"Beautiful location and very historic." Carol, Aberdeen
"We had a great weekend. Lovely relaxing venue. Great company. Fantastic role models in the older children and young performers. Great teaching and lots of fun." Trish, Marshfield
"We had a great weekend. Lovely relaxing venue. Great company. Fantastic role models in the older children and young performers. Great teaching and lots of fun." Trish, Marshfield
Gregynog Hall and The ArtsGregynog is quite simply the most stunning venue that Musical Director Sue Bird could think of to hold a Suzuki music course in Wales. Its breath-takingly beautiful surroundings nestled in the midst of rural Wales means that this will be a music course that you will never forget. Gregynog Hall was home to the Davies sisters who together created one of the most important private collections of art in Britain and donated a total of 260 works to the National Museum of Wales in the mid 20th century, where it has become one of the nation’s greatest treasures. However, some of the pictures, a great deal of the furniture, and many, many books still remain at Gregynog.
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Gregynog & Music |
The Davies Sisters’ interest in music was extraordinary and they had not been at Gregynog for long before they had converted Lord Joicey’s billiard room into a music room and formed a choir, mainly from estate employees and their families. (‘Gardener wanted – tenor preferred’, went the advertisement – or so the story goes). This music became a defining motif of Gregynog during the wars and the Welsh College of Music was largely funded by the Davies sisters. Gregynog still houses some of the exceptional instruments that the Davies Sisters collected, the Pianos used for the course will include their Bosendorfer, Steinweg, Broadwood and the exceptional 1950s Steinway in the music room.
From 1932 to 1938, an Annual Festival of Music and Poetry was held here, conducted by such musical luminaries as Sir Henry Walford Davies and Sir Adrian Boult, with Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Holst – not to mention George Bernard Shaw, amongst the list of other distinguished guests who visited. It must have been remarkable to have attended one of these early festivals, to listen to exquisite music surrounded by Impressionist paintings from artists including Renoir and Cezanne. The music festival too lives on as each year in June, Gregynog plays host to an annual music festival, featuring performances by some of the world’s leading classical musicians, ensuring the house and gardens are still redolent with the atmosphere of the Davies sisters and their magical era. Imagine an atmosphere where inspiration for exquisite music-making comes from so many influences, the art, the gardens, the ambience and history of the house itself. This is where we wanted to host our Suzuki course, where each child will be not only be nurtured by love but will become a part of the very history of this incredible place, an experience that will stay with you for ever. |