{"id":98431,"date":"2019-11-20T14:56:39","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T14:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.new-directions.co.uk\/education\/?p=98431"},"modified":"2019-11-20T14:56:46","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T14:56:46","slug":"ysgol-gynradd-gymraeg-llwyncelyn-choir-stars-in-the-2019-ms-christmas-advert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.new-directions.co.uk\/education\/2019\/11\/ysgol-gynradd-gymraeg-llwyncelyn-choir-stars-in-the-2019-ms-christmas-advert\/","title":{"rendered":"Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llwyncelyn Choir Stars in the 2019 M&S Christmas Advert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New Directions Education would like to congratulate Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llwyncelyn<\/a> in Porth,\nRhondda Cynon Taff, for being chosen to take part in the brand-new 2019 M&S Food<\/a> Christmas\nadvert. Account Manager, Ifan Dupuy, works with the school and he is delighted by\ntheir incredible achievement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ifan commented, \u201cI first heard Ysgol Gynradd Llwyncelyn\u2019s choir\nwhilst attending the regional Eisteddfodau back in late March as part of our\nsponsorship agreement with the Urdd. It was a great opportunity for New\nDirections to support a long-standing tradition within the Welsh community and\none that has given Llwyncelyn the stage to showcase their incredibly talented\nchoir. The recent success of the school choir follows on from the decade of\ntalent that has stemmed from past pupils who have inspired the next school\nchoir group to continue to hold the high values and commitment to be the very\nbest. The advert itself is absolutely superb and has us all feeling ready for\nthe festive period!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s M&S Christmas advert features famous faces\nincluding Emma Willis, Amanda Holden, Rochelle Humes and Paddy McGuinness, alongside\nthe school choir singing Fleetwood Mac\u2019s Albatross in the background of a cosy\nChristmas market scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is very exciting news for the school, following on from their\nrecent choir successes. The choir was chosen for the starring role following a\nseries of award-winning performances by the previous choir generations at the\nUrdd Eisteddfod, where they managed to scoop first prize for the last two years\nin a row, alongside winning the national Songs Of Praise Choir of the Year 2018\naward. On the back of these impressive accolades, a simple but surprising phone\ncall was made to Headteacher Mark Rees, inviting the choir to a recording\nstudio in London to be the stars of the long-awaited 2019 Marks & Spencer\nChristmas advert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many of the children, this was their first experience of\nperforming in a choir, but ahead of their rendition of Albatross for the\nfestive advert, they were treated like stars, receiving specialist singing\ncoaching from Justin and Dan Hawkins from the Darkness. Their beautiful voices\nwere then recorded at the Acapela Studio in London \u2013 a nerve-wracking but\nunforgettable experience for all involved!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Director of ND Education, Howard Burge, attended a celebration\nevening on 7th<\/sup> November for Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llwyncelyn\u2019s\nofficial launch and premiere of the new M&S Food festive advert, with a\nlive performance from the choir on the night. The launch evening was attended\nby local press, including S4C, BBC Wales and Heno, allowing the children the\nopportunity to participate in TV and radio interviews to talk about their\nsuccess and their incredible experience. Following the launch, the advert was\nfirst shown commercially during breaks in between This Morning and we all felt\nvery proud to see children from our local school as stars on our television\nscreens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school\u2019s participation in the festive advert is a great success and with a big target audience in the run up to Christmas, it will undoubtedly put Rhondda Cynon Taff and Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llwyncelyn clearly on the map. With an estimated 12 million people viewing the advert over the Christmas period, we are sure you\u2019ll see and hear the Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llwyncelyn Choir on your TVs soon enough if you haven\u2019t already!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch their inspirational performance here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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