Junior Semi-Final Songs of Praise

Welcome to Sheffield, the city of steel,

and the 2016 School Choir Of The Year competition.

After months of preparation and rehearsals,

our junior semifinalists shortlisted from hundreds of entries

are here to sing and hopefully win a place

in the grand final on April 24.

I'll let you into a little secret, they're all fabulous.

We're in for a treat.

APPLAUSE

I'm surrounded by talented youngsters

here in Sheffield City Hall for this, our first semifinal of 2016.

All six junior school choirs are itching to sing,

so I think it's about time I introduced them.

I wonder if we have any rowdy supporters out there in the hall?

Let's find out.

From London, it's Blackheath Preparatory School.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Show some support for Hereford.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Please welcome Unicorn School.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

From Huddersfield, it's Lindley Junior School.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Next up, it's Heath Mount School from Hertfordshire.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

And Queen's Lower School.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Some wonderful banners there. Thank you so much for the support.

It's time to introduce three experts

who have unenviable job of choosing our finalists.

Our first judge is West End star Connie Fisher.

# I won't be... #

Connie shot to stardom when the public chose her

as their Maria in the popular BBC talent show.

She went on to receive rave reviews in the Sound Of Music

and now it's her turn to choose the winner.

# The hills are alive... #

I am most looking forward to seeing a choir that really moves me.

Some of the pieces they have chosen are brilliant.

They are songs of praise.

But I think when you're singing,

I want to see passion, I want to see a performance.

Our next judge is choral connoisseur Ken Burton.

Ken tasted success when he won Choir Of The Year

with London Adventist Chorale.

It was the first of many awards

for this talented musician and choral composer

and with all his experience he's expecting great things.

I am really excited about judging the School Choir Of The Year.

Over the last couple of decades

I've been involved in choral competitions

and I've seen how choirs have grown

and they have become a lot more ambitious.

So I'm really looking forward to seeing

what the choirs are going to pull out of the hat this time.

Our final judge is international superstar

mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins.

Catherine is one of the most successful

classical music crossover artists in the world,

with her albums hitting the number one spot six times.

She is the nation's favourite, and Forces sweetheart,

but who will she choose as her stars for the future?

It's a big thing for me. When I was a chorister I learnt so much.

It was such a wonderful, positive experience in my life

and I think it's just going to be so fantastic to see the talent,

the abilities, all the hard work coming together

and it's going to make us all proud, I think.

Our judges - Katherine Jenkins, Ken Burton and Connie Fisher.

APPLAUSE

The judges will now hear each of our choirs in turn

and based on that performance alone will select three

to go on to the grand final on the 24th of April.

First up is a Blackheath Preparatory School from London.

# Those who dwell in the shelter of the Lord. #

Hello and welcome to Blackheath Preparatory School.

We are in south-east London and as schools go, it's not that bad.

DRUMMING

Here at Blackheath Prep we're lucky enough to play these bad boys.

These are taiko drums that we get to play in the spring term.

DRUMMING

We're just having a quick rest. We love our sports here at school.

There's a whole different range from football to netball, rounders to cricket.

We just love getting out of the classroom and letting off some steam.

Come on, we really don't want to get caught.

We hope you have enjoyed having a little look inside our school.

This is Ted.

He's our choir mascot and we'll be taking him to the competition.

Ted stands for 'Tuning, Energy and Diction'.

Let's hope we can do that on the day.

