Community Choir link with London Youth Choir

The City of London School provides its premises on a weekly basis every Monday evening to host the London Youth Choir. It also holds concerts at the school. Joint concerts with choirs and singers from the school including the choristers from Temple Church and Her Majesty's Chapel Royal also take place at the school.

Aims

Dubbed “The coolest choirs inside the M25” by Mr Malone, the London Youth Choir (LYC) is a family of five choirs established in 2012 by Suzi Digby OBE and Rachel Staunton. Its main aim is to provide singers, living or educated within Greater London, with an outstanding choral education through exceptional musical training and high-level performance opportunities. The choir’s vision is to “inspire young people to achieve the highest possible standard in choral singing, musicianship and vocal production in a supportive and welcoming environment, whilst representing the city of London." Alongside regular weekly rehearsals, LYC also leads ‘Aspire', a community engagement programme in collaboration with music hubs across all 33 London boroughs.

CLS, through offering its facilities free of charge, seeks to help the London Youth Choir fulfil its aims. 

Background

CLS was approached by London Youth Choir regarding use of our facilities and were delighted to be able to help. The partnership has been active since 2017.

Resources

CLS provides the ‘home’ for the LYC, with their extensive programme of rehearsals all taking place at the School. Every week hundreds of young people visit CLS, taking advantage of our facilities. We also serve as their main performance venue. This partnership has inevitably provided opportunities for musical collaboration, for example the LYC and CLS Chamber Choir joined forces to sing Benjamin Britten’s cantata Rejoice in the Lamb at the annual Spring Concert.

Impact

The London Youth Choir is confident that its mission ‘to educate and inspire, build confidence, and develop skills in teamwork and leadership; all whilst championing inclusivity and understanding’ is being fulfilled. This would not be possible without a venue in which to rehearse and perform.

Ms Camilleri, the Executive Director of the LYC writes, 'London Youth Choirs is committed to providing high-quality singing training to young Londoners, regardless of their social and financial circumstances. Many of our members are from communities with little or no music provision and their involvement in LYC is truly life-changing. We are incredibly fortunate to be able to use CLS’s facilities for our Monday rehearsals and concerts. This partnership, now in its second year, has enabled many more young people to benefit from involvement in our Choirs and we are deeply grateful to the School for their generosity and enthusiasm towards our work.'

Pupil Involvement

Students from Year 3 (8 years of age) to 21 years of age participate.

Frequency

Weekly practice and termly concerts.