A care group that championed a music festival and the premiere of an opera about the Gresford Colliery Disaster is in the running for a major award.
Pendine Park, which has nine care homes in Wrexham and Caernarfon has been named as a finalist at the annual Arts and Business Cymru Awards because of its support for the North Wales International Music Festival in St Asaph.
The arts-loving care organisation, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, is on the shortlist in the Arts, Business and the Community category.
As well as being the headline sponsor of the festival, last year Pendine also supported the first performance of the new opera, Gresford – Up From Underground, marking the 90th anniversary of the tragedy.
The moving opera tells the story of how 266 men and boys were killed when a massive underground explosion and fire ripped through the pit near Wrexham on September 22, 1934.
The 2024 festival also saw the launch of the Pendine Young Musician of Wales competition, sponsored by the arts loving care organisation via the Pendine Arts and Community Trust (PACT).
The contest was so successful that it is being brought back at this year’s festival which runs from September 11-20.
A call has already gone out for talented young musicians to enter for the chance to lift the silver Pendine Trophy along with a cash prize of £2,000.
Royal composer Professor Paul Mealor, the festival’s Artistic Director, said the commitment of Pendine was proof of how communities can be enriched when businesses and the arts work closely together.
He said he was overjoyed to discover that the long-standing collaboration between NWIMF and Pendine Park since 2011 had been recognised by the Arts and Business Cymru charity.
PACT was established by Pendine Park owners Mario and Gill Kreft to support cultural events across the region.
In 2022 it increased its support to become the headline sponsor of the 50th anniversary festival.
The extra sponsorship helped NWIMF to achieve its main objectives of artistic excellence, cultural equality and audience development, and arts, education and creative learning provision.
When drawing up the shortlist the judges were also bowled over by the way Pendine Park’s Wrexham care home residents created a luminous array of artistic lanterns which adorned the aisles of St Asaph Cathedral where the debut of the opera proved an outstanding highlight of last year’s festival.
NWIMF launched more than half a century ago and has grown to achieve worldwide acclaim, not least for the quality of the acoustics at St Asaph Cathedral where most of its programme is staged.
In 2022 it celebrated its 50th anniversary and during the COVID pandemic when it was streamed online it accrued new fans in all corners of the globe.
Prof Mealor said the contribution of its sponsors like Pendine Park had enabled the festival not just to survive but to thrive.
He said: “We’re so thrilled at the North Wales International Music Festival that along with our lead sponsors and dear friends Mario and Gill Kreft of Pendine we have been shortlisted for an Arts and Business Cymru award. This is a testament to how arts and business can work together to enrich the community. Thank you so much Mario and Gill!”
Pendine Park Consultant Artist in Residence Sarah Edwards created and oversaw the lanterns project along with many other successful arts-themed community collaborations.
She said: “Being recognised in this way is such a boost, not just to our staff including all the enrichment team members, but to the residents who put in so much hard work to produce some remarkable art pieces year after year.
“They deliver such a high level of creativity every time they are called on to contribute to events like the NWMIF and they should all be very proud of themselves.”
Sarah said: “Arts and music are at the very heart of our well-being programmes here at Pendine.
“Collaborations like those we have built with NWMIF are invaluable to continuing that and they make such a difference to the lives of our residents, their sense of self-esteem and of feeling included in local community events.”
Pendine Park owner and director Mario Kreft was delighted that Pendine Park had once again found itself on such a prestigious awards shortlist.
He said: “We are thrilled to have been shortlisted for this award. Our connection with NWIMF has evolved and grown over the years.
“The premiere of the opera was particularly poignant for all of us at Pendine because we had the very great privilege of caring for Albert Rowlands, the last survivor of the Gresford disaster, who celebrated his 100th birthday with us before he passed away in 2020.
“Social care and the arts go hand in hand in enriching lives across the generations and promoting well-being.
“We are passionate about using the arts, whether visual or musical, to enrich the lives of our residents and staff alike.
“That’s why we set up the Pendine Arts and Community Trust to support cultural pursuits and community activities so we can spread the message about the value of the arts.”
“It’s fair to say the arts provide a golden thread running through everything we do and the fantastic North Wales International Music Festival chimes perfectly with our ethos.”