# I danced in the morning

# When the world was begun

# And I danced in the moon

# And the stars and the sun

# And I came down from heaven

# And I danced on the earth

# At Bethlehem I had my birth

# I danced for the scribe

# And the Pharisee

# But they would not dance

# And they wouldn't follow me

# I danced for the fishermen

# For James and John

# They came to me

# And the dance went on

# Dance, then, wherever you may be

# I am the Lord of the Dance said he

# And I'll lead you all

# Wherever you may be

# And I'll lead you all

# In the dance said he

# I danced on the Sabbath

# And I cured the lame

# The holy people

# Said it was a shame

# They whipped and they stripped

# And they hung me high

# And they left me there

# On a cross to die

# I danced on a Friday

# And the sky turned black

# It's hard to dance

# With the devil on your back

# They buried my body

# And they thought I'd gone

# But I am the dance

# And I still go on

# They cut me down

# And I leapt up high

# I am the life

# That will never, never die

# I'll live in you

# If you'll live in me

# I am the Lord of the Dance said he

# Dance, then, wherever you may be

# I am the Lord of the Dance said he

# And I'll lead you all

# Wherever you may be

# And I'll lead you all

# In the dance said he

# I am the Lord of the Dance

# Said he

# Lord of the Dance. #

APPLAUSE

Blackheath Preparatory School.

APPLAUSE

I thought they were brilliant. Katherine, never easy going first.

-What did you think?

-I loved how you came straight on to the stage.

You looked very relaxed, very at ease.

You didn't look nervous at all.

Straight away, the thing that struck me was your diction.

It was so beautiful. I could hear every single word. So well done.

A really, really lovely performance.

Katherine Jenkins liked you! That's great!

Ken, what did you make of the blend of voices?

It was one voice and that is what you want to hear in a choir.

But even though it was one voice, we still had character,

we still saw individual personality coming out.

One thing I would also say is that

when you were doing that penultimate note,

that long 'he', I believe it was,

make sure you keep a little bit in reserve

so you can make a lot more of that crescendo at the end.

It would be really powerful.

But a fantastic choir and going first,

I pity the choir that goes second.

Thank you very much.

-Connie, they have set the bar really high, haven't they?

-They have.

They came on, smiles just lit up the room.

I think I would have liked a little bit more dynamic within the song.

But you had great attack and great passion.

Thank you very much judges and thank you Blackheath.

APPLAUSE

I thought that they were very positive comments and actually right.

I think the diction is good.

The dynamics, I've said to the children about being dynamic.

They told the story and I'm really proud of all of the children in my school.

I'm really proud of them.

If we get through to the final I will feel like the happiest

person on Earth and I think the whole choir will as well.

Next to sing is Hereford Cathedral Junior School,

so let's find out more about them with Cameron and Anna.

# I am just one small voice in the middle of the crowd... #

Hello. We are Hereford Cathedral Junior School choir.

Everyone in our school loves to sing.

Every morning we gather into the assembly hall

to sing hymns all together.

Wherever you are in the school, you can always hear somebody singing,

whether you like it or not.

# The smallest one I ever saw... #

In choir, we sing serious songs but we saying silly songs too.

# And now he's gone and that's the end... #

We work hard in rehearsals but have a good laugh as well.

# He was my friend. #

Here at school, it's not just hard work. We do have fun as well.

# This is our dream... #

This is our first time in the competition.

We are all really excited.

In the semifinals we're going to be singing

This Little Light Of Mine.

BOTH: Watch out for our moves!

# This little light of mine (This little light of mine)

# I'm going to let it shine

# This little light of mine (Light of mine)

# I'm going to let it shine (Going to let it shine)

# This little light of mine

# Yes, I'm going to let it shine

# Let it shine

# Let it shine

# Let it shine

# This little light this little light

# This little light this little light

# This little light of mine

# I'm going to let it shine

# This little light of mine

# I'm going to let it shine

# This little light of mine

# Yes, I'm going to let it shine

# Let it shine Let it shine

# Let it shine

# The light that shines is the light of love

# Hides the darkness from above

# It shines on you and it shines on me

# It shows what the light of love can be

# I'm going to shine my light both far and near

# I'm going to shine my light bright and clear

# Where there's a dark corner in the light

# I'm going to let my little light shine

# This little light of mine (This little light of mine)

# I'm going to let it shine

# This little light of mine

# I'm going to let it shine

# This little light of mine

# Yes, I'm going to let it shine

# Let it shine Let it shine

# Let it shine

# On Monday He gave me the gift of life

# Tuesday Peace came from above

# Wednesday He told me to have more faith

# Thursday He gave me a little more grace

# Friday He told me to watch and pray

# On Saturday What to say

# On Sunday He gave me the power divine

# To let my little light shine

# This little light of mine (This little light of mine)

# I'm going to let it shine

# This little light of mine

# I'm going to let it shine

# This little light of mine

# Yes, I'm going to let it shine

# Let it shine Let it shine

# Let it shine

# Let it shine Let it shine

# Let it shine. #

APPLAUSE

Hereford Cathedral Junior School.

