We want to thank everyone who turned up to this wonderful event!
We are absolutely delighted to announce that we have secured the visit of one of the finest choirs in the world. Dr. Michael Barrett’s choir, TUKS Camerata from Pretoria, will visit Barnsley in July 2020 a week before BYC and TUKS travel to the World Choir Games to compete. They have cancelled some key concert dates in Europe to spend a long weekend in Barnsley and will take part in rehearsals, workshops, 3 concerts and some social events whilst they stay with us.
TUKS Camerata and BYC have a very close relationship that began with a friendship formed in 2016 in the World Choir Games in Sochi, Russia. Michael and I worked together on the international jury. We shared similar values and organised for our choirs to meet in 2017 at the European Choir Games in Riga, Latvia. Michael led a workshop with BYC and when we brought the choirs together they quickly bonded. I will never forget the atmosphere in Riga when we rehearsed – it’s perhaps one of the most powerful and special moments I’ve ever had with BYC. Watching the relationship develop was truly moving and it reminded me of the power of singing and the way it can connect people in such a profound way.
In August 2019 we visited the University of Pretoria on our South African Tour and once again worked with TUKS. For many of us this was the highlight of the trip – it was the moment that we had been desperately looking forward to and watching our young people reunite and work together again made the 12 months of preparation worthwhile.
It is difficult to describe what this weekend means to the choir and to BYC generally. This bond between choirs has developed through mutual respect and a recognition of artistic integrity
and honesty.
We are all so excited to have them in Barnsley and I hope that the Barnsley public will make our brothers and sisters from Pretoria feel at home and welcomed in the same way that they embraced our young people in Pretoria.
