MORE than 70 schoolchildren performed in the historic surroundings of Hexham Abbey on Tuesday when they came together for Opera North’s Big Sing event.
Aged between six and 13 years the singers, from Chollerton Church of England First School and Hexham Middle School, were joined by students from Manor Community Academy in Hartlepool.
Accompanied by a chamber orchestra, the youngsters sang a selection of songs from Stephen Deazley’s Little Book of Monsters.
Excerpts from Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, with narration by Joseph Shovelton, also featured in the performance, which was conducted by David Cowan, Opera North’s head of music. Beforehand, pupils and teachers took part in workshops to develop and perfect singing technique. But the final performance was the first time all the children had sung together.
Jacqui Cameron, Opera North education director, said: “The Big Sing is a great way of engaging schoolchildren with singing while also giving them the opportunity to perform at an historic local venue with a world class orchestra.
The pupils have been particularly taken with this year’s monster theme and have worked really hard to master the music, some of which is quite complex.”
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