News

On your Marks...

28th June, 2015

Mezzo-soprano Sioned Terry takes her singing to the sporting world

Since leaving the teaching profession in 2011, Sioned has forged a career that has seen her perform for a variety of audiences ranging from the general music lover to politicians and royalty. Her performance venues are just as varied, from cathedrals to concert halls, from theatres to sporting venues.

Sioned’s diverse engagements has seen her launch national, international and commonwealth sporting events with performances of National Anthems at the Commonwealth Ultra Running competitions in 2010, the start of the countdown to the Rugby League World Cup in 2012 and last year she performed to a crowd of thousands at Eirias Park Stadium as part of the pre-Olympics celebrations. How did it all start? Carys Davies, Newsletter Editor spoke to Sioned.  

My first invite to sing at a sporting event came on the back of a concert I did in North Wales. The Commonwealth Ultra Running event coordinators were sitting in the audience and they must have enjoyed my performance because they invited me to perform in their Opening Concert at Venue Cymru in Llandudno. It was a great experience to be able to sing our National Anthem at such a special event. I also got to meet several distinguished runners, which was a bonus!

Following this experience, Sioned received more invitations to sing at similar occasions. She’s performed to the unsung heroes at the prestigious ‘Wales Care Awards’, at the ‘Welsh Athletics Hall of Fame Awards’ ceremony in 2014 and most recently she sang the Welsh National Anthem for Team Wales’ send-off to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year, attended by First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones.

This was a personal highlight for me. The whole team assembled at the Swalec Stadium in Cardiff for an official event with the First Minister. It was an honour to perform the National Anthem in front of these ambitious, young athletes – it was all very emotional!

Meeting so many inspirational athletes encouraged Sioned to improve her own fitness, and she’s now become a bit of an athlete herself.

Three years ago the opportunity came up for me to sing the National Anthem at the start-line of the Cardiff Half Marathon, and I decided that if I was going to sing, then I might as well run it too. I was invited back the following year and did the same thing all-over again! It has now become a bit of a fixture in my calendar and this year I will be running my 4th Cardiff Half Marathon.

Sioned has also dedicated a lot of her time over the last few years to the Cerddwn Ymlaen (Walk of Wales) campaign; a 200 mile charity walk from South to North Wales, organized by tenor Rhys Meirion in aid of Air Ambulance Wales.

I’ve worked with Rhys on numerous occasions so when he asked me to take part in the challenge, I couldn’t turn it down. We had a lot of fun during the trip, although I often had to dig deep to find the mental strength to carry on. It felt like an endless experience at times, but it was an unforgettable experience none the less. The challenge helped me adopt a healthier lifestyle and for that I’m grateful.

A charity single called ‘Cerddwn Gwalia’ was also released to support the work of Cerddwn Ymlaen, a song written, composed, performed and recorded by Sioned. She’s now ready for a new challenge, so this summer she’ll face donkeys, kayaks, tandem bikes, steam trains and tractors in aid of Elen’s Fund (Cronfa Elen) by joining Rhys Meirion once again on a lap of Wales (Her Cylchdaith Cymru) to create a national discussion about organ donation.

We will travel around Wales in pairs in very unconvertional ways to show how one can support another. There will be several concerts along the way, as well as the opening concert at Rhyl Pavilion on July 3rd. I’m really looking forward to it.  

I have been very fortunate to be a part of these events and I’m incredibly grateful that I have had a physical benefit from participating in them. They’ve motivated me to keep fit, which of course is beneficial with those long phrases that require strength and discipline to sing.

So what’s next for Sioned?

On the 18th of July I’ll be singing the National Anthem at the 40th Tyn Lôn Volvo International Snowdon Race. Unfortunately I’m not fit enough to run it! Maybe next time..

You can also catch Sioned in concert at the Conwy Music Festival on the 23rd of July.