History of Côr y Penrhyn

Côr y Penrhyn’s roots lie in the quarrying village of Bethesda, the choir was first formed in the late 1880’s when a large choir was formed from smaller choirs that existed in the Penrhyn Quarry at that time. That larger choir sailed to Chicago in 1893 to take part in the Trade Fair under the name “Côr Meibion y Penrhyn”.
The choir is very fortunate to have a very talented Musical Director in Owain Arwel Davies, and he is supported by the equally talented Accompanist, Frances Davies and Deputy Musical Director, Caleb Rhys Jones.
In 2018 the choir released a CD “Gwlad” which featured two pieces with the Black Dyke Band, as well as talented local musicians. The CD is for sale through this website www.corypenrhyn.cymru, as well as on all streaming websites.
In 2018/19 the choir had the pleasure of working and recording with the “The Good, The Bad and The Queen” a band fronted by Damon Albarn. The choir had the honour of singing with the band at the Glastonbury Festival, The London Palladium, Somerset House and on the North Pier in Blackpool.
Recently the choir has been recording pieces for the world renowned composer Bear McCready, the recordings will be used in a new computer game to be released in 2025.
The choir has numerous concerts each year, which include concerts for local, national and international charities such as DEC, Cancer Research and St Davids Hospice.
In 2025 they performed at the “North America Festival of Wales” in Ottowa, as part of the tour they also performed at concerts in Toronto.
Côr y Penrhyn has an eclectic mix of genres in its repertoire, this included Welsh Hymns, pieces from musicals and contemporary pieces by modern Welsh composers and poets, in addition to songs by musicians such as Eric Clapton and Super Furry Animals.
Musical Director: Owain Arwel Davies
Arwel was raised in Penrhyn Bay near Llandudno, and whilst being a pupil at Ysgol Creuddyn he was a member of Côr Maelgwn.
He graduated, with honours, from Bangor University in 1999, before training as a teacher and accepting the position of Head of Music at Ysgol y Moelwyn in 2000.
He is currently Deputy Head at Ysgol Glan Clwyd.
He has had the privilege of producing, and performing on numerous recordings, especially the choir’s recent CD – GWLAD. He has also gained high acclaim for his musical productions in Music Theatre, recordings and television productions.
Accompanist: Frances Davies
Fran was raised in Dihewyd, Ceredigion. She graduated from Bangor University in 1988 with a B.Mus (Hons). She then became a primary school teacher for 17 years whilst simultaneously studying for an MA (Ed). As a mature student, she read Linguistics again at Bangor University. This led to her subsequently attaining an
ESRC scholarship to study for a PhD on language use in Caernarfon. She attained her doctorate in 2013. More recently Fran studied for a Dip ABRSM in piano (2018).
and she currently works part-time as a piano tutor.