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Ryan Wood (Director of Music)
Ryan began accompanying with Maesteg Children’s Choir and Cor Meibion Maesteg a’r Cylch in 1996 and has since gained a vast amount of experience. He has worked with many renowned choirs including Pendyrus and Treorchy male choirs and has recently been appointed Musical Director of Bridgend Male Choir. Ryan regularly accompanies Only Men Aloud, Only Boys Aloud and Only Kids Aloud and has also performed with the orchestra of Welsh National Opera. He has performed at many prestigious venues including St. David's Hall, St. David's Cathedral, Selby Abbey, Cadgoan Hall, London and Palma Cathedral in Mallorca.
Ryan has accompanied many well-known performers including Rebecca Evans, Sir Willard White, John Owen Jones and Gary Griffiths and has accompanied masterclasses given by Helen Field, Rebecca Evans, John Fisher and Dennis O’Neill. He is also the regular accompanist for vocal duo, Cantare.
Ryan has also appeared on the Welsh language TV programme, Heno and on stage at the National and Urdd Eisteddfod competitions. He is an official accompanist of the Dunraven Young Welsh Singer of the Year competition.
Ryan is the founder Director of Music for Noteworthy Mixed Choir; the choir has become well known for the high standard of their performances and variety of their repertoire and was recently described as “one of the best mixed choirs in Wales”.
Stewart Roberts (Accompanist)
Stewart was born in Pembrokeshire, and when the family moved to the Rhondda, was educated at Treorchy Comprehensive School and the University of Wales in Cardiff, where he studied piano with Richard McMahon and Caroline Rae. In 1995 he graduated with a Bachelor of Music Degree, and was awarded the Eleanor Amy Bowen Scholarship which enabled him to pursue his Master’s Degree.
As a solo pianist, Stewart has performed concertos by Grieg, Shostakovich, Mozart, Addinsell and Beethoven. He performed both the Grieg and Addinsell's ‘Warsaw Concerto’ at St. David's Hall in 2011 with the Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra. As a cellist, Stewart has also performed as a soloist, most recently playing the cello solo in Karl Jenkins' ‘Benedictus’ at St David's Hall last year.
Stewart has accompanied many of Wales’ distinguished vocalists, including Rhys Meirion, John Owen Jones, Rebecca Evans, Mark Llewellyn Evans, Shan Cothi, Wynne Evans and Anthony Stuart Lloyd, and in 2007 he accompanied Hayley Westenra in concert at St David’s Hall.
Stewart’s passion for male choral singing began when he was appointed accompanist to Côr Meibion Morlais at the age of sixteen. Since then he has worked with Dunvant, Ynysowen and Black Mountain Male Choirs, and was Musical Director of Dowlais Male Choir from 2000-2007. Stewart became accompanist to ‘Noteworthy’ in 2014.
Stewart became Musical Director of Pendyrus Male Choir in 2009 – only the fifth Musical Director in the choir’s 91 year history. Two of his proudest moments as a musician was winning ‘Côr Yr Wyl’ with Pendyrus at the Cardigan Eisteddfod on two occasions in 2010 & 2012.