Nottingham Youth Voices singers chosen for the Cultural Olympiad!

We are pleased to announce that Ruth Hindmarsh, Emily Hodkinson and Charlotte Vivian of Nottingham have won places in the new national choir which will perform at the 2012 London Olympics and Cultural Olympiad.

Only seven singers between the ages of 16 and 21 from Nottinghamshire have been selected for Youth Music’s Voices Ensemble.  The girls are thrilled to have been chosen out of thousands of auditionees.  Choir member Ruth said “I am absolutely delighted, when I found out I had got into the choir I couldn’t believe it.”

Ruth, Emily and Charlotte were among several young singers put forward by Nottingham Youth Voices. Following the first round of auditions in January at the Royal Concert Hall, all three were invited to a second audition in March where they had to perform two solo songs in front of a panel of judges.

When asked what helped her cope with the challenge of the audition and just how she came through it with flying colours, Charlotte said, "Taking part in Music for Everyone’s workshops and being a part of their groups has helped prepare me for something like this throughout my life. I sung in their Vocals events for practically my whole childhood, and joined their girls’ choir, Nottingham Girls' Voices, when I was 10. Now I’m in their top youth choir, Nottingham Youth Voices. I’ve gained massive confidence with my singing from Music for Everyone, and some great performance opportunities." 

Conductor of Nottingham Youth Voices, Joe Shaw, expressed his delight with their success. “We are very proud of our singers. This will be a great opportunity for them and we are looking forward to seeing them perform, not only for the country, but also as representatives of Nottingham Youth Voices.”

As members of the special Youth Music Voices Ensemble, Ruth, Emily and Charlotte will perform an extensive repertoire of songs and arrangements specially commissioned for the lead into the 2012 Olympics. 

Rehearsals start in July and all three singers are really looking forward to meeting the other choir members and creating a fabulous new sound. Ruth says “I am really excited, the Cultural Olympiad is going to be brilliant. We’ll be performing all over London in the run-up to the Olympics themselves.”