Dies Irae, Dorking Halls

Well done to the FYC Girls and Boys choirs, as well as the 5 trainers who participated, for your fantastic performance at the Dies Irae concert at Dorking Halls. 

"It was such a delight to have them there and they won a lot of new fans for the FYC. They had been impeccably trained and their tuning, diction and timing were really impressive."  Ian Assersohn, Composer

"On behalf of Leatherhead Choral Society I am writing to thank you all for taking part in our world premiere concert and to send a special THANK YOU to the Farnham Youth Junior Choir whose performance was really enchanting.  It was lovely to have them perform with us and we hope they enjoyed the experience just as much as we did.  They must have been very tired at the end of the evening but they sang perfectly until the last note!" Lynne Gillespie, Chair of Leatherhead Choral Society."

Click here to see a short presentation about Dies Irae.

Carol Singing at Harrods (13 & 20 Nov 2016)

Patrick and the choir after singing carols between 4pm and 5pm at the Egyptian escalator in Harrods on 13th November.

Jo and the choir after singing carols between 4pm and 5pm at the Egyptian escalator in Harrods on 20th November.

Christmas Carols at Harrods

Farnham Youth Choir will be singing Christmas carols by the Egyptian Escalator at Harrods from 4:00pm to 5:00pm on Sundays 13th & 20th November.  Please come along and support the choir.

Something Old, Something New

 Farnham Youth Choir’s first concert of the new season was held at the lovely church of St Alban’s in Hindhead on Sat 15th Oct in front of a full and appreciative audience! This was a new venue for the choir which performs more frequently in Farnham.

The evening began with choir members coming out to the audience members and greeting them, before starting a "Festive Alleluia" in an almost flash-mob style. Once regular choir positions had been resumed, we were treated to sacred music from 16th century up to 20th century, as well as pieces involving choir actions such as clapping in a Spanish style for "Yo Le Canto" and looking fearsome and warlike for "De Bello Gallico".

The choir was performing for the first time under the direction of Joanna Tomlinson who began regular rehearsals with them only 7 weeks ago. It also welcomed a new pianist, Matthew Rickard, who was given particular opportunities to shine in his accompaniments for Holst’s piece “To Agni” and the Spiritual, “Joshua”.

Many of the pieces performed during the evening were familiar works sung in previous years, but the audience were also treated to new pieces learned only in the past few weeks. The 14 new members who joined the choir in September performed confidently, having learned and memorised their parts in such a short period of time.

Another new feature of the concert was the inclusion of some more contemporary songs, including “Make You Feel My Love” by the recently announced Nobel Laureate for literature, Bob Dylan. The audience were sent on their way home with a lively rendition of the song “Happy”- appropriate for conveying the feelings of choir and audience alike, after this first outing of the season!

Laura Brown, director of The Octavian Singers.

A new look for a new season

As the summer comes to an end, we've had reason to celebrate 32 wonderful years under our founding Musical Director, David Victor-Smith, culminating in a Celebration Concert at The Anvil, Basingstoke in July.

The changes haven't stopped there and the FYC team are looking forward to the new choral season by breathing new life into FYC's identity and website, bringing an exciting energy that really encapsulates the youthfulness, vibrancy and history of the choir. 

A Q&A with our Musical Director, Joanna Tomlinson

Graham Noakes talks to Joanna Tomlinson about her vision for FYC, the connection between the choirs and welcoming Matthew Rickard our new accompanist. 

Q: When did you first hear about FYC?

JT: A colleague forwarded me the job spec for vocal coach back in 2013. I was new to the area then and didn’t know about FYC, but listening to the choir on YouTube really bowled me over.

Q: How would you describe your FYC experience to-date?

JT: What struck me from day one, and continues to impress me, is the quality of performance that FYC consistently delivers. David has always had high expectations of each cohort of young singers and they achieve because he passionately believes that they can.

Q: Looking ahead, what are the key issues for you as musical director? 

JT: Recruitment will remain a challenge as FYC responds to the pressures of a changing educational and social environment. Operationally I think we will become more streamlined, and forward planning will become even more important, as we look to build on our outstanding musical heritage.

Evolution rather than revolution will be key to staying relevant to tomorrow’s young singers and their parents. The good news for me in looking to achieve this is that FYC has an exceptional team of professional musicians, backed by a strongly supportive management team and enthusiastic parents. 

Q: How do you see the choirs working more closely together?

JT: In September, the move to Wednesday as the common rehearsal day will be critical in creating a more flexible environment in which both the choirs and the musical team can work together and learn from each other. The opportunity for parents of all choirs to meet regularly will also help here, and greater visibility across all the choirs on a regular basis also has the potential to further increase both the professionalism and aspirations of younger choir members.

Q: How will your experience help in achieving this vision?

JT: As a trained singer and performer in some of the UK’s top choirs, I understand the importance of developing sound vocal technique from an early age and how to achieve this. 

Having founded my own choir in London and worked with youth choirs in the UK and abroad, I also have direct experience of the importance of good leadership and management skills in driving change in a controlled and effective way.

And finally, although Julia Freeman has proved time and again that she is - without any exaggeration - one of the world’s great choral accompanists, I am very fortunate that Matthew Rickard has agreed to join us. I have worked with Matthew for many years and have no doubt that he will bring his own unique brand of sensitivity, energy and passion to this critical role.