More than 60 young singers from across the North East of England had the opportunity to experience being part of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYCGB) on 1-2 February 2020 at a free event organised as part of Durham Vocal Festival.
Aged between 11-14, the participants were identified by their local music education hubs for their vocal potential and put forward for the weekend with NYCGB, the UK’s leading organisation for youth choral music, which has its head office in Durham. The opportunity was open to all keen singers regardless of their singing style or musical background.
The project was part of a wider collaboration between Durham Vocal Festival, NYCGB and the six North East hubs, which aims to help more of the region’s talented young singers to fulfil their potential and be inspired to take their singing further.
During the weekend, the singers were offered an intensive National Youth Choir-style programme of singing and musicianship to boost their vocal and musical skills, leading to a free performance by the group of music learned over the two days of the course.
Anne Besford, NYCGB Chief Executive, said:
‘We’re delighted to be able to offer this unique opportunity to such talented young singers based in the North East of England.
‘We were incredibly impressed with the standard of singing and what was achieved in just two short days. We’re delighted to be running this activity as part of the Durham Vocal Festival which is an excellent initiative that supports choral music across the region.’
An inspirational two days of singing for the young people
Mike Summers, who manages Durham Music Service, said:
‘This was an inspirational two days of singing for the young people involved and also for the staff of the Music Education Hubs that came to the sessions. The standard of singing was exceptional and acted as a fantastic springboard to deeper progression routes for all the young people involved.
‘The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain are the pinnacle of youth singing in this country and it is amazing that these young people were able to experience a ‘taster’ course. We are thrilled that once again this is part of Durham Vocal Festival.’
Header photo: Young singers from across the North East of England joined National Youth Choirs of Great Britain for a free weekend singing course in Durham © Amelia Read
