Devon County Junior Choir
Home

About the choir

Joining the choir

Message to children

Pictures and sounds

Diary / schedule

Performances

Links

Contact us

 Visitor 8135 
HOME

Welcome to the home of the Devon County Junior Choir - this is an exciting new musical opportunity for children aged 8 to 13.

This site includes details about the choir, the organisations who have helped to create it, and how to join in the fun !

The Chorister Outreach Programme is a national government-funded scheme designed to encourage and enable cathedrals to use their musical resources to promote singing among children in primary schools. It is part of the national Sing-up programme, led by the government’s Singing Ambassador Howard Goodall, which aims to achieve Singing School status for every primary school by the year 2012.

In Devon, the project is run as a collaboration between Exeter Cathedral and the Devon County Council Music Service. It is also supported by the Royal School of Church Music, Devon Area, and the Benedictine Community at Buckfast Abbey. The programme aims to instil and develop the joy of singing among children in primary schools, by offering specialist teaching input, continuing support and high-quality performance opportunities. It also aims to raise levels of access, achievement and aspiration, and to encourage and develop collaborative projects for singing for both pupils and staff.

Following a highly successful pilot with four Exeter schools in the Spring of 2007, the project was fully launched in the Autumn Term of 2007. Last year, 19 Devon primary schools took part in the programme, involving over 700 children. In 2008/09, no fewer than 24 schools will be participating. Alongside the direct input in primary schools, the Devon County Junior Choir provides further opportunities for children who enjoy singing to work together and perform.

Since the choir began in September 2007, it has performed at 4 Outreach concerts in Exeter Cathedral and Buckfast Abbey, opened the Exeter Festival in June 2008 and gave its own concert as part of the Exeter Festival. In November 2008, DCJC participated in a joint concert with Exeter Philharmonic Choir and Exeter Festival Chorus in which it gave the first performance of the choir's commissioned piece, 'A Sequence for Devon,' by Andrew Millington, the Director of Music at Exeter Cathedral. On 20th December 2008, DCJC sang at 'A Christmas Celebration' in Exeter Cathedral in aid of Positive Action South West with Will Young, Christopher Timothy and Judi Spiers.

Future engagements include a joint concert with Cornwall County Junior Choir in Truro Cathedral in May 2009 and a concert as part of the Budleigh Salterton Festival on 25th July 2009.
.