PEMBROKESHIRE ladies' vocal group Bella Voce has claimed centre stage and a standing ovation at the Royal Albert Hall.

The 16-member choir - the majority of whom are music teachers - wowed the audience at the prestigious London venue on Saturday night.

Bella Voce's excitement and anticipation at the honour of being awarded the guest slot of the 2018 Festival of Welsh Male Voice Choirs has been mounting for the past 18 months.

But as choir musical director Sarah Benbow said: "The reality of receiving a spontaneous standing ovation following our performance on Saturday blew us all away.

"It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces in the audience and the massed choir.

"Pembrokeshire should be proud!

"The support we receive from the people of our county is always so much appreciated by us, and helps so much.

"On a personal note, I would like to thank every member of Bella Voce for managing to find time in their hugely-busy lives to put in the hard work necessary to achieve such high standards.

"As always, it was my honour and privilege to stand and lead this remarkable group of singers in such an iconic venue, and it's safe to say that this has undoubtedly been the highlight of Bella Voce's career to date".

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Bella Voce - whose name means Beautiful Voice - was set up by Sarah and fellow Pembrokeshire music teacher, Lisa Shelmerdine Richards, in 2013.

Members boast around a dozen music degrees and over 30 instrumental and vocal Grade 8s between them, and the lively group prides itself on both its eclectic repertoire and signature collection of brightly-coloured shoes.

Accompanied by Seimon Morris, the choir performed Cwlwm Cariad - written by local composer Alan Llewelyn Thomas, who was in attendance at the concert; Voices on the Wind by Sarah Quartel and Calon Lan, arranged by Bella Voce member Lisa Shelmerdine Richards.

Videos of Bella Voce's performance at the Royal Albert Hall can be found on the Bella Voce Facebook page,with the video of Calon Lan gaining 6,000 views in its first nine hours.

Watch the full video here.

Bella Voce was nominated by Pembroke and District Male Choir to sing at the festival, and members of the Pembroke choir, together with Tenby, Haverfordwest and Whitland male choirs were amongst the 850 choristers who took part in the event.

Tenby Male Choir's 92-year-old Duncan Hilling earned a special mention for being the most senior singer on stage.