Ar ôl Tri

Ar ôl Tri is a choir of men’s voices, formed originally in 1985. We are based in West Wales, and our rehearsals are held in Aberteifi (Cardigan). The choir was founded by Wyn Lewis, a local vet and he was the director until 2016. Originally a small group of 10, numbers have grown and we now have around 30 singers. The name ‘Ar ôl Tri’ literally means ‘After Three’ in Welsh. The reason for the name is a slight mystery; some have suggested that we sing at our best after 3am!
Most of our repertoire is in Welsh, and nearly all members speak Welsh as their first language. We are all amateur musicians, and come from all professions – farmers, teachers… but all of us share a love of singing.

We have sung hundreds of concerts over the years, and also competed at the National Eisteddfod (the biggest cultural festival of its kind, which includes many choral competitions). We have sung at festivals in Ireland and Llydaw (Brittany), but our Italian trip will be a highlight for us, as we are also celebrating our 40th anniversary this year. We have travelled to see rugby matches in Ireland many times and have sung at the Millenium Stadium at the start of 6-nations internationals several times. Most recently, we inspired Wales to victory against Ireland in March 2025. Unfortunately, the national team has not been as successful since then! It is fitting that we are celebrating the legacy of Carwyn James in Italy, who was a key figure in the history of Welsh rugby.

Ar ôl Tri’s repertoire is varied, and we enjoy singing modern or classical pieces, spirituals, hymns, folk songs… and we are great ‘after-match’ singers. In other words, after a concert or rehearsal, the singing will continue at a more informal venue! Singing at the National Eisteddfod requires a challenging repertoire, and Ar ôl Tri won the first prize in the Men’s Choir category in 2022, and the prize across all categories for singing an original piece by a Welsh composer at the same Eisteddfod. Other highlights include singing in the Albert Hall, London, at the Classic FM Live concert in 2018 with the Welsh tenor, Trystan Llŷr, who started as a singer with Ar ôl Tri, and is now in demand as an opera singer across Europe. There are several other soloists within the choir, including baritone Gwyn Morris, who won the Blue Ribbon prize at the National Eisteddfod in 2011.

There are several poets within Ar ôl Tri. We have been raising money for our Italian trip by commissioning short poems or ‘englynion’, written by these choir members, including Ceri Wyn Jones, winner several prizes at the National Eisteddfod. This has raised well over a thousand pounds already, and is perhaps an unusual way of funding a choral trip!

Emyr Davies

Emyr took over as conductor in 2016. Wyn Lewis the founder could not continue, owing to ill-health, and sadly passed away at the end of 2019. We still miss Wyn’s company whenever we meet as a choir. Emyr Davies works in the field of language assessment, and lives at his home village of Aber-porth in west Wales, close to Aberteifi (Cardigan). He has sung with many other choirs and is often asked to translate songs into Welsh, as required for competitions.

Meinir Jones-Parry

The choir’s accompanist is Meinir Jones-Parry, originally from Aberteifi (Cardigan). She is a highly acclaimed pianist and is in demand as an accompanist for choirs, soloists and as an adjudicator at many Eisteddfodau. She graduated in Music from the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff and teaches piano to children of all ages. She lives in Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen) and her husband, Gwynedd Parry, is also a soloist within the choir.