APPLAUSE

Katherine, it's not easy to move and sing at the same time.

It's really not. You had so many things to think about there.

Blending all together, your words, your harmonies

and then when you are all trying to do movements like that together

you have to move as one or it stands out

and you did a fantastic performance.

You looked like you were really enjoying it,

so it put a smile on my face watching you.

I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much.

I love it when Ken Burton smiles and Ken Burton is smiling.

Well, the words, "let your light shine",

means you should spread an infectious joy

so people can join in with you and participate in your happiness

and we all did that.

It was absolutely fantastic.

I loved the different colours of your voice,

from the very whispery sounds to the more sung sounds.

That was very effective.

One thing I would say is be mindful when you have

so much interplay between the voices

that when new voices come in that the voices which are already in,

they just sit back a little bit to allow the new voices to cut through.

That will give it a lot more impact.

But fantastic overall.

And your light shone, everybody's lights are shining.

It's bright in here!

Thank you, judges, and thank you, Hereford.

APPLAUSE

It was lovely to have some great comments from the judges.

I thought the children did really well. I'm very proud of them.

It was lovely to have some positive feedback and some tips.

It went amazing.

I think we all just really enjoyed ourselves

and that was the main part.

Our third semifinalists are Unicorn School from London.

# Didn't it rain

# Children didn't it rain Oh, my Lord... #

Hello. We are the Unicorn School in Richmond.

We are lucky enough to be just across the road

from the beautiful Kew Gardens.

We are a really small school and we only have 170 pupils.

35 of them are in the Unicorn Singers. Come and meet them.

# My Lord didn't it rain... #

Here at Unicorn, we have a unique thing about our uniform.

We get to wear these very stylish duffle coats.

Even if we don't think they are very cool, we still have to wear them.

We've got this amazing rainbow.

It's called the Virtues Rainbow and it helps us with our behaviour.

Because sometimes we can be a little bit cheeky

and it just helps us to improve.

# Didn't it rain Children didn't it rain

# My Lord didn't it rain... #

I hope you have enjoyed seeing our school.

And we are really looking forward to singing in the competition.

We love singing and I hope you enjoy our performance.

BOTH: Bye!

# Didn't it rain. #

# Be still for the presence of the Lord

# The Holy One is here

# Come bow before him now

# With reverence and fear

# In Him no sin is found

# We stand on holy ground

# Be still for the presence of the Lord

# The Holy One is here

# Be still for the glory of the Lord

# Is shining all around

# He burns with holy fire

# With splendour He is crowned

# How awesome is the sight

# Our radiant King of light

# Be still for the glory of the Lord

# Is shining all around

# Be still for the power of the Lord

# Is moving in this place

# He comes to cleanse and heal

# To minister with grace

# No work too hard for Him

# In faith receive from Him

# Be still for the power of the Lord

# Is moving in this place. #

APPLAUSE

Unicorn School.

APPLAUSE

Ken, it's a really well known hymn. Did they make it sound fresh?

They did make it sound fresh.

There was a confidence, there was a command about this,

which was really fantastic.

What I would say is just try and use dynamics little bit more.

This piece, Be Still For The Presence Of The Lord,

it's a faith song really ushering us into the presence of God,

so just use a few more dynamics so that we can get that sense

of being before somebody awesome and majestic.

But well done. Fantastic.

Connie, you know all about competitions. They can be nerve-racking.

So nerve-racking but you didn't let it show.

I just thought you came out here so confident.

Those lovely legato lines, they won me over.

And your energy won me over.

I would say altos,

just watch the intonation on occasions of those runs,

but wow, I thought you had such a presence about you

and I was won over by your energy.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Unicorn. Thank you, judges, as well.

