Youth choir to sing live on Radio 3

Sunday 11 March 2018

37 young Jersey singers aged 10 to 18 from the Musical Originals Singers won't be spending Mother’s Day with their mums today- but they have a really good reason for missing the special occasion: they will be broadcasting live on BBC Radio 3 from 16:00.

The local youth choir will be featured by the BBC in an hour-long broadcast from The Sage Gateshead this weekend, as part of their ‘Free Thinking’ Festival.

Considered to be one of the best youth choirs in the country, Musical Originals currently hold the title of ‘National Children’s Choir of the Year.’ They were one of only four youth choirs world-wide to reach the Final of ‘Let The People’s Sing,' the most prestigious Choral competition in Europe, last October in Helsinki.

The members of the choir, both girls and boys, are no strangers to international exposure, having won several major international choral competitions with their signature repertoire of contemporary classical music. The estimated 2 million audience from the Helsinki broadcast was their biggest ever however and today's broadcast will also be heard world-wide.

Imogen Nicholls, the Choral director, said: "That one of the best youth choirs in the country comes from the tiny community of Jersey is testament to the extraordinary amount of hard work and dedication shown by these young people to their singing. I hope that they will make their mums - and many other mums - proud and delighted in Mothers Day."

The youngest member of the choir, Lucinda Morgan, who recently turned 11, said: "I am really excited to represent Jersey on Radio 3 but I am a bit nervous too as we are singing very difficult contemporary music at the Sage and we need to concentrate hard to get it all right. The composer will be listening from Kansas City! The choir is like a big family and we learn so much from each other and the older girls especially."