Alwyn Humphreys

'A legend - not only a credit to the world of music, but to the Welsh nation.'

So said The Secretary of State for Wales, The Rt Hon Peter Hain MP about Alwyn Humphreys who in January 2005 stepped down after 25 years as Musical Director of the Morriston Orpheus Choir. In recognition of the outstanding contribution he had made during that time, the choir conferred on Alwyn the title of Conductor Emeritus in March 2005.

His musical arrangements for male choir, now numbering over 200, are much in demand from choirs world-wide, with publications in Britain and America. Listed in the 'International Who's Who in Music', he is frequently in demand as a guest conductor at home and abroad, including the Festival of Massed Male Choirs in New Zealand and the London Welsh Festival at the Royal Albert Hall.

Prof. Romuald Twardowski from Warsaw (Poland)  is a composer and lecturer born in 1930 in Vilnius. In the years between 1952-57 he studied piano and composition in Julius Juzeliunas' class at State Academy of Music of Lithuanian SRR in Vilnius. His composing studies continued at the Warsaw Academy of Music [1957-60]. In 1963 and 1966 he studied Gregorian chant and medieval polyphony in the Nadia Boulanger class in Paris.
He is a laureate of many prizes and distinctions. His composition "Antifone per tre gruppi d'orchestra" (1961) won 1st prize of Polish Young Composers competition, and in 1963 he took 2nd place in the International Composers meetings of UNESCO in Paris; in 1966 for his "Sonetti di Petrarca per tenore solo e due cori a cappella" (1965) he received 1st prize at International Composers' Competition in Prague. In 1965 and 1973 he received 1st prize in International Composers' Competition in Monaco. In 1994 he received the prize of AGEC - West European Federation of Choral Societies and the prize of Polish Composers Association. Since 1971 Romuald Twardowski has been the Professor of Warsaw Academy of Music. He is the jury member of many choir competitions and the Artistic Director of prestigious International Festival of Orthodox Church Music "Hajnówka". Romuald Twardowski is currently one of the most popular living comosers and arrangers. 

Haydn James

Haydn James is a conductor/arranger with many years experience in the world of choral music. For 30 years, he has been Musical Director of The London Welsh Male Voice Choir, and for five years travelled to Wales to direct The South Wales Male Choir, one of the largest choirs in the Principality. During this time, he has appeared at most of the UK's major concert halls, and has toured extensively throughout Europe, North America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
As Musical Director for the Welsh Rugby Union, Haydn has led the singing at more than 65 international matches at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, as well as at a variety of Cup Finals in Cardiff, Twickenham, Wembley and elsewhere. He has directed Melody Music's British and Irish Lions Male Choir on tours to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and has conducted nine massed choir festivals (the '1000 Voices') at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as similar events in New York, Sydney, Toronto and elsewhere.

A committed supporter of Hymn-Singing Festivals (the Gymanfa Ganu), Haydn has directed festivals throughout Wales and England, has conducted five in Canada and two for the North American Gymanfa Association in Vancouver and Florida. In 2006, he led the first such festival in Sioux City, Iowa.


As a choral arranger, Haydn's work has been performed and recorded by many of the top male choirs in the UK and elsewhere, whilst some of his arrangements have been performed at the Royal Albert Hall festivals of male choirs.

David Last

David received orchestration and arranagement lessons whilst at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, and has used his extensive knowlede of musical theory and practice in producing arrangements, mostly for male choirs, and orchestrations.

In June 2006, David conducted a massed choir of over 400 male voices, a fifty piece orchestra, a school choir and guest soloist Hayley Westenra at St David's Hall, Cardiff. David orchestrated the vast majority of this concert, which can be heard on the CD Massed Male Choral Celebration.

David conducted and orchestrated a similar event in June 2007, with 400 school children taking part in Raise The Roof at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff.

David's orchestration of The Railway Children by Brian Thompson and Judy I Parker was premiered by Young-Gen in Chelmsford.

Steve studied clarinet at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff and whilst there developed a strong interest in Conducting and received tuition from Howard Williams. Having completed a BMus (Hons) and PgDip in performance at the RWCMD, he was awarded the Principal's Prize for Music in 2002. Currently working as Director of Music at an Independent School in Bristol, Steve has a busy schedule school as a conductor, accompanist and chamber musician. He is Musical Director of Bristol Male Voice Choir (www.bristolmvc.org.uk) with whom he has performed in venues from Cornwall's Eden project to Carnegie Hall, New York and has worked as guest conductor for Gorton Philharmonic Orchestra, the High Peak Orchestra and Bristol Music Club Orchestra. Steve has worked as guest conductor for a number of other Male Voice Choirs in a number of prestigious venues around Europe.

Mark received his Bachelor of Music Degree from Cardiff University and thereafter studied at the New England Conservatory of Music Boston.
In 1995 he was the first British singer to be awarded a place on the apprentice Opera programme at Santa Fe Opera.
His first commissioned work - a Symphonic poem entitled "The Bells of Glamorgan" was performed for the first time at St. David's Hall, Cardiff, and has since enjoyed performances at the Barbican, Usher Hall, and the National Concert Hall Dublin.

He has to date composed over 150 theme tunes for BBC and ITV Companies.

His original composition "Carol Nadolig" was recorded by Sain records some 20 years ago and is still regularly played on Radio, and has been covered by several Artists. His original version features Mark, and his Father - Stuart Burrows.

His composition for Male Voice Choir - a setting of W.H.Davies' poem "Leisure - What is this life" received its first official performance by massed Choir on November 6th 2010 at the Festival of Remembrance, St. David's Hall, Cardiff.

Later this year, a Medley of Favourites from the songs of Wales will be available for Male and mixed voice Choir.

Mark Burstow

Mark Burstow

Mark's singing and conducting talents were first spotted by the near-legendary Ronnie Lee MBE, the master of the award-winning choir at Belfast's Grosvenor High School choir, where Mark was a pupil. From there, he joined the Saint George's Singers, a choir renowned for its extensive repertoire of baroque and classical works.

In 1991 - and whilst still at university - Mark became the conductor of the Harlandic Male Voice Choir, an appointment which, at the time, made him the youngest conductor of any male voice choir in the UK. As well as winning numerous awards, the choir made several appearances on the BBC, ITV and RTE, most notably taking part in a cross-border TV broadcast to mark the signing of the Good Friday agreement. Throughout the 1990s, Mark also presented programmes for Lyric FM, RTE's classical music station.

In 2001, Mark left Belfast to pursue a civil service career in Dorset, a move that meant putting his musical interests to one side for a while. But his talents didn't lie dormant for long, because he joined Bournemouth Male Voice Choir in 2004 and was appointed Musical Director a short time later. With Mark at the helm, the choir has performed and toured extensively, developed its repertoire and recruited many new members, as well as achieving competition success and recording a CD (with another in the pipeline).

Aside from BMVC, Mark arranges music (his arrangements are sung throughout the UK, America and Canada), guest conducts for several other choirs and regularly adjudicates at music festivals.