Just over a week after we arrived back from Latvia, it's time to report back on our recent adventures in North Wales and Riga.
Sunday 6 July - Sweeney Todd day 1
The older members of the choir, who make up 'Ysbrydoliaeth' left Cwmbran early in the morning, arriving on the Llangollen International Eisteddfod site in time to eat lunch before starting rehearsals with the rest of the cast of Sweeney Todd. There was a lot of work needed just to make sure the chorus (comprised of Ysbrydoliaeth, Ysgol Glanaethwy and Ysgol Morgan Llwyd) were able to get on and off the stage at the right times, at the right speed.
The principal members of the cast soon joined the rehearsal, and I have to say that there are few sights more incongruous than Bryn Terfel in shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops singing as Sweeney Todd, while simultaneously trying to shush the ladies arranging the flowers in front of the stage.
Monday 7 July - Sweeney Todd day 2
After a peaceful night, we were up early to travel back to the Eisteddfod site for make up, costume and the dress rehearsal. The children were made up to look, well, I can only describe it as zombie-like, with pale white faces covered in black smudges. Their costumes were "peasant-chic", and they all looked quite scary. Back stage, during breaks and before the show itself, Bryn and the other stars of the show (Wynne Evans, Shan Cothi) mingled with the chorus, chatting with them and having their photos taken. Bryn even indulged in a little photo-bombing...
Sunday 6 July - Sweeney Todd day 1
The older members of the choir, who make up 'Ysbrydoliaeth' left Cwmbran early in the morning, arriving on the Llangollen International Eisteddfod site in time to eat lunch before starting rehearsals with the rest of the cast of Sweeney Todd. There was a lot of work needed just to make sure the chorus (comprised of Ysbrydoliaeth, Ysgol Glanaethwy and Ysgol Morgan Llwyd) were able to get on and off the stage at the right times, at the right speed.
The principal members of the cast soon joined the rehearsal, and I have to say that there are few sights more incongruous than Bryn Terfel in shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops singing as Sweeney Todd, while simultaneously trying to shush the ladies arranging the flowers in front of the stage.
Monday 7 July - Sweeney Todd day 2
After a peaceful night, we were up early to travel back to the Eisteddfod site for make up, costume and the dress rehearsal. The children were made up to look, well, I can only describe it as zombie-like, with pale white faces covered in black smudges. Their costumes were "peasant-chic", and they all looked quite scary. Back stage, during breaks and before the show itself, Bryn and the other stars of the show (Wynne Evans, Shan Cothi) mingled with the chorus, chatting with them and having their photos taken. Bryn even indulged in a little photo-bombing...
 There was a capacity audience for the show itself, and they weren't disappointed. Bryn was a suitably dark Sweeney, and we were very proud of all of our children, who supported the cast brilliantly. We finally left the Maes at 11pm, arriving home in Cwmbran around 2:30am Tuesday morning. Tuesday 8 July / Wednesday 9 July - AKA "Twednesday" Bleary-eyed from our Sweeney adventures, we arrived at Cwmbran railway station at 11:00pm on Tuesday night, all simultaneously tired yet excited and looking forward to our trip to Riga, Latvia for the long awaited World Choir Games. We drove through the night and arrived in Stansted airport at around 3:45am - in plenty of time for our 6:45am flight. The flight was relatively short, but many of us took the chance to try and snatch a little sleep. Before we knew it, we were in Riga, collecting our bags, and being greeted by our guides for the duration of our trip; Kristine and Martins, who soon learnt that the main skill needed to deal with our group was patience, and the ability to act like sheep dogs; endlessly rounding people up. Once checked into our hotel, and having had the chance to do a little exploring of the beautiful Riga Old Town, we were soon being led to the shuttle buses put on to get us to the opening concert of the World Choir Games 2014, held in Arena Riga. The concert was spectacular, with flags of all the competing nations paraded onto the stage and a huge peace bell being rung 5 times, to represent each continent taking part. We were honoured with the presence of the President of Latvia; Andris Bērziņš, who took place in the bell ringing ceremony. By the end of the concert, and with many of the party having been awake for more than 24 hours, we were all ready to get back to the hotel and to bed. Thursday 10 July - to the beach! After a hearty breakfast (ranging from pasta to pastries!) we headed off to the beach at Jurmala, which is about 30 minutes' drive from Riga. A day chilling out in the sun was just what the doctor ordered and I think we were all quite surprised by just how beautiful and well equipped the beach was. The free wi-fi was an unexpected bonus! 
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 Some people were brave enough to take a dip in the Baltic, and there was some slight excitement when a group of the children took out a large pedalo which drifted along the beach, and needed bringing back under control by the stronger swimmers in the group. Friday 11 July - Friendship Concert After some free time in the morning, giving people time to explore Riga a little, we headed off to Vērmanes Gardens to take part in one of the many Friendship Concerts which were taking place all over Riga every day during the World Choir Games. We shared the stage with choirs from many nations; China, the Czech Republic and Germany to name but 3. I may be biased, but I think Nidus were the best choir to perform that afternoon...the crowd were certainly appreciative and many people came over to talk to those of us waving our Welsh flags in the audience, asking where we were from, and telling us their tales of visits to Wales. My favourite moment was when the choir sang "The Blue Danube" and members of the audience started waltzing at the side of the stage. Saturday 12 July - Competition Day! Saturday dawned; another hot and sunny day. The children had to get to the competition venue - Culture Palace Ziemeļblāzma, about 9 miles from Riga - for a sound check, and then come back to the hotel for all important hair, make-up and donning of their carefully chosen costumes. Once dressed, the girls all looked beautiful, and the boys suitably suave. We travelled in style to the competition - thanks to the lovely lady, Ruta, at the hotel we were staying in (Konventa Seta - highly recommended!), we had managed to requisition a Riga tour bus! On arrival, there was a little time outside the venue; time to ensure everyone looked perfect, a pep talk from Christian, and then it was time for the competition. I can honestly say that I have never seen the children performing so passionately and so perfectly. Each and every one of them put their heart and soul into giving the best performance they possibly could. They may deny it now, but a number of parents were seen wiping away a tear or two while the children were singing. We all agreed that whatever the result, we couldn't be prouder of the children. 
