EVENTS: On Saturday April 29, at 7pm, the St Woolos Sinfonia (formerly the St Woolos Players), Newport Cathedral’s ‘house’ orchestra, will perform at the Cathedral under their talented conductor, Tianyi Lu. 

Their programme will consist of three serenades - Wiren’s Serenade for Strings, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings and Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings. 

The Sinfonia will be joined for the Britten serenade by Robyn Lyn Evans (tenor) and Michael Gibbs (horn). 

Robyn Lyn Evans is from Ceredigion, and studied at Trinity College Carmarthen and the Royal College of Music, London. He has won an impressive clutch of prizes and awards for his singing, and has performed in operatic roles with English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera and Opera North, among others. He has released two solo albums.

Michael Gibbs is originally from Kent. He read French-History at Leeds University and during his year abroad studied at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg. In 2016 he completed an MA in orchestral performance at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Michael has played in, and with, a number of orchestras, including the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the orchestra of Welsh National Opera. He also plays with Seren Winds, a Cardiff-based wind quintet.

The St Woolos Sinfonia has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and this is sure to be an excellent concert. 

Tickets are priced are £10 (under 12s free) and can be obtained on the door or online at stwoolossinfonia.com, where you can also find further information about the orchestra, soloists and conductor.

On May 4, at 7.30pm, the Lyra Quartet from St Petersburg will return to Newport Cathedral to give a concert consisting of Russian sacred music and folk-songs, together with some popular classics by such composers as Dowland, Rachmaninov, Puccini, Verdi and Rimsky-Korsakov. 

The Lyra Quartet consists of Zlata Gogol (contralto), Aleksei Goloviznin (bass), Marina Busse (soprano) and Aleksandr Shagun (tenor). 

These four immensely talented musicians have between them sung in concert halls and opera houses around the world and some of you may remember their previous, much-applauded, visit to Newport Cathedral. 

Their concert on May 4 promises to be a very special evening. Admission is free, with a retiring collection.