Young Voices Wanted For New Highland Choir
Invitations have been issued to all P3 pupils in, and within, 30 minutes travelling time of Inverness to audition for a place singing with a new junior choir.
With support from The Highland Council, The National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCoS) Inverness Area Choir will be launched in September 2008 and will feature the voices of 80 P4 pupils.
Singers will be recruited following a special audition workshop which will take place in Inverness on 18 June. The aim of the choir will be to encourage singing to the best of the singer’s ability, to learn to read music and to develop and train the voice.
NYCoS was formed in 1996 to provide an opportunity for young singers in Scotland to participate in choral singing at a national level. There are currently ten NYCoS Area choirs.
Joan Gibson, Chief Executive of NYCoS said: “We at NYCoS are delighted that in partnership with Highlands and Islands Council we are able to develop a NYCoS Area Choir in Inverness. NYCoS has a network of area choirs across Scotland that has grown over the last 10 years and I am very pleased that this network will now include Inverness.”
Although the choir will give two public performances in the Highlands each year, the emphasis will be on singing for fun and on establishing good pitching and a good ear using the Kodály Method which is a plan for young singers developed in Hungary by the composer and tutor Zoltàn Kodàly.
The Highland Council’s Music Development Officer Norman Bolton said: “This is a great opportunity for children who like singing and we are delighted the NYCoS are extending their work to the Highlands. As this is going be the first such choral group in the Highlands I expect there to be a lot of interest for the available places so any young singers looking to join should return their application forms right away or to contact Lorna Rudden at the NYCoS on 0141 287 2831.”
From September the choir will meet once a week for an evening rehearsal at Drakies Primary School. The choir leader will be Margaret Rae, one of the team of Kodály music tutors already working in all Highland Primary schools, supported by Youth Music Initiative funding.