I remember a dark November night back in around 2004 driving up the M11 to Cambridge to take my two older daughters for an audition with the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. I didn’t know much about the ‘NYCGB’ back then other than that it was a good idea for young singers. After all, some of my Sixteen colleagues had sung with them! What I didn’t realise then was that this was not only a choir, but the beginning of a lifelong musical journey for many of those young singers.
Both my daughters were successful with their auditions, singing for many years with the choir and then helping as section leaders and staff on courses when they were older. Since then, my daughters have moved on to other things. One of them is now a professional singer living in the Netherlands. The other has a successful career in banking but continues to sing and run choirs herself. One thing they have shared throughout is a love of singing and the incredible network of friends and likeminded musicians who they met back then in NYCGB. Many of these friends were at York University where both my daughters studied music. Some of these friends sang at their weddings, and recently many have taken part in the NYCGB alumni virtual performance of ‘Shenandoah’ which gained Gramophone Magazine’s accolade of ‘video of the day’.
But this is not all. As a professional musician I have met many of these young singers. Some have been part of the ‘Genesis Sixteen’ professional training programme for which I am a tutor. Some, over the years, have become my colleagues in The Sixteen and others have become choral directors themselves.
For many of these young people I know that the NYCGB was the first time in their lives that they had been able to sing choral music at such an advanced level. Some came from schools where choirs simply did not exist. The experience changed their lives.
However, the NYCGB is now facing a deficit of £250,000. They are seeking donations for their ‘Keep the Nation Singing’ appeal. I know that there are many causes that deserve our support right now but I would suggest that a donation to this cause is invaluable. It will help young singers from all backgrounds to have the opportunity to sing in a first class choir but more importantly it will be supporting young musicians who in turn will become professional singers and the future choral directors of the 70,000 or so choirs that exist in the UK today.