Cerys Matthews brings curtain down on the Faenol Festival

Aug 26 2008 By Eryl Crump

Cerys Matthews

YOUNGSTERS from a North Wales school took centre stage at the Faenol Festival last night.

The choir from Ysgol Glanaethwy accepted a special invitation from festival founder Bryn Terfel to take part in the Tan y Ddraig concert.

Next Saturday they will sing in the final of the BBC television programme Last Choir Standing.

A crowd of about 2,500 gave the singers a warm welcome as they began a spirited performance of five songs.

One of the youngsters said: “I’m more nervous about singing here than in the final on Saturday. All my friends are here and I want us to be at our best.”

Bryn said: “The choir have done fantastically well to get to the final and I wish them all the best on Saturday.”

He added his eldest son, Tomos, will join the choir later this year.

The crowd had grown substantially by the time rock singer Cerys Matthews and 1980s rockers Maffia Mr Huws took to the stage bringing the four-day festival to a close.

Although the wet and cool weather over the Bank Holiday weekend had affected attendance Bryn said he was happy with the way it had gone.

“I think we’ve started something very special here and I want people to tell me if they want it to continue,” he said.