Music Director – Martin Hodson MBE (continued)
Martin Hodson
With Crosskeys College Choral Society, which he founded in 1981, he has conducted acclaimed performances of the great choral repertoire, including Elijah, Messiah, The Creation, Rossini's Stabat Mater and Petite Messe Solennelle, Puccini's Messa di Gloria, and Requiem settings by Mozart, Faure and Verdi. In 1998 the choir premiered Seascapes, a work which the choir had commissioned from Welsh composer, Richard Roderick Jones.
Martin has also worked in music theatre projects as vocal coach, repetiteur and director. Performances he has directed include The Hired Man, 42nd Street, Sondheim's Into the Woods, The Gondoliers, A Chorus Line, and Fame.
His association with Risca Male Choir, which he joined as conductor in 1979, is special, and has been crucial in developing the choir's distinctive style and repertoire. Under his direction the choir has won the title of Male Choir of the Year, the National Eisteddfod, the Welsh Choral Challenge Shield and the bronze medal at the Malta International Choral Festival. Its reputation as an exciting and innovative choral group is widely known. His many arrangements for the choir are a vital part of its repertoire and a number have now been published.
The distinguished career of Risca Male Choir reached a culmination in 1997 when it was the recipient of the WS Gwynn Williams Award. This is given by the Welsh Arts Council in recognition of services to the community and in this case in particular, for the promotion of works by contemporary Welsh composers.
He has, over the past few years, been invited to act as adjudicator at a number of festivals and more particularly at Male Choir competitions.
In June 1999 he was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to education and music in the community.
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