Ely Youth Choir
Welcome to Ely Youth Choir
Musical Director: Andrew Parnell
For the next generation of choral singers. No auditions, no fees, just first-class choral training.
Rehearsals
Every Monday in term time between 6-7 pm at the Parish Rooms, St Mary’s Church, St Mary’s Street, Ely. Please contact Jonathan Rogers at [email protected] if you would like to come along.
- If you love singing in a group, come and try our choir!
- For ages 11 and up. Experience is not essential.
- Wide range of music in great arrangements for young voices.
- No auditions and no fees.
- Weekly rehearsals 6-7 p.m. on Monday evenings in term time.
For more information, please email [email protected].
Ely Youth Choir is managed by Ely Choral Society, Reg Charity No. 802308.
Ely Youth Choir is Ely Choral Society’s community choir for secondary school age students. It was set up in 2010 so that young choral singers can access quality training in an after-school setting and take part in concerts and local events.
The repertoire is very broad, from Adele to Hairspray and Handel. There are no auditions and, currently, no fees. Membership is open to anyone in the age group who wants to sing. The choir participates in most Ely Choral Society concerts and performs at community and charity events in its own right.
For the past five years, EYC members have taken part in the annual Scratch® Youth Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall, in which up to 1,200 singers take part. Since 2013 the choir has hosted the biannual Ely Youth Choir Festival for youth choirs in our region. In 2012 EYC formed the Ely Integrated Youth Choir with students from Ely’s special school, Highfield Ely Academy. Further development of this choir is being funded by a grant from City of Ely Council.
The choir has been conducted by Andrew Parnell since its foundation. It is managed by a Steering Group of Ely Choral Society members. Ely Choral Society funds its core running costs.
Being in Ely Youth Choir
No auditions, no fees, just first class choral training.
Singing in a group is great! If you love singing, or think you’d like to try it, come and join us! Experience is not essential. Our free weekly sessions include voice training and rehearsal for performances. The group is informal, friendly and focused on learning and performing, and the repertoire ranges from Adele to Hairspray as well as Handel. You’ll learn valuable new skills from a top professional choir trainer and have the chance to take your interest in singing to a whole new level.
We rehearse on Mondays in term time from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the Parish Rooms, St Mary’s Church, St. Mary’s Street, Ely, CB7 4HF.
If you would like to join us, or come along for a ‘taster’ session, please fill in the form and we will be in touch.
Review of Summer Concert, 2018
A fascinating mixture of lively intriguing pieces made up the programme…The quality of the music overall was first class. Ely Choral Society was in fine voice, as expected, and Ely Youth Choir was a real highlight of the evening…Ely Youth Choir accompanied by Paul Stephenson really came to life, their singing strong and harmonies secure and well blended. The Soloist, Kimberleigh Hewson, was particularly impressive and their whole group of songs were vivacious explorations of delightfully jazzy rhythms or beautifully shaped and expressed moments of musical delight. Their songs included ‘Summertime’ from ‘Porgy and Bess’ by Gershwin, ‘Seed to Sew’ by M. Smith arranged by R. Emerson, ‘I know where I’ve been from ‘Hairspray’ by M. Shaimann arranged by M. Huff and ‘It don’t mean a thing’ by Duke Ellington arranged by C. Beale. Their section in the concert ended with a flourish, the singers’ actions adding to the already vivid and joyful performance.
Review of Ely Youth Choir Festival Concerts
“The Ely Youth Choir Festival Concert was a great success. Youth Choirs from North Suffolk and Ely along with the Cantiamo! Youth Choir gathered together for a day’s singing in a series of workshops as part of this inaugural Festival. The culmination of the event was a most uplifting concert. …The singers were in fine voice, creating moments of excitement and beauty….. What particularly impressed me was the natural beauty of the tone of these young singers. There was nothing forced about their production and they were obviously gaining a great deal from the experience. Also, although it would have been tempting to do, many of the songs chosen were not easy – there were a number of challenges to overcome especially with some of the more sophisticated harmonies and energizing rhythms. ….”
“The crème de la crème of local choirs met on Sunday for the second Ely Youth Choir Festival. Young singers rehearsed all day and performed a concert to a large appreciative audience at the end of the day.”
Press Review, Monteverdi Vespers
“Ely Youth Choir demonstrated significant improvement since when they were first begun and the clarity and strength of their singing was particularly impressive.”