Farnham Youth Choir take the top spot!

Farnham Youth Choir Named Highest Ranked UK Choir with Interkultur

Farnham, 2nd August 2025 — It’s official! Farnham Youth Choir, has been recognised as the highest ranked UK choir with Interkultur (interkultur.com). This incredible achievement places the choir among the best in the world, according to Interkultur’s official World Rankings, which can be viewed here.

This milestone is a huge accomplishment for our tiny charity and a testament to the dedication, talent, and hard work of our singers, both past and present. Their commitment has helped us earn medals at numerous international competitions including two golds at the World Choir Games in 2024 in Auckland, New Zealand, double golds at the European Choir Games in Gothenburg in 2019, and twice winning First Prize in the Sainsbury Youth Choir of the Year competition.

Quotes from the Leadership: “Achieving the highest UK ranking with Interkultur is a momentous milestone for Farnham Youth Choir,” said Patrick Barrett, Artistic Director. “It reflects the extraordinary talent and commitment of our singers and our team’s passion for excellence in choral music.”

Melanie Hancox, Chair of Trustees, added, “We are incredibly proud of our choir’s achievement. This recognition inspires us to continue fostering a love of singing and developing young talent.”

Quotes from Singers: 14-year-old Sakura said, “Being part of Farnham Youth Choir and achieving this ranking makes me so proud. It’s amazing to see our hard work pay off!”

15-year-old Ruby shared, “This achievement motivates me to keep improving and inspires me to pursue my passion for music even further.”

Another singer, 15-year-old Dandan, remarked, “I love singing with the choir, and it's fantastic to see us recognized on such a big stage. It’s a real team effort!”

We are immensely proud of this achievement and grateful for the support of our community and supporters. It is a proud moment for Farnham Youth Choir and reflects our ongoing passion for excellence in choral music.

Farnham Youth Choir are on tour with the National Youth Orchestra, performing at Birmingham Symphony Hall on 6th August, Snape Maltings on 8th August and will appear in the BBC Proms on Saturday 9th August.

FYC to perform with National Youth Orchestra at BBC Proms

Farnham Youth Choir is thrilled to have been invited to perform with the National Youth Orchestra (NYO) in a series of concerts, culminating with a sold-out performance on Saturday 9th August 2025 at the BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall. 

FYC will join the NYO in the last movement of Holst’s The Planets, which features an off-stage choir of upper voices in the final movement, ‘Neptune’. These talented young people will also be performing the same programme, entitled ‘Beyond’, in Birmingham’s Symphony Hall and Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Suffolk on 6th and 8th August. 

After 40 years of choral excellence, Farnham Youth Choir has developed into a family of choirs that supports children to achieve extraordinary things through a shared love of singing. FYC has previously won several international choral competitions, including most recently, under the leadership of their Artistic Director, Patrick Barrett, double gold medals at the World Choir Games (2024, New Zealand). 

Patrick Barrett said: ‘For our small, town choir to be invited to such a prestigious, globally recognised event is a tremendous honour. I’m incredibly proud of our young singers, whose hard work and dedication made this invitation possible.’

FYC Chair of Trustees, Melanie Hancox, said: ‘We are absolutely thrilled at being able to offer this remarkable performance opportunity to our young singers. While this might be our first appearance at the Proms in recent times, we hope it won’t be our last!’

Join Us!

The next open rehearsals for all three choirs will be on 10th and 17th September 2025.

Training Choir is for Years 2-4, Junior Choir Years 5-7 and Senior Choir (upper voices only) Years 7-13.

All rehearsals take place at Farnham Maltings at 5.15pm.

We’d love to see you there! Please go to fyc.org.uk/joinus to register.

Senior Choir excited to perform at Royal Albert Hall

FYC’s Senior Choir are excited to be part of a massed choir of over 400 voices at London’s Royal Albert Hall on Sunday, 13th July. They will be joining Vivace Chorus and Guildford Choral Society alongside two other adult choirs and Tiffin School Choir, together with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and world-renowned soloists Nicky Spence and Lucy Crowe.

The all-French programme begins with the Daphnis et Chloé 2nd suite by Ravel, followed by Poulenc’s wonderful Gloria. The epic Berlioz Te Deum closes the show in considerable style! For tickets to what promises to be a spectacular evening, go to:

www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2025/berlioz-te-deum

The Perfect Mother's Day Treat

On Mothering Sunday, 30th March, FYC’s Senior Choir - conducted by Patrick Barrett and accompanied by Matthew Rickard - performed a wonderfully varied programmed in St Thomas-on-the-Bourne church. There was something for everyone in the programme, with repertoire ranging from seventeenth-century Spanish composer Javier Busto’s Popule Meus to present-day Malaysian composer Tracy Wong’s Singkap Siaga. There was even some Elton John! The often challenging music (not to mention the complicated rhythmic clapping and stamping) was performed to FYC’s usual exceptional standard and was very warmly received by the audience.

The choral works were interspersed by solo performances from several senior members of the choir, including Madeleine Perryman on saxophone, Ben Haines-West on piano, and Natalie Wingfield, soprano. The confident and mature performances from these talented young people were a real treat, as was the four-part vocal ensemble’s rendition of Oliver Tarney’s The Silver Swan. It was a truly delightful way to spend a spring evening!

First FYC Singing Spree in Aldershot is a success

On Wednesday, 26 March 2025 Farnham Youth Choir held their first Singing Spree at Princes Hall, Aldershot. We have been running this event at Farnham Maltings for the past three years but this is the first time we have visited the Princes Hall, and it was fab! Over 400 Year 2 children and their teachers attended from six local schools, as well as Councillor Clive Grattan, former Mayor, from Rushmoor Borough Council.

Claire Robins and Patrick Barrett, accompanied by pianist Susan Norman, led a fantastic morning of singing including 'Stand Next To Me' and 'I Just Gotta Sing', by local composer (and FYC alum) Suzzie Vango. All the schools had learnt the song‘We Are One’ by Mark and Helen Johnson, and gave a rousing performance, together with BSL signing.

Feedback from the schools that took part has been really positive and we hope to welcome any keen singers from Aldershot and Farnborough schools to our next, free open rehearsals, which take place on 23rd and 30th April at Farnham Maltings. To sign up go to www.fyc.org.uk/joinus.