A Wrexham community choir performed on the Llangollen International Music Festival stage – although one young member was so relaxed she slept through the entire performance.
Cor Caia, a family choir set up as part of a Welsh National Opera project on Wrexham’s Caia Parc housing estate, took to the Llangollen stage as part of the award-winning Inclusion Project.
The Inclusion Project, which began in 2008, was created to give groups who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to compete at the Eisteddfod, but who contribute a great deal to their communities, the opportunity to perform on the main Llangollen stage.
But Cor Caia’s big moment proved a little too much for one-year-old Nynke Rivera who slept through the whole performance strapped to her choir member mum, Selma van Houwelingen.
Ruth Evans, of the Welsh National Opera who helped set-up Cor Caia says having the opportunity to perform on the Eisteddfod stage was a magical experience.
She said: “It really was a great experience, absolutely fantastic and the audience was so warm and welcoming.
“Cor Caia was set up to allow families to come together and sing. There are no auditions or anything like that it’s all about the community.”
Selma van Houwelingen, who moved to Wrexham from her native Holland and now lives on the Caia Parc estate says singing as a choir at Llangollen was a marvellous experience.
She said: “It really was amazing. As a family we really enjoy Cor Caia as it means we can sing together and enjoy being part of a fantastic community. It’s just a shame Nynke slept all the way through her big moment on stage.
“But when you are only one year old, enjoying a nap is perhaps more important!”
