Bright future for the Training Choir

During the pandemic, our Year 3 and 4 children found it difficult to rehearse online. After a break, they are back again! With the opportunity to rebuild came an opportunity to recruit in a different way: conductor Claire Robins is taking FYC’s musical approach into the community with a programme of workshops for local schools. We couldn’t do any of this without the generous funding we’ve received from the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust. This support is helping us in so many ways, and will mean that we can make a proportion of Training Choir places available to children whose financial circumstances would make it difficult to pay a subscription.

Anyone who knows of a school which would welcome one of our workshops for this age group is warmly invited to contact Liz at info@fyc.org.uk.

The Big Give Christmas Challenge 2021

From 30th November, for seven days, FYC will be running a campaign to raise funds for a bursary scheme we’d like to develop, so that children who’d like to join/remain in FYC can do so even if their financial circumstances make it difficult.

FYC applied to take part in this year’s Christmas Challenge and not only were we accepted, but we’ve also received a pledge of £2500 from one key supporter, with which to kick-start our campaign and additional backing from the Lakehouse Charitable Foundation. This means that if we can raise £5000 for our bursary scheme ourselves, this will be matched by a further £5000 - so a £10,000 total.

Our campaign goes live on 30th November, so to receive a reminder (so you can donate!) follow this link.

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”