Senior Semi-Final Songs of Praise

Six of the very best senior school choirs in the country

are here in Sheffield for this year's prestigious

School Choir of the Year competition.

But who will impress the judges

and win a coveted place in the grand final on April 24?

Keep watching to find out.

There's something for everyone this week,

from modern worship songs through to spirituals.

And some choral classics

performed by school choirs who just love to sing.

APPLAUSE

Welcome to Sheffield City Hall and I can see that we have

plenty of supporters here for all our six senior semi-finalists.

It's going to be a fantastic showcase of choral talent,

thanks to these fabulous young singers behind me.

They fought off strong competition to win a place in the semi-final,

so let's meet them, shall we? Our first semi-finalists are Oakham School in Rutland.

APPLAUSE

From Cornwall, it's Truro School.

APPLAUSE

From London, Grey Coat Hospital.

APPLAUSE

Also from London, please welcome Twyford Church of England High School.

APPLAUSE

From Hertfordshire, it's Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.

And finally, St George's College in Weybridge.

APPLAUSE

We're in for a rowdy evening, and colourful too,

judging by all the banners out there.

Now, luckily, I don't have to decide our finalists.

We have an expert panel of judges for that.

Do you recognise the smile?

This little girl is now an international star.

# Fixed in us... #

It's the fabulous Katherine Jenkins.

I learned to sing with religious music.

I was a chorister back in St David's Church in Neath for ten years.

I love singing religious music and faith music as a result.

# Thee we would be always blessing... #

It is very, very heartfelt

and so that's something that I'll be looking for today

as a sort of technical approach, but I also want to feel

the emotion of the music from when it was originally written.

Our second judge began singing in his church choir

and grew up to be a musical tour de force.

# Mary, did you know... #

It's composer and award-winning conductor Ken Burton.

Competitions are good, because what they do,

they help choirs to learn from each other.

They see things and they say, "Actually, we can do this better,

"because we've seen how it's done well."

So I expect the standard is going to be very, very high.

Our third judge knows exactly what it's like to be a winner as a child...

and an adult.

# The hills are alive... #

It's Connie Fisher, winner of TV talent show How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

and star of the musical The Sound Of Music.

I'm most looking forward

to seeing a choir who are really in the moment on stage,

who are really going to blow us away with their performance.

It's all very well technically singing something beautifully,

but actually, if you're not present in the moment,

you might as well not turn up.

Our judges, ladies and gentlemen.

Katherine Jenkins, Ken Burton, and Connie Fisher.

APPLAUSE

Each of our choirs will sing their hymn or worship songs

and based on that performance alone, the judges will choose

three schools to go through to the final on 24 April.

So there's no room for error from our young singers.

The first choir hoping to wow Connie, Katherine and Ken

is Oakham School choir from Rutland.

CHOIR SING

Hello. Welcome to Oakham School.

It's in Rutland. You've probably never heard of it,

because it is the smallest county in England.

-But we do occasionally get out.

-Occasionally, yeah.

CHOIR SING

-Let's go and have a look round.

-Yeah.

Oakham School's been running the Duke of Edinburgh Award for almost 60 years.

In fact, we were the first school to reach 1,000 Gold Awards,

which we're pretty proud of.

You get to develop new skills, experience the great outdoors

and learn more about yourself.

Here we are in Art.

You can do everything here, from sculpture to textiles,

to just a drawing, if you want to.

Such a cool place to show your creative side.

-Creative side, Will?

-Yeah.

Has been known, in the past. Occasionally!

# I want Jesus

# To walk with me... #

We hope you've enjoyed looking around Oakham School.

And we're really happy to be singing in the competition,

because it is the taking part that counts.

But then again, a win would be nice!

# Walk with me. #

# Amazing grace!

# How sweet the sound

# That saved a wretch like me

# I once was lost

# But now am found

# Was blind

# But now I see

# 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear

# And grace my fears relieved

# How precious did that grace appear

# The hour I first believed

# When we've been there ten thousand years

# Bright shining as the sun

# We've no less days

# To sing God's praise

# Than when we'd first begun

# Amazing grace

# How sweet the sound. #

APPLAUSE

Oakham, ladies and gentlemen!

