MONTHS of practice paid off for competitors at the Abergavenny Young People’s Eisteddfod held at King Henry VIII School.

The event, on Saturday, April 21st, was the culmination of months of hard work by organisers throughout the winter months.

Whatever nerves the competitors may have had before reaching the platform were well hidden as soon as the performance started, when training and practice took over and very polished performances resulted.

Such was the range of talent and a willingness to compete by some primary age individuals, that by the middle of the session some, such as Peronelle Hunt with three medals before 10.00, were beginning to become weighed down.

The young performers deal very well with the pressure of what is in essence a practical examination of their skills in front of an audience of, not only their fellow competitors, but their parents, adjudicators and their teachers as well.

The morning session, for children of primary school age, was chaired in both Welsh and English by Sarah McGuiness.

Competitors were divided into two age groups, years 1,2,3 and 4,5,6, and those who performed on stage were the winners of the preliminary competitions.

For the folk dance competitions competitors, all dressed attractively, gave colourful lively performances, dancing with enthusiasm and clearly enjoying themselves to the sound of traditional Welsh airs.

Instumental and vocal solos were well represented,interspersed with sight reading and recitation in both English and Welsh.It was a difficult task for the adjudicators, LynneSmith [Recitation], Janette Butt[Dance] and Anne Smith[Voice and Instumental].

Available on display outside the performance hall were the entries for the art and literature competitions. These competitions are organised and awarded by Abergavenny Town Council.

A wide variety of written pieces, models, paintings etc. had been produced and adjudicators were impressed with the high quality of submitted work.

All who produced winning entries were invited onto the stage to be awarded medals by the Deputy Mayor, Cllr Maggie Harris. Rosemary Williams thanked the town council for its continuing support.

In a hall packed with parents, the choral competition concluded the morning session with the high standard set in previous years maintained by all three choirs.

The winner of the coveted Douglas and Edna Edwards Shield this year was Llantilio Pertholey Primary who are now invited to perform their winning song at the start of the Gala Concert on 16th June.

At the afternoon session, presided over by the chair of the Eisteddfod committee, Mrs Rosemary Williams, competitors in the 11 to 18 age group took part following their preliminaries in the morning.

Similar competitions as for the primary schools took place and one could easily note how the style of the performers was maturing.

There was not such a large audience and a quieter environment prevailed than during the morning with the audience and competitors showing a familiarity with Eisteddfod practice.

Each competitor acknowledged the adjudicators and waited for them to be ready in the unobtrusive manner of experienced performers before starting.

The Eisteddfod stage can be a big, empty and intimidating environment for a lone competitor but this did not appear to cause these youngsters any problems; a remarkable indication of maturity and confidence.

The level of concentration on performing was obvious and there was certainly a competitive atmosphere, but in a friendly manner, amongst them all, each recognising gracefully the other’s greater achievement on the day. This is so typical of eisteddfodwyr: extremely competitive on stage, but good friends off it.

Many famous Welsh musicians started their careers in local eisteddfodau, progressing through the Urdd Eisteddfod to the National.

The local eisteddfodau, such as the Abergavenny Eisteddfod, are the nurseries from which these people grow with a confidence to perform, nurtured by the constructive feed-back received from experienced adjudicators.

The adjudicators, Helen May (voice), Joseph Davies (instrumental), Jeanette Butt(dance) and Jeff Davies (spoken word) had a very difficult task to place each performer in rank order when there were often only minor differences between them, and most of these differences were not obvious to those non-specialists in the audience.

At the end of the afternoon session, four performances, not surprisingly at the top end of the age category, were chosen by the adjudicators to perform at the Gala Concert during the adult eisteddfod on the 16th June.

They are: Nidus Children’s choir under their conductor Christian Jenkins who gave a superb rendition of the Happy Wanderer and received an outstanding adjudication.

Amelia Hughes, a member of Nidus choir who won the accolade of the adjudicators for her singing of ‘See Beloved’ in Italian from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, a piece of music normally sang by a more mature soprano.

Caius Gordon Bruno who proved to be the outstanding instrumentalist of the day with his capable playing of his cello.

Ffion Hodder who chose to recite in Welsh, her mother tongue, and delivered the poignant poem ‘Y Gynhedlaeth Goll’ by Alan Llwyd, which focuses on the sacrifice of so many young lives during the First World War, with much feeling and excellent diction.

These are people to watch for the future and those who intend to hear them on June 16th can expect a real treat.

In her address to the audience Rosemary Williams thanked all the competitors and their coaches for the effort and practice that they had devoted in order to present such impressive performances, and to Chris Lovegrove who accompanied many of the competitors on the piano.

