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| Major Fours in West Major College, Paisley with NYCOS Inventive Director and Founder Christopher Bell (with the hat), NYCOS Singing Time presenter Holly Clelland (with the crimson hair) and acclaimed Scottish tenor Nicky Spence (with the crimson tie) |
This yr the Nationwide Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCOS) celebrated its thirtieth anniverary, the choir launched a wide range of intiatives that go properly past the live performance all.
As NYCOS Singing Time launched in major faculties throughout Scotland from September, offering free entry to songs, singing video games and educating sources designed to convey the enjoyment of singing into lecture rooms nationwide, NYCOS Inventive Director and Founder Christopher Bell, NYCOS Singing Time presenter Holly Clelland and Scottish tenor Nicky Spence joined Major Fours in West Major College, Paisley to have fun the launch.
Created because the centrepiece of NYCOS’s thirtieth anniversary celebrations, the initiative brings collectively three a long time of experience in youth singing, musicianship and music schooling. That includes 15 songs and accompanying singing video games, the useful resource is designed to assist youngsters expertise the enjoyment of singing whereas creating musical understanding by means of play. The movies had been directed and edited by Lewis Landini and have three younger presenters – Connor Going, Holly Clelland, and Tawana Maramba.
The launch comes at a time when many academics report feeling much less assured about educating singing and music within the classroom, whereas alternatives for younger folks to sing collectively have declined. NYCOS Singing Time goals to take away these limitations by offering a free, easy-to-use useful resource that may be accessed by any major faculty, no matter musical expertise or funds.
.png "Primary Fours in West Primary School, Paisley with NYCOS Artistic Director and Founder Christopher Bell (with the hat), NYCOS Singing Time presenter Holly Clelland (with the red hair) and acclaimed Scottish tenor Nicky Spence (with the red tie)") |
| Major Fours in West Major College, Paisley with NYCOS Inventive Director and Founder Christopher Bell (with the hat), NYCOS Singing Time presenter Holly Clelland (with the crimson hair) and acclaimed Scottish tenor Nicky Spence (with the crimson tie) |
Based mostly on the Kodály ideas which have formed NYCOS’s academic method for 3 a long time, the useful resource makes use of video games, motion and age-appropriate repertoire to assist youngsters take up musical ideas naturally and joyfully. The songs span a spread of traditions and languages, together with English, Scots and Gaelic, reflecting each Scotland’s cultural heritage and NYCOS’s perception that singing must be open and accessible to all.
On 16 September, NYCOS launched a brand new Glasgow Regional Choir, increasing its community of regional choirs and creating alternatives for much more younger folks to sing repeatedly of their native communities.
Earlier this yr, the organisation launched the NYCOS BSL Youth Choir bringing collectively Deaf and listening to younger folks from throughout Scotland in what’s believed to be the primary ensemble of its sort in Scotland. Developed in partnership with main accessible music practitioner Paul Whittaker OBE, the choir permits younger British Signal Language customers aged 14-18 to expertise the creativity, connection and shared expression of choral efficiency by means of signal language. The ensemble made its debut on the Opening Ceremony of the Scottish Parliament on twenty seventh June 2026.
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| NYCOS BSL Youth Choir in a landmark efficiency on the Opening Ceremony of the Scottish Parliament on Saturday 27 June 2026 (Photograph: Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament, © Scottish Parliamentary Company Physique) |
The celebrations culminated with NYCOS’s thirtieth anniversary tour and a landmark gala efficiency at Edinburgh’s Usher Corridor on thirteenth September. On the coronary heart of the programme was Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, a piece that holds a particular place in NYCOS historical past as the primary main piece carried out by the choir when it was based in 1996, then comprised of solely 60 singers. In August 2026, the choir carried out the work in Paisley, Aberdeen and Perth alongside regional choirs from throughout the nation. The gala efficiency at Usher Corridor will convey collectively 170 younger singers with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
