Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Thursday 5th July 2012

Following on very much in the same vein as Wednesday. Photographing competitors and the events 'on the field' (oh, and dodging the sometimes heavy, rain showers).

The evening celebrity concert was rather special and a complete sell out - Alfie Boe.

Karl Jenkins at Llangollen 2010

The second of the evening concerts and this time is was an enormous privilege to meet and photograph the wonderful composer and conductor Karl Jenkins.

Sinfonia Cymru mades its International Eisteddfod as he conducted his own Mass for Peace with a ‘Wales and the World’ choir. The orchestra also performed Brahms's Academic Festival Overture.

The extraordinary Llŷr Williams was at the piano for Beethoven’s 3rd Concerto.

Barrie Neil Photography

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod

We have been official photographers for the wonderful Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod for many years now and every year it is an assignment we are delighted to fulfil. This event is not to be confused with the National Eisteddfod which also takes place every year and is a celebration of all things Welsh.

The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a seven-day festival of music, dance, and song that takes place every year in the small Welsh town of Llangollen. It has been running since 1947, and since 1987 the prestigious Choir of the World competition has determined the best overall choir of the event. In 2005 Luciano Pavarotti added his name to the competition in recognition of his appreciation of the festival and its influence on his career.

It brings together adults and children from all over the world to entertain us with song and dance and also to vie against each other in prestigious competitions.

The next blog entries will show some of the events that took place over the week

Barrie Neil Photography

Katherine Jenkins

I mentioned yesterday that we had been commissioned to supply photographs for a forthcoming publication. The images we have been asked to supply are of 3 wonderful operatic performers we have had the pleasure of photographing over the last few years.

We cannot show the exact photographs being utilised as these are now subject to licensing arrangements with the publishers but on this and the next couple of blog entries, we'll show photos from the same sets as those being used.

First off is that incredibly talented and beautiful soprano, Katherine Jenkins

Quite frankly, if you haven't heard of Katherine Jenkins, you must have been on a different planet to the rest of us for the last 5 years.

Katherine made her name as a soprano singing popular operatic arias and still does so but she has also managed to make that transition to more popular 'mainstream' music. Whatever she sings, this beautiful woman's voice is unmistakable and even after meeting her and photographing her many times both in concert and backstage at various venues, it still amazes me that she can produce such a powerful and exquisite singing voice from such a slim body.

Katherine Jenkins in performance

Katherine Jenkins in performance

Katherine Jenkins in performance

Katherine Jenkins in performance