A top music festival was congratulated by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on reaching its 40th anniversary.
Representatives of the North Wales International Music Festival met the royal couple when they came to St Asaph Cathedral.
They were there to celebrate the granting of city status to St Asaph to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
The cathedral was chosen as the venue for the Festival by its founder, the royal composer, William Matthias.
According to Professor Matthias, one of his greatest achievements was the creation of the hugely popular music festival in 1972.
Appropriately, this year’s festival – from September 22 to September 29 – will see the world premiere of a new work by the internationally acclaimed composer, Dr Karl Jenkins. It will be played by the Prince’s personal harpist, Hannah Stone.
The festival team and sponsors were introduced to the Prince and the Duchess by the event’s Executive Vice Chair, Sue Last.
She said:: “It was fantastic, the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall spent a lot of time with us.
“I told him about our 40th anniversary and the Karl Jenkins commission and he was very interested.
“He said it was a wonderful building and that he’d like to come to a concert here. He is a musician, he plays the cello and he is genuinely interested in music.
“He was very pleased to meet out sponsors and said that without them this sort of event wouldn’t be able to survive.”
There to greet the Prince and the Duchess as part of the festival’s contingent were the founder’s widow, Yvonne and their daughter, Rhiannon.
Rhiannon said: “It was very thrilling to be here today. My father would have been very proud to see the festival celebrating its 40th anniversary.
“The festival has been amazing. Ann Atkinson, the Artistic Director, and the rest of the festival tea are doing a wonderful job in ensuring that its profile remains so high.
“The Cathedral is the perfect venue for music. My father always thought that and many of the artistes and performers, like Simon Rattle, comment on the fantastic acoustic here whether you’re performing as a soloist or as part of a bigger ensemble.
“It’s a very special building. He tried out many venues by getting my mother to sing but this was the only one for him”
Among the festival sponsors who met the royal couple were Mario Kreft MBE and his wife, Gill, the proprietors of the Pendine Park care organisation.
Mario said: “It was a landmark day for St Asaph and a great way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the festival.
“We were talking about our work with the Welsh National Opera and we recently had the opportunity to attend a dinner at Buckingham Palace in support of the WNO.
“The Prince was very interested in hearing about the work we do with the arts, particularly how the lives of people with dementia can be enriched. Music has a special ability to touch people.
“It’s been the most perfect day in the perfect setting, the whole event has been so well organised.
“I am sure that St Asaph and the music festival will be able to build on this in the future.”
