Manon Wyn Williams

Script & Narrator

Since graduating with a BA, MA and PhD degree from Bangor University’s School of Welsh, Manon has worked as a scriptwriter, actress and youth drama tutor with companies such as Sianco, Cwmni’r Frân Wen, Shimli, Theatr Cymru and Cwmni Theatr Bara Caws. In 2007, she won the Bryn Terfel Scholarship for a dramatic performance and in 2007 and 2010, she won the Eisteddfod yr Urdd’s Drama Medal. Her main area of research is Welsh language drama and in 2014 she was appointed as a Lecturer in Scriptwriting and Drama at Bangor University’s School of Welsh – a position that has allowed her to share her expertise with others alongside working on creative projects.

Guto Puw

Composer

Guto Pryderi Puw graduated in Music from Bangor University in 1993 and later received a Doctorate in Composition in 2002. Since 2006 he has been a lecturer in composition at Bangor University.

He came into the public eye by winning the Musician’s Trophy at the National Eisteddfod for the first time in 1995 and for the second time at Bala in 1997. He was appointed as the first Composer-in-Residence of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales between 2006-2010, receiving a commission for the BBC Proms (‘…won’t I open the door…’) and winning the ‘Listeners’ Award’ at the British Composer Awards in 2007 (for the Concerto for Oboe). In 2014 a CD of his orchestral compositions was released on the Signum label and he received the Sir Geraint Evans Award from the Welsh Music Association for his ‘significant contribution to Welsh music.’

He has been Artistic Director of the Bangor Music Festival since its establishment in 2000.

An example of Guto Puw’s work:

Different Light 

Break the Stone Overture : ‘Break the Stone’ Overture – song by Guto Pryderi Puw, BBC National Orchestra Of Wales, Jac van Steen | Spotify

Catrin Williams 

Creative Designer

Glesni Rhys Jones

Soprano

Welsh soprano Glesni Rhys Jones is currently studying a master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) supported by the Ryan Davies Trust Fund.

She graduated this year from the Royal Northern College of Music, where she studied Vocal Studies and Opera with Hilary Summers. While at the RNCM, Glesni performed in opera choruses including Die Fledermaus (Strauss), The Snow Maiden(Rimsky-Korsakov), and L’Étoile (Chabrier), as well as in scenes from La buona figliola and La clemenza di Tito.

As a soloist, she has performed the soprano part in Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach’s Magnificat, and Haydn’s The Creation, all under the baton of Maestro Trystan Lewis and Gwyn L. Williams. Earlier this year, she received an Amanda Ira Aldridge Honourable Mention in the Williams-Howard Competition, which led to an invitation to perform in the Colour My Song Recital at the Buxton International Festival.

Glesni was a Hallé Choir Scholar under the masterful direction of Matthew Hamilton, where she performed major choral works including Verdi’s Requiem and Rachmaninov’s The Bells at the Royal Albert Hall, conducted by Sir Mark Elder. Internationally, she toured with the National Youth Orchestra of Germany, performing in prestigious venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.

A highlight of Glesni’s career to date was performing a duet with renowned soprano Rhian Lois at the opening concert of the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in 2021.

Elain Rhys Jones

Piano

Originally from Bodedern, Anglesey, Elain graduated in Music with First Class Honors from Bangor University in 2020 where she was awarded the Phillip Pascall memorial award for outstanding achievement. Subsequently, she completed an MA by Research degree based on vocal arrangements of Welsh folk melodies by Grace Williams. She studied the harp and the piano under the leadership of world renowned performers, Elinor Bennett and Iwan Llewelyn-Jones. Elain has been a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales as a harpist and enjoys accompanying soloists, as well as being an official accompanist in Eisteddfodau and national festivals, and is the accompanist of Côr Ieuenctid Môn and Côr Esceifiog. During the summer of 2022 and 2023, Elain was invited to teach the harp and perform as part of Welsh Heritage Week in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, USA. Elain is currently studying for her PhD focusing on Grace Williams’ only opera, ‘The Parlour’.

Angharad Wyn Jones

Piano

Dewi Ellis Jones

Percussion

Dr Dewi Ellis Jones comes from Llanfairpwll, Anglesey, but now lives in Bontnewydd. He graduated with a BMus from the University of Wales, Bangor in 2001 followed by an MA degree, and gained an LRSM diploma from the Royal Schools of Music. 

He has been awarded a Doctorate in Performance and Composition, having studied with Simone Rebello, Dr Pwyll ap Sion and with world renowned percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie. 

Dewi is the first full time solo percussionist in Wales and he is also a busy free-lance orchestral and brass band player. He is Principal Percussionist with The Welsh Chamber Orchestra and Ensemble Cymru who were short listed for the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Music Society Award in 2006.

He is a tutor at the William Mathias Music Centre and teaches Percussion at Bangor University. In 2001 he won the Grace Williams Memorial Prize for Composition at the Urdd Festival. Dewi gained a sponsorship scholarship from S4C to assist in developing his talent as a performer. 

He has held Masterclasses throughout the UK and Europe and is Visiting Professor of Percussion at the Conservatorio Nacional De Musica in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Dewi runs TARO Custom Drums who supply orchestras with the finest Orchestral Drums.  His handcrafted drums have been described as the “Rolls Royce” of Orchestral Drums and can be seen on stage with leading orchestras such as BBC NOW, The Hallé and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra to name a few.

Dewi is married to Einir Wyn Hughes, who is a professional harpist. They have two daughters, Ela Non and Anni Cêt.

Grŵp Lleisiol ac Offerynnol Ysgol Gynradd Bodedern –
Nia Wyn Efans (conductor)