Bangor Fund supported 58�Թ� Music students to attend composition workshops with Sinfonia Cymru and Ensemble Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias

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The Bangor Fund has enabled 58�Թ� Music students to participate in two important events which provided professional development, networking opportunities and promoted Welsh culture, language and identity. The Bangor Fund is made up of donations from our generous alumni.

These events provided Music students with opportunities to work bilingually with a professional orchestra and ensemble and to develop their compositional techniques and performing experience.

In the first event, Sinfonia Cymru, a leading Welsh contemporary music group, held a workshop with students in Powis Hall. Students had their compositions performed and played alongside Sinfonia Cymru, joined by internationally renowned soloists Cerys Hafana (harp) and Patrick Rimes (violin), in a promotion of modern Welsh music and culture.

In the second event, the Bangor Fund brought together four young Welsh composers to discuss their works at the Bangor Music Festival. Their compositions were performed by Ensemble Canolfan Gerdd William Mathias (ECGWM). The Bangor Music Festival, founded by Dr. Guto Puw, Reader in Composition in School of Arts, Culture and Languages, focuses on contemporary Welsh music. The ECGWM concert featured new commissions and works by emerging and established composers. Music students observed rehearsals and attended the concert, gaining industry experience and networking with composers.

We are immensely thankful to our 58�Թ� alumni for their continued support to the Bangor Fund. Their support enables us to support projects like this, with aim to enhance our students' experiences, and to strengthen their connection to the Welsh language and culture.

We are so grateful to the Bangor Fund for supporting these wonderful events, which allowed our students to engage directly with modern Welsh musical culture. For our students having their compositions played by a professional ensemble was a rare and invaluable experience. They benefitted hugely from being able to speak with Patrick Rimes, Cerys Hafana and members of the orchestra gaining vital industry experience and making lasting connections. Similarly, the students also benefited enormously from being part of the Bangor Music Festival and engaging with these immensely talented young composers.