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FUTURE VOICES OF WALES
A: This is my first time conducting the choir but my involvement began when I was 18. I auditioned for the National Youth Choir when I was in my first year at university. Much to my surprise, I got a place and it was a crucial moment for me. John Hugh Thomas was the conductor at the time and the way he weaved magic into the way we sang, the way he really changed the sound we produced was incredible. I’d never thought about singing as a career but working at that level made me think it was possible. It was quite a few years before I conducted a choir myself, but the seed was planted way back then. A: It’s just an audition combined with a fun workshop. The word audition is terrifying to many, but I firmly believe that you can’t expect to hear the best from anyone if the situation is stressful. I will always ensure that the singer feels comfortable and we’re a very smiley panel! We’ll be auditioning again in the autumn and I’d love to hear from as many young people from around Wales as possible. Meeting new young people who love singing is one of my favourite parts of my job, and enabling young singers to develop and grow is a very great privilege and so exciting. A: I was really keen that the choir should experience the joy of singing with an orchestra and that our young musicians get to make music together. The orchestra is conducted once again by the amazing and inspirational Carlo Rizzi, so this is going to be special.
Carlo conducts at the very highest level (he opened the 2018-19 season at the Metropolitan Opera in New York) and the fact that he believes so passionately in inspiring future generations means that the rehearsals (and performances) will be thrilling, demanding and anything but dull.
In the orchestral concerts, the choir will be singing Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. 2018 marks the centenary of the birth of the man who wrote West Side Story and the piece we’ll perform is very beautiful.
In addition to the orchestral concerts, the choir will give separate choral recitals. We’re singing music from Palestrina to Stevie Wonder, so that’s about 450 years of music. We’ll also be marking the centenary of the birth of Welsh composer Dilys Elwyn Edwards, there’ll be music by Mansel Thomas and also Huw Watkins, a young Welsh composer making a huge impact on the classical music world.
The programme is ambitious for young singers and there are a few unexpected items in there, such as a piece of Indian music but I can guarantee that the singers and audiences alike are in for a treat. A: Lots of hard work! I’m very lucky to have an amazing team of course tutors who all work at a professional level so every rehearsal will be focussed on vocal technique, developing musical skills and coming together as a unit. Our course accompanist is David Doidge who works at Welsh National Opera. The course will be a combination of long days of rehearsals with individual sections, full choir rehearsals and downtime for our young singers to rest their voices and just hang out with each other. A: This year, it’ll be 10 years since OMA won BBC’s Last Choir Standing. To this end, we’re having a massive celebration concert at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on October 21. It’s going to be an emotional event but a chance for us to mark a very special decade.