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Country’s Best Choirs Sing To Win!
BBC RADIO 3 Choir
of the Year (choiroftheyear.co.uk)
the UK’s largest national amateur group singing competition is
looking for the North West’s most talented and diverse choirs and
singing groups to take part in this year’s competition.
In last year’s competition Kinder Junior Singers from High Peak and
Lindley Junior School Choir from Huddersfield reached the Semi
Finals.
Over 5,000 singers from across the country are expected to take
part. All singing to win at 7 audition rounds across the country,
aiming for a place in the Category and Grand Finals, at the Wales
Millennium Centre, Cardiff, - broadcast by BBC Radio 3 and BBC 4.
New categories are set to broaden the range of choirs and singing
groups taking part, while on the spot feedback from judges
immediately following performances will add to the drama and
excitement of the competition.
Roger Wright, BBC Radio 3 Controller, said:- “Choir of the
Year is back and we hope more choirs than ever will take part in the
competition. We want to hear about vocal groups from all parts of
the country singing in all kinds of ways. Choir of Year is a
fantastic way for people to come together and be united through the
enjoyment of singing. 2006 promises to be the best competition yet.”
New Categories And Entry Information:
Choirs from 8 to 100 people can apply in 4 different categories:
1. Open - A new category open to all choirs and singing groups from
any musical background. There are no upper or lower age limits in
this category and is ideal for singing groups who want to so
something different, maybe songs from the shows, songs from the
charts or world music, and for choirs who feel they don’t fit the
other categories.
2. Children’s - Majority
of singers 14 and under.
3. Youth - Majority of
singers 18 and under.
4. Adult - Same or mixed
voices.
Competition Dates:
Auditions
First round regional auditions are taking place between February and
May:-
Warwick, 19 February – Warwick Arts Centre
Manchester, 19 March – Royal Northern College of Music
Cambridge, 2 April – West Road Concert Hall
Basingstoke, 9 April – The Anvil
Edinburgh, 7 May – The Queen’s Hall
Cardiff, 14 May – New Theatre
Belfast, 21 May – Methodist College
Category and Grand Finals
Category Finals, 11 and 12 November Wales Millennium Centre,
Cardiff
Grand Finals, 10 December Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff.
Entering the Competition:-
New Choir Of The Year... via website...
Singing groups and choirs can find out full details of the
competition and apply to enter through a new dedicated website,
www.choiroftheyear.co.uk.
Tickets... Music lovers and singing fans can reserve tickets for the audition
rounds by contacting competition organisers, Kallaway Ltd, on 020
7221 7883. Information for tickets for the Category and Grand Finals
will be posted on
www.choiroftheyear.co.uk during
the competition. |
SINGING PAINTS A PICTURE
SINGERS who are passionate about their craft are putting on 2
very different shows. The first is an a cappella concert
called Face the Music taking place on Thursday (9 February 2006) and
the second show is an exhibition of photographic work capturing the
singers in all sorts of interesting situations-including poised on a
high dive board.
Liverpool City Council leader Warren Bradley said:- "To
provide two showcases which tickle both the ears and the eyes gives
very different perspectives and should prove extremely interesting."
Photographs depict Chip, poised on a diving board, Dave who peers
thoughtfully up at the oily underside of a car engine and Geoff
stands on a hillside grasping a chainsaw in a hard hat. They all
have two things in common: they are wearing dinner suits and bow
ties, and they all love to sing, everything from jazz, soul and pop
to madrigals.
Photographer Derek Massey, who has helped organise the project,
said:- "This is a unique concert, presented by Jennifer John,
Black Businesswoman of the Year, and features her choir, Sense of
Sound. We thought that recording different aspects of the singers'
lives in this way gave a real insight into the passionate world of
song."
The photographs and singers will be brought together in a unique
concert of a cappella music with 8 choirs at Notre Dame School for
the Performing Arts on Thursday February 9 at 7.30pm. The exhibition
will then tour the city libraries over the next 6 months, and a
listening post will be available so that everyone can sample the
sounds from the concert.
Mostly Madrigals, a South Liverpool choir dreamed up the project and
obtained funding from the Liverpool Culture Company and Awards for
All.
MPs
urged to stub it out
LIVERPOOL City Council's leader is urging MPs to help protect
people from the dangers of second hand smoke. Councillor
Warren Bradley has written to every Merseyside MP, urging them to
support the bill to ban smoking in public places and at work.
The free vote is taking place in the House of Commons on Tuesday
14 February 2006. Who knows what will happen!
In a letter, he has asked them to vote for a comprehensive smoking
ban to protect the health of employees and customers who are exposed
to second hand smoke in workplaces across England, including pubs
and members' clubs.
Councillor Bradley said:- "Liverpool has been leading the
smoke free campaign and Tuesday is a vital date in the fight to
bring in new legislation. I am hoping that MPs of all parties
will be able to overturn the Government's proposal for only a
partial smoking ban, and bring in a complete ban which will be a
massive step forward for public health. We all know the health
risks associated with second hand smoke, such as lung caner, heart
disease, stroke, asthma and other respiratory illnesses. Banning
smoking in some work places and not others just would not work.
I urge all MPs to vote for this legislation to protect people's
health. The overwhelming majority of people - including smokers -
are in favour of an outright ban. I will be delighted if
Parliament votes in favour. I will be so proud of Liverpool's role
in bringing about these health benefits, not only locally, but
nationally."
A survey carried out by Smoke free Liverpool last week showed that
more than 70% of people in the city back comprehensive laws that
including more than half of all smokers. Let us know what you think!
Email us today! |
