of Wales (a Gymanfa Ganu, commonly just referred to as a National) is held in North America over the Labor Day weekend. The four day festival opens on Thursday night with a Noson Lawen, which some call a Welsh Amateur Night. The weekend continues with an evening banquet on Friday and a Saturday concert, generally featuring a Welsh male voice choir and soloists, both from Wales.

2011 North American Festival of Wales


Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association President-Elect Hywel M. Davies welcomes the crowd to the Gymanfa Ganu evening session in Cleveland and introduces Rev. Robert D. Hughes who gives the Invocation.


Sunday is the defining day of the four day festival which begins with a bilingual church and memorial service. After a brief intermission, this service is followed by afternoon and evening sessions of the Gymanfa Ganu itself.

2011 North American Festival of Wales


A unique feature of the gymanfa ganu is the seating separation of alto, soprano, tenor, and bass singers into sections for the four part harmony singing. And while the Gymanfa Ganu is conducted with the dignity of a church service, it is not unknown for the musical conductor to stop the singing when one or more of the voice sections wanders from the desired harmony and needs special attention.

The Hymn Aberystwyth by Dr Joseph Parry at Gymanfa Ganu

Interspersed between the formal proceedings are frequent sessions of spontaneous singing of favorite hymns. A Welsh Marketplace, offering Welsh products, artifacts, souvenirs, recordings, and books, is also available during the days of the festival.

2011 North American Festival of Wales


The Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association is the main organizational body responsible for putting on the event.

Enjoy these photos and videos from the Sunday evening events.



The choir, with Musical Director Ilid Anne Jones,
sings Alleluia by Leonard Cohen


Local Venue Chairs  Sue Stealey and Barbara Jones

Local Venue Chairs Sue Stealey and Barbara Jones


The Reverend Robert D. Hughes

The Reverend Robert D. Hughes


Organist Alan C. Thomas

Organist Alan C. Thomas


Welsh choir




Diadem


Welsh Choir with musical director


Musical Director Ilid Anne Jones

Musical Director Ilid Anne Jones


Cheryl T. Mitchell in Welsh costume

Cheryl T. Mitchell




Singing with sign language


Glenn Grove in kilt

Glenn Grove


Iwan Wyn Williams with Catrin Mair Robert

Iwan Wyn Williams with Catrin Mair Robert


Ann E Lemmenes

Ann E Lemmenes





Ierid Anne Jones and Joel Ware IV

Ierid Anne Jones and Joel Ware IV


Margaret Jones, Garrett Jones, Tindor Williams and Ceri Jones

Margaret Jones, Garrett Jones, Tindor Williams and Ceri Jones


Welsh Gymanfa Ganu crowd


Men at Welsh Gymanfa Ganu





Welsh red dragon flag



Top of Page

Back to Cleveland Welsh


Please support the Welsh pages of ClevelandPeople.Com







Stay informed about
the news and special events
of the Group(s)
you choose by
signing up
for the free
ClevelandPeople.Com
e-newsletter



Follow ClevelandPeople
on Twitter

Follow ClevelandPeople on Twitter

or Cleveland People on Facebook


Like the work
of ClevelandPeople.Com?
Contribute to the cause
via Paypal






Visit our
On-line Store
featuring Books, DVDs,
Music, Flags,
Clothes, Food
and more from our
various ethnic groups.




Browse over 6,500
ClevelandPeople
YouTube videos






Murder in the Cultural Gardens
Whodunit Mystery
by Dan Hanson
set in the
Cleveland Cultural Gardens


























 Copyright © 2009-2023
      Magnum Computers Inc.