the volunteers, when Mat pops in and says “We cando a concert in 10 weeks”…..silence……..then thequestions came…..and many of theanswers….Emmanuel Church….. Staging from theHeritage Centre…….T Shirts…. a raffle and theprogramme etc.

I could continue like this for five years but I have tocut this short. The organisation of events and thegeneral running of the choir has fallen on thevolunteers and it is to them, the red brigade that Ioffer my unreserved thanks. You have dealt withroutine mundane tasks and then risen to thechallenges that have occurred, from a trip to Londonwith 120 young people under canvas, 2 visits fromHungarian choirs, and Bridgewater Hall inManchester and Huddersfield Town Hall were abreeze. Then you started to branch out andorganised trips to theme parks and adventureweekends which have become part of the calendar,first aid courses and those fantastic disco nights. Ibelieve that from that first concert there are 15people who have lasted the distance, musicians,M.D.s, parent volunteers and others. I have alsonoticed how my role has changed from that madmulti-tasker who was expected to know everythingto a much more sedate role. This is because thevolunteers have blended into a team and they eachhave their speciality, whether it is Debbie and Paulwith their merchandise and of course their splendidefforts to market the Christmas CD, Charlie lookingafter the music library, Bryn organising vans anderecting staging, Rachel in her counting house orJo measuring up for a new T Shirt. Thank you onceagain to all the volunteers.

We have a problem. As the choir continues, thechildren become young people and

eventually leave at 18, (though still manageto get on concerts), the problem is thattheir parents leave with them. No problem,because the volunteers from the children’schoir are moving up, but that leaves us witha shortage for the children’s choir. I wouldlike to make a suggestion. If your child is

Welcome from the Chairman

Welcome everybody to our Winter Concert. I havespent a lot of time over the last twelve months,reflecting on what has happened with the choirover the last five years. I remember the firstauditions and how we were swamped with families. I became welcomer, explainer, organiser,congratulator and consoler. Handing outregistration forms and crying for help. The weeksthat followed were just as chaotic but the help wasarriving - a few of the parents didn’t want to gohome and asked to stay. Gradually, they found theirniche and after several weeks of absolutepandemonium of, have we enough stools, do wewant the tall ones, who’s got the key for thekeyboard cupboard, who’s taking subs, who’s gotthe register, what music do we want out, what!Three new auditionees, multi tasking for thebeginner. Then a quiet cup of coffee and a changeof hat as Mat has got a letter to send to each childand that means 150 envelopes to be addressed byhand. I’m wittering on about a constitution, childprotection policies andthe nightmarethat was CRBchecks for all

in the choir, particularly the children’s choir, cometo the January rehearsals and talk to the volunteers,find out what their role is within the choir. Somewill be specific some will be fairly vague. They area friendly bunch always looking for a laugh and achat. Think where you could fit in as a deputy, orhave you a skill we could make use of. If you thinkwe are doing things wrong come and talk to me. Ihave just had a thought some of you could besigning up for 10 years or more. Give Ann Wroe,our secretary, your details and we can organisethings.

Well done the volunteers.Well done the musicians.Well done the Musical Directors.Well done the Patrons.Well done the choirs, especially for the CDWell done everybody associated with choir.

Sit back and enjoy the concert, don’t forget yourCD’s and your choir merchandise.The compliments of the season to everybody andhave a safe journey home.

Keith Norton

No Schneewaltzer?Welcome to the Christmas Concert 2013. It iswonderful to reflect on the fact that BYC hasnow been in existence for nearly 5 years. BYCis stronger than ever and the development ofour young people has been wonderful to see.Whilst the very nature of working with youngpeople means that there will always be atransient membership there are many that arelong-serving members. Around a third of theYouth Choir are formermembers of theChildren’s Choir andhave beenpromotedthrough theranks. Theyjoined theYouth Choirwith a clearunderstandingofexpectationsand havedeveloped

strong roots which allow them to blossom.Each year the Youth Choir loses star singerswho leave because they become too old orbecause they move out of area. At one timethis was a real concern because there was adisparity of experience and ability which ledto us becoming too reliant on them. We arenow a more accomplished choir with far fewerstand-out individuals. That being said, thereare some exceptional vocalists within the ranks.The choir now has a better blend and balance

and the number of new recruits in the boyssection, both in the Children’s and YouthChoirs, is particularly pleasing.

