Day 11: Diwrnod cyntaf yn Eisteddfod Llangollen (First day at Llangollen Eisteddfod)
All of the singers woke up bright and early and headed downstairs for breakfast! We were greeted by another group of singers (our competitors) from the Czech Republic! After a bleak breakfast, the kids loaded up on fruits and crammed onto the coach.
After 30 minutes of driving through the rich green countryside of Wales, we finally arrived at the Eisteddfod in Llangollen! We were greeted by many elementary aged children on what seemed to be a field trip! After registering, we received our “Ensemble blue” wristbands and headed into the festival grounds. We took a quick tour around the grounds and then headed to our first spotlight performance of the day! While waiting for our performance, we were able to watch a group from Thailand perform their set which included a Beatles song! It was cold and windy so we opted for windbreakers and polos as our uniform. Ensemble sang all of their competition songs to a crowd of five people (mostly chaperones and our festival guide). Afterwards, singers were released to grab lunch on the grounds. Most singers opted for a pork gyro wrap which was, according to many students, “the best tour meal yet”.
After lunch, they sang another quick spotlight concert outside with the same repertoire, but this time it was for a larger audience! Many of the school children loved their singing and many of the adults stopped to compliment their performance - we even had BBC Wales come film a bit of the performance (still looking for the link).
The singers headed outside of the festival grounds into the town of Llangollen and had their last official rehearsal before the competition. More finite tweaking and workshopping happened and the rehearsal ended with an appreciation circle with each voice section. There were a couple of glassy eyes as the appreciation circles finished up.
We had some time before dinner so the singers walked and shopped around in the town of Llangollen. Many singers bought trinkets for families, while others walked along the river and watched the ducks swim by. It was such a beautiful late afternoon!
Finally, we headed to dinner in the nearby town of Oswestry (where we had lunch yesterday) for a hotel buffet. Dinner was superb, and filled with lots of fruits, veggies, protein, and healthy fats! Blessed by a charcuterie board and a delicious meal, singers were very thankful for the nutritious meal.
On the last coach ride of the day, Eric gave a rousing pep talk and outlined the day to come as we head into competition day. Ensemble leadership team also spoke to the singers to make sure everyone was aligned and ready for the big day! We’re so excited that years worth of preparation and practicing is coming to fruition. While the performance may only be 7 minutes long, spirits are high and so are the nerves. Excited to see what tomorrow brings! Pob lwc i ni (Wish us luck!)!
