Shân Cothi
Shân Cothi is a Welsh classical singer, presenter and actress. She was born and raised the daughter of a blacksmith in the village of Ffarmers in Carmarthenshire. She graduated in music and drama from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth. She has been honoured with fellowships from both the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and the University of Wales, Lampeter.
She began her career as a music teacher at Caereinion High School, Powys, before moving to Ysgol Ystalyfera in Neath Port Talbot. In 1995 she won the Blue Riband prize at the Abergele National Eisteddfod which prompted her to turn professional.
Shân has performed throughout the world in a variety of venues from the Wales Millennium Centre to Her Majesty's Theatre, West End, to the Royal Albert Hall and the Kowloon Shanghai Hotel, Hong Kong.
Her career as a singer has spanned a range of music styles, from opera to oratorio, music theatre to traditional Welsh songs and a host of contemporary projects working with musicians form different musical genres. Shân's explanation is that it is a natural instinct which enables her to be so passionate about performing and after many years of wondering which direction to take as a singer, she has realised, with the help of her coach Ian Baar, that this ability to change styles makes her stand out from other performers.
In 1998-1999, Shân was given her own self-titled television series for S4C which ran for two successful seasons, won a BAFTA award and was nominated for the best music programme at the Montreaux Festival. Shân's big break came when she decided to audition for Cameron Mackintosh.
In 2000 she was offered the role of the fiery Carlotta in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and performed the role for 15 months at Her Majesty's Theatre in the West End.
In 2005, Shân got the role of Davina Roberts, the conductor of "Côr Meibion Gwili" in Con Passionate, a Welsh language-television drama series on S4C. The show was a success, won several BAFTAs and first prize at the Rose d'Or awards.
In 2008, Shân, along with Bryn Terfel and the remaining members of Tigertailz, re-recorded the Tigertailz song "I Believe" along with a video which switches between Terfel and Cothi singing their respective parts of the song.
In 2009, Shân began presenting a new series for S4C with Iolo Williams, called Bro. This series sees them travel all over Wales getting to know different areas through its people, its landscape and its history.
Since spring 2014 she has presented the morning program Bore Cothi on Radio Cymru.
Marriage
In August 2007, Shân married long term partner Huw Justin Smith, aka Pepsi Tate,[1] the bassist with the glam metal band Tigertailz. Smith died in a month later from pancreatic cancer.[1]
References
- 1 2 Farewell event for rock musician BBC Wales - 24 September 2007