What….no Schneewaltzer? This is verymuch a new programme with just a fewpieces we have performed before.Indeed, it has been a challenge to puttogether in the time we have had. Theprogramme features the two tracks onthe fantastic Christmas Charity CD, ‘OHoly Night’ and ‘Winter Wonderland’and a nice mix of Christmas and non-Christmas music. The six African piecesthat start the second half offer a uniqueflavour to this evening’s performance.Highlights should include a

thunderstorm, a version of the JohnLewis Christmas advert and an

opportunity for audience membersto have a sing with us and get inthe festive spirit. We warmlywelcome back the talismanicSteven Roberts as our guestconductor. He has become aregular addition and, despitepressing conducting andadjudicating engagementsall over the world, we aregrateful that he has

managed to

keep the weekend free to come and support.We also welcome back Oliver Harris as ourguest soloist from his time at University inLondon. Oliver was one of the first youngpeople to be auditioned for BYC 5 years ago

and has become one ofour real stars. The

excellentCatherine Wroeand LeonaHayhoe returnfromScarborough

and CambridgeUniversity

respectively. It seems thatgoing to university does not diminish

their enthusiasm and commitment for BYC.

Finally I would like to pay testament to thebrilliant team of MD’s that work miracleswith our young people. Sharon, Eleanor,Leanne and Gareth are inspirational figuresand work tirelessly offering so much time,expertise and commitment. They are allwonderful role models.

Have a wonderful evening!

Mat WrightMusical Director

BYC CD Single

A huge focus of our efforts over the last fewmonths has been the production, promotionand launch of the Barnsley Youth ChoirChristmas CD. We would hope that everyoneattending our winter concerts is aware of theCD. However, you may not be aware of theexact nature of the work that has gone onbehind the scenes.

We must first go back to late 2012, when ateam led by Dan Jarvis MP formed to explorethe possibility of recording a charity Christmassingle that would showcase the talents of theBarnsley Youth Choir and raise funds for theBarnsley Hospice. With so many factorsinvolved, a timeline was established that wouldsee the single recorded during the winter of2012 for release in time for Christmas 2013.

Two pieces were chosen for the recording –Winter Wonderland for the younger children’s

choir members and O HolyNight for the older youth choirmembers. The highlyrespected producer andrecording engineer SimonHumphrey, a man with aninternational reputation withinthe music industry, offered tooversee the recording.

In November 2012, the BYCband was invited to Simon’sChairworks Studios inCastleford to record the musicthat would back the choir. InFebruary 2013, remoterecording equipment was usedto capture the choirperforming the tracks whereyou are currently sat, right herein Emmanuel Church. Therecording team included staff

and students from both the University CentreBarnsley and Huddersfield University. Therecordings were mixed during summer 2013and by September the finished tracks wereready to go.

In early October the marketing and promotionplan began to take shape, at which point thesale price of £2 per CD was agreed. Adedicated page for the BYC website wascreated that would specifically carryinformation relating to the CD and pressreleases for local media outlets, including theBarnsley Chronicle, were written and sent out. We approached Dearne FM and We AreBarnsley about giving the two songs anofficial first play, giving the CD vital radioplay a week or so before it was due to goon sale. Once the announcement hadbeen made in local press on Friday 11th

November, we then began a campaignusing our Facebook and Twitter pages topromote the CD through social media.

We initially ordered 3,000 CD’s to bemanufactured by local specialists RivieraMultimedia. Thanks to the generous discountthey offered, it was estimated that should wesell all 3,000 CD’s we would be able to donate£1.50 from each one sold. However, in thedays running up to the release of the CD, itbecame apparent that demand would faroutstrip the supply, with pre-orders from BYCmembers, local retailers and businessswallowing up the initial batch. We decidedto take the plunge and order 5,000 more,which landed with us last week. We are sofar overwhelmed by the popularity of the CD,but are urging people to continue their supportby buying copies for friends and family. They

are a fantastic Christmas gift and will not onlypromote the talents of our young people, butalso raise money for a very worthwhile cause.

A huge number of people from many differentorganisations have given their time, expertiseand commitment in order to produce the CDand have done so for no financial gain so thatas much money as possible can be raised forthe Barnsley Hospice.

