REHEARSING IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS

We are proud to have been able to rehearse during the summer term even though Covid regulations meant that it was only safe to do this outdoors. The search was on for covered space, and Blacknest Golf and Country Club came to our rescue.

Hayley Bench, the Events Manager there, said, “It was a pleasure to host Farnham Youth Choir in our tipi for their rehearsals. Our members enjoyed being serenaded for their evening golf and our staff enjoyed getting to know all the children and their parents.”

Sakura, a member of our Junior Choir, told us how much she preferred singing in the tipi to rehearsing on Zoom: “Rehearsing in the tipi was so much fun because it felt like singing in nature - and I could go outside and play with my friends during the break.”

FYC members raise £6,550 in Music Marathon !!

Like so many arts organisations, our choir has suffered financially over the last 12 months with the loss of concert ticket money, venue cancellation costs and the additional costs of running COVID-secure rehearsals. Each term under COVID restrictions results in a £6,000 loss for FYC!

We all really miss our choir rehearsals - the joy of singing together and our friendships - and we can't wait until we can all sing together again.

Our members challenged themselves to make as much music as they could during December 2020 to raise money to help fund our choir - congratulations to all as they raised a whopping £6,550 !!

New Music Director for the FYC Junior Choir

We are delighted to announce that another familiar face will be stepping forward in January, when Margaret O’Shea will become Music Director of the Junior Choir. Margaret directed the Junior Choir throughout Patrick’s recent sabbatical, and returns to continue the fantastic work she and the young singers achieved together last term.

Margaret is Director of Music for Ark Schools, a network of 38 schools around the UK, where she leads Ark’s music curriculum and enrichment programmes. She is also a trustee of NYCGB (National Youth Choirs, Great Britain). a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and of the Royal Northern College of Music.

She is a qualified teacher and a staunch advocate for inclusivity in education and for the importance of music in young peoples’ development and wellbeing.

FYC's new Artistic Director

FYC is delighted to announce that Patrick Barrett will be its new Artistic Director from January 2021. Patrick is. of course, well known to FYC having previously being Assistant Director and Director of the Junior Choir. He is very much in demand in the UK and abroad, and is also Junior Chorus Director of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Conductor of the Irish Youth Training Choir.

We are so pleased to have a familiar and popular figure to lead FYC going forward, and Patrick’s vision for our choirs is bold and exciting. Patrick says: ‘I’m delighted to be starting in this new role with Farnham Youth Choir, a community of singers so dear to my heart”

Farewell to Joanna Tomlinson, Artistic Director of FYC

In 2016 Jo Tomlinson became FYC’s Artistic Director when its founder, David Victor-Smith, stepped down after 32 years. From the very start of Jo’s time with us, it was evident that not only is she one of the UK’s foremost choral directors and music educators, but she’s also a role model and friend to the young singers she works with. From behind the scenes, I can also say that Jo worked tirelessly in many ways that don’t really show to the outside world. She never seemed to switch off her phone and has been ever-ready to steer things in the right direction not just musically but organisationally too.

Singers and their families, colleagues and volunteers have been strikingly generous in their gifts and their tributes to Jo as she leaves us, but nothing they have said has been hyperbole. We know just how lucky we have been.

Just as David was a very hard act to follow back in 2016, it’s equally daunting to be Jo’s successor in 2021. Of all the people we could have wished for to take FYC forward, Patrick Barrett would be firmly at the top of our list – so everyone here is really delighted to be moving forward under Patrick’s direction, with Margaret O’Shea at the helm of the Junior Choir. Patrick and Margaret will put their own stamp on the organisation and it will be different, but it’s going to be inspirational, ambitious and exciting! 

Thank you so much Jo, and a warm welcome to Patrick and Margaret.

Helen Cole
(Chair, FYC Trustees)

FYC Summer Concert at The Menuhin Hall

This was Farnham Youth Choir’s first concert at the Menuhin Hall, near Cobham. In gorgeous weather, concert-goers and singers enjoyed the venue’s tranquil landscaped gardens. It was a perfect space to relax during breaks in rehearsals, and an ideal setting for a photo shoot with Nick Rutter, a specialist in arts photography. 

The Youth Choir’s performance included repertoire for the European Choir Games in Gothenburg later in the summer, in the Youth Choir and Sacred Music categories. Switching easily from the tranquil beauty of Schubert’s Gott ist mein Hirt, for instance, to the defiant attitudes of Kirby Shaw’s arrangement of Joshua, FYC’s performance showcased how versatile the young singers are. Next the Training Choir took the stage by storm in every sense! A wonderful evocation of thundery rain (with audience participation), jazzy elephants and some precision moves (Roller Ghoster) almost brought the house down, the applause so loud that one overwhelmed young singer had to put his hands over his ears. The Trainers were joined by the Junior Choir for a bravura performance of Ben Parry’s Science Song, and then it was the turn of the Junior Choir to show a very appreciative audience the skills they have been honing. They moved nimbly between thieving rats (Five Eyes), eeriness (Shadow-maker) and the gentleness of a lullaby with a sweet solo (Sweet and Low) before returning to spikiness and showmanship for their final two songs, staying in focus even when pelting around the stage! 

The highlight of the concert brought the three choirs together to perform the world premiere of Owain Park’s The Tyger, commissioned by Graham and Alison Noakes. Graham was formerly FYC’s Chair and this incredibly generous gift comes after many years of unstinting support, for which everyone at FYC is extremely grateful. The Tyger was spellbinding and sung with relish by the young singers, for whom it’s going to be a firm favourite for years to come.

Review by Helen Cole 30.06.19