The Vancouver Welsh Men's Choir performed at the first fundraising event for The ACT building in 1980, the year the choir formed.

And since then, they have been back many times with their 100-voice choir - which includes a few Maple Ridge voices as well.

Alan Tucker is one Maple Ridge voice in the choir, and, as a Welshman, understands the tradition of male choirs.

In Wales, every town would have its own male choir, and some towns had several.

"We have this love of singing," Alan said of the choir tradition.

For the Welsh, singing is a "way of life," he added.

But the Vancouver Welsh Men's Choir has expanded its repertoire beyond that from Wales.

They sing an eclectic mix of traditional Welsh tunes, pop music, folk songs, spirituals, and Canadiana.

The choir travels extensively performing and, every three years, they travel internationally.

As part of the runup to the London Olympics in 2012, the choir joined other Welsh choirs to make up a 600-voice Welsh Choir of the World, performing at Royal Festival Hall.

"It was quite an adventure," said Ron Tucker, a long-time member of the choir.

The choir has toured in Russia, Switzerland, around the U.S.A., and in the Maritimes.

"We've had quite a good reputation worldwide as amateur singers," Ron said.

While it maintains "Welsh" in its name, the choir currently has singers from 20 different ethnic backgrounds.

Ron said many choir members are retired.

However, recently, some younger singers have joined the choir.

"We do have a couple teenagers who joined us in the fall," Ron said.

The Vancouver Welsh Men's Choir will perform on Saturday, March 9 at 8 p.m. at The ACT, 11944 Haney Pl. For tickets, call 60-476-2787 or go to www. theactmapleridge.org, or visit the ticket centre in person.

mrantanen@mrtimes.com