APPLAUSE

So, Connie - it's really tense in the hall. No sign of nerves there.

No! I have got goose bumps. That was an amazing Amazing Grace.

It was dynamic. The diction was fantastic

and not a sign of nerves from you guys

and it's not easy going first

in a competition which is bound to have a very high standard

-and you set the bar very high this evening.

-Thank you very much.

Er, Katherine, unaccompanied - that's brave, isn't it?

I know! To think that you came out

and you started in such an amazing fashion - well done.

Your tuning was perfect. Your diction was lovely -

there were a couple, if I'm really nit-picking -

there were a couple of end consonants which weren't quite together.

But you created such a beautiful atmosphere.

You really drew us in

and what a fantastic start to the competition. Well done.

Ken, I loved the arrangement. Didn't you?

That's my kind of music and it was beautiful.

I loved the way it began, because you really set the tone.

A couple of things.

At the end of phrases,

it would be really good if every single part could just keep

every harmony, every note, going right to the end of that line,

so we can hear the real richness in the harmony.

And also, the last verse, which is looking forward -

"when we've been there 10,000 years" -

I probably just wanted it to open out a little bit more.

I wanted to feel like I was in heaven at that point,

so just a little bit more muscle on the sound on the last verse

but that was just a wonder to listen to.

Thank you very much, judges, and round of applause for Oakham.

It's brilliant to have some guests with an outside view,

and also hearing what other people think,

not just when you're performing in a school or a different competition.

I think it went OK.

There were a few constructive comments there for us,

but it's quite hard up there in the hall.

The atmosphere is quite... You can feel the tension, definitely.

Our second semi-finalists are from Cornwall.

Let's meet Truro School choir.

CHOIR SINGS

Hi. We're Truro School Choir from Cornwall.

We're a Methodist foundation,

so we have weekly services in our beautiful chapel.

Let's go and meet the choir.

CHOIR SINGS

Here at the heart of the city,

we have the magnificent Truro Cathedral.

I used to be a chorister here - until my voice broke, of course.

Not only do we have the boys' choir,

we also have the recently formed girls' choir here.

All of the girls sing in our school choir.

We also share a conductor.

# Glory be to the Father and to the Son... #

This is our first time in the choir competition.

And we're really excited to be here.

In the semi-finals, we'll be singing Praise, My Soul, The King Of Heaven.

The choir really likes singing this piece, because we had to do some really great harmonies.

# ..Amen. #

# Praise, my soul The King of Heaven

# To his feet thy tribute bring

# Ransomed, healed restored, forgiven

# Who like me his praise should sing

# Praise him, praise him

# Praise him, praise him

# Praise the everlasting king

# Praise him for his grace and favour

# To our fathers in distress

# Praise him still the same forever

# Slow to chide and swift to bless

# Praise him, praise him

# Praise him, praise him

# Glorious in his faithfulness

# Father-like He tends and spares us

# Well our feeble frame he knows

# In his hands he gently bears us

# Rescues us from all our foes

# Praise him, praise him

# Praise him, praise him

# Widely as his mercy goes

# Angels help us to adore him

# You behold him face to face

# Sun and moon bow down before him

# Dwellers all in time and space

# Praise him, praise him

# Praise him, praise him

# Praise with us the God of grace. #

APPLAUSE

Truro, ladies and gentlemen.

So, Katherine, another really well-known hymn.

Did they do it justice?

Oh, you absolutely did.

Firstly, I have to compliment you on creating

such a big, beautiful classy sound.

You know, you're definitely projecting.

It was so wonderful to hear you sing as one.

Your phrasing was gorgeous.

Your breath control, just absolutely stunning.

The one thing I would like a little bit more -

I wanted to see a little bit more expression in your faces.

It felt a little bit controlled and - some of you are giggling,

so I feel like maybe that's been said before -

but I think, just to give a little bit more,

look like you're enjoying it, because I believe that you are.

You're creating a beautiful sound,

so I just wanted to see a little bit more in the faces.

Ken, it was a really disciplined performance.

The discipline was there.

There was poise, there was proficiency.

It was excellent singing.

