"This year the well known Rhayader District Male Voice Choir are celebrating the 50th anniversary since our formation in 1957.

The choir is known throughout Mid Wales and the Border Counties for its charity fundraising efforts over many years and has competed with great enthusiasm and success in many local Eisteddfodau and other competitive festivals throughout Wales.

The 50th Anniversary celebrations began last April when we presented a Gala Concert in Rhayader Community centre which was attended by a large audience including the Executive Members of the South Wales Association of Male Voice Choirs.

The highlight of the year, however, has been our recent visit to southern Ireland where they were hosted by the Waterford Male Voice Choir. On Saturday 20th October the Choir performed a concert in Christchurch Cathedral in Waterford which was attended by a large audience. In December 2007 the choir will conclude its 50th Anniversary celebrations with a social evening and buffet supper at the Crown Hotel in Rhayader.

On a cold winters evening back in 1957 in the back room of a local public house in Rhayader four local gentlemen - a bank manager, two farmers and a quarry driver - formed what was later to become the Rhayader and District Male Voice Choir.

From those early days the choir went forward to face the 60's with great enthusiasm and competed with great success in many many local eisteddfodau and other competitive events throughout Mid Wales. Much of its early success was due to the expertise and enthusiasm of the late Afon Jones, who was the choir's conductor in those early days.

Since then, of course, the choir have appeared on many stages and venues throughout the UK and abroad. In 1981 the choir took part for the first time in the festival of 1000 voices at the Royal Albert Hall in London and have continued to do so on many occasions since.

In 1981 the choir was honoured to sing before His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales during his visit to Rhayader. By the time the mid 80s arrived the Choir was very well established and its members swelled by the arrival of singers from other parts of the county and who would prove to be a great asset to the fortunes and success of the choir.

The early 90s saw the continued success of the choir in may aspects and its reward was the invitation to join the Choir of the World of 10,000 Voices at Cardiff Arms Park. A spectacular event with its fireworks and natural thunder and lightening to say the least! This event was again repeated the following year.

It was in 1994 that we broke new ground in the Choir's short history by going abroad. The Choir was once again invited to be part of the World Choir in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. We sang in both the famous Atlanta Dome and another cathedral with gospel choirs from the deep South.

This was followed the following year with a choir tour of Ireland and once again joining the World Choir in Lansdown Road, Dublin.

Also in this year, 1995, the Choir took very much centre stage together with Sir Cliff Richard, Dame Vera Lynn, Max Bygraves and many other stars and in the presence of her royal Highness The Queen and Prince Phillip together with other heads of State at the VE celebrations in Hyde Park, London. A memorable occasion indeed.

In 2001 the Choir toured Northern Germany giving a series of concerts and meeting many new friends and inviting them back to Rhayader the following year.

More recently, in 2006, the choir visited France and sang with the South Wales Association Select Choir at the large theatre in Euro-Disneyland and in 2007 we have visited Waterford in Ireland. Over the last 15 years the Choir has been a great ambassador for the town of Rhayader and the county of Radnorshire.

The town of Rhayader is very proud of its local Male Voice Choir and rightly so but sadly I have to say the number of its members with a Rhayader postal address is very low. If it were not for those people travelling from the neighbouring towns of up to 30 miles away I doubt if there would be a choir in Rhayader today.

So therefore can I please make an appeal to the ladies of Rhayader if you have a husband, a boyfriend, a son, a lofger or a lover who you want to get rid of on a Tuesday evening for a couple of hours please send him along to the Old School Hall at Cwmddauwr at 8pm where he will enjoy the singing and companionship of the Rhayader Male Voice Choir and thus ensure the future and another 50 years for the Choir."

Article by Bill Watson and Graham Benson