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Following
in the Footsteps of Charlotte |
Following In Glittering
Footsteps Of Fellow Pupil Charlotte Church
Karen Price
Arts & Media Correspondent
TW
21/12/1999
CHARLOTTE CHURCH
and Gwilym Evans sang together when they attended the same primary
school in Cardiff.
Today,
multi-millionaire Charlotte is an international star, singing at
some of the world’s most prestigious venues, while Gwilym is quite
happy to perform closer to home. But it looks as though he could
soon be following in Charlotte’s footsteps after recording his
first CD.
Gwilym, 13, who
recently won a music scholarship to Eton College, recorded his debut
at Llandaff Cathedral. The 17-track CD
includes renditions of O For the Wings of a Dove, Pie Jesu and
The Little Road to Bethlehem. He was accompanied by an
organ, piano and harp. Gwilym, who is
from the Vale of Glamorgan, hopes the CD will help him secure a
record contract, just like Charlotte. Tomorrow, he is
the subject of an S4C programme, Gwilym Evans - Seren y
Gadeirlan (Star of the Cathedral). Gwilym may
appear familiar to viewers - he was recently a guest at Charlotte
Church’s first solo concert in London, which was televised by the
BBC and has now been released on video.
The teenagers
performed two duets - Pie Jesu and When At Night
I Go To Sleep.
“We had a
call from Sony saying Charlotte was going to do the concert for
TV,” said Gwilym.
“They wanted
a boy soprano to sing with her and she recommended me.
“I enjoyed it
- it was one of the biggest things I have been involved in.”
The pair had
performed together while they were both pupils at Llandaff Cathedral
School. This included a production of Oklahoma when
Gwilym played Will Parker and Charlotte played Ado Annie.
“She
(Charlotte) has not really changed,” said Gwilym. “She has
always been very confident.”
Gwilym, who
plays the piano and clarinet, has always had a passion for music.
His parents
Phillip and Enid both enjoy music and his older brother Nathan is a
music scholar in Cheltenham.
“I went to a
Welsh medium school in Cowbridge and music was very important
there.”
His list of
musical credits include being a member of the National Children’s
Orchestra, South Glamorgan Junior School Orchestra and Band and head
chorister of the Cathedral Choir.
He has also
taken part in Eisteddfodau and the South Glamorgan Festival of Young
Musicians, where he won the junior voice competition in four
consecutive years.
The main
problem he now faces is what to do when his voice breaks.
“My voice has
started to break,” said Gwilym.
“I am singing
tenor at the moment - I normally sing treble.
“Maybe I will
have to have a break from singing for a while and then sing at a
lower key.
“If I have a
break I will concentrate more on the piano and clarinet.”
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