58 members of the choir performed in three classes at the Portsmouth Music Festival. The choral adjudicator Angela Rowley said that the choir sang with a “beautiful legato sound”, with “well-balanced part singing” and “well-contrasted programmes”. RYC was awarded a distinction for both the “Own Choice” and “Popular Songs” classes and was awarded the Florence Greaves Cup No.2 for the latter performance.  In the final “Songs from the Shows” class the choir impressed the adjudicator with renditions of “On my Own” and “I Dreamed a dream” from “Les Miserables”. She congratulated the choir on its “impressive sense of phrasing” and its sensitive and supported harmony lines. In conclusion she commented:- “Beautifully performed. Extremely well done. It was a privilege to listen to and watch this performance”  and awarded us an honours category, the Bullin Rose Bowl for the class and the Bertram Bradshaw Trophy for the performance that had most impressed her during the whole day.

The full adjudication details are available on the members blog.

We have now uploaded some footage from the Christmas Concert in Romsey Abbey in December last year. click here

Friday 15^th November 2013

ROMSEY ABBEY, Romsey

The Romsey Youth Choir was one of the groups invited to perform in the “Generations Concert” alongside the Mountbatten School Big Band, Barton Peveril 6^th Form College Choir, Romsey Abbey Primary School Choir and the Romsey Male Voice Choir in a very full Abbey in aid of George’s Trust.  RYC performed 6 songs,  “Let the Rivers Run”, “With a Little Help from my Friends” and “Only Time” in the 1^st half and “I Dreamed a Dream”, “The Rose” and “Swing Low” in the second. As a finale all the groups massed on the stage to perform “The Freedom Song” – a specially arranged medley of songs in remembrance of Martin Luther King and the US civil rights campaign.

Maisie and Patrick’s solo opening lines set the song rolling, with beautiful controlled singing from the junior choir then joined by the RMVC and the RYC, moving into a more upbeat tempo with the Big Band and the gospel choir sound from the Barton Peveril Choir before it reached its final climax with everyone in full voice.  It was a really stunning evening with many parents saying it was one of the best concerts they’d experienced in the Abbey.   This was the largest choir the RYC has staged to date with over 70 choir members singing.  Over £3000 was raised for this very worthwhile local charity.