What I wanted was for you to set us up a bit more in your faces

before you began, that you were about to sing a song of praise.

It's inspired by the Psalms.

So make sure that your faces, your body language,

the way you present, matches the words of the song,

which is really a hymn of praise and glory to Almighty God.

Thank you, judges, and a big round of applause for Truro.

APPLAUSE

I'd be really happy and excited if we got into the final.

I'll probably smile a lot.

It just felt really nice, yeah, to be here,

because we've travelled a long way.

Our third choir, waiting in the wings,

is Grey Coat Hospital from Westminster.

# Here's what I'll do... #

Hi. We're the Grey Coat Hospital School, a comprehensive

Church of England school situated right in the heart of London.

We are an all-girls school but we allow boys in in the sixth form.

Which is great, because I get to sing in this amazing gospel choir.

CHOIR SINGS

One thing that makes our gospel choir different and unusual

is the fact that we are led by one of our own students.

# Earthly poss-ESS-ion... #

THEY LAUGH

Singing is not the only thing we enjoy at Grey Coat.

We're also quite good at football.

You know, for a school that's all girls, they're quite good at it.

Please!

# I will trust, trust in the name of the Lord. #

I hope you've enjoyed having a glimpse of what it's like

-at the Grey Coat Hospital School.

-It really is a great place to be.

CHOIR SINGS

'In the semi-final, we will be singing Better As One Day,'

which is a wonderful worship song,

which allows our gospel choir to show our strong faith.

# Trust. #

# How lovely is your dwelling place

# Lord God almighty

# And my soul longs and even faints for you

-# How lovely

-How lovely

-# Your dwelling place

-Your dwelling place

# Lord God almighty

# And my soul longs and even faints for you

# Better is one day in your courts

# Better is one day in your house

# Better is one day in your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in your courts

# Better is one day in your house

# Better is one day in your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

-# Better is one day

-Better is one day

-# Better is one day

-Better is one day

-# Better is one day

-Better is one day

# Than thousands elsewhere

-# Better is one day

-Better is one day

-# Better is one day in your house

-Better is one day

-# Better is one day

-Better is one day

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in your courts

# Better is one day in your house

# Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in your courts

# Better is one day in your house

# Better is one day in your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day

# Better is one day

# Better is one day

# Better is one day

# Better is one day

# Better is one day

# Better is one day in your courts

SHE SCATS

# Better is one day in your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in your courts

# Better is one day in your house

# Better is one day in your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in your courts

# Better is one day in your house

# Better is one day in your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one day in your courts

# Better is one day in your house

# Better is one day in your courts

# Than thousands elsewhere

# Better is one...

# ..day. #

APPLAUSE

Grey Coat, ladies and gentlemen!

Ken, they're a seriously cool choir!

You took me to church, choir. Well done!

I felt the diction was excellent. The phrasing was good.

I loved the different colours.

The voices started off with this really easy sound

and you were able to build and pull back, so I liked that.

A couple of things. This is obviously a repeated piece.

In repetition, every repetition has got to be

something completely new, so build the song.

You know, you did some key changes, but as the song progressed,

I just wanted it to lift and lift and lift

and get caught up a little bit more in the song.

Also, be mindful in this type of music,

which is obviously very powerful on the harmonies,

to not overpush the voice and blow the chord out of tune.

Some tenors - those who were singing the lower part -

were just slightly out on that last note.

Er, but by and large, that was great. I was with you all the way.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much.

Connie, a lot of movements - did the singing suffer?

Oh, not at all. I absolutely loved it.

I mean, I loved your piece, and I liked the arrangement.

I think Ken's really spot on when he says it's difficult

to sing a song like this that repeats so much.

But I absolutely loved your energy

and I thought your diction was out of this world,

so well done. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you, judges. And a big round of applause for Grey Coat.

APPLAUSE

It felt amazing, when I saw all our supporters, I just felt like it was a really proud moment.

-It's hard, isn't it?

-It's really hard.

They all mentioned our diction, which we'd been working on really hard,

so the fact that they liked that was amazing.

We're halfway through this semi-final

and what a treat it's been so far.

With three top choirs still to sing, next up,

it's Twyford Church of England High School from London.

# Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah... #

Hi. We are Twyford Church of England High School from West London.

This school has a friendly and welcoming atmosphere

and we love being part of it, so come and see what we're all about.

# Hallelujah... #

# So here I am to worship... #

Here at Twyford, faith is at the heart of everything we do.

Those facts alone, I think, makes the Bible one of a kind.

For example, our motto is John 10:10 when Jesus said,

"I have come that you might have life and have it to the full."

At Twyford, it's not just music we enjoy. We also love our sports.

From netball to rugby or rounders or cricket,

we'll have a go at anything.

-Hey!

-SHE LAUGHS

# Hallelujah... #

We hope you guys have a feel

for what this school is like and how great it is.

The choir won the competition back in 2009, the year before I joined.

It's my final year, so come on, Twyford - we can do it!

# Adiemus. #

# Somebody's crying, Lord, Khumbaya

# Somebody's praying, Lord, Khumbaya

# Somebody's crying, Lord, Khumbaya

# Somebody's praying, Lord, Khumbaya

# Oh, Lord, hear my prayer

# As I lift my voice and say

# I need you, Lord, today

# I need you right away

# Somebody's crying, Lord, Khumbaya

# Somebody's praying, Lord, Khumbaya

# Somebody's crying, Lord, Khumbaya

# Somebody's praying, Lord, Khumbaya

# Somebody's in despair

# Somebody feels like no-one cares

# I know you'll make a way

# Yes, God will make a way

# Somebody's in despair

# Somebody feels like no-one cares

# I know you'll make a way

# Yes, God will make a way

# Somebody's in despair

# Somebody feels like no-one cares

# Oh, oh-oh, Khumbaya

# Oh, Lord, Khumbaya

# Oh, Lord, Khumbaya

# Oh, Lord, Khumbaya

# Oh, Lord, Khumbaya

# Oh, Lord, Khumbaya

# Oh, Lord, Khumbaya. #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Twyford, ladies and gentlemen.

-Were you impressed, Katherine?

-I was.

I found the, um, the balance in your sound to be really, really lovely.

I felt like you were all working as one,

and the interpretation of the song was absolutely gorgeous.

Your use of the harmonies and your use of the dynamics was beautiful.

I think the last note was a little pitchy.

Um...and I felt like if I closed my eyes, it sounded like one thing,

but when I looked at your faces,

it wasn't quite matching in terms of expression.

Show us that you're enjoying it, and let's just see that it...

it comes not only from the voice, but through the face as well.

Thank you, Katherine. Ken, were you on the edge of your seat, listening to that?

I loved the balance of that, and for me,

what really worked in that were the contrasting dynamics.

When you really let it all out, and when you pulled it back.

That was exceptionally effective when you did that.

Couple of tips - when we're singing harmonies, we've got to make sure

that we keep the intensity of the note right the way,

even past, the end of the note.

Otherwise, the note begins to do this - it dips a little bit.

Also, in gospel, when we get inversions, like you did at the end

where the harmonies invert, there's a reason why they invert, OK?

Cos the music has got to become more and more passionate

and your voices worked there,

but as Katherine said, we really, really needed to see

much more in your faces, much more pleading,

saying "Lord, Khumbaya", which means "come by here".

So you're crying out to God at that point, so we just wanted to see

much more from your souls crying out and pleading, "Lord, come by here."

Thank you very much, judges. Oh, you're good! You really are.

And a big round of applause for Twyfords. APPLAUSE

When I was on stage, I felt really good.

It's worth singing a passionate song and I feel it in my heart.

Students always create a sound that is full of worship

and we really enjoy that.

Our next choir is based in Hertfordshire

at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.

And here to tell us more about their choir

are the members Nathalie and Charlie.

CHOIR SINGS

Welcome to Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.

Situated in Hertfordshire, we are lucky enough to study

-in this amazing building.

-So why don't you come and have a look?

# Servant of the Lord... #

-Everyone here at Tring dances.

-Yeah. That means that compared to

other schools, where they do PE, we have to dance.

And Charlie here is actually two-time world champion in tap.

As well as performing arts, we also have academic lessons here.

