The Hampshire County Children’s Choir was formed by Lissa Gray in March 1992 at the request of the Hampshire Music Service. Membership is drawn from Children from Hampshire schools who are aged 9-14, the children represent the best the county can offer. The girls stay until 14 years of age and then move to the youth choir at the end of the academic year to avoid losing members just as we are about to sing in a concert. Therefore the girls will start the new choir in September, when they will also be starting new music. The boys need to move as their voices change and they become unable to sing in the treble or alto register.
Current Members are drawn from schools located in : Andover, Alresford, Alton, Chandlers Ford, Curdridge, Eastleigh, Gosport, Hook, Hursley, Liss, Lymington, Romsey, Ropley, Southsea, Stockbridge, Southampton, Swanmore, Waterlooville, Winchester
Since 1992 the Choir has achieved a great deal, singing in the Great Hall, the Guildhall, The Winchester Cathedral, and also in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London as finalists in the Music for Youth Festival and also in the Royal Albert Hall. Over the years they have visited Germany, Guernsey, Norway, Brussels, Chester, Northumberland, Isle of Wight and have been hosts to Choirs from some of these countries too. The Choir has also been involved in a number of recordings for radio and television and regularly take part in the National Festival of Music for Youth.
The Choir has a network of ‘Friends’ who support the work of the director by organising fund-raising events. The ‘Friends’ are made up mainly of parents of members and their help is vital to the success of the Choir. The Choir receives and annual grant from the Hampshire Music Service, but also relies on donations, concert revenue, sales of cassette tapes, CD’s, and sponsorship money.
Hampshire Music Service
The Hampshire County Children's Choir is part of the Hampshire Music Service, which is responsible for maintaining over 70 area and county music ensembles across Hampshire. These groups enjoy a high profile and an envious reputation locally, nationally, and internationally.
The Music Service is part of Hampshire County Council, and it provides instrumental and vocal teaching to thousands of Hampshire children, taught by over 200 specialist music teachers. Through the service, schools and teachers are also able to obtain high quality music curriculum Inspection, advice and classroom teaching. These opportunities and resources bring to many children the experiences, excitement, and rewards of taking part in musical events, festivals and concerts as members of school, area and county bands, orchestras and choirs.
The latest audit of instrumental teaching showed that Hampshire Music Service is teaching 21,000 instrumental pupils in schools and colleges each week, making it one of the largest music services in the country. An exciting recent addition to its work is the innovative Listen2Me project, in which every pupil in a Key Stage 2 year group has the opportunity to learn to play up to three diferent instruments and to sing. This Wider Opportunities scheme is supported by Government Standards Fund and is part of a sustained national pledge to increase access to music for all pupils.
To find out more about the work of Hampshire Music Service, please visit our web site at www.hants.gov.uk/education/hms. Alternatively, just click on the Hampshire Music Service logo above.