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Celebrating Excellence!

350 young performers will be appearing at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, in July in a unique celebration of the country’s most talented young musicians and dancers.

Excellent! brings together some of the 1,600 young people supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ Music and Dance Scheme. Launched in 1981, the scheme helps some 840 aided pupils in the eight residential schools, including CSA members Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, St Mary’s School, Edinburgh and Wells Cathedral School. It also supports 80 choristers at CSA member schools.

Since 2004 the MDS has expanded through a network of centres for advanced training (CATS). These enable children with potential and dedication to access specialist training whilst still attending their local schools. From September 2008 there will be 20 CATS which includes the six junior departments of music conservatoires.

The July spectacular will start with performances outside the theatre and in the foyer. You can enjoy piper Tegan Todd from St Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh or get in the mood with five jazz musicians from Wells.

Choristers from Salisbury Cathedral School will open the performances in the auditorium with a specially commissioned Excellent! anthem composed by Howard Goodall. This will also close the gala when everyone will join in, accompanied by the Wells Cathedral Big Band. Many of the works performed are being specially developed for the evening and most involve collaborations between dance and music. They include an exciting work composed by Laura Snowden from the Yehudi Menuhin School and choreographed by Andrew Peasgood from the Royal Ballet School.

The following day Tony Hall, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House, will chair the Excellent! symposium. Leading educationalists, artists and policy makers will be among the invited delegates. They will explore why excellence in dance and music matters, ways of identifying and nurturing exceptional potential in young people and the future direction of the Music and Dance Scheme. The Excellent! project is in association with Classic FM.

The Music and Dance Scheme funded its first choristers in 1991. The scheme was set up to help talented boys and girls from low-income families to benefit from the excellent training available at choir schools.

Leading musicians and dancers have given their support to the Excellent! Project. In wishing the event every success, Sir Elton John, a former Royal Academy of Music student, says: “I know from my own experiences how important it is to provide the best training facilities to enable young people to achieve their full potential. The Music and Dance Scheme has opened up possibilities for so many, irrespective of their financial circumstances.”

Violinist Tasmin Little, who went to the Yehudi Menuhin School, adds: “It was inspiring to watch the older students, as well as to receive tuition from an amazing variety of world class musicians. The age of 11-18 is a critical time in the development of a young musician – one needs to balance sensitively the issues of nurturing individuality and talent without pushing a young person beyond their capability.”

Jonathan Goddard, a dancer with the Richard Alston Dance Company and principal teacher at The Place CAT says: “When I began my dance training at a young age my parents had to search long and hard to find inspirational teachers, and we travelled a great deal to various centres... I only wish I could have participated in the Music and Dance Scheme when I was young.”

You can get full details of Excellent! and film clips of students preparing for the event on
www.excellent.uk.com
Tickets will range from £10–£35 and can be booked online:
www.sadlerswells.com

or by phone: 0844 412 4300

 

 

12 year-old Joel Whitewood, pictured here with ‘Good Morning Sunday’ presenter Aled Jones, won the coveted title of ‘Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year 2007’ last autumn. Celebrated composer John Rutter chaired the judging panel, which included CSA Patron The Duchess of Kent, celebrity vocal coach Carrie Grant and singer Jonathan Ansell (formerly of vocal group G4).

Joel and his chorister friends at Canterbury Cathedral have just moved back into their totally refurbished Choir House. The Archbishop of Canterbury performed the opening ceremony at the end of April.

Go to www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/events to download details of this year’s competition.

CSA visits Europe’s City of Culture 2008

This issue coincides with the Association’s Annual Conference in Liverpool – Europe’s City of Culture 2008. We are delighted to be part of this vibrant city’s festivities.

CSA members are also looking forward to some joint conference sessions with the Cathedral Organists’ Association, meeting at the same time in Liverpool. Both programmes look like providing plenty of stimulating and lively debate!

We will also be welcoming choristers from all over the country to perform alongside pupils from local primary schools in a major concert in the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Tim Noon, Director of the Music at the Cathedral has put together an exciting programme which includes the première of James Whitbourn’s ‘Alleluia Jubilate’. This is a setting of Psalm 66, scored for four part trebles. Some of you may find part of the refrain familiar – it is a melody used by James for a TV series called ‘A Passion for Churches’.

It will be good to hear Howard Goodall’s ‘Love Divine’ again. It was commissioned by the Association and first performed by Canterbury Cathedral choir in 2000.

More in Issue 11 .....

Salisbury Cathedral probationers tossing pancakes with Precentor Jeremy Davies, before helping him to burn last year’s Palm Sunday crosses to create the ash for Ash Wednesday services.

* STOP PRESS *

New Liverpool Girls’ Choir

Our conference host, St Edward’s College, Liverpool, has just announced it is setting up a girls’ cathedral choir from September. The girls, aged 11–16, will sing on Mondays, Wednesdays and one Sunday each half term.

CHORISTER NUMBERS - A SNAPSHOT

Figures collected in the Autumn indicate chorister numbers are holding steady. They showed a very small decrease (1.1%) at the beginning of term but most vacancies were subsequently filled during the year. There are some 950 boy and girl choristers at the 36 Full Members of the Association Of these 43% are boarders and 57% day pupils Choristers receive more than £6m in financial support – an average of £6,775 per child. This comes largely from the foundations themselves, trust funds and more than £160,000 from the Government’s Music and Dance Scheme.

