Meinir Thomas

Hapusrwydd a galar yw’r profiad o ymfudo i Awstralia. Ar un llaw mae cynnwrf mawr wrth feddwl am ragolygion y dyfodol mewn gwlad newydd ac ar y llaw arall mae galar o adael teulu, ffrindiau a thraddodiadau ein gwlad genedigol.

I’r gantores broffesiynol Meinir Thomas roedd y penderfyniad yn llawer mwy anodd oherwydd roedd hi’n teithio gyda grwp A Capella ‘The Swingle Singers’ sy’n adnabyddus yn rhyngwladol fel soprano.

Roedd yn benderfyniad mawr I adael y ‘Swingle Singers’ a dwi’n dal I’w colli nhw “ meddai Meinir,ar ol penderfynnu I adael gyrfa llwyddianus a chyflawn er mwyn priodi ei chariad Andrew ag ymuno gyda fe a dychwelyd yn ol I’w gartref yn ninas Sydney.

Ar ol teithior byd am 6 mis mae Meinir a’I gwr yn chwilio am gartref yn Sydney tra cadw ochr yn ochr am gyfle arall I ganu’n broffesiynol.

Mae’n debyg iawn I ddechrau or dechrau eto I’r cyn wyres wradd o Brifysgol Lerpwl, ar ol ymateb I’r cywelediad cyntaf I’r Swingle Singers ( a oedd yn fyd enwog) yn y cylchgrawn wythnosol “ U. K. Stage”.

Roedd yn 5 I 6 mis troellog o glywelediadau ag aros am amser maith I wybod os oeddwn yn llwyddianus meddai Meinir.

Felly , oedd yr amser a dreuliodd Meinir gyda’r Swingle Singers yr uchafbwynt yn ei gyrfa hyd yn hyn?

“Yn bendant, treuliais bum mlynedd yn teithio’r byd roedd yn hollol ryfeddol” pwysleisiodd Meinir.

Cyn ei gyrfa gyda’r Swingle Singers roedd Meinir wedi teithio gyda Peter Karrie y Cymro enwog a oedd yn adnabyddus yn y “West End “ yn Llundain am ei berfformiad yn Phantom of the Opera.

Wrth gyflawni’n amlwg yn y cylch canu proffesiynol mae Thomas yn teimlo fod ei phrofiad yn Nghymru yn allwedd I’w llwyddiant cyfoes mwy na dim byd ffurfiol.

Cafodd Meinir ei magu yn Mhen y Bont ar Ogwr gan ei rhieni Clem o Tai Bach, Port Talbot a Carys oFethel ger Caernarfon.

Cafodd anogaeth ganddynt yn 5 oed ar ol mynd I Eisteddfod yr Urdd ac ar ol hyn dechreuodd y serch einioes or diwilliant Cymraeg ,cystadlu ar canu.

Cafodd ei haddysgu yn ysgol Gyfun Cymraeg Llan-Hari,Dyffryn Taff ac yma y dechreuodd rhan bwysig o’I gyrfa canu.
“Os oeddech yn hoffi miwsic ,ac mi roedd y mwyafrif, oherwydd fod llawer o bwyslais ar fiwsic a drama yn enwedig o amgylch yr Eisteddfod”meddai Meinir.

Roeddwn yng nghanol diwilliant Cymraeg yn ifanc iawn yn Eisteddfod yr Urdd roedd bodyn gantores yn gymorth ond roeddwn yn un oedd eisiau gwneud popeth.

Felly roedd yn brofiad rhagorol ,ar athrawon yn rhoi hyfforddiant cerddorol, y gorau y gallwn ei gael. Roedd yr Eisteddfod yn rhan mawr o’m mywyd pob blwyddyn.

Mae’r Urdd wedi hyfforddi llawer o gantorion enwog Cymru I lefel Eisteddfod genedlaethol. Mae Meinir yn cofio cystadlu yn erbyn Bryn Terfel ifanc ond “ roedd yn llawer rhy dda” meddai.

Mae Meinir yn gofidio nawr na fuasai tra roedd gyda’r Swingle Singers wedi mentro rhywbeth gyda Bryn Terfel neu Katharine Jenkins neu hwyrach Charlotte Church neu hyd yn ol dilyn y cyfle
Roedd Meinir yn hapus iawn clywed fod Cymru am chwarae rygbi yn erbyn Awstralia yn Sydney a Brisbane diwedd mis Mai, a chynigiodd Rob Howley fel arwr y tim .”rydw I’n rhyfeddu gyda’I dalent mae e wastad yn gadarn, proffesiynol ac yn un o’r chwareuwyr mwy aeddfed yn y tim.” Meddai Meinir wrth dynnu sylw at un o’r chwaraewyr presennol sy ddim mor gall !!

Ar y nodyn yma gofyn iddi oedd hi’n hoffi ‘sun tan ‘ Gavin? Ha Ha meddai, nac ydw mae’n eitha fals ond mae’n gwneud digon o arian ohono.
Yn Nghaerdydd ar noson fy mharti cyn priodi (hen party) sylwais fod llawer o ddynion yn ceisio edrych yn debyg I Gavin Henson, pob un a chroen oren a gwallt pigog gwahanol iawn I’r bobl yn Llundain.

Ar hyn o bryd tr amae Meinir yn sefydlu ei hun I fywyd yn Sydney a’I gyrfa canu proffesiynnol yn cael ysbaid ,mi fydd yn cadw’I llais ar fynd wrth ganu I Gymdeithasau Cymraeg mewn 2 gyngerdd yn Sydney.

