2022/23 A Great Year for The Junior Choir
As we look forward to the next academic year of the Junior Choir — welcoming new Year 3s and starting new activities for our Youth Singers at secondary school — it’s also good to look back on some excellent achievements this year. We had two brilliant singing days, two visits to Winchester Cathedral (one to listen and the other to sing), solos and anthems at carol services and family services, a carol concert in the Leonardo Hotel, and a singing workshop with professional soprano, Imogen Baker, not to mention the Summer Pudding Concert scheduled for the 19th July!
Practising for services
The Junior Choir meets every Wednesday evening in term time to practise music for the services, concerts and singing days that happen throughout the year. This year our choir grew from six in September 2022 to its present size of around a dozen choristers, plus our conductor, Miko Lisiak, and accompanist, Nathan Yam. There’s lots of hard work that the choristers put in each week to learn new songs to sing at the Family Service on the first Sunday of each month, to get to grips with reading music, and to improve their singing.
Apart from all this hard work, it’s also fair to say that we have lots of fun along the way!
Among the composers of the many anthems we’ve sung this year are many familiar names — S. S. Wesley, John Rutter, Stephen Schwartz, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Howard Goodall, and Franz Schubert to name just a few.
Half-term Singing Days
The two Singing Days held this year in October and February, were open to all children in Year 3 and above. We learned several songs during the day as well as enjoying activities such as a treasure hunt and various games. Both days were well-attended, and several children decided to join the choir after enjoying the day.
At the end of each singing day we sang the songs we’d practised to families and friends in a mini-concert. In October we sang “When you believe”, a song from the animated musical Prince of Egypt, as well as a Christmas carol, “Rocking”, which was featured in carol services in December. In February the main song was “The Lord is my Shepherd” by Howard Goodall, which is the theme tune to the TV sitcom The Vicar of Dibley. It is a beautiful setting of the 23rd Psalm and it is great to introduce these famous and powerful words to a new generation through this music.
In the summer term we had a Singing Workshop for the choir one Saturday morning. We were privileged to be joined for the event by professional soprano, Imogen Baker who provided some inspirational groupwork, and a short individual lesson with each junior chorister. The feedback from the day was excellent with the juniors finding it really helpful, and the senior helpers feeling they would really like a singing lesson of this quality themselves! Let’s see if we can arrange that next year! (The picture is of Imogen singing at her recent recital at St Michael’s.)
“Voice For Life” Awards
The choir uses a music education programme designed by the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM), called “Voice for Life”. Some time during each practice is set aside for choristers to progress their learning of music theory, finding out how to use their voice better, and understanding the work of the choir in the context of Christian worship. Leaders Rebecca Aspin and Peter Balkwill have worked individually with the children, who also do some work at home, either using a workbook, or the new digital system that the choir has been trialling this year.
Most of the choristers have achieved the first “White” level, four received their “Light Blue” award, one of whom has now also achieved her “Dark Blue” award.
Our choral and organ scholars, Miko Lisiak and Nathan Yam, also work hard with the choir, supporting the education side as well as the practical side of the choir. Miko conducts most of the pieces the Junior Choir sings, usually accompanied by Nathan on either the piano or organ.
Christmas
Christmas is always a busy time for choirs, and our Junior Choir is no exception. Several choristers attended and sang at the annual Nine Lessons and Carols service held last year on the fourth Sunday of Advent, with one of them singing the traditional solo in Once in Royal. The choir also led the Crib service on Christmas Eve, followed almost immediately by a carol concert at the Royal Southampton Leonardo Hotel on the Esplanade, again featuring solos from one of the choristers.
Choir Trips
The year’s programme also featured two visits to Winchester Cathedral. The first one, on a Monday evening was to observe the young choristers and lay clerks of the cathedral practise, and then sing evensong, as they do most days. The assistant organist of the cathedral welcomed the choir and gave us a tour of the east end of the building, including the choir’s honours boards, and the organ. The space where the choir practices is very small, but we were all able to watch the practice, taking due note of their skills and discipline! After evensong we all enjoyed pizza and ice cream before heading home.
The second trip to the cathedral was for the choir to sing with eight other choirs in a concert entitled “Sing for Sanctuary”, the finale of a week of events in Winchester for Refugee Week. As well as joining in all the songs for the massed choirs, the Junior Choir reprised “The Lord is my Shepherd”. Singing in that space leaves a lasting impression, and many of the choristers spoke afterwards not only about the excellence of the event itself, but also about how singing there was such a great experience.
Images by Hannibal-White Photography. # University of Winchester Music Centre
And on to next year…
With only the “Summer Pudding Concert” to come in this year’s programme (it’s on Wednesday, 19th July at 7pm!), inevitably thoughts are already turning to next year. Here are some changes we are considering:
- A new time – choir practice will begin at 6.30pm on Wednesdays, and continues as before until 7.45pm
- “Youth Singers” – members of the choir who are at secondary school – will have some extra opportunities for singing, as well as some new activities at practices and singing days.
- We are looking forward to welcoming several new choristers, especially those just moving up to Year 3 who been waiting for a while to join!
- New “Head Choristers” who will be chosen from Year 6 children, who will have extra responsibilities and privileges.
See you there!
