Choral Partnership Day
A day of workshops with an afternoon concert. Lead by the Genesis Sixteen alumni choir, pupils from KES & Primary Partnership Schools took part.
Aims
To promote a lifelong love of Music and choral singing and expose young people to excellent choral singing from a professional ensemble.
To inspire young people to sing with purpose and conviction, improve the quality of vocal singing across four Key Stages and build connections with partnership schools through a shared activity.
Background
This event was designed to both foster a love of Music and provide excellent training for singers. The professional workshop leaders elevate the standard of musicianship across all age groups. KES pupils and visiting partnership primary school pupils connected as musicians. The department has hosted performance activity day for many years across various musical disciplines but this was the first in choral singing.
Resources
The school made the most of its resources with the Dobson Theatre showcased for an afternoon concert, and workshops held in the recital room and chapel. Our lead accompanist was providing support throughout the day and VMT teachers also supported the event through coaching and vocal teaching.
Impact
Expectations of the day were recorded in testimonials from Choral Partnerships Day from Mount Pleasant Primary School (Year 6 pupils)
“I am going to learn how to be more confident with my voice”
“I am most excited about singing all day and showing off my skills.”
“I want to be proud of myself and I think this will help with stage fright.”
“I want to learn more about singing from the professional singers and want to see all the schools mixing together.”
“I am looking forward to being more confident with my singing voice after today.”
These expectations were reinforced after the event with follow-up interviews across participants.
“I really enjoyed the choir day, the Genesis Sixteen Choir were really helpful and had a lot of amazing advice and experiences to share with us” – Y11 KES pupil
“I’’d like to thank all of the members of the Genesis 16 alumni for their support, and I felt that Harry was a fantastic director and that he really knew how best to teach and guide the choir, and that we learned a lot from him.” – Year 12 KES pupil
“It was a very enjoyable day and I thought the way they sang together as a quartet was very inspiring in terms of how they stayed together. I also learnt to think about putting emphasis on the correct words to make the music sound better.” – Year 12 KES pupil
“I was delighted to find out that their inspirations were theirs teachers, as that was the same for me. During our workshop I realised that the smallest details count. Whether it is using a crescendo when singing, or using different facial expressions. I learnt that this dedication is what a choral singer requires for their career everyday.” Year 10 KES pupil
Pupil Involvement
KES Pupils: 73
Primary School Year 6: 77
Total: 150
Frequency
This is an annual event hosted by the KES Music Department