Musical youth gain skills for life You may think joining a brass band or a choir is just about music, but according to the organisers of two groups we support, there’s a lot more to it than just hitting the right notes. Over the years, thousands of youngsters have passed through the ranks of the Lincoln Beevor Bands and the Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir. All of them have left with an obvious talent - the ability to play a brass instrument or to harness the power of their singing voice - but they’ve also gained other skills which will help them during the rest of their life. The Lincoln Beevor Bands are made up of a beginners group, a Youth Band and a Senior Band. The ethos behind the organisation is to give people, both adults and children, a chance to learn a brass instrument at minimal cost. Instrument hire, music books and even tuition is free. Lincolnshire Co-operative is sponsoring the bands for three years, which helps them continue to offer this unique service. Beginners are taught by ‘mentors’ who are experienced band members. Musical National recognition for choir The BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year contest is always hotly contested and this year, the Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir beat tough opponents to claim the title. The Grand Final, which was broadcast live on Radio 3 and screened on television on BBC 4, took place at Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank. Here, Soprano Nikki Blackburn (15) remembers her day... nervous. I was dreading it in a way because we had been training for so long and we didn’t want to mess it up. There were a number of rehearsals when we arrived including one for the cameras where we sang our programme and the cameraman worked out who to focus on and what shots to get. It actually helped with our nerves because we knew what to expect. The other choirs were really good and we knew we had to give it everything. The microphones were so sensitive that if “ 4 We had to get the coach at 5am and the atmosphere was very quiet on the way down to London. Everyone was tired and previous page next page