 The gradual switch from amateur to professional continued in 1968 , when for the first time the chorus was supplemented by a smaller , professional group of singers ; the mix of amateur and professional <unk> continued over the next five years . At the end of the 1960s the main WNO company , now a year @-@ round operation , consisted of 8 salaried principal singers , 57 guest soloists and a chorus of 90 amateurs and 32 professionals . As well as the Bournemouth players , the company engaged the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic , City of Birmingham Symphony and Ulster orchestras for different venues . In the last season of the decade 32 performances were given in Cardiff and 61 elsewhere in the UK . In addition to the main company , WNO maintained two smaller groups : one , with orchestra , toured Welsh towns , the other , consisting of 12 singers with piano , toured 79 , mostly small , towns in Wales and England . WNO instituted its own training scheme for young singers during the decade . 
