Royal Greenwich Young musicians hit the high notes at the Royal Festival Hall

by our Staff writer | Greenwich

Four hundred and fifty young performers from across the Royal Borough of Greenwich made musical history last Thursday, 2 July, as they set the Royal Festival Hall rocking with a spectacular concert.

Singing Spectacular: Choir with Tommy Blaize perform
(Credit: RBG)

The “Celebrate Royal Greenwich Singing Spectacular” saw singers from 15 schools across the Royal Borough holding the spotlight for a 90-minute exclusive performance in the famous music venue on London’s South Bank. The Mayor of Royal Greenwich and other dignitaries were in the audience,

It was the first time that the Royal Borough’s schools had taken over the prestigious venue.

The event was jointly compered by Tommy Blaize, lead vocalist for the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing programme, who treated the audience and performers to some solid soul vocals in the latter stages. He co-hosted the show with musical director and vocal arranger Laura Baugh, who had coordinated the event on behalf of the Royal Greenwich Music Hub, with teachers from the participating schools.

Despite Tommy’s star quality he had was never in danger of upstaging the young musicians, who threw themselves wholeheartedly into a wide-ranging programme, covering genres as diverse as barbershop (Woolwich Poly school), chamber singing (St Ursula’s Covent School), a capella (Plumstead Manor School) and gospel (the debut performance of the Royal Greenwich Schools’ Gospel Choir).

Singing Spectacular - Massed Choir perform.
(Credit: RBG)

Other schools taking part were:

Primary schools - Brooklands, Windrush Charlton, Mulgrave, Sherington, Bannockburn, Deansfield, Halstow, Greenacres, Discovery and Eltham C of E.

Secondary schools - Crown Woods Stationers Academy and The Harris Academy Greenwich.

The Mayor of Royal Greenwich Cllr Norman Adams, said, “What a fantastic night! So often we hear only about the bad things that young people are involved in. Events like this serve to remind us how – with the right support and encouragement - young people can use their talents and creativity for the benefit of their schools and their community.”

Councillor John Fahy, Deputy Leader of the Royal Borough and Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “My congratulations go to all the singers for creating a truly memorable night. My thanks also go to their teachers and to staff from the Music Hub, who have succeeded in drawing out the very best from these young performers. It was great to see such a high level of enthusiasm and excitement – but what shone through even more than that was the consistently high quality of performance, and the level of musical ability."

“Greenwich is proud of our young performers, and proud that we can continue to offer such opportunities to large numbers of pupils to perform at the very highest level.”

Singing Spectacular - Gospel Choir perform.
(Credit: RBG)

The event was organised and promoted by the Royal Greenwich Music Hub service, which aims to give children and young people the opportunity to take part in music at the highest level.  It was also supported by the Greenwich Music Trust, which has just been relaunched with Jools Holland as patron. The Trust’s aim is to extend and enrich the musical opportunities and experiences of all children and young people in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

As an independent charity the Trust supports the work of the Royal Greenwich Music Hub – and in particular  it aims to ensure that all musically talented children and young people, whatever their background, have the opportunity to develop their talent and take part in events such as the one held last night at the Royal Festival Hall.

For more details about Greenwich Music Hub visit www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/musichub.

For more information on the Greenwich Music Trust, including how to donate, please email Terry Miller at greenwichmusictrust@hotmail.com.