We do the normal A levels and GCSEs,

but we also do a BTEC in Performing Arts,

which combines both the practical and written element to the exam.

THEY LAUGH

CHOIR SINGS

Thank you for coming to see our school.

It's been a great pleasure to have you.

We can't wait to sing for you in the competition.

# Amen

# Amen

# Amen. #

APPLAUSE

Tring, ladies and gentlemen.

I was just saying to the guys - da iawn.

Because we had a Welsh hymn, sung in Welsh, by an English choir.

I thought I was home! KATHERINE LAUGHS

Well, that was really, really impressive and beautiful.

You really, really pulled us in with a very soft, controlled part

but then, you almost took me by surprise, really,

with the lovely loud amens at the end.

And considering that you are smaller in number

than some of the other groups, you actually really projected.

You had a very controlled use of your sound.

And I thought it was disciplined and the sound was mature.

And it was really, really beautiful.

I actually...I had goose bumps, so thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Connie - that amen - cor!

Amen to that!

I'm going to call you the mighty 16 from Tring!

It was a mighty performance, just from 16 voices on stage.

Unfortunate, I think, that both Katherine and I speak Welsh,

and I felt that some of the vowels were a little off at times.

I know that seems picky, but I feel I can be strong with you.

You're very mature as performers,

but overall, you really sold it and...

phenomenal work has gone into that piece and I was so impressed.

-Diolch yn fawr iawn, judges.

-Diolch.

A big round of applause for Tring.

APPLAUSE

It went better than our rehearsals.

I think that's cos we're onstage and cos there's an audience,

so I think it went well.

-It was amazing. So impressive, so impressive.

-It is impressive.

-Yeah.

'Ah, singing Welsh in front of two Welsh judges was a bit...'

a bit scary, actually, and I thought they might comment on it

but I think we tried our best and I think we got the words out.

Well, the long wait is almost over for our last school to sing,

who've been waiting patiently for their turn.

They are St George's College in Weybridge, but before they sing

their chosen hymn, let's find out a little bit more about the choir.

# Feel the spirit moving in my heart... #

Hi. We are the chamber choir from St George's College in Weybridge.

We're a Roman Catholic independent day school in Surrey.

And this isn't our first time in the competition.

Back in 2012, we were both members of the choir that won.

And we're really excited to be back again this year.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

So we're here in the chapel, which I think is definitely

the heart of the school, being a Catholic school.

We come here to celebrate mass together,

because faith is a really important part of school life.

Thanks be to God.

What words could we put for celebrate?

-ALL:

-He is fine, he is fine.

-That's good.

Here at St George's, we have a great RE programme,

where the upper sixth have the opportunity

to visit local primary schools in the area and teach them RE.

# Celebrate, celebrate All that we have... #

As part of this programme,

we get to compose worship songs for the children to use in mass.

# Every time I feel the spirit... #

'We hope you've enjoyed hearing about our life here at St George's.

'The hymn we're singing in the semi-final is'

the Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended.

It's a beautiful hymn and a great expression of faith.

# I will pray. #

# The day thou gavest, Lord is ended

# The darkness falls at thy behest

# To thee our morning hymns ascended

# Thy praise shall sanctify our rest

# As o'er each continent and island

# The dawn leads on another day

# The voice of prayer is never silent

# Nor dies the strain of praise away

# The sun that bids us rest is waking

# Our brethren 'neath the western sky

# And hour by hour fresh lips are making

# Thy wondrous doings heard on high

# So be it, Lord Thy throne shall never

# Like earth's proud empires pass away

# Thy kingdom stands and grows forever

# Till all thy creatures own thy sway

# Till all thy creatures own thy sway. #

APPLAUSE

St George's, ladies and gentlemen.

So, Ken - is this day ending on a high?

Excellent singing. You sang as one voice

and when you began to sing, that's all I could think -

this sound like one voice. Your word endings, ends of your phrases,

were just spot on, really together.

What I would like you to do when you sing the song again, when I hear

-you again next year at the Carnegie Hall on your American tour...

-LAUGHTER

..um, is that last verse - normally in hymns,

the last verse points forward, it lifts.

