Representatives from the National Library of Wales travelled to Washington D.C. at the beginning of September for a special ceremony at the National Library of Wales to present Wales's Gift of Music to the American people for the United States's 250th Anniversary. The Gift is a new work entitled ‘Symffoni’r Môr Mawr – A Transatlantic Symphony’ by composer Katie Jenkins. They then travelled to the annual North American Festival of Wales in Springfield, Massachusetts, where a choral version of the symphony was performed by the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Thousands of people have left Wales to make a new home for themselves in North America since the colonial era, creating deep connections between families and communities which have lasted generations. In recent years, the National Library of Wales played a leading role in celebrating the centenary of the Welsh Women's Peace Petition, which was presented as an appeal from the women of Wales to the women of the United States of America in 1924, and returned to Wales as a gift from the Smithsonian Institution in 2023. This year we are delighted to also partner with the Welsh Government and United States Library of Congress in this celebration of Welsh culture, friendship and song, and you can learn more about the Gift here.
Share and sing the Gift of Music
Now a choral version of the gift is available for singers, choirs, school and community ensembles in Wales and the United States of America, with an invitation to learn and perform the music on St David’s Day, 1 March 2027, joining voices across the Atlantic in celebration of Welsh culture, friendship and song.
The full choral score and supporting materials for Symffoni’r Môr Mawr – A Transatlantic Symphony are available to download for performance and rehearsal. Choirs are encouraged to explore the work, share it with their musical directors and consider programming it for concerts, community events and St David’s Day celebrations.
Download the score, rehearse the music and let us know if your choir plans to perform it. We hope this work will be sung in chapels, concert halls, schools, community spaces and cultural venues on both sides of the Atlantic.
- Gift of Music - Movt 3 Weaving Home - Vocal solos (SB) & piano.pdf
- Gift of Music - Movt 3 Weaving Home - Strings, choir, vocal solos & piano.pdf
- Gift of Music - Movt 3 Weaving Home - Choir (SSA), vocal solos (SB) & piano.pdf
- Gift of Music - Movt 3 Weaving Home - Choir (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone) & piano.pdf
- Gift of Music - Movt 2 Invisible yet Loved - Choir (TTBB) & piano.pdf
Join the St David’s Day performance moment
St David’s Day is a moment when Welsh communities around the world celebrate Wales’ culture, language and creativity. On 1 March 2027, we hope choirs in Wales and the United States will help bring this new work to life by singing it in their own communities.
Whether performed by a large choral society, a school choir, a male voice choir, a community chorus or a small ensemble, each performance will form part of a wider transatlantic celebration of friendship, heritage and song.
Share your performance
If your choir plans to perform Symffoni’r Môr Mawr – A Transatlantic Symphony, we would love to hear from you. Please share details of your performance, including the choir name, location, date and any public event information, so that performances across Wales and the United States can be celebrated as part of this shared cultural moment.
For more information
To share details of your performance, please email: [email protected]
For more information about Wales’s Gift of Music for USA 250, including a short documentary film about the project and the original recording, visit: https://www.wales.com/about/welcome-wales/wales-and-world/transatlantic-symphony
Category: News