Llandaff Cathedral Choral Society

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Brief History

The founder and first conductor of the Society was Dr W H Gabb.  He later became the sub-organist at St Paul's Cathedral and later Organist, Choirmaster and Composer of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal. The longest serving conductors following Dr Gabb were Robert Joyce (1958-1974) and Dr Michael Smith (1974-1991).  Dr Smith was succeeded by Avril Harding (1991-2006), a graduate of Trinity College London, who followed a very successful musical career as a solo singer, then as a Senior Lecturer at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. Accompanists have included V. Anthony Lewis, Colin Yeaoman, David Geoffrey Thomas and Morley Lewis.  The present accompanist is John Cheer who enjoys an enviable reputation as an organist, choir-master and soloist beyond his work with the Society. Works performed in recent years include Monteverdi's Vespers of 1610; Handel's Coronation Anthems and Messiah; Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Mass in B Minor, St John Passion and St Matthew Passion; Haydn's Creation; Mozart's Requiem and Mass in C Minor; Beethoven's Mass in C; Fauré's Requiem, Magnificat and Gloria and Karl Jenkins' the Armed Man. For our Diamond Jubilee in 1988 we joined the Lichfield Cathedral Special Choir for two concerts, one at Lichfield Cathedral and the other at home at Llandaff Cathedral and in 2006 we were delighted to welcome the Texas Choral Consort.  We worked with them in a week-long symposium culminating in a performance of Mozart's Requiem.