APPLAUSE

The children are amazing.

They put so much energy and effort into what they do

and I think they are the youngest choir here.

What they have achieved for their age is fantastic

and I'm very proud of them.

-Some of them were singing like their lives depended on it.

-I know.

When I was backstage I felt a bit nervous

but when I saw the crowd and all the Unicorn people

I got more confident about it and I thought we did really well.

We're at the halfway point, so there are still three fabulous choirs hoping to impress the judges,

starting with a choir from 25 miles up the road in Huddersfield.

It's Lindley Junior School.

# Our Father who art

# Who art in heaven... #

Hello. We are Lindley Junior School.

We have been in this competition before

and we can't wait to be in it again.

We have even won it before.

-This is my first time.

-This is my second.

ALL: This is our third.

This is my fifth.

LAUGHTER

Lots of people do gym in our school.

We don't just enter singing competitions,

we also enter gym competitions.

We are really lucky at our school because we have got a 3-D printer.

We can make cool things like these flowers and that car.

# Our Father who art in heaven... #

I hope you have enjoyed meeting the choir.

We love singing as a team because it makes you feel warm inside.

We hope to win another trophy just like this one.

I think we have just got enough room to fit another one in the cabinet.

# As it is in heaven. #

# Dear Lord and Father of mankind

# Forgive our foolish ways

# Re-clothe us in our rightful mind

# In purer lives thy service find

# In deeper reverence praise

# In deeper reverence praise

# In simple trust like theirs who heard

# Beside the Syrian sea

# The gracious calling of the Lord

# Let us like them without a word

# Rise up and follow thee

# Rise up and follow thee

# Drop thy still dews of quietness

# 'Til all our strivings cease

# Take from our souls the strain and stress

# And let our ordered lives confess

# The beauty of thy peace

# The beauty of thy peace

# Breathe through the heats of our desire

# Thy coolness and thy balm

# Let sense be dumb let flesh retire

# Speak through the earthquake wind and fire

# O, still small voice of calm

# O, still small voice of calm. #

APPLAUSE

Lindley Junior School, ladies and gentlemen.

APPLAUSE

Now then, Katherine, a beautiful, beautiful hymn.

That is my all-time favourite hymn

and actually the sound you made together,

it really gave me goose bumps.

That was such a wonderful lesson in how to sing together.

You really sang as one.

Your diction was fantastic. The dynamics.

It was just so wonderful to watch.

The one thing I would say, because the lines are long

I could almost see when you were getting to the end of the phrases

some of you showed it in your bodies,

so try not to overdo the breathing and the shoulders.

Try and keep yourself calm.

But that is me really nit-picking.

I thought it was beautiful. Really outstanding. Thank you.

-Connie, do you feel uplifted?

-I do, actually.

In fact, as you finished singing I heard the audience "Ah"

and I think that's a fantastic sign

of creating a really wonderful atmosphere.

You really told me what you are.

A still, small voice of calm, and you were one voice.

But you can also do dynamics, which really blew me away.

I really felt moved by that performance

and I would like to hear you again.

Thank you very much, judges, and a big thank you to Lindley.

APPLAUSE

I am so proud of the children. The performance was so good.

We have worked really hard.

I did ask for flawless and I think I got nearly flawless, so I am really pleased.

We have tried really hard to get all of it right

and learn the words and get all the right notes and things.

The performance felt energetic.

I think it's one of the best we have sung it.

Next to sing is Heath Mount School choir from Hertfordshire.

# If anybody asked you... #

Welcome to Heath Mount School.

In all our lessons we learn something new

and always have a great time.

And outside our academic life, we get up to lots of mischief.

This is sticky!

We don't just have lessons inside in the classrooms.

We also have a classroom outside.

-And we even come outside when it's raining.

-Yeah.

Our conductor, Mr O'Brien, has a slight problem with trousers.

He has so many, and look at this pink.

It's a girls' pink. It's not a boys' pink.

I mean, he's got too much trousers.

-You need sunglasses to see Mr O'Brien's trousers!

-I know, right.

Excuse me, I am the only one who wears green trousers around here.

