25th Anniversary!!
Côr Cymry Gogledd America celebrates 25th anniversary debut at NAFOW, Pittsburgh.
by Dr. Mari Morgan
Twenty-five years on from the debut performance of the North American Welsh Choir at the National Cymanfa Ganu in Minneapolis, Côr Cymry Gogledd America will be singing at NAFOW Pittsburgh. As happened during that magnificent Grand Concert in the Central Lutheran Church in 1999, Côr Cymry will be singing new songs written especially for the ensemble. At the second Pittsburgh Cymanfa Ganu session, the choir will be comprised of some of the original choristers joined by the many new voices from across the United States and Canada who make up the active and vibrant Côr Cymry Gogledd America of today. In a beautiful tribute to those grand beginnings, stop by the Côr Cymry table at the NAFOW marketplace to view video footage from that original 1999 concert and beginnings. See some familiar faces and remember fondly those who are no longer with us, as a choir of 110 voices sang to a capacity audience of nearly 3,000 people. What a grand memory to celebrate at NAFOW 2024.
For more information about Côr Cymry Gogledd America visit us at www.CorCymryGogleddAmerica.com or on our sites via @corcymry.
Our Director and Choir
Dr. Mari Morgan, Artistic Director and Conductor
Dr. Mari Morgan is one of the most experienced and favored cymanfa ganu conductors in North America today. Originally from Llanelli, Wales, Mari has conducted a multitude of cymanfaoedd canu across the United States and Canada, Argentina, New Zealand, and the 2008 and 2019 the North American Welsh Festival of Wales (NAFOW) cymanfaoedd canu.
An acclaimed classical singer with many recordings to her name, she formed and conducts Côr Cymry Gogledd America - the North American Welsh Choir (a community choir that spans a continent). Dr Morgan was awarded the Welsh Heritage Medallion by the National Welsh American Foundation in recognition of her services to Welsh Music in America, Cerddores o Gymru i’r Byd; the Robert Morris Award by the Welsh Society of Philadelphia in recognition of outstanding contribution to Welsh music in North America; and served as "Leader of the Welsh Peoples from Overseas" at the 2000 National Eisteddfod in Llanelli. A published author, “Braids of Song: Weaving Welsh Music into the American Soul” was launched at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth while on tour with Côr Cymry Gogledd America in 2023. Earlier this summer, she was awarded the great honor of being inducted into Gorsedd Cymru at the National Eisteddfod at Rhondda Cynon Tâf for her services to Wales in the Arts.
Photo
-Dr. Mari Morgan conducting the 2019 National Gymanfa Ganu in Milwaukee, WI.
Our Choir
CÔR CYMRY GOGLEDD AMERICA-North American Welsh Choir, the community choir that spans a continent, was founded in 1998 by its Artistic Director and Conductor, Dr. Mari Morgan. Côr Cymry was established to perform at the 1999 National Gymanfa Ganu, now known as NAFOW, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Over one hundred choristers from across the United States and Canada sang the Grand Concert to an audience of over two and a half thousand people.
Since its debut, Côr Cymry has toured internationally to Argentina, Canada, New Zealand, Wales, and performed across the United States, with notable performances at the National World War I Museum in Kansas City; the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC; British 9/11 Memorial, New York; and was the guest choir at NAFOW Pittsburgh (2009) and Milwaukee (2019).
During the pandemic years, Côr Cymry maintained an active and robust online schedule, and has since increased in strength, number, and diversity. Today, Côr Cymry has over 80 active choristers across North America in 19 states and three Provinces. From 2022-2024, the choir toured to Alberta, Canada and Wales with special performances at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and The Senedd (Welsh Parliament) in Cardiff. Plans for 2025 include a major concert tour to Atlantic Canada including Newfoundland and the French Islands.
Photo Gallery from the Evensong and Concert- 300th Anniversary of Bangor Church
