Children’s rainbow concert promises to be a colourful event
The voices of almost 500 local schoolchildren will fill Plymouth Pavilions at a grand finale concert on 12 June to mark the end of a project which has seen them work together to compose and perform a collection of new songs.
Sing Plymouth is led by Okehampton-based music charity, Wren Music, supported by Plymouth Music Education Hub and managed by Notre Dame Roman Catholic School. Students from five city secondary schools have each written a song which they have taught to children at primary schools in their feeder areas.
They’ll all be coming together at the finale concert to perform their individual songs and the evening culminates with all 500 youngsters performing a special song written by Wren’s professional musicians.
Sing Plymouth 2014 began at the start of the school year last September. Since then, the students – aged nine to 17 – have been working hard to perfect their song-writing, coaching and performing skills. They’ve been helped all the way by Wren team members Sarah Owen, John Dyer, Marilyn Tucker and musical director Paul Wilson.
The concert is entitled Hear the Rainbow, as Paul explains: “The theme of the songs is set by the students themselves and they came up with Hear the Rainbow. They wanted the songs to reflect a ‘rainbow culture’, an all-inclusive, broad-based society, which is just a brilliant theme for them to write their songs about.
“And they are five great songs. They’ve borrowed elements of pop songs that are in their heads and we’ve added a folk flavour to them. The result is five very catchy, singable tunes.”
One of the important parts of the project is the bringing together of older students with younger children: “They’ve all got a real buzz out of that,” said Paul. “The older children have really enjoyed teaching the younger ones.
“They’ve also learned how to shape words and lyrics in a way that is meaningful; they’ve learned how to make lines rhyme that are singable; they’ve acquired coaching skills and they’ve learned how to run a vocal warm-up.
“The level of self-confidence has shot through the roof. One of the teachers has said it’s been a great leveller, with some students really stepping up and making their mark. And a number of the children have said ‘I never thought I could do this’ but in fact they’ve discovered something they have not only enjoyed but have excelled at. It’s been quite extraordinary how the students have developed during this project.”
The 75 minute concert gets under way at 6.30pm and Paul says it will be an experience that will live in the memories of the young performers for a long time: “What a great night it will be for them.
“They’ll get to sing the song they’ve been working on and they’ll hear all the others for the first time. Each of the five groups will also sing a showcase song of their own on the main theme and the concert ends with everyone singing our specially written song, Hear the Rainbow, from which the finale takes its name.”
There will also be specially-shot video clips and live musical accompaniment to all of the new songs.
Wren’s professional musicians will be there on the night but as Paul said: “This is a night for the youngsters to go out there and have a brilliant time.”
Hear the Rainbow is at Plymouth Pavilions on Thursday 12 June, 6.30pm. Tickets are £6 for adults; admission for under-16s is free. Contact the Pavilions Box Office on 0845 146 1460.
The 20 schools that have taken part in the project are:
Notre Dame RC School
King’s School
St Joseph’s RC Primary School
St Paul's
Lipson Co-operative Academy
Elburton Primary
High View
Mount Street
Plymouth High School For Girls
Beechwood
Oakwood
St. Andrew's
St. Boniface Catholic College
Pennycross
Shakespeare Primary School
Stoke Damerel Community College
High Street Primary
Longcause Community Special School
Stuart Road Primary
Morice Town Primary
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