‘Oll an Gwella’ (OaG): Some highlights and notable experiences

2008: Suggestions were made to create a new informal group or quartet … “Newquay’s Canoryan Singers” from within Newquay Male Voice Choir.  All choir members were invited to participate. As a result, a few enthusiasts started to meet with Beverley Carpenter (music teacher) to sing light 4-part arrangements. John Steer, Rob Spowart & David Jackson, were later joined by David Bendall & Fred Boreham.

2010: 7 singers – 1^st charity engagements undertaken, using NMVC Social Songbook: St Columb Carnival, St Newlyn East Friendship group, re-opening Brittania pub in Chacewater, singing in residential homes, schools & for Newquay Rotary Christmas Carols.  Name (OaG), Logo & Uniform order agreed. Performance with NMVC at Lane Theatre. Rehearsals at Rob’s house in Lusty Glaze Road.

2011 10 singers – 1^st published OaG Songbook of agreed words, arrangements & starting notes 22 songs – OaG 1^st appearance at Royal Cornwall Show, representing the Federation of Cornish Male Voice Choirs on Radio Cornwall stage and at Eden.  NMVC Tour of Bournemouth & Poole with concert & residential home performances by OaG.

 

2012 13 singers – Songbook/repertoire of 32 songs.  Appearance with NMVC at The Lighthouse Cinema + Performances in Schools, Memory Cafés & Friendship groups & at Weddings and Newquay Fish Festival, alongside a group called “The Fisherman’s Friends”.

2013  13 singers – Songbook/repertoire 48 songs.  Travelled with Newquay MVC to sing at both Minack Theatre and with Cornish Federation of Male Choirs in The Royal Albert Hall before (on the Sunday) OaG performed on the main deck of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich before causing mayhem in Greenwich Market as the lunchtime performance brought trading to a standstill.  1^st Charity performance at Royal Cornwall Show. 1^st production of a separate OaG Christmas Songbook of rehearsed songs and carols.

2014 11 singers – Songbook/repertoire 72 songs. Visit to St Malo & Dinard, singing in Dinard Saturday Market and the beautiful 9^th Century Abbaye Saint-Magloire De Léhon in Dinan, (originally a Benedictine Monastery). Performed with 70 different bookings during the year.

2015 11 singers – Songbook/repertoire 81 songs. Decision to register as an independent group (with links to NMVC) & establish own Bank a/c. – Release of our 1st Charity CD, “Working with Amateurs”. It was recorded at the Music Recording Studio, Treviglas Community College, Newquay, with the help & support of Steve Mildenhall (Head of Music) and work experience students. The final production stages were completed by PMSound, Truro.  1^st Welsh arena tour – visit to Cardiff & links with Welsh Valley Choir “More than a Song”.  1^st appearance at Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival and Main Stage at the Royal Cornwall Show.

2016 12 singers – Songbook/repertoire 93 songs. worked with schools to introduce some Kernewek words to regular folk songs for schoolchildren; visit to ‘Lorient Festival Interceltique’ representing Cornwall over the 10-day 15-performance Festival.  Visit from “More than a Song” from Pontypridd.   Serious Road Traffic Accident hospitalising David Bendall, Nick Brown & Andy Pappin. 112 performances during the year, including a performance at Sturminster Newton.

2017 11 singers – Songbook/repertoire 100 songs.  Visit to sing for Andy Pappin at Spinal Care Unit, Salisbury Hospital (performing as “Wiltshire Wailers”), with charity performances at the shopping mall and Salisbury Cathedral.  The group were presented with the Mayor’s Award for ‘Community Support’ recognising work with nursing homes, memory cafes and school workshops in Newquay and beyond. Release of their 2nd Charity CD, “All the Best”, recorded by Karel Weis at Audiostudio4 and reproduced by West Coast Duplication.  The group performed for 120 separate events during the year.

