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Songs of Praise announces the winning
school choirs for 2006
The winners of the Songs
of Praise 2006 School Choirs Contest on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ ONE were announced yesterday
(Sunday 9 April) in a gala concert hosted by Aled
Jones and recorded
at the prestigious Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
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The award for the best Junior Choir went to Sketchley
Hill Primary School, from Burbage in Leicestershire, while
one of the runners-up from last year - St
Aidan's C of E School from Harrogate in North Yorkshire - was
awarded the title for best Senior Choir.
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Each winning choir receives a trophy and £1,000 in
prize money as well as the opportunity to appear on national television
and radio.
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Both choirs were highly praised by this year's panel of judges, Katherine
Jenkins, international soloist and the fastest-selling female opera
singer since Maria Callas; Rev Bazil Meade, founder and director of the London
Community Gospel Choir; and the chair of the panel, Malcolm
Archer, organist and
director of music at St Paul's Cathedral, London.
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The judges were full of praise for Sketchley Hill Primary School.
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Malcolm
Archer said: "There was an exciting unity to the singing and a crispness which
was very dramatic. The
repertoire choice was impressive."
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Katherine Jenkins: "As performers they
were very committed with each single member of the choir appearing
really expressive with their eyes."
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And Bazil Meade: "Occasionally
children may not always appear synchronised in their movements,
but this is greatly helped by being able to relax and enjoy their
singing."
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Malcolm Archer described St Aidan's School's performance of O Thou Who Camest
from Above as "beautiful".
He added: "The choir had tremendous communication and were confident performers."
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Katherine Jenkins said that it was "lovely to see
so many men singing in there and really beautiful men's voices. They
sang really confidently and had great technique".
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Bazil Meade agreed that the inclusion of male voices
gave the performance particular resonance. "The
men gave the group a deep and rich sound. Good facial expressions
showed that they were enjoying and meaning every word of the
lyrics."
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The two runners up in the junior category were Heath Mount
School from Hertfordshire and St Philomena's School from
Frinton-On-Sea in Essex.
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The finalists in the senior section were St
Angela's & St Bonaventure's 6th Form Centre from Newham in London
and Bootham
School in York.
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The judges were full of praise for the very high standard of performance, originality and enthusiasm from all the choirs.
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Currently in its fourth year, the Songs of Praise School Choirs Contest aims to introduce a new generation to the pleasures of singing, to breathe new life into classic hymns and songs and to showcase some of the UK's very best young singers.
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The schools entered by sending in an audio tape of their choir's performance. Songs of Praise producers then visited the short-listed schools to hold workshops, give musical advice and make a short film of the choir's performance before choosing six schools for the final.
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