Youngsters have got the X Factor.
Solihull School’s choristers are enjoying the thrill of a lifetime after being invited to support Take That star Gary Barlow on his solo UK tour.
The independent school’s Chapel Choir accompanied the former X Factor judge at Birmingham’s LG Arena on April 8th and will be doing so again on April 19th. More than 40 members of the Boys’ and Girls’ Choirs are performing Sing, the official Diamond Jubilee song co-written by Gary and musical theatre composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Sing is one of 13 number one singles and 23 top 10 hits written by the leading singer-songwriter, a six-time recipient of the Ivor Novello Award. With Gary Barlow on piano, 21 of the choristers sang the work on April 8th and the remaining 20 will be singing it again on April 19th, all in full school uniform. Solihull School was approached after its Chamber Choir sang in BBC Radio 4’s Daily Service. The Chamber Choir also recently sang a new work written for it by leading choral composer Ben Parry at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Last year the King of Norway invited the Boys’ Choir to sing in Britten’s War Requiem at the Bergen International Festival. The choristers, all aged 11 to 16, gave a preview of what they are singing in their end of Easter term assembly, after rehearsing the work out of normal school hours with their Head of Choral Music Oliver Walker. Oliver Walker said: “Our choristers are thrilled to have been given the opportunity to accompany one of the world’s greatest singer-songwriters. “These are terrifically exciting times for Solihull Chapel Choir as it continues to build an outstanding national and international reputation.”