Gray’s Inn singers competition success

City Junior School has had an outstanding run of success in music competitions.

Winning the Junior Choirs category at The Watford Festival, Gray’s Inn Singers, featuring children from Years 5 and 6, performed two contrasting pieces at St Albans Girls’ School on Sunday 1 March.

Adjudicator Kathryn Jenkin praised the choir for having “created a haunting and arresting atmosphere” with their singing, awarding them First Place with Honours.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the experience, as well as hearing the other choirs’ impressive performances.

The Gray’s Inn Singers from City Junior School have also won the Grand Prize for Musical Excellence at the Barnardo’s National Choir Competition.

The choir performed at Birmingham Symphony Hall on Tuesday 3 March, having been selected as one of 16 outstanding finalists in the Junior Choir category. Their programme featured a captivating performance of Sakura, a traditional Japanese song arranged by Michael Neaum, followed by Larysa Kuzmenko’s dramatic and evocative Winds, which portrays the gathering intensity of a storm.

This achievement is a testament to the children’s hard work, dedication, and passion for singing, and we are incredibly proud of them. The children were overjoyed, and we were all inspired by the exceptional standard of choirs from across the UK. Performing at Birmingham Symphony Hall was a wonderful experience that they will treasure for years to come. As overall winners, they now have the privilege of performing at the Royal Albert Hall in November, at the Barnardo’s Young Supporters Concert.