BARNSLEY Youth Choir is moving to a new home at the heart of the town centre after spending ten years at Horizon Community College and Kingstone School.
The world-renowned choir - currently on tour in South Africa - announced this week that its main ‘central’ choirs will move to Barnsley College when they return from their summer break next month.
The move will also include Barnsley Singers - the sister choir for adults set up three years ago. However the two children’s choirs based in the Dearne and Penistone, will be unaffected.
BYC has just celebrated its tenth anniversary having been established at Kingstone School in 2009, then moving to Horizon Community College which replaced Kingstone in 2012.
The choir has been highly successful and is currently the highest ranked choir from Great Britain in the World Rankings winning a total of eight first prizes in the World Choir Games 2014, and European Choir Games in 2015 and 2017.
A registered charity, it serves more than 400 children and young people aged four to 24 years old in six separate choirs and has received many awards, including the Queens Award for Voluntary Service - known as the ‘MBE’ for voluntary groups.
Mat Wright, artistic director of Barnsley Youth Choir, said: “We are incredibly grateful for the fabulous contribution Horizon Community College has made to Barnsley Youth Choir during the last seven years. It has offered wonderful support for the organisation and has made a huge commitment to not only its own students but to children across Barnsley.
“An opportunity has arisen to relocate into the heart of the centre of Barnsley and develop a relationship with Barnsley College, an outstanding provider that has already offered considerable support to the choir.
“We see this is an exciting step forwards and young people in Barnsley will have the privilege of rehearsing in a world class facility. We are really excited about this development.”
Luke Mather, musical director of Barnsley Singers, said: “Barnsley Singers is pleased to be involved in this exciting development and relocate with Barnsley Youth Choir. Barnsley College is a wonderful organisation that has become a beacon of success and the 6th Form Centre is such a world class facility.
It will be fantastic to work there and for adults to see the exceptional provision that the college provides for our community.
“Barnsley Singers is very grateful to Horizon Community College for the support that it has offered in establishing the choir and for providing such a wonderful home since 2016.”
Sally Steadman, director of marketing and communications, said: “We are delighted to be able to host Barnsley Youth Choir and Barnsley Singers. We have always been huge supporters of both choirs and are really excited that we create a stronger partnership going forward.”