So I just wanted to hear a little bit more power, a bit more weight.

But the overall sound,

the blend and the fact that you actually stood apart,

I think really helped the sound as well,

so, what a sound, and thank you very much for that prayer.

Katherine, it's one of my favourite hymns. Did they do it justice?

It's one of my favourite hymns, too, Aled, and I really...thought

the whole thing was just gorgeous.

The phrases were so long and it takes so much breath control

and you really just made it look effortless.

You know, you were confident.

I felt like you were self-assured and you were enjoying it

and the one thing I've been going on about all competition

is seeing it in the faces as well.

You had great focus, but you also had an expressive look

and I really believe you felt every word, so thank you for doing that.

Thank you, judges, and a big round of applause for St George's.

APPLAUSE

The performance, I felt, was really committed and very enthusiastic

and absolutely dedicated and I'm thrilled with how we did.

We have got some talking to do.

I thought that went absolutely amazingly.

We've never sung so well, I don't think.

The judges have now left the hall to decide which three lucky schools

will be going forward to the senior final in a fortnight's time.

Rather them than me.

And if you're scoring at home and still trying to decide your winners,

here's a reminder of all six performances.

# When we've been there ten thousand years... #

Oakham really started the competition in a very strong way.

# ..Shining as the sun... #

They did a fantastically strong a capella performance

which, with nerves, when you're at the start of the competition,

that's quite a big thing to put on your shoulders,

but they did it really, really well

and used it to create a very atmospheric performance.

# Father-like He tends and spares us... #

What I liked about Truro, Praise, My Soul, The King Of Heaven

was that it was a very clean, polished sound, a very pure sound.

We heard clear harmonisation on this sound.

# Angels, help us to adore him... #

The diction was excellent. We heard every word coming through.

It was well in tune. Choirs need to be well in tune.

Their intonation needs to be on point.

And Truro exemplified this.

# Better is one day in your courts

# Better is one day in your house... #

I really enjoyed Grey Coats' performance, Better Is One Day.

I just loved their spirit.

There's something about their performance that really shone.

-# Better is one day

-Better is one day

-# Better is one day in your courts

-Better is one... #

I just felt that they sort of sold it to me.

They weren't selling it, in fact,

they were singing it from the heart. And I believed them.

# Oh, Lord, hear my prayer... #

Twyford's sound was homogenous. It was really together.

# Yes, God will make a way... #

When they were singing softly, their voices were really velvety.

It was a beautiful, natural tone,

and when they let it out, there was a grit to their voices.

So I really thoroughly enjoyed this and I was blessed by it.

# Tydi a roddaist, liw i'r wawr... #

Tring are an English school,

who learnt to sing in Welsh for this particular performance.

# O! cadw ni rhag... #

Singing in Welsh is very, very hard. It's one of the hardest languages

you can actually sing in cos of all the consonants,

so considering they attempted that,

that's really quite an impressive thing.

# So be it, Lord! Thy throne shall never... #

St George's were like a mighty dragon! When did they breathe?

They completely knocked it out of the park.

# Till all thy creatures... #

I really enjoyed their performance. It was technically on it.

And they weren't nervous at all, so I think they were mighty.

Well, the wait is almost over for our six worthy semi-finalists.

Only three of you can go forward to the final.

But we've really enjoyed hearing all of you.

-Haven't we, ladies and gentlemen? ALL:

-Yes!

Judges, I want you each to announce the name

of a choir going through to the final. Connie.

The name of the first choir going through to the final is...

..Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Ken, the second choir going through.

The second choir going through to School Choir of the Year is...

..St George's College.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Katherine, the last choir going through to the final.

The last choir going through to the Senior final...

..is Oakham School.

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Congratulations to Tring, St George's and Oakham.

We'll see you on 24 April,

and hard luck to our other semi-finalists who didn't

get through this year, but you can hold your heads up high -

you really can. Well done, all of you.

APPLAUSE

Next Sunday, we mark a very special birthday -

not mine - Her Majesty the Queen's 90th, but we'll be back

in a fortnight for the all-important Junior and Senior School Finals.

Make sure you tune in. Thanks for watching. Bye-bye for now.