Oops!

# So if you find another... #

I hope you enjoyed looking around our school.

Please cheer for Heath Mount.

BOTH: Go Heath Mount!

# Were you there

# When they crucified my Lord

# Were you there

# When they crucified my Lord

# Oh

# Sometimes it causes me to tremble

# Tremble

# Tremble

# Were you there

# When they crucified my Lord

# Were you there

# When they laid Him in the tomb

# (When they laid Him in the tomb)

# Were you there

# When they laid Him in the tomb

# (When they laid Him in the tomb)

# Oh

# Sometimes it causes me to tremble

# Tremble

# Tremble

# Were you there

# When they laid Him in the tomb

# (When they laid him in the tomb)

# Were you there

# When they laid Him in the tomb

# (When they laid Him in the tomb)

# Were you there

# (Were you there)

# Were you there

# (Were you there)

# Were you there. #

APPLAUSE

Ken, a stunning spiritual. Did they do it justice?

The song asks the question, were you there?

You were here. Right in our hearts.

We felt the sorrow at the cross.

There were so many levels to your soft singing.

You had from the soft to the very soft

to the very, very soft to the, you know...

We needed to be on the edge of our seats just to hear you.

That is a very powerful dynamic.

Softness is a very powerful dynamic in itself,

so you achieved that really well.

What I would say is that on some of your louder singing,

on occasion there was a bit of what we call over blowing in singing.

Just giving a little bit too much,

so the tone became a little bit hard and the tuning suffered slightly.

But when you came down again, we felt much more comfortable.

Connie, it was a very exposed performance, wasn't it?

It was. I think you were very brave to choose that particular piece.

I found that you had an incredible balance within your choir.

Lovely echoing within the sections.

It was one voice at times.

And it was really moving.

I would say it was pitchy at times

and it was so disappointing when those moments happened

because you have such a beautiful lyricism.

It was captivating, it really was.

There is an intensity about you,

that I wanted to listen to you all evening.

I think there is something really special about your choir.

Thank you very much judges. I don't know about you ladies and gentlemen, but I loved Heath Mount.

APPLAUSE

I was touched by a lot of the judges' comments,

mainly on the expression of the choir.

They really sing with their hearts and you give them a challenge and

this choir will do anything you want and they will always do their best.

We spend all our lives telling kids to be quiet

and they do quiet with class.

It was such an experience to be there on TV

in front of so many people.

It doesn't matter if you don't win. It is just so good to be here.

We are almost there. Just one choir to go.

But before we welcome them on to the stage,

let's find out a little bit more about Queen's Lower School.

# And porcupines and penguins... #

Hello. We are Queen's Lower School from Chester.

We are an all girls school.

-Which means we can concentrate better.

-Without the boys.

# O ye weasels and warthogs... #

So come on, let's meet the choir.

# Chipmunks and chuckwallas

# Kookaburras and caterpillars... #

We are here at the arts studio.

We love art lessons at Queen's.

It means we can express ourselves creatively.

And get a bit messy at the same time.

ALL: As a vampire, Victor was a bit of a dud.

Here at Queen's we have splendiferous speech and drama lessons.

# Parakeets and pelicans

# Porcupines and penguins... #

We hope you have enjoyed meeting our school.

In the semifinals we'll be singing Take This Moment by John Bell.

-It's a beautiful piece.

-And we love singing it.

-We hope you enjoy it.

# Bless the Lord. #

# Take this moment, sign and space

# Take my friends around

# Here among us make the place

# Where your love is found

# Take the time to call my name

# Take the time to mend

# Who I am and what I've been

# All I've failed to tend

# Take the tiredness of my days

# Take my past regret

# Letting your forgiveness touch

# All I can't forget

# Take the little child in me

# Scared of growing old

# Help me here to find my worth

# Made in Christ's own mould

# Take my talents

# Take my skills

# Take what's yet to be

# Let my life be yours

# And yet let it still be

# Let it still be me. #

APPLAUSE

Queen's Lower School, ladies and gentlemen.

APPLAUSE

Katherine, were you excited by this performance?

