Page 2 - BYC Riga Experience Concert Programme

Welcome to the ‘Riga Experience Concert’!
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Barnsley Youth Choir Riga Experience Concert
We want to transport you for the evening to Riga – the beautiful capital city of Latvia. Latvia has a rich singing heritage and culture and Riga is its epicentre. Nicknamed ‘the Paris of the North’, Riga is also home to the largest concentration of Art Nouveau architecture in
the world.
Tonight will feel different to a normal concert and we hope to
give you a taste of how it will feel
to be in the audience in Latvia. There will be eager anticipation
and nervous tension as announcers introduce elite choirs from across the globe and they make their way onto the stage. Audience members will whisper in expectation as the choirs catch their first glimpse of the 7 lamps that illuminate the score cards of the international jury, their faces mere silhouettes against the eerie darkness of the
competition hall.
The next 20 minutes will seal the choir’s fate. Hundreds of hours of rehearsals at stake; clinical sessions that dissect every note, every word and every phrase. Such courage
is needed to calm the nerves and perform with freedom and expression. The margins for error
are unforgiving. The smallest of mistakes by one singer can ruin the choir’s chances and, in this extreme environment, it would be far easier to hide behind others and play safe. The choirs seek reassurance from the conductor and try to remain focused and calm and remember everything they have been taught. They leave the stage and unpick and scrutinise, resigned to the fact that they will not learn the outcome until several days later in an awards ceremony.
Barnsley Youth Choir will return
to Riga after making its debut in competition at the World Choir Games in 2014. The choir entered the ‘Open Competition’ and left with 2 Golden Diplomas, winning one of the categories. In 2015 we were hugely successful winning
3 Gold Medals and the Grand Prix in Magdeburg Germany in the 2nd European Choir Games.
This year the competition will provide a much sterner test.
There will be twice as many choirs involved, in excess of 200, and some of Europe’s ‘big guns’ will be up against us. We have high aspirations but it’s also important that we are realistic and do not place unfair
expectations on our young people. We are a youth community choir that rehearse once a week with volunteers. We will compete against highly trained adult choirs who rehearse daily with leaders whose only paid full-time job is to prepare the choir for competitions. Barnsley Youth Choir are the exception
to the rule and people still can’t comprehend that we are able to compete with these types of choirs.
Based on this BYC stands little chance of succeeding in the 3rd European Choir Games. That will be the opinion of some, but not mine. We will sing with passion, courage, honesty and commitment and do our best to represent our amazing town and country with pride. I have total faith in these young people. They will deliver exceptional performances and, irrespective
of any results, will continue to dumbfound the
choral world. Thank you for supporting our young people. We hope you enjoy this special evening.
Mat Wright
Musical Director Barnsley Youth Choirs