Llandeilo Festival of Music

Sir Willard White

Willard White was born in Jamaica, where he commenced his musical training at the Jamaican School of Music and then went on to the Juilliard School in New York.

Since making his debut with the New York City Opera he has sung regularly at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, New York, English National Opera, San Francisco, the Opera Houses of Munich, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Madrid, Paris, and at the Glyndebourne, Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg Festivals. His performances include the title-role in Henze's El Cimarron with the Royal Danish Opera, Golaud Pelléas and Mélisande and Tchélio The Love for Three Oranges in Amsterdam and San Francisco, where he also sang the title-role in Messiaen's St. François d'Assise and Nekrotzar in Le Grand Macabre, a role he also performed at the Teatro dell'Opera, Rome and at the Salzburg Festival; Marke Tristan und Isolde, and Barbe-Bleue Ariane et Barbe-Bleue at the Bastille; the Peter Sellars productions of The Rake's Progress (Nick Shadow), Ned Treemonisha, Oedipus Rex and John Adams's El Niño at the Chatelet. With English National Opera his roles have included the title-role in Stein Wenge's production of The Flying Dutchman, Kutuzov War and Peace, Khovansky Khovanshchina, which he has also sung in Geneva, with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under Valery Gergiev, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, in Tokyo, at the Gulbenkian in Lisbon and Toulouse.

For more information on Sir Willard White please visit this website [here].

Adriano Graziani

Adriano studied with Victor Gavrak, before taking up a scholarship at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2005, he took part in the Artists Development Programme in Wexford. Having completed advanced studies at the Cardiff International Academy of Voice, he continues to study under Dennis O'Neill CBE.

Other career highlights include ARTURO Lucia di Lammermoor Scottish Opera, POLLIONE Norma Northern Ireland Operaand Ulster Orchestra, and MACDUFF Macbeth Glyndebourne Touring Opera, which earned him the Glyndebourne 2007 Promis Award for the most outstanding young singer.

For more information on Adriano Graziani please visit his website [here].

Claire Jones

Mark Bebbington

Mark studied at the Royal College of Music where he was a recipient of numerous international awards and prizes, including a Leverhulme Scholarship, a Winston Churchill Fellowship and the Ivan Sutton Recording Prize – the latter awarded to the one outstanding graduate of the combined London Music Colleges. He later studied in Italy with the legendary Aldo Ciccolini.

Mark's programming demonstrates a commitment to the music of our time and he regularly includes contemporary composers as diverse as Takemitsu, Julian Anderson, John McCabe, Ian Venables, David Matthews, Pierre Boulez and Elliot Carter in his recital series.

Projects for 2012/13 include continuing releases for the Somm label of both twentieth-century British piano music and further concerto recordings with the Ulster and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, appearances in major concert series and festivals both in the UK and throughout Europe (including a debut at the Husum "Piano Rarities" Festival in Germany and the Grand Theatre – Opera National de Bordeaux as part of the Bordeaux International Festival), concertos with the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic and BBC Concert Orchestras and London solo recitals at the South Bank, St John's Smith Square and the Wigmore Hall.

For more information about Mark Bebbington please visit his website [here].

Salena Jones

Born Joan Shaw in Newport News, Virginia, a direct descendant of Crazy Horse, the Indian Sioux warrior. She moved to New York at the age of fourteen and a year later won the amateur night at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater. This led to her performing at top night spots in Manhattan as well jazz clubs like the Village Vanguard and Minton's Playhouse. She toured the US with her own "Blues Express Orchestra" featuring 'King' Curtis on tenor sax, before moving to Miami for a long residency at Cab Calloway's "Cotton Club". Frustrated by the racism in her own country, Joan moved to England in 1965 and changed her name to Salena Jones. Signed by CBS Records, she performed throughout Europe in major venues and TV shows. In 1967 Salena was booked for two weeks at Ronnie Scott's in London that led to run of seven weeks - still a record for this famous jazz club.

For more information about Salena Jones please visit her website [here].

The Chilingirian Quartet

For over four decades, the Chilingirian String Quartet has thrilled critics and audiences around the world with its vibrant, virtuosic performances of classical and contemporary chamber music. Theirs is a sound that is both powerful and precise; richly interpretive and yet always true to the composer's vision. Today, the quartet continues to build on its legacy with an energetic touring schedule, an ever- expanding repertoire, and a series of acclaimed recordings for the Hyperion and Chandos labels. What's more, the Chilingirian Quartet continues to nurture new generations of gifted musicians as the Quartet-in-Residence at London's Royal College of Music, and through a close affiliation with Venezuela's Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra. Listen to the ensemble that has been called "magnificent," "pure, fresh, and honest," and "one of the great string quartets of our day." Discover the art of the Chilingirian String Quartet.

For more information about The Chilingirian Quartet please visit their website [here].

John S. Davies Singers

The John S.Davies Singers ensemble was formed in 1978 and made its debut at the Fishguard International Music Festival in that same year, with a programme which set the pattern for the future repertoire – classical compositions and new works, beginning with John McCabe's Reflections of a Summer Night. A later major commission dedicated to John S.Davies was Alun Hoddinott's Mass shown on S4C from Llandaff Cathedral. Since, among various other first performances was another major work, In David's Land by Richard Elfyn Jones. A wealth of music has been so dedicated. Appearances have been many at the Fishguard International Music Festival, the latest in 2012, and throughout Wales including its other festivals in Gregynog, Llandeilo, Tenby, Milford and in London, Ludlow, Bath and Rome. Performances in St. Davids Cathedral Pembrokeshire are numerous and there have been several requested social appearances. CDs were made in Christ Church Carmarthen and Picton Castle.

For more information about the John S.Davies Singers please visit their website [here].

Tina May

Tina started exploring and developing her jazz sensibilities at University College, Cardiff. She attended vocal studies with Eilleen Price in the music dept. and almost immediately teamed up with other musicians to form small bands.She joined the Welsh Jazz Soc. run by Jed Williams and was soon a regular listening to Sweets Edison, Eddie'Lockjaw' Davies, Al Cohn and many, many more at The Lions Den' in the Great Western Hotel in Cardiff. As a student of French ,Tina knew she would have the opportunity of living in France for a year as part of her degree course. She chose to study in Paris and began her apprenticeship in Jazz when ,by chance, she met up with some aspiring young music students, who invited her to 'faire un boeuf' - have a jam with them.These musicians were Pascal Gaubert and Patrick Villanueva - who recorded with Tina on the 'live in Paris' album nearly twenty years later!

Very soon Tina was performing at Le Slow Club with the Roger Guerin Big Band with special guest Kenny Clarke - such a great drummer and sweet man. Le Caveau de la Huchette became another regular gig for Tina and the band. Tina formed a quartet with Patrick Villanueva, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Alain Richard and they performed allover Paris . At that time Tina was also involved in theatre and especially comedy review- something she felt a great affinity with. She met up with another talented thespian Rory Bremner who was already writing sketches and performing his hilarious monologues and skits on politics. Together Tina and Rory performed 'You are Eiffel but I like You (!)' - a review show which they took from Paris to the Edinburgh Fringe re-naming it 'Midnight Excess'. Tina was singing some amusing jazz songs like 'I'm hip' and doing some bi-lingual and 'franglais' originals as well as acting alongside Rory. Happy times !

For more information about Tina May please visit her website [here].