We want to thank everyone who turned up to this wonderful event!
Following highly successful overseas tours to Lativa (twice), Germany and Sweden (as well as two fantastic trips to appear in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival) BYC is embarking on it's most ambitious and exciting trip to date. In August 2019 around 60 young people will travel to South Africa.
This trip follows the fabulous visit to Barnsley of Dr. Michael Barrett from Pretoria in October who led workshops, rehearsals and exceptional concerts with our choirs. Michael developed a friendship with Mat during the World Choir Games 2016 in Sochi, Russia where they were both part of the International Jury. Mat visited Pretoria in March 2018 to work with Michael's choir, Tuks Camerata, and a number of other groups and also worked again with Michael at the World Choir Games 2018 that was held in Pretoria. BYC and Tuks Camerata sang in a wonderful Friendship Concert together in Riga, Latvia and a close bond has developed.
Mat has also worked closely with a number of other colleagues including Bernard Kruger (Drakensberg), Renette Bower (Johannesburg), Ralf Schmidt (Ndlovu) and Lhente Mari-Pitout (Pretoria) who we hope to work with on our trip. This is a wonderful opportunity for BYC to work alongside some of the world's very best choral leaders and choirs and experience a very different culture. Our children will take part in rehearsals, workshops and concerts with some of the very best conductors and choirs in the world and the impact on them will be profound. They will also visit a cultural village and the Apartheid Museum in Soweto and learn about the history of the country. Despite an intense schedule of rehearsals, workshops and concerts we hope to squeeze in enough time to go on a game drive in a game reserve which will be an experience that Barnsley children will never forget.
Clearly the challenge of this visit will be raising the necessary funds to get out children there. We will be working really hard during the next few months to raise this money and hope that the local community will support what will be a life changing experience for young people in Barnsley. There are a team of amazing volunteers who are working tirelessly to ensure that all logistical challenges are overcome and that our young people have the best possible experience.
The tour includes working with famous choirs such as the Kearsney College Choir (Durban), the Drakensberg Boys Choir (Drakensberg), Tuks Camerata (Pretoria), Johannesburg University Choir (Johannesburg), Ndlovu Choir (Ndlovu), Rustenburg Boys Choir (Rustenburg) and potentially UP Youth Choir (Pretoria). Clearly this programme is still being finalised but it is a mouth watering prospect for our young people and we hope that people will really support them in raising the money that they need to go.
The picture below shows you to an overview of the trip. Clearly this is subject to change but we hope that it will provide an interesting insight. We can't wait!
