Here's where I was on Saturday afternoon.
The North American Welsh Choir (Côr Cymry Gogledd America) is gearing up for performances in Kansas City on March 9th and 10th. On Saturday, there was a live face-to-face rehearsal on the east coast among those who live near enough to our director, plus others who traveled there for the rehearsal. The half of the rehearsal that took place in the afternoon was live-streamed to the rest of the choir (including me) using a private YouTube link to the choir's channel. One of the other YouTube videos visible on the right happened to feature the Welsh flag with Red Dragon, and I couldn't help putting another little bit of selective color into my "Flash of Red" February calendar.
One of the songs in our repertoire is "Y Tangnefeddwyr" (The Peacemakers) -- very appropriate to our concerts in Kansas City, which coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Welsh Women's Peace Appeal.
In 1923 women of Wales organised an unprecedented peace appeal. 390,296 women signed a Memorial petition appealing to the women of America to join them in a call for the United States to join and lead the new League of Nations. The appeal and signature sheets (which would stretch seven miles long if laid end to end) were brought in 1924 to the United States in a hand carved wooden chest and presented to the President and the Smithsonian Institute, where it has resided for the last hundred years. Through the efforts of current day organizers, the story of the Peace Appeal has been brought to light and the chest with its contents has been returned to Wales. It now resides in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.
On Saturday, March 9th, at 4:00 pm at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City, the choir will give a free concert entitled "Hawlio Heddwch, cân wrth gân / Peace, song by song."
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=842231184531498&set=pb.100062338736129.-2207520000
The next day, March 10th, at the National World War 1 Museum, we will give another concert at 11:00 a.m.
In the afternoon that day, the museum will host a webinar on the Welsh Women's Appeal -- free with RSVP. The choir will sing a song at the beginning of the webinar and one at the end.
For information on the concert and to register for the webinar visit the museum website.
https://www.theworldwar.org/events/peace-song-song-north-american-welsh-choir
https://www.theworldwar.org/events/welsh-womens-peace-appeal
For more information about the 1923-24 Welsh Women's Peace Appeal, the 1924 U.S. tour by leaders of the appeal, and meetings with American counterparts in the international women’s movement to achieve peace in the world, and the work done to recover this remarkable story:
https://www.wcia.org.uk/peace-heritage/womens-peace-petition/
