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Young Singers 2021
Young Singers of the Year 2021
On Tuesday 22 June 2021 we were delighted to be able to host our first live-streamed Expressive Arts event: Young Singer 2021. Last year pupils sent in recordings of themselves singing and we held a live virtual results evening (see Young Singer 2020). In 2021 we had hoped to have an exclusive friends and family audience to watch participants in person but, due to Government restrictions still being in place, our Expressive Arts team showed their flexibility once more and adapted the evening, holding our first live Expressive Arts 'event' since the musical Grease was on stage in February 2020!
Young Singer of the Year (2021) took place with pupils and judges in our Expressive Arts faculty and their families and friends watching from home. The evening was packed with 20 incredibly talented singers and performers - the calibre was very high. Despite the difficult circumstances over the last few weeks in preparation, pupils worked hard to ensure their songs were performance-ready; most of this was independent work as we haven’t been able to rehearse in person as much as previous years. The evening consisted of a range of musical theatre and popular songs performed by (new) Year 8 to former Year 11 pupils who came back to perform. We were determined for this to be a live event, as the experience pupils gain from performing live and also watching other, more experienced singers is incredibly valuable to them.
The judges deliberated back and forth over winners and runner-ups as this year we had such a large number of top performers. The results are as follows:
Key Stage 3 Outstanding Performances: Iris UD (new Year 8), Jasmine T (new Year 8) and Sasha J (new Year 9).
Key Stage 4 Outstanding Performances: Timothy C, Charlotte T and Isabel C (new Year 10).
Key Stage 3 Winner:
Jenny S (new Year 9)
Jenny picked up the Key Stage 3 Winner award for her convincing musical theatre performance of ‘Just You Wait’ from My Fair Lady.
'The evening was so much fun, everyone did amazingly! I could not believe it when they announced that I had won because there were so many talented performers.'
Key Stage 4 Winner:
Amber F (new Year 10)
Amber was awarded Key Stage 4 winner with her heartfelt and powerful performance of ‘Heart of Stone’ from the new musical Six.
'This was my first time ever singing a solo on my own in front of an audience, so I was very nervous. However, the atmosphere in the room that night was so comforting and welcoming that when I went up to sing I felt like I could give it my all without any judgement. Everyone there was so kind and supportive. It was a real shock to win, because the standard was so high, but I am absolutely ecstatic and I’ve been buzzing ever since!!'
We are sure all these singers feel that this evening was also a good confidence boost for the Matilda The Musical auditions next week! We are looking forward to slowly returning to normal with our events and look forward to inviting parents to watch upcoming events in the near future.
Miss Faux, Music Teacher: ‘I am incredibly proud of all the singers who took part. I love evenings like this which allow new and experienced performers to have a platform to show off their voices and perform. We have missed singing this past year in school and the performances on Tuesday were definitely worth the wait! There is so much exciting potential with all of these pupils and I look forward to working with them in the future.’
Headteacher Ms Henson: ‘Although incredibly challenging because the standard was so high, it was an absolute joy to be a judge at our Young Singer competition. Several pieces were sung with such heart-felt feeling and genuine passion that I felt moved and tremendously privileged to be present in the auditorium! Well done to everyone involved and thank you to our Expressive Arts team for making another good thing happen! Congratulations on our first live-streamed Music event.’
Parent: 'Every single student that sung was so courageous, beautiful and talented. Brave song choices and extra specially moving given the circumstances!'