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From Senghenydd’s Ex-Servicemen’s Club to London’s Royal Albert Hall, Aber Valley Male Voice Choir has performed on a variety of stages.

And guiding the choir for the last 50 years has been its conductor Geraint Evans, who has celebrated half a century in the role.

Mr Evans, 75, conducted his first show on Wednesday, September 15, 1971, when the choir performed at the Ex-Servicemen’s Club in Senghenydd for club secretary Gilbert Lloyd’s retirement party.

Since then, Geraint has conducted the choir 1,281 times, toured across Europe and North America and made history by becoming the first Welsh male voice choir to perform at the Speaker’s House in the House of Commons.

The choir was first set up by David John Evans – Geraint’s uncle – in Senghenydd in 1959, with Geraint becoming a member in 1962.

The choir was something that ran in Geraint’s family. His father, his four brothers and two of his uncles were all members.

He sang in the choir for nine years before being offered the chance to become the conductor.

Geraint, who is originally from Senghenydd but now lives in Caerphilly, said: “The choir had an exchange with a choir in Ludwigsburg, Germany. They came to us in 1965 and we went to them in 1971. We were on the ferry from Dover to Ostend and the choir’s committee were chatting about a new conductor as my uncle was stepping down.

“They wanted to hand the baton over to me. They felt the choir needed some younger blood – I was 25 at the time.

“They came up to me on the ferry and offered me the role. It was a shock, but they obviously had a confidence in me.”

Since then, Geraint has averaged 27 concerts a year, with the choir regularly performing across Wales and other parts of the UK.

The choir has also been on 25 international tours since Geraint became conductor – visiting places such as France, Germany, Belgium, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Czech Republic and more.

During the 1970s, the choir entertained touring rugby teams from the southern hemisphere, such as Tonga and the All Blacks at Senghenydd Rugby Club.

In 1988, the choir toured Canada and the USA, doing eight concerts in 14 days.

“The first concert we did in Canada was at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. We took 50 men and their wives with us. My mother was there to support us too.

“Around 2,500 to 3,000 members of the audience were Welsh and it was the best concert the choir has ever given. We even had newspapers raving about our performance.”

In 1999, the choir sang at the opening of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, which saw Wales beat South Africa for the first time ever. It was also the first and only time a piano has been played on the hallowed turf.

Ten years later in 2009, the choir marked its 50th anniversary by singing in front of John Bercow, who at the time had recently become the speaker of the House of Commons.

In 2014, the choir sang to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at the National Mining Memorial in Senghenydd.

The following year, Geraint was given a British Empire Medal for services to music and charity.

“My favourite thing about being part of this choir is being with an amazing group who are prepared to learn the music and perform,” he said.

“The choir is a vehicle that can both entertain and raise money for charity. We estimate the choir has raised more than £1m for charity over the years.

“It’s also nice to bring the name of Aber Valley around the world with us.”

Geraint added: “I’ve had two absolutely brilliant accompanists alongside me since I’ve been conductor. Firstly Gwennie Charles and now Aurelia Jones, who has been with us since 1982.”

In 2017, the choir were invited to perform for the first time at the annual Lorient Festival Interceltique, which is held in Brittany. The choir has since performed three times at the festival, which usually attracts around 750,000 people over a ten-day period.

In 2019, the choir celebrated its 60th anniversary and marked the occasion with a concert at Bedwas Workmen’s Hall.

Caerphilly’s Member of Parliament Wayne David, who is also the President of Aber Valley Male Voice Choir, said: “Geraint is very much the heart and soul of the choir.

“Not only is he a brilliant musician who is very much part of the great Welsh singing tradition, he is also a superb compere and raconteur.

“The Aber Valley Male Voice Choir is one of the best choirs in Wales and has an excellent reputation which extends well beyond Offa’s Dyke and is, in fact, truly international.

“The choir’s success over many years is in large part because of Geraint’s hard work and total commitment. All music lovers should give Geraint a big thank you.”

The choir will be back in action on November 6 with a show at Bedwas Workmen’s Hall. Anyone interested in buying tickets for the performance, or joining the choir, can contact the choir through its Facebook page.