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Busy busy busy …
Not me, you understand; that goes without saying. No, it’s DsSis I mean. As well as it being (a) competition season – Brass Band Area Comp result bad [REALLY bad: don’t ask!**], school competition good [Jess & friend were “only” second in the Senior Duets competiton, but her solo xylophone playing has secured the Senior Percussion Cup for DsMam to polish for the next 12 months] – (b) School Proms with both Bradford Youth Orchestra [Jess now main timpanist] & Bradford Youth Wind Orchestra [flute & oboe]; (c) exam time [Grade 8 Flute & Grade 6 Tuned Percussion exams this coming term], all on top of the usual frenetic academic year-end exam cramming …
* takes breath * …
… Jess has just got back from her first Yorkshire Youth Choir residential of the year, which culminated in the usual concert. This year even has a bit of extra pressure there, as this week was their last significant time together before the choir goes to Poland in July for a week of concerts in and around Krakow. I cannot begin to tell you how much the YYC has done for DsSis as a person, and they do a remarkable job harmonising a hundred voices. Normally you’d have to take my word for that, as they don’t allow recordings or even photos to be taken, but possibly because there will be a recruitment drive coming (an unusually high proportion of the choir hit 21yo this year), there’s been some footage posted on the Choir’s Facebook page. If you follow this link –
https://www.facebook.com/yorkshireyouthchoir/#
– and scroll down a little to the Happy Easter post, there is a video of just the senior girls section of the choir rehearsing Jim Steinman / Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out For A Hero.
Video quality on FB is not, of course, of the highest quality, but I can promise you DsSis – a second soprano – is in there, centre stage.
The Pryce-Jones’, who run the choir, do a brilliant job, and how they get the kids to learn, FROM SCRATCH IN UNDER A WEEK, multi-part songs in a variety of languages (for this concert, Welsh, Latin, Hebrew, Swahili, Polish & French as well as English) is utterly beyond my comprehension. Here’s the programme list from last night:
Anyway, to do my bit, if any of you reading this know anyone under 20 who may want to give this a go, get in touch with me, and I’ll make sure you get the email invitation to the next lot of auditions.
** Actually, yes, DO ask me. I need the opportunity to give vent to a minor rant!