The annual Midsummer Young People’s Concert held in St Mary’s Church, Warwick on June 18th had an impressive display of talent which thrilled the audience with an exciting and eclectic programme. Organised by Warwick Rotary club and presented by Warwickshire Music, it was considered one of the best yet.
President David Smith welcomed Warwick Mayor, Cllr Neil Murphy JP, Cllr George Illingworth, Chair, Warwick District Council, and Cllr Bill Gifford, Mayor of Leamington Spa to the event as the church filled with some 200 children and parents from 8 schools.
Newburgh Primary choir and orchestra started the concert off with “Polka Dot”, before the choir sang a medley of songs ending with a traditional Irish melody “Shall I compare thee to a summer day”. Aylesford choir followed this with an enthusiastic rendering of “Hallelujah”, “Help!” and “Rule the World”.
This was followed by Woodloes Primary Year 3 who have enjoyed learning Djembe drumming this year with Warwickshire Music, drummers and choir combined to perform three pieces.
Next Myton School performed “Bohemian Rhapsody” with drums, guitar, piano and vocals followed by the “River flows in you”. These students have a great future and have auditioned to perform at this year’s Godiva Festival.
Children from Ridgeway Special school gave an enthusiastic performance of “Wake up”, “Jump Jim Joe” and other music supported by the Singing Playgrounds project.
Jacob Zhang a Chinese student at Warwick School fascinated everyone by playing a Chinese string instrument. The music was lyrical and transported the audience to a Chinese pier when a storm came and provided a complete contrast to earlier pieces.
Emscote Infants and All Saints school have been singing together as “Emscote Voices” since 2012 and are very enthusiastic about their singing. They sang “Feel the Light”, “The Fight Song” and “Reach out”, which the school encourages everyone to keep trying when life gets difficult.
Finally Kings High Girls percussion ensemble played “Tin Sonata” on pans, followed by “Bach’s Minuet”. The ensemble has been playing regularly throughout the year alongside other musicians.
Cllr Neil Murphy thanked teachers, parents and all the children for putting on such a talented concert. Rotary President David Smith gave a special thanks to Jeremy Dibb of Warwickshire Music for bringing all the children together. Rotarian Graham Sutherland compering the event explained that all proceeds from the school’s concerts go to supporting music in local schools. Over the last 7 years the club has been able to allocate around £12,000 to schools to purchase musical equipment, provide tuition and assist in funding choir and music training events.
Emscote Voices choir
Photo courtesy of Emscote School
Past Events