Yn yr un wythnosmi fydd Thomas yn ymuno a Chantorion Sydney-Cor Meibion I ddathlu ail gyngerdd blynyddol Dewi Sant ar Nos Fercher 28ain o Chwefror, wedyn mi fydd yn canu alawon Cymraeg traddodiadol yn nghinio blynyddol y Gymdeithas Gymraeg nos Wener yr 2fed o Fawrth.

Mae Meinir yn 34oed nawr ac yn ymwybodol or pwysigrwydd o gadw traddodiadau yn fyw.”Mae’n golygu llawer I mi I fod yn Gymraes, rydw I’n frod or traddodiadau ar diwilliant ac roeddwn wedi cynhyrfu I ganfod y bod Cymdeithas Gymraeg yn Sydney. Roeddwn methu credu I ddweud y gwir.

Roeddwn yn byw yn Llundain am wyth mlynedd heb ddathlu Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant felly rydw I’n edrych ymlaen eleni I ddathlu’r Wyl yn Awstralia a chyfarfod a chymaint o bobl Cymraeg ag sydd bosib.

Manylion y ddau gyngerdd a dathliadau eraill I’w canfod ar ein tudalen digwyddiadau yma.

Meinir Thomas

Emigrating to Australia is always a bitter sweet experience. On the one hand there is the excitement of future prospects in a new country and on the other is the regret of leaving behind family, friends and the land that shaped you.

For professional singer Meinir Thomas, the decision was that much harder as she was a touring soprano with the internationally acclaimed A Capella group the Swingle Singers.

“It was a huge decision to leave the Swingle Singers and I still miss them” reflected Meinir who chose to give up a successful and fulfilling career to marry her fiancé Andrew and join him in returning to his home city of Sydney.

After a 6 month holiday touring the World, Meinir and her husband are now looking at property in Sydney whilst keeping abreast of further professional singing opportunities.

It is a bit like starting over again for the former Liverpool University graduate who first auditioned for the world famous Swingle Swingers after responding to an advert in the weekly UK Stage magazine.

“It was a gruelling five to six months of auditions and then I had to wait a long time to find out if I eventually had got the job,” reflected Meinir.

So was Meinir’s time with the Swingle Singers the highlight of her career so far? “Definitely, I spent 5 years touring the world, it was absolutely amazing,” she said, emphatically.

Prior to the Swingle Swingers Meinir had toured with West End star Peter Karrie, the Welshman famous for his acclaimed Phantom of the Opera performances in London.

In achieving prominence in the arena of professional singing Thomas regards her childhood experience in Wales as the key to her current success rather than any formal

Meinir was raised in Bridgend by her parents Clem from Taibach, Port Talbot and Carys from Bethel near Caernarfon.

They both encouraged her from the age of 5 when they first took her along to the Urdd festival and from there a lifelong love of Welsh culture, singing and competition took root.

Her education was at the Welsh medium school,Ysgol Gyfun Llanhari, in the Taff Valley which was also very important in shaping her singing career.

“ If you were musically inclined and most people were, there was a lot of emphasis on music and drama, and mostly around the eisteddfod” said Meinir.

“I was thrown into it [Welsh culture] in the Urdd and Eisteddfod’s at an early age and being a singer helps but I was one of those children that wanted to do everything. So yes, it was an excellent experience, the teachers at school provided a great musical training, it was the best I could have had. And the eisteddfod every year was a huge part of my life”

The Urdd has been a great breeding ground for many of Wales most famous singers and years later at a national Eisteddfod, Meinir remembered competing against a young Bryn Terfel, however, “he was far too good” she said.

Though one of her very few regrets about her time with the Swingle Swingers was not collaborating with Terfel or Katherine Jenkins or even Charlotte Church or not even pursuing the opportunity.

Meinir was also pleasantly surprised to hear that Wales were playing Rugby against Australia in Sydney and Brisbane at the end of May and offers up Rob Howley as a hero. “I’m amazed with his talent, he was always consistent, very professional, and one of the more mature people in the squad.” Said Meinir with perhaps a swipe at one of the less sensible members of the current Welsh team.

On that note did she like Gavin’s sun tan? No,no,ha ha, it’s extremely fake bless him, but he’s making a lot of money out of it,” said Meinir cheerfully. “In Cardiff for my hen’s night I noticed that a lot of the men were clones of Gavin Henson they all had orange tan’s and spiky hair which was very different to people in London,”she mused.

With her professional singing career on hold right now as she settles into Sydney life, Meinir will be keeping her vocal chords in practice by singing for the Welsh community at two events staged by the Welsh Society of Sydney.

In the same week Thomas will join first the Cantorion Sydney Male Voice Choir for the second annual St Davids Concert on Wednesday February the 28th, then will back up with perhaps a number of traditional Welsh folk tunes at the Welsh Society annual dinner on March 2nd.

Meinir now 34 is aware of the importance of keeping traditions alive. She said, “It means a lot to me (to be Welsh) I’m proud of the traditions and culture and I was excited to find there was a Welsh Society in Sydney, I couldn’t believe it actually’….. ‘

I lived in London for 8 years and didn’t really celebrate St David’s Day so I am looking forward to this year’s celebrations in Australia and it will be great to meet as many Welsh people as possible.”

Details for both events and other celebrations can be found on our events page here.