Home from Home: Y ME goes behind the scenes of NYTC

This article is taken from Y ME? (because it’s Your Music Education), May 2019, guest edited by Amplify, a Blaze Arts project. This newsletter hopes to provide young musicians and music enthusiasts with guidance on how to continue their music studies and advice for future music careers.

Y ME? is written by young people for young people. Sign up to the mailing list or email info@musicmark.org.uk to contribute to the next edition.

The Spring Training Choir get ready for business!

After National Youth Choirs of Great Britain took over our Instagram (did you catch it this Easter?), one of their choristers Becca reveals what the Spring Training Choir is really all about it!

“The National Youth Training Choir is for singers in years 10-13. In TC we sing a wide range of pieces: this Easter we been worked on Elton John and Muse whilst also covering standard classical repertoire like Monteverdi and Brahms.

The best thing about Training Choir is the amount of fun we have with each other both in rehearsals, and out of them in evening activities and everyone’s favourite morning Dancercise sessions. Alongside the intensity of rehearsals and perfecting our repertoire, there is still time for us to socialise and form life long friendships – I’ve been in NYCGB for 6 years and having gone through Girls’ choir as well, I’ve formed so many connections with other like-minded musicians my age.

TC is a home from home and a time to get stuck into all aspects of music including sight reading, a bit of theory and a lot of performance technique to take away with you when you leave. The week is filled with impromptu bursting out into song during warm-ups, rehearsals and even during meals with (sometimes accidental) harmonies and killer beatboxing which even the leaders and other staff join in on! At one point, the sopranos and altos came out with the first half of Bohemian Rhapsody in perfect harmony in a sectional, and later surprised the tenors and basses with it in a full rehearsal in the evening – they also sang along!

Everyone who looks after us on these courses is insanely talented and willing to give advice, support and have a chat: they are always down for a laugh whilst also making sure we do the best we possibly can and learn the music properly. NYTC is a unique experience and it’s so incredible that young people from across the country can come together for only a week to produce such a high quality performance.

Becca”

The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYCGB) exist to inspire and empower young people throughout the UK with the life-changing experience of singing together. Visit www.nycgb.org.uk for more information and details of how to audition.