I was. I thought it was a very strong, solid performance.

Your tuning was great, your diction was great,

the performance was lovely, you make a lovely sound together.

I would have liked a little bit more projection.

I think you've got a little bit more in there that you could have given.

That's something to work on because you have these beautiful voices

so let's use them a little bit more.

Did the arrangement, Ken, show off their voices?

It certainly did.

This song is a prayer and that prayerful atmosphere

came across very effectively, so, well done on that.

Soloists... There was one soloist and it became a duet,

that was just so beautifully done.

You were confident, the voices blended really well,

it was beautifully in tune.

One thing I would say is that sometimes

when some of the phrases were going down,

some of the notes were going down,

occasionally it went a little bit too low.

So just keep tuning up and more accurate

to add to what was already a very beautiful sound

and a very beautiful atmosphere which you created.

So, well done, you ought to be proud.

Thank you judges and a big thanks to Queen's.

APPLAUSE

I think they're just the best group I've ever had.

They did the most beautiful harmonies and I was so proud of them

and so pleased with what they achieved.

There was a wonderful naturalness about that sound.

-There was.

-Not forced, really. It was good.

That went amazing. It was probably one of my best experiences.

I was really happy.

What a fantastic competition we're having here at Sheffield City Hall.

The judges have left to confer

and decide which three choirs will be singing in the final

later in the month and sadly whose competition will end today.

If you are struggling to make up your minds at home,

here's a look back at all six performances.

# I danced in the morning when the world was begun... #

I think Blackheath had a very polished performance.

The standout thing for me was their diction,

which they clearly worked very, very hard on and that required

a lot of practice time and a lot of focus during the performance.

# This little light

# This little light This little light

# This little light

# This little light of mine... #

Hereford Cathedral School, wow!

This Little Light Of Mine really shone.

# The light that shines is the light of love

# Lights the darkness from above... #

The way they sang those phrases,

it was lazy enough for the spiritual

but it had enough attack to really pull us in as an audience.

# Be still for the presence of the Lord... #

Unicorn came on stage brimming with confidence

and I watched every single face

and people really gave their all.

# Be still for the presence of the Lord... #

They phrased in a really, really, powerful way

and that made the song, indeed, very, very effective.

# Drop thy still dews of quietness... #

What I really, really loved about Lindley was that

they used just the different tones in their voice, different colours,

and we just heard so much character in their sound.

# Breathe through the heats of our desire... #

And also in this song is a wide musical range.

They've got to sing very low and sing very high

and sometimes when you're singing low you can get gravelly

and when you're singing high you can get screechy

but they were able to negotiate really, really confidently

whatever range they were singing.

# Were you there when they laid him in the... #

Heath Mount created a really beautiful atmosphere.

It was a very sort of honest, exposed performance.

# Sometimes it causes me to tremble... #

I really felt that they got what they were singing about

and they conveyed that to the audience incredibly well.

# Take this moment sign and space... #

I really enjoyed Queen's.

They had a great presence about them from the word go.

I loved their arrangement as well. Really clever.

# Take the time to call my name... #

And they really grew as an ensemble throughout the piece.

They surprised me.

I really felt that they took their moment on stage.

Well, the judges are back in their seats and I have six

very excited and nervous junior school choirs behind me

waiting to hear the results.

Judges, I'm going to ask you for the name of one choir

that's going through to the final, in turn.

Katherine, the first choir going through to the final.

The name of the first choir who will sing in the final is...

..Lindley Junior School.

CHEERING, WHOOPING AND APPLAUSE

Connie, the second choir going through to the final.

The second choir going through to the final

of School Choir of the Year is...

..Blackheath Preparatory School.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Ken, the name of final choir.

The final choir going through

to the Junior School Choir of the Year is...

..Hereford Cathedral Junior School.

RAPTUROUS ACCLAIM

Congratulations to Lindley, Blackheath and Hereford

and of course commiserations to our other semifinalists

who did us and themselves proud.

I'll be back next week for the senior semifinal

and, once again, we have six amazing choirs.

You don't want to miss it. Goodbye.