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Saturday evening was spent celebrating, and ended with an impromptu performance by the choir in a bar by our hotel, joined by the German choir we had seen perform on Friday at the Friendship Concert.
Sunday 13th July - Results Day!
No rest for the wicked, and we were all up early in order to get to the results and awards ceremony which was taking place at 9am on the Sunday morning at the Arena Riga where we had watched the opening ceremony.
Christian and Madame were a little taken aback when, having been told "conductors this way", and imagining they were being shown to their seats, they ended up processing into the Arena Riga with all of the other conductors, with a capacity audience screaming and cheering at them!
We sat nervously through the presentations for 2 other categories, until finally the moment came when the results for the Children's Choir - Champions Competition were announced. We got more and more excited as the silver medal scores were announced and got higher and higher up the silver medal score band. And then it was us! 78.64 points. A silver medal, and only 1.36 points away from a gold medal. A fantastic achievement for a small choir from Wales, putting Nidus Children's Choir in the top 20 children's choirs in the world!
After the awards ceremony, the children once again had a chance to mix with other choirs from all over the world, and exchanged Welsh gifts and souvenirs with people from South Africa, Indonesia, Germany and many other countries too numerous to mention.
The rest of Sunday was spent in relaxation and recovery
Monday 14th July - last day in Riga
Our flight was home was at 1:15pm, so we had time in the morning for our own "awards ceremony" with Christian giving a certificate and medal to every choir member as their very own memento of the World Choir Games. In return, Rhianwen presented Christian with a box of "Maestro" chocolates as a token of the choir's appreciation of all of the hard work he has put in with them over the years.
Sunday 13th July - Results Day!
No rest for the wicked, and we were all up early in order to get to the results and awards ceremony which was taking place at 9am on the Sunday morning at the Arena Riga where we had watched the opening ceremony.
Christian and Madame were a little taken aback when, having been told "conductors this way", and imagining they were being shown to their seats, they ended up processing into the Arena Riga with all of the other conductors, with a capacity audience screaming and cheering at them!
We sat nervously through the presentations for 2 other categories, until finally the moment came when the results for the Children's Choir - Champions Competition were announced. We got more and more excited as the silver medal scores were announced and got higher and higher up the silver medal score band. And then it was us! 78.64 points. A silver medal, and only 1.36 points away from a gold medal. A fantastic achievement for a small choir from Wales, putting Nidus Children's Choir in the top 20 children's choirs in the world!
After the awards ceremony, the children once again had a chance to mix with other choirs from all over the world, and exchanged Welsh gifts and souvenirs with people from South Africa, Indonesia, Germany and many other countries too numerous to mention.
The rest of Sunday was spent in relaxation and recovery
Monday 14th July - last day in Riga
Our flight was home was at 1:15pm, so we had time in the morning for our own "awards ceremony" with Christian giving a certificate and medal to every choir member as their very own memento of the World Choir Games. In return, Rhianwen presented Christian with a box of "Maestro" chocolates as a token of the choir's appreciation of all of the hard work he has put in with them over the years.
Another performance of "The Happy Wanderer" to the delights of the German people breakfasting in the hotel courtyard, and then it was time to say goodbye to our guides, thanking them for their help and endless patience with us - we hope we left them with a good impression of Wales and the Welsh.
Our flight home went smoothly, as did our coach trip back to Cwmbran from Stansted. We were delighted to be greeted by a small group of fans, waving Welsh flags and then it was time to go home and to reflect on all of the sights we had seen and all of the experiences we had shared during our 6 days in Riga.
And now, it's all over. Six years in the planning, a massive amount of work put in by Heidi, Gabi, Christian, Madame and Nick as well as the parents involved in booking flights, ordering and altering dresses and suits, sourcing sponsors, designing new hoodies and t-shirts, distributing cases, rucksacks and souvenirs to the children, and probably many other things I've forgotten to mention.
I think it's fair to say that we've all come home with wonderful memories and firm friendships having had a once in a lifetime experience. I hope this (rather lengthy) post has given you a flavour of our time in Riga.
Our flight home went smoothly, as did our coach trip back to Cwmbran from Stansted. We were delighted to be greeted by a small group of fans, waving Welsh flags and then it was time to go home and to reflect on all of the sights we had seen and all of the experiences we had shared during our 6 days in Riga.
And now, it's all over. Six years in the planning, a massive amount of work put in by Heidi, Gabi, Christian, Madame and Nick as well as the parents involved in booking flights, ordering and altering dresses and suits, sourcing sponsors, designing new hoodies and t-shirts, distributing cases, rucksacks and souvenirs to the children, and probably many other things I've forgotten to mention.
I think it's fair to say that we've all come home with wonderful memories and firm friendships having had a once in a lifetime experience. I hope this (rather lengthy) post has given you a flavour of our time in Riga.
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