Aled Wyn Davies (born 3 August 1974) is a classical

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

from

Llanbrynmair Llanbrynmair or Llanbryn-mair () is a village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales on the A470 road between Caersws and Machynlleth. In 2011, it had a population of 920. Description The community inc ...

, in

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

Mid Wales Mid Wales ( or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands"), or Central Wales, is a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Senedd covered the unitary autho ...

. He is a member of the Three Welsh Tenors with Rhys Meirion and Aled Hall.

Early life

Davies's family were evicted from the farm run by Davies's grandparents, Dai and Mary, in 1964, when the valley was flooded to create the Clywedog Reservoir. In periods of major drought, the foundations of the building are sometimes visible, so that Davies and his children have been able to visit it. The family relocated to another farm, previously run by the family of harpist

Elinor Bennett Elinor Bennett, Baroness Wigley, OBE (born 17 April 1943) is a Welsh harpist who has an international reputation as a soloist, master instructor, and founded the Harp College of Wales. Biography Bennett was born in 1943 in Llanidloes, Wales. ...

. Davies will be one of the performers at Bennett's farewell concert in 2023.

Career

Davies is a tenor soloist who has performed in venues all over the world. He was awarded the prestigious "David Ellis Memorial Prize" - The

Blue Riband The Blue Riband () is an unofficial accolade given to the passenger liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean in regular service with the record highest Velocity, average speed. The term was borrowed from horse racing and was not widely used until ...

awarded to the best classical soloist at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales ( Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competito ...

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

in 2006 following a hat-trick of wins in the Tenor solo over 25 in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Concerts include tours to New Zealand and Australia in 2003,

Y Wladfa Y Wladfa (, 'The Colony'), also occasionally Y Wladychfa Gymreig (, 'The Welsh Settlement'), refers to the establishment of settlements by Welsh colonists and immigrants in the Argentine Patagonia, beginning in 1865, mainly along the coast of ...

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in 2007 & 2019, Welsh Church,

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, United States in 2003, 2004 & 2010 and

Saint David's Day Saint David's Day ( or ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, ...

concerts in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in March, 2008. In August, 2008 he travelled to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, USA as a guest soloist at the North American Festival of Wales. He returned to perform at this Festival in 2011 in Cleveland, Ohio, and in Millwauke, Wisconsin in 2019. In February, 2015 he was invited to sing the Pearl Fishers duet with

Bryn Terfel Bryn Terfel Jones (; born 9 November 1965), is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially primarily associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly '' Figaro'', '' Leporello'' and ''Don Giovanni,'' but he has subsequ ...

in a celebratory concert in Machynlleth. Davies has shared the stage with many other established international performers including Côr Godre’r Aran, Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir; Rebecca Evans;

Gwyn Hughes Jones Gwyn Hughes Jones (born 25 October 1969) is a Welsh operatic tenor, best known for his leading roles in romantic Italian operatic repertoire. Early life and education Gwyn Hughes Jones was born in Llanbedrgoch, Anglesey, Wales, and, after atte ...

; Jonathan Lemalu; David Kempster; Shan Cothi and actor, William Roache. Davies recorded his debut album, ''Nodau Aur fy Nghân'' in November, 2006 under Welsh record label Sain. He has also performed in classical concerts on cruises for

Swan Hellenic Swan Hellenic is a British cruise line specialising in expedition tours of historical or cultural interest aimed at the upper end of the cruise market. Swan Hellenic was first established as Swan's Tours in the 1950s as a tour operator carrying ...

and is also a sheep farmer in the

Cambrian Mountains The Cambrian Mountains (, in a narrower sense: ''Elenydd'') are a series of mountain ranges in Wales. The term ''Cambrian Mountains'' used to apply to most of the upland of Wales, and comes from the country's Latin name . Since the 1950s, it ...

of Mid Wales. In December, 2014 he was unveiled as the new member of the Three Welsh Tenors with Rhys Meirion and Aled Hall following Alun Rhys-Jenkins' departure. His second album "Erwau'r Daith" was released in July, 2015 with record label Sain. His Welsh autobiography, “O’r Gwlân i’r Gân” will be published in October, 2020.

Recordings

*''Ann!'', ''(Cwmni Theatr Maldwyn)'', July 2004 (Sain) *''Nodau Aur Fy Nghân'', November 2006 (Sain) *''Erwau'r Daith'', July 2015 (Sain)

Awards and accolades

*1st Open Folk Song competition - Folk Festival,

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

1997. *1st Traditional Folk-song competition -

Llangollen International Eisteddfod The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from around ...

1999 *Best Soloist - YFC Eisteddod of Wales, Newtown 1999 *Lady Ruth Herbert Lewis Memorial Prize -

, Denbigh 2001 *Unawdydd 2001 (Soloist 2001)- National Eisteddfod of Wales, Denbigh 2001 *1st Tenor Solo over 25 - National Eisteddfod of Wales, Newport 2004 *Soloist of the Year - Llangollen International Eisteddfod 2005 *1st Tenor Solo over 25 - National Eisteddfod of Wales, Bangor, 2005 *Blue Riband & Soloist of the festival - Cardigan Music Festival 2006 *1st Tenor Solo over 25 - National Eisteddfod of Wales, Swansea 2006 *David Ellis Memorial Prize - The Blue Riband - National Eisteddfod of Wales, Swansea 2006.

References

External links

WebsiteAled Wyn Davies on Myspace MusicAled Wyn Davies at the National Eisteddfod in 2005
1974 births Living people 21st-century Welsh male singers Welsh-language singers {{UK-singer-stub