Training Choirs, North and South
Covering the age group 13 - 18, the National Youth Training Choirs achieve increasingly high standards of musicianship and excellence in performance.
For some young singers membership of one of the NYCGB Training Choirs is a stepping stone into the National Youth Choir and even a singing career, for others it is a wonderful experience of the enjoyment and satisfaction of singing while still at school.
Rehearsals
TC runs on a daily timetable, normally from 9.15 am to 9.00 pm. It is a flexible timetable, with a long break in the afternoon for games and relaxation or trips out.
The day always starts with a substantial warm-up session , taken either by a conductor or a singing teacher, in order to set the singers up for the day.
During each day, rehearsals are split into short blocks to aid concentration, and vary between sectionals, upper/lower voices, or full rehearsals. The day always ends with one of the full rehearsals, which can be taken either by the Musical Director or by an associate conductor.
Vocal training is at the heart of every rehearsal, with emphaisis on basic techniques and on adapting them to a wide variety of styles.
As well as this, the Training Choir is split up into two choirs - ‘X’ and ‘Y’. These two choirs perform separately in the concert, and give the choristers the feeling of being more important as they are in a smaller choir.
Sectionals
Sectionals for TC are slightly different to NYC in that they are taken by members of staff rather than by members of the choir.
These smaller rehearsals are set aside for note-learning , and are done in 4 groups - Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses.
As many of the staff who take sectionals also take musicianship it is easy to cross those skills over into the rehearsals.
There are a greater number of sectionals at the beginning of the week, leading to more full rehearsals later on.
Singing Lessons
During every course, each chorister is given two singing lessons by one of the associated singing teachers.
Each lesson normally lasts about 20 minutes, and if at all possible, choristers are given the same singing teacher on each course.
Musicianship
During the first 3 or 4 days of a Training Choir course, choristers are given musicianship lessons .
The two halves of the choir (’X’ and ‘Y’) are each split into 4 ability groups . The streaming for these groups is done using a short written musicianship assessment, and the resulting marks determine the singers’ musicianship group.
In these classes students learn the Kodaly sol-fa hand signals, which they then use as a platform on which to base pitching, sight-reading and general musicianship problems.
The classes also use games to learn more complex rhythm and pitch sequences. These activities are then used as an aid in sectional rehearsals.
Social
Social activities for TC are organised by the pastoral staff.
A long break in the afternoon allows for sports, though this is dependent on the school facilities. Wherever possible, football and pool tournaments occur, along with swimming, basketball and frisbee.
When the rehearsals finish in the evening, the staff lay on activities for the choir. Although these vary from course to course, they often include quizzes, ‘assassins’, discos, video nights and parties. Special attention is given to make sure that all members, especially new members, are joining in and enjoying themselves.
And of course, just like NYC, the National Youth Training Choir has a ‘Cabaret’ at the end of the course, where members share their party pieces or sing, dance or act.
