New choir Pembrokeshire Pop Voices wowed the crowds at St David’s Cathedral earlier in February with a pop concert unlike anything the Cathedral has ever seen before.

With an excellent live band and a repertoire of ultra-modern hits, the choir, which has only been practicing together for just over 9 months, stunned the crowd with big-hitting songs such as Believer by Imagine Dragons and Human by The Killers.

Under the expert leadership of choir leader Clare Lahive of Fishguard, the choir is made up of two smaller choirs, one of which practices in Ysgol Croesgoch Thursday evenings, and the other at Saundersfoot’s Regency Hall on Tuesday evenings.

The choirs are open to everyone who loves to sing and are delivered in a fun and inclusive way. But Pop Voices is not a new concept; choir leader Clare moved to Pembrokeshire from Birmingham where she already sang in the Pop Voices choir run by musical director, Anya Small.

This well-established choir has been running for over 10 years and has over 500 singers practicing weekly, with Anya creating ingenious arrangements of popular songs for each voice part.

Pembrokeshire Pop Voices were delighted to be joined by over 100 of their Birmingham counterparts (or as they were affectionately known on a weekend of rugby, the ‘away team’) who helped give this fledgling choir a deeper, more mature sound with harmonies echoing around the ancient cathedral.

Joining Pop Voices Pembrokeshire were the wonderful Tenby Male Choir, who had enthusiastically learned some pop songs of their own for the evening, and who matched Pop Voices’ energy and gave each rendition their all.

At the forefront of this evening of musical talent was the purpose of raising money for two very important Pembrokeshire-based charities, PATCH and Get The Boys a Lift.

PATCH is a charitable organisation aiming to relieve the effects of poverty for individuals and families within Pembrokeshire by giving food parcels, clothing, and household items to those in financial crisis.

Get the Boys a Lift is an award-winning not-for-profit company which offers mental health services based in Haverfordwest.

“I’m grateful to Pembrokeshire Pop Voices for nominating PATCH to be recipients of this wonderful donation following their joint concert with Tenby Male Voice Choir,” said charity manager Dave Golding. “This will help fight against the hardship being felt by many families in Pembrokeshire ~ we rely on and are grateful for the generosity of groups like Pembrokeshire Pop Voices and the wonderful people of Pembrokeshire”.

Get the Boys a Lift also offered their thanks to the choir, saying: “The concert was out of this world…we were lucky enough to attend and we were absolutely blown away by the talent and the whole vibe of the evening.

“It was breathtaking, we were left in tears. The funds raised will make a huge impact on those in need and our mission to support mental health awareness.”

To find out more about Pembrokeshire Pop Voices, call Clare on 07848151418.