A Welsh male voice choir whose journey has taken it from a village in North Wales to the top of the classical charts will perform in Oxford this autumn.
Fron Male Voice Choir will join Oxford Welsh Male Voice Choir for Arches and Spires, an annual gala concert at Oxford Town Hall on Saturday 31 October.
The two choirs will perform separately before coming together as a massed male voice choir, with a programme spanning traditional Welsh choral music and more contemporary repertoire.
For the Fron, the concert will mark its first performance in Oxford.
The choir was formed in the village of Froncysyllte, near Llangollen, in 1947, originally to compete at the newly established Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. Competition has remained an important part of its history, with the choir recording successes in Britain and overseas.
Its fortunes changed dramatically in 2006 after music manager Daniel Glatman, known for managing the boy band Blue, heard the choir performing at a wedding. He subsequently arranged for representatives of Universal Music to hear the group, leading to a recording contract.
The resulting album, Voices of the Valley, was released on Universal/Decca in November 2006. It reached No. 1 on the UK Classical Artist Albums Chart and No. 9 on the main UK Albums Chart.
The choir went on to release further albums, including Voices of the Valley – Encore, Home, Down Memory Lane and The Ultimate Collection.
In 2021, the choir returned to the studio independently to record Voices of the Valley – Echoes. The album entered the Official Classical Artist Albums Chart at No. 1.
The Fron has also developed a wider profile through television and football. Its relationship with Wrexham AFC has led to appearances connected with the Disney+ documentary series Welcome to Wrexham and the club’s kit campaigns.
The choir was also among three Welsh male voice choirs featured in the Sky Arts documentary series Voices of the Valleys, which explored the people and traditions behind male voice singing in contemporary Wales.
Its history has another connection to one of the world’s most celebrated opera singers.
In 1955, a 19-year-old Luciano Pavarotti travelled to the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod as a member of the Italian choir Corale Gioachino Rossini, alongside his father, Fernando. The choir won its competition, and Pavarotti later recalled the experience as significant in his decision to pursue a professional singing career.
In October 2025, 70 years after that visit, the Fron travelled to Modena to perform at the Teatro Comunale Pavarotti-Freni in a concert marking what would have been Pavarotti’s 90th birthday.
The Oxford concert takes its title, Arches and Spires, from the architectural landmarks associated with the two choirs’ home cities and regions: Thomas Telford’s Pontcysyllte Aqueduct near Froncysyllte and Oxford’s distinctive skyline.
Oxford Welsh Male Voice Choir and the Fron will each perform their own repertoire before joining forces for the closing part of the concert.
Arches and Spires gala concert
Date: Saturday 31 October 2026
Venue: Oxford Town Hall, St Aldate’s, Oxford OX1 1BX
Doors: 6.30pm
Tickets: £25
Students and under-18s: £12.50
