Lions Choir ready to roar

The Lions Male Choir, formed by Melody Music and conducted by Haydn James has been granted official Tour status by the Lions and the Australian Rugby Union for the 2013 tour to Australia.

On May 26th, the Choir will perform at the official Lions Gala Farewell at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

 The travelling party is 142 with a choir of 75 singers from Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland. The will perform the LIONS ANTHEM at the first Test in Brisbane while the Qantas Choir will perform Advance Australia Fair.

During the tour, the choir have been invited to several official functions and are looking forward to supporting the Warren Gatland and his squad.

Biog:

Lions Male Choir was set up by Mark Burrows from Wales in 2001 to follow the Lions Choir on Tour.

Since then they have been on the NZ Lions Tour, and the South African Tour.

The Choir in 2013 is made up of 75 singers from Wales, Ireland, England and Scotland – conducted by Haydn James who was the conductor of the London Welsh MVC for 30 years and conducted over 20 Gala Male Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall.

Their music reflects the home Nations, with the addition of songs from the musicals and Choruses from Grand Opera.

A message from rugby great Cliff Morgan

 58 years ago Rugby Great - Cliff Morgan experienced the thrill of a Lions Tour in South Africa -  In 2013 over 70 Choristers from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales  join forces to form the Lions Choir.

During their 3 week tour, the Choir will perform concerts in Brisbane , Melbourne,  and Sydney.

Performing a wide selection of music under the baton of Dr. Haydn James, who has recently arranged the Lions Anthem” – an arrangement incorporating four well known songs from the home Nations:-

Swing Low Sweet Chariot - Flower of Scotland - Ireland’s Call and Bread of Heaven.

The Choristers came together for the first time after the 2001 Lions Tour. The age of the choristers ranges from 23 – 88 and they share a love of music and Rugby. Ex miners, Teachers, Lawyers, Builders, - in fact, all walks of life are represented in this special Choir. A message from Cliff Morgan OBE which is being updated for the 2013 tour due to his failing health follows.

Haydn James in action

Haydn’s expertise in conducting massed choirs and vast audiences is internationally recognized.  He has led the singing of up to 70,000 supporters at Wembley and at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium prior to Wales’ twenty five home international rugby matches over the past five seasons, as well as Barbarians. This message above was given to the choir in 2005 and although Cliff is not in the best of health, we are delighted that he has written a message of good will to the choir – and the people of Australia which will be read at each concert on their tour in 2013.

The Choir will perform the Lions Anthem at the first Test in Brisbane

Concerts are:

175 Elizabeth Street, Brisbane QLD 4000

JUNE 23 2PM

Funds go to Irish Club and their Charities – joint concert with the Tara Singers

Friday 28th June

Collins Street Baptist Church Melbourne [7.30pm]

Sunday 7th July

Sydney Town Hall [2pm] with guest choir – The Australian Rugby Choir

http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=LIONSMAL13&v=CBC

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Warburton to lead 15 Welshmen in to Lions tour

Sam Warburton has been named the youngest ever Welsh captain of the British Lions by coach Warren Gatland ahead of this summer’s 10-match (three test) tour of Hong Kong and Australia.

The 24-year-old Cardiff Blues star was replaced by Ryan Jones as the Welsh captain mid-way through their successful 2013 Six Nations campaign, but Gatland says he has been the “most successful captain” in recent years in the Northern Hemisphere and he has “huge respect” for him.

He will be the first Welsh tour captain since Phil Bennett in 1977, although Gareth Thomas did skipper the side once Brian O’Driscoll had left the 2005 tour injured, and will lead a squad consisting of 15 Welshmen, 10 Englishmen, nine Irishmen and three Scots.

The biggest talking points have been the omission of England’s Six Nations skipper Chris Robson and legendary fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, but it has been reported that when spoken to about being considered the 33-year-old said he had Toulon commitments and wasn’t sure his body would survive the tour.

There have also been questions asked of the decision to include only two fly-halves for such a gruelling campaign, with many utility backs who could have provided cover for that position left out.

Gatland said of his squad: “We've looked at the last few weeks in terms of performances. We've had a number of players who have come back from injury.

“The benchmark for a lot of the squad was the Six Nations, and then looking at some club form and assessing whether there was the same physical intensity to draw comparison, and then finally make the selection of those players.

“If you look at previous tours, there are six to eight players who always get injured. There will be a key group of players who will potentially be called up.”

The Lions have not toured Australia since a 2-1 series defeat in 2001, but fare generally well against the Wallabies, winning 15 out of 20 Tests with them.

Lions squad in full:

Backs: Leigh Halfpenny (Wales), Stuart Hogg (Scotland), Rob Kearney (Ireland), Tommy Bowe (Ireland), Alex Cuthbert (Wales), Sean Maitland (Scotland), George North (Wales), Jonathan Davies (Wales), Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland), Jamie Roberts (Wales), Manu Tuilagi (England), Owen Farrell (England), Jonathan Sexton (Ireland), Conor Murray (Ireland), Mike Phillips (Wales), Ben Youngs (England).

Forwards: Dan Cole (England), Cian Healy (Ireland), Gethin Jenkins (Wales), Adam Jones (Wales), Matt Stevens (England), Mako Vunipola (England), Dylan Hartley (England), Richard Hibbard (Wales), Tom Youngs (England), Ian Evans (Wales), Richie Gray (Scotland), Alun-Wyn Jones (Wales), Paul O’Connell (Ireland), Geoff Parling (England), Tom Croft (England), Toby Faletau (Wales), Jamie Heaslip (Ireland), Dan Lydiate (Wales), Sean O’Brien (Ireland), Justin Tipuric (Wales), Sam Warburton (Wales, captain).

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