2018 11 singers – Songbook/repertoire 100 songs.  Over 12 weeks of the summer, OaG entertained at the Royal Cornwall Show, Falmouth International Sea-Shanty Festival and Gorsedh Kernow’s meeting of Bards in Newquay. They auditioned for ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, performed during 2 visits to South Wales (the 1^st with NMVC) at Charity performances in Swansea, Pontypridd and Caerphilly Castle. OaG also opened the main stage at Boardmasters Surf & Music Festival. A year of offering lyrics in Cornish, Welsh & French, as they variously organised a shanty cruise down the river Fal; learnt a specially commissioned George Ezra number and purchased their own 6-microphone sound system.

2019 10 singers – Songbook/repertoire 100+ songs.  gave a performance at the UK’s most popular Charity Garden Day at “Tregothnan Gardens” for iSight Cornwall.  10^th Anniversary French trip – visit to Morlaix, singing at the Morlaix Saturday Market and with “La Cle des Chants” at Chappelle Saint-François & to Henvic in Brittany, singing with “Voisins Voix’in” and “Les Marins des Legendes” in concerts.

2020 11 singers – Songbook/repertoire 100+ songs.  Release of 3^rd charity CD, “From the Heart of Cornwall” which was recorded & artwork designed by Mike Davey of ICON Audio. – just before Covid pandemic hit.  Oll an Gwella played a full and active part in Newquay’s St Piran Celebrations before lockdown later in March. Zoom contact maintained before eventually 6-at-a-time rehearsals outside were arranged.

2021 12 singers – Songbook/repertoire 100 songs.  Outdoor post-lockdown rehearsals, as possible.  Chosen to sing live on ITV’s ‘Good Morning Britain’ and ‘Lorraine’ shows from Watergate Beach, with Andi Peters.  Slow increase in bookings as Covid sensitivities eased.

By 2022 (the time of writing this article) 12 singers – Songbook/repertoire 90 songs.  OaG (still also all members of NMVC) had become Newquay’s top, rehearsed, accappella male chorus with an enviable national & international reputation.  Their 3 charity albums mix good Cornish singing with a little culture & smiles – all elements of an Oll an Gwella performance and, to date, there is a proud and enviable history of over 1000 successful engagements.  Offering 4-part harmony, the group has earned wide acclaim for their quality singing and infectious good humour, singing in churches, cathedrals, castles, Abbeys, pubs, clubs, quarries, halls, private homes, parks, gardens, beaches, cliff-tops, festivals, tents, marquees, on boats, in a slate mine, on a cliff-top, in a woodland glade and a Napoleonic reservoir!  The group’s reputation and popularity has grown steadily with their repertoire.  Entertaining for pleasure OaG have raised thousands of pounds for local charities & significant donations have been made to ‘The Cove’ cancer centre, the RNLI and both their current charities (Cornwall Blood Bikes and Cornwall Hospice Care) amounting to more than £40,000 in the past 7 years, since their own bank account was established.  As a result, the group are proud to have a Cornwall Blood Bike named after Andy Pappin, an outstanding tenor.

With, initially, lots of help from Cornish linguists the group sing in Kernewek (Cornish language) also performing for Gorsedd Kernow, The Celtic Congress, Cornwall Council and Old Cornwall Societies as well as frequent performances for Newquay’s St Piran’s Day Festival.   The group have also worked closely with “Lowender Peran” Festival organisers to introduce local schoolchildren to the Cornish Language and Cornish Folk Songs.

Chaos TV recorded the group for Newquay’s St Piran Festival on a cold blowy day in February on Towan Headland.  Here’s the link to a YouTube video of Newquay with Oll an Gwella singing as part of that soundtrack:

Notes

Website: http://ollangwella.co.uk/

Facebook: @ollangwella

See also

Lamorna

Deulagas Vyghan / Little Eyes / Little Lise

Cadgwith Anthem

Camborne Hill / Bre Gammbronn

Newquay Male Voice Choir