It was a ‘lovely day’ when students from nine schools from across West Sussex came together to perform at Christ’s Hospital, near Horsham, as part of West Sussex Music’s Sings Live!
Sings Live! which took place on Wednesday 11 March was a day’s choral workshop organised by West Sussex Music for secondary students and their teachers led by specialists Emily Barden and James Bartlett. Following the workshop’s rehearsals, the day ended with a performance to parents and carers.
The theme of the day was “the natural world” and the repertoire included Voice In The World by Emily Barden; Song Of Promises from The Water Diviner’s Tale by Rachel Portman; Lovely Day by Bill Withers; Better Is One Day arranged by Trey McLaughlin, and Colors Of The Wind by Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz.
Alison Sutton, Assistant Head of West Sussex Music, said: “This was a wonderful celebration of the power of massed singing, and a real joy to hear. The progress made by the students through the day was phenomenal and they will have learned techniques that can be taken back to their school choirs. We know how important it is for young people to continue to sing at secondary school and how wonderful it feels to perform with your peers. I am, as ever, in awe of the energy and expertise of our choral leaders Emily Barden and James Bartlett and the generosity of Christ’s Hospital for providing such an inspiring venue and for their hospitality.”
WSM’s Sings Live! programme promotes and supports singing in schools for students aged 11 to 18 years. By providing teacher training and inspiring opportunities for students, our objective is to ensure every school “gets singing” and puts singing at the heart of their curriculum. Next week Emily will be leading another Sings Live! workshop at St Philip Howard Catholic School at Barnham.
Wednesday’s Sings Live! Involved 213 young singers from Christ’s Hospital School, Hazelwick School, Ifield Community College, Manor Green College, Oak Grove College, Oriel High School, The Gatwick School, Thomas Bennett Community College, and Warden Park Secondary Academy.
As well as promoting singing in school, students were also encouraged to develop their singing out of school with the West Sussex Youth Choir.
Information on joining West Sussex Youth Choir can be found here.
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