Choristers enjoy role in National Singing Programme

Choristers have worked with well over 10,000 primary school children in recent months. Twenty-one Foundations are currently part of the Government’s National Singing Programme, sharing expertise with more than 250 primary schools all over the country to help get singing back on the agenda.

Funding from the Sing Up Campaign has provided the means to take choristers and singing leaders into local schools, in partnership with county music services.

Credit must go to the army of enthusiastic and talented musicians who are delivering first-class tuition with help from their secret weapons – the Choristers. The latter are ideal role models and are clearly demonstrating it is quite cool to sing!

As Durham choristers David and Harry say: “If we are the key to opening the door that is stopping children from singing, then that’s great and we’re glad to be part of it.”

Each term local primary schools have welcomed the choristers to boost their singing. In return, pupils are invited back to the choristers’ ‘workplace’ to give a joint concert. Without exception, these have been a resounding success and quite breathtaking in the ambitious repertoire sung and its superb execution. More than 20,000 parents and friends have been staggered by the sheer professionalism of the 80 concerts staged so far.

 

Coming to a cathedral near you...

There’s still time to hear for yourself ... as ‘Singing Out!’ goes to press the following concerts are scheduled for this term:

Blackburn Cathedral
Saturday, 24 May
Sheffield Cathedral
Wednesday, 4 June
Gloucester Cathedral
Thursday, 5 June
Ely Cathedral
Tuesday, 10 June
Truro Cathedral
Thursday, 12 June
Worcester Cathedral
Friday, 13 June
Lincoln Cathedral
Friday, 13 June
Buckfast Abbey (Exeter Cathedral)
Saturday, 14 June
Hereford Cathedral
Monday, 16 June
Newcastle Cathedral
Monday, 16 June
Bristol Cathedral
Wednesday, 18 June
Lichfield Cathedral
Tuesday, 24 June
Ampleforth Abbey
Tuesday, 24 June
Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford
Tuesday, 24 June
Salisbury Cathedral
Monday, 30 June
King’s College Chapel, Cambridge
Tuesday, 1 and
Wednesday, 2 July
Manchester Cathedral
Tuesday, 1 July
St Peter’s Church, Wolverhampton
Thursday, 3 July
York Minster
Monday, 7 July

Rochester Quiz Winners

As you will have read in ‘Choir Schools Today’, The Pilgrims’ School, Winchester won the Rochester Quiz trophy for 2007.

Congratulations also to Bethany Hughes (The Cathedral School, Llandaff) and Rosamond Thomas (Salisbury Cathedral School) for the highest individual scores.

Geoffrey Hammond, Deputy Head of The Pilgrims’ School has now taken over from Chris and Maori Nickless, whose brainchild the Quiz was. “It was great fun running my first Rochester Quiz; many answers were right; many others were interestingly wrong. I shall work on the next one over the Summer holidays, ready for it to be released early next term. “If I had a wish, it would be that every choir school should enter! The more who enter, the greater the glory of doing well; the more who enter, the less chance there is of coming last.” Let’s hope Geoffrey’s wish comes true!

SCHOOL NEWS

St Cedd’s School in Chelmsford is expanding! They are taking over St Philip’s Priory School but for the time being the two schools will continue to operate on their separate sites. St Cedd’s Chair of Governors, Leo Bartle says: “The longer term aim is that a combined school will be developed, building on the best traditions and the shared ethos of both these excellent schools.”

Southwell Minster School, designated a specialist college for humanities and music in 2005, has moved into its new £34 million site. State of the art facilities are now being enjoyed by its 1,500 students. The school runs a hugely successful partnership scheme which includes close collaboration between the music department and music teachers in eight local primary schools. This year’s joint schools concert focussed on ‘The Natural World’ which included the 2004 Tsunami. The impact on the primary school pupils was enormous: “I had a fantastic time singing!... at the beginning I had a cold shiver coming up my spine. The band was really good and I liked listening to the other schools.”

 

Watch Out For...

Sam Harris, composer of the 2007 winning entry in CSA’s competition. Sam, a 12 year-old at The Pilgrims’ School, Winchester, produced a terrific setting of a little-known carol ‘King Herod and the Cock’ which impressed adjudicator Alison Cox, Head of Composition at The Purcell School: “His piece shows he has a great deal of talent and I shall be really interested to see his future work.” CSA is very grateful to Alison for her time and the truly valuable critiques penned for each entry.

Schools have been mailed with details of the 2008 competition so, if you know a budding Beethoven or McCartney, urge them to have a go.

 

People Update

Lindsay Gray, head of Llandaff Cathedral School for 14 years, has become the new Director of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM). When he arrived in 1994 there were 283 pupils but the school has extended its age range to 16, and this year there are 650 on the roll. He also founded a girl chorister choir which sang its first Evensong in early 1996. He has been succeeded at Llandaff by Stephen Morris, the former deputy head and Second Master at the Reading Blue Coat School. He was a pupil at Hereford Cathedral School and therefore no stranger to the choir school world.

Robert Gullifer, the Deputy Head of Bristol Grammar School succeeds Penny Hindle as Principal of New College School, Oxford in September. He was a choral exhibitioner at St Catherine’s College, Cambridge and from 2001-2004 was Deputy Head at the Dragon School.

Mrs Patricia Burton is Acting Head at Ripon Cathedral Choir School, having succeeded Richard Pepys at Christmas. She was Head of the British International School in Berlin but also worked as an Epidemiologist at Leeds University.

 

Singing Out! is edited by Jane Capon, CSA’s Information Officer

Deadline for next issue: 30 September 2008