Aspiring Young Singers Get Ready to Sing at MK Dons Stadium

Nine primary school choirs from Milton Keynes have created their own, unique musical theatre pieces to perform at a grand Showcase day at the MK Dons Stadium Ballroom on Saturday 27 February 2010 as part of Moving on Up, an exciting new singing project from Choir of the Year, funded by Sing Up.

As part of the first part of the project, “Songs from the Shows – Shows from the Songs” choirs were set the challenge to create musical alchemy by pairing well known songs, including Raindrops keep falling on my head/Singing in the rain and Climb every mountain/Ain’t no mountain high enough, to create their own unique performance. The choirs have also been developing the song material by incorporating movement in preparation for the Showcase performance at MK Dons Stadium on 27 February.

Over the past three months, the nine school choirs have been given a helping hand by talented teenage singers who were finalists in Choir of the Year 2008. Judges were bowled over by the amazing quality of singing from the Youth Choirs in the competition and Moving on Up was created so that they could share their talent, passion and dedication with aspiring younger singers. The children’s choirs will have the chance to be wowed by performances from the three youth choirs at this exciting event.

Guided by choir expert and composer Barry Russell, members of three youth choirs  - Voice Squad Seniors (Essex), Cantate (Hertfordshire) and Masquerade (Northampton) - have been an inspiration to help the children’s choirs to develop their creativity, singing and performance skills over the past three months, ‘moving on up’ in their ability. ‘Young Leaders’ from the youth choirs have also developed their skills and confidence in leading activities with the younger children and gained valuable experience to become the choir leaders of the future!

The Showcase follows shortly after National Sing Up Day on 24 February when primary-aged children and their teachers all over the country will be encouraged to 'spread a little singing.'  Celebratory events will be taking place up and down England and you will have the chance to learn and record the National Sing Up Day song 'Strictly Come Singing' as part of a virtual online choir! Visit www.singup.org/nsud for further details.

END

Press information: Images and news from the competition is available at www.choiroftheyear.com 

Choir of the Year

Education Manager: Helen Price, helen@choiroftheyear.com 020 7221 7883

Press: Eliz Helvaciolglu, eliz.helvacioglu@kallaway.com 020 7313 6276

Notes to Editors:

Moving on Up Youth Choirs are:
Cantate, Bishop’s Stortford conducted by Nick Shaw
Masquerade, Kettering, led by Barry Clark
Voice Squad Seniors, Bury-S-Edmunds, conducted by Birgitta Kenyon

Moving on Up Primary Schools choirs are:
Brookmead School
Christ The Sower Ecumenical Primary School
Green Park School
Hanslope Primary School
Middleton Primary School
Quainton Church of England Combined School
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Primary School
Stanton School
Willen Primary School

Choir of the Year
Choir of the Year (www.choiroftheyear.com) is the UK’s largest national amateur group singing competition and is searching for the nation’s best amateur singing group. Over 8,000 singers from choirs as diverse as Gospel and beat box will take taking part in Choir of the Year 2010, in association with BBC Radio 3, reflecting the range and depth of music making in communities across the UK.  Audition days will take place at venues across the UK in the Spring 2010 including Milton Keynes Theatre on 28 March. Competing choirs will sing to win a place in June’s National Selection and from this a place in their Category Finals, at Birmingham Symphony Hall. Category Final winners go forward to the Grand Final on 28 November 201, in front of a live audience at London’s Royal Festival Hall and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and BBC FOUR.

Sing Up
Sing Up (www.singup.org) is the National Singing Programme which aims to put singing at the heart of primary school-aged children’s lives. The programme includes an online resource and magazine to help primary school teachers and parents encourage children to sing everyday.

END TO ALL