Henley Educational Trust and Voces Cantabiles Music Singing Project 2014

After the huge success of the 2013 project, Henley Educational Trust (“HET”) has again teamed up with professional a cappella singers from Voces Cantabiles Music (“VCM”) to offer each of the state primary schools in Henley an exciting singing project which will culminate in a joint schools performance at the Christ Church Centre on Wednesday 26th November.

The HET Trustees have decided that they would like to use the Mary Clarke Music Award and other Trust funds to offer a singing project to all Year 4 children attending Badgemore, Sacred Heart, Trinity and Valley Road schools. Mary Clarke was Clerk to the Trustees for many years and a passionate lover of music and believer in the benefits of music education.

The project is being led by local boy Alex Haigh, who grew up and went to school in the Henley area, and Charlotte Brosnan, soprano, both of whom are members of the stunning vocal quintet, Apollo5.

Apollo5 is a professional group with a wide repertoire of jazz, pop and classical a cappella which performs in the UK and internationally. The group will perform alongside and together with the Henley children.

Alex and Charlotte have been visiting each School, delivering vocal workshops to the children. In commemoration of the centenary year of the outbreak of the First World War, the children are going to perform a selection of favourite Music Hall songs which the soldiers would have sung and also their families back at home. In addition to the massed choir items, each class will perform a piece of their own choosing which ties into another part of the curriculum that the class is studying.

The Concerts will be both a celebration of diversity and also an opportunity for bonding between schools. They will be a celebration of all the fun and hard work the children have experienced during their workshops with VCM.

Henley Educational Trust

The origins of Henley Educational Trust go back to 1604. Since this time Henley Educational Trust has existed to further educational possibilities within the town of Henley-on-Thames and the parishes of Bix, Rotherfield Greys and Remenham. The state schools in Henley have had a long association with Henley Educational Trust, benefitting in main from the issue of annual grants to each school. In addition, the Trust supports individual pupils in financial need, organisations and has wide discretion to promote educational purposes. The Trust is keen to reach out to those young people of the Henley area who may not be able to access educational possibilities due to financial constraints. The Trust supports music lessons, sporting endeavours, apprenticeships, tuition fees, equipment costs, membership of youth organisations, uniform purchases … and much more. Find an application form at: www.henleyeducationaltrust.com.