Two local choristers are among those preparing to take on the challenge of singing at ten bandstands across South Wales in a bid to prove the Welsh Male Voice Choir tradition is far from fading.

Local singers, Ian Powell and John Lloyd, will start at Milford Haven, in Pembrokeshire, at 7am on Sunday May 31 before travelling across South Wales and finishing up in Newport later that day.

They’ll be joined by 18 other members of Cor Meibion De Cymru, stopping off in Tenby, Carmarthen, Kidwelly, Llandeilo, Neath, Barry Island and Penarth before heading to Newport. After that mammoth journey, the choir will loop back to finish at Victoria Park in Cardiff at 8pm.

Together, they’re calling it the ‘red wave of singing.’

“Everything we do as a choir tends to have some sort of charitable aspect, and we thought we would try to incorporate Alzheimer’s Cymru into this one,” Ian said.

“We all have this love of choral singing, which apparently is on the wane. Other choirs have noticed they don’t attract many younger people so we are very keen to increase the publicity of Cor Meibion De Cymru.”

“People also ask where we come from,” John chimed while on the subject of boosting exposure for the choir.

“That’s a very difficult question for us to answer because we draw members between Southampton and Aberystwyth. Here we are in Abergavenny, Ian and I travel regularly to different parts of Wales with the choir and we aren’t alone.”

However, far from the narrative of the historic Welsh choir dying out, it remains a powerful cultural force throughout the country.

Part of this challenge, as the annual larger scale event for the choir in 2026, is to reimagine the male voice choir for a modern cultural landscape. The ambitious musical journey is designed to highlight the energy, heritage and community spirit that defines Welsh choral culture.

Choirs can also become a place where many find their calling at various points in their life. Ian recalled the first trip away he went on with Cor Meibion De Cymru and how welcome he felt.

“I was still new to the choir at the time and we were taking part in a concert in the south of England,” he said.

“Not many people in the choir would have known me at that stage. I was amazed when the large gathering of choir members and their wives invited us to go out on a day trip with them from the hotel before the concert. The choir made me feel like I belonged there very quickly.

Of course, supporting good causes is integral to the tradition of the male voice choir. As part of their challenge, the choir hopes to raise £5,000 for Alzheimer’s Cymru and there is a real determination to exceed it.

The full list of timings and locations can be found via the Cor Meibion De Cymru website and the donation portal is open now. They are already almost half way to their target.