We would like to take this opportunity to thankeveryone who has so far bought a copy of theCD and ask that people continue to supportand spread the word.

James DicksonBYC

Honley Male Voice Choir & BYC ConcertHuddersfield Town Hall, September 2013

When I began working with Honley MaleVoice Choir in January of this year, I knewimmediately who I wanted them to share thestage with....and that happened in Septemberat Huddersfield Town Hall.

I knew what having BYC in concert would belike but ‘The Boys’ were in for a treat andthey didn’t disappoint! The choirs disciplinewas evident from the moment they arrivedand their ‘Kodaly’ styled warm-up captivatedthe men of Honley.

This was a new partnership and I wanted it

to lead the way forward for like-minded peopleto share the stage, regardless of age and thisconcert proved just that!

There were many special moments throughoutthe concert, but my abiding memory wasseeing Honley MVC get down with the ‘kids’singing Take That!

Thank you to Mat, the musical team and themany volunteers who helped to make our nighta special one! I am proud to be GuestConductor of BYC and look forward to manymore opportunities to showcase this fabulouschoir. Enjoy your night!

Steven Roberts

Following the successful visit by the Miraculum choirin 2010 we welcomed in June of this year the worldsrenowned Hungarian Aurin Girls’ Choir with theirconductor/director Laszlo Duranyik.

The 5 day itinerary was very demanding for both forBarnsley Youth Choir and the Aurin Girls’ Choir.

The first morning of their itinerary consisted ofperforming assemblies with Year 7 and 10 at HorizonALC, followed by a workshop with the cast of ‘LesMiserables’, who were rehearsing for theirperformance at Horizon later in the year. Theafternoon involved workshops with many of theprimary schools in Barnsley. You would think thismay have been enough for the day, but then theyjoined Barnsley Youth Choir at their Thursday eveningrehearsals which was a real treat for both choirs.

The following day they were involved with a teachersKodaly workshop at Horizon and were then invitedto meet the Mayor and Consort at a Civic Receptionheld in the Town Hall together with a visit to the

newly opened Experience Barnsley which told themof the incredible story of Barnsley, told throughcenturies old artefacts, films and recordings donatedby local people which they found fascinating.That afternoon the Aurin Girl’s Choir attendedrehearsals at Emmanuel Church for their first concertof their visit. Behind the scenes at Emmanuel it wasa hive of activity as volunteers, lead by DebbieChambers, were preparing a buffet tea for over 60young people prior to their concert in the evening.

The main joint concerts during their visit took placein the impressive theatre within Horizon on theSaturday and Sunday with an audience of over 420each evening.

Rehearsals for these particular concerts wererigorous and both choirs, MD’s, the Band, youngambassadors from Horizon and the BYC volunteersworked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure thatthe evening was a success. Both concerts wereamazing and the culmination of both choirs singing

was inspiring. It was a real honour once again forthe Barnsley Youth Choir.

It is not just about the performances, but theintegration of the young people from Hungary withthe young performers of BYC. They have formedlasting relationships and are more aware ofdifferences in culture and of course are aware ofthe disciplines required to achieve such excellenceas seen from the Aurin Girls’ Choir when theyperform.

The Aurin Girls’ Choir did get a little break andmanaged to get some shopping therapy in atMeadowhall. It was an exciting time when they allcame back to show us their goods which consistedmostly of clothes from Primark which they hadbought for themselves and their siblings.

These performances are as you can imagine nevergoing to be easy to organise, but there is a marvellousteam of Barnsley Youth Choir volunteers who workendlessly during the year to enable the choir to

perform and provide an inspirational impact onaudiences and they can never be thanked enoughfor their continued support.

For my part I was given the task of securingaccommodation for 56 young people of the Girls’choir. Not an easy task you may think, but again thegenerosity from the people of Barnsley wasoverwhelming and before long accommodation wassecured and every girl had a lovely host family toensure that their stay in Barnsley was a happy one. It is without doubt that thanks must ultimately goto all the host families who kindly volunteered theirtime and kindness as without them it would beimpossible to host such a visit.

Many thanks once again to all involved with makingthe Aurin Girls Choir visit such a success and we lookforward to performing with them again in the nottoo distant future.

Ann WroeScretary Barnsley Youth Choir