Thousands set to sit up and listen to Jersey's new young choir

Sunday 24 May 2015

They haven’t been singing together long but the Jersey Games Choir have already performed for royalty and now the 60 young singers are in training to represent the Island at the biggest event on the sporting calendar.

The new choir made up of two children from each of Jersey’s primary schools will be getting the party started at next month’s opening ceremony to the NatWest Island Games.

The youngsters aged between eight and 11 will join Rachel Hayden – the JCG student who won this year’s Jersey Symphony prize at PwC’s Young Musician of the Year – who will be singing Beautiful Jersey in both English and the Island’s native tongue, Jèrriais.

They’ll also join Jèrriais-singing pop-folk band the Badlabecques for a special performance of The Beatles favourite ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’.

Head of the Music Service Dr Graham Cox said: “They are making a really nice sound, they’ve really come together, they are learning things very quickly now, it was all very new to them when they first got together, they are working together as a group, it’s nice to see them all interacting with each other.”

The young choir only started singing together at the end of March but have already had a few outings to prepare them for their big day and sung for the Countess of Wessex in People’s Park on Liberation Day as well as at The Sound of Music Gala Concert at Jersey Opera House.

They’ll also be performing at a big concert at Fort Regent on Saturday 13 June, two weeks before the Games, along with all the Island’s youth bands and orchestras.

6,000 people from all over the world logged on this month to secure tickets to the opening ceremony to the Games in Howard Davis Park on Saturday 27 June – an evening designed to showcase Jersey’s history and traditions, language and people.

Dr Cox said: “I think it’s absolutely fantastic for the young people to be centre stage at one of the biggest events in the Island, they are so excited, they are going to get the best seats in the house because of where they will be on the stage and I know they are going to sing beautifully on the day.”