She also thanked the parents for their support on the day and for what they had contributed by the encouragement they had obviously given their children.

The adjudicators were thanked for the constructive manner in which they delivered their reports and for making the Eisteddfod much more than just a concert.

She went on to comment that is difficult to imagine how the eisteddfod could have existed if it were not for the support of the schools,groups and the devotion of the teachers to help train their pupils.

Special thanks were given to Colin Beynon for organising the secondary competitions and to the Committee for all their support.

Mrs. Williams noted that this year’s Gala Concert, where the finalists of the adult eisteddfod perform, would be held at 7.00pm on Saturday 16th June in the Methodist Church in Castle Street. Entrance will be by a programme at a cost of £3.

These eisteddfodau are not money making ventures but are seen as an important aspect of the culture that everybody is invited to experience and hopefully embrace in the longer term.

As a conclusion Mrs Williams gave thanks to King Henry VIII School for allowing the use of the school hall as a most suitable venue for the Eisteddfod.

Special thanks were extended to Ben, a pupil at the school, who controlled the sound system throughout the day, thus ensuring that the competitors all had the opportunity to maximise on their performances.

Also to Tim Woodier as cameraman and Karen Shellam for the refreshments. Congratulations to all competitors who sang and recited in their second language, Welsh.

Digwyddiad llwyddiannus dros ben bu Eisteddfod Y Fenni i Blant a Phobl Ifainc ar ddydd Sadwrn 21ain Ebrill. Roedd cynnydd yn y nifer a gystadlodd ac mae’n arbennig o bleser i adrodd taw y nifer a gystadlodd yn y dosbarthiadau mamiaith Cymraeg roedd y mwyaf erioed.

Eisteddfod ddwyieithog yw hon ond pan oedd dewis adrodd yn Saesneg neu’r Gymraeg, dewisodd llawer adrodd yn yr iaith Gymraeg ac adroddent hwy gyda mynegiant a chywair teimladwy.

Hefyd roedd yn bleser i weld nifer da o gystadleuwyr o bob oedran cymryd rhan yn y dosbarthiadau Cymraeg Ail Iaith ac, wrth wneud, cyrraedd safon uchel.

Teyrnged wych i’w rhieni ac athrawon am eu holl gefnogaeth a hyfforddiant yw eu llwyddiant ond yn amlwg gwnaeth pob cystadleuydd llawer o waith ymarfer hefyd.

Fe wyr pawb y gwnaeth llawer o berfformwyr, beirdd a llenorion enwog o Gymru yn y byd adloniant, dechrau eu gyrfaoedd mewn eisteddfodau lleol.

Ys gwn i ai ydyn ni wedi gweld ymhlith y cystadleuwyr ddydd Sadwrn, rhai o sêr y dyfodol naill yn perfformio ar y llwyfan neu drwy eu hysgrifen greadigol?

Amser a ddengys ac yn y cyfamser gwynt teg i’w hwyliau. Am y rhai ohonoch chi sy am glywed y gorau o’r holl gystadleuwyr sef, Côr Ysgol Gynradd Llantilio Pertholau, Caius Gordon Bruno (Soddgrythor), Amelia Hughes (Soprano), Ffion Hodder (Adroddwr) a Chôr Nidus, dewch i’r Cyngerdd Mawreddog y cynhelir yng Nghapel y Methodistiaid, Stryd y Castell ar nos Sadwrn 16eg Mehefin pryd bydden nhw’n perfformio eto yn Eisteddfod yr Oedolion. Cewch noson wych am ddim ond £3.

Trwy’r dydd cadwodd arweinyddion y llwyfan, sef Sarah McGuiness yn y bore a Rosemary Williams yn y prynhawn, trefn ar y holl ddigwyddiad gyda geiriau o gefnogaeth i gystadleuwyr yn Saesneg a Chymraeg.

Ar ddiwedd y dydd, rhoddodd Mrs Williams, sy’n cadeirio pwyllgor gwaith yr eisteddfod, ddiolch i bawb a gymerodd rhan ac i rheini a weithiodd yn dawel tu ôl i’r llen drwy’r flwyddyn.

Diolchodd hi Y Prif Athro a staff Ysgol Hari VIII am eu cefnogaeth drwy ddarparu’r neuadd am yr eisteddfod ac am eu cefnogaeth trwy’r dydd.

Rhoddodd hi air arbennig o ddiolch i Ben, sy’n ddisgybl yn yr ysgol, am ofalu am y system sain trwy’r dydd. Gallai bawb a gymerodd rhan yn yr eisteddfod teimlo’n falch am fod yn rhan o ddiwrnod arbennig o dda.