At the end of the summer, Joëlle and I headed to the picturesque city of Bath for a choral course for young people. It was my first time because it had taken a couple of years of convincing to get me there but I really enjoyed it and wish I’d gone sooner! On the other hand, Joëlle has been going for years and was, for the first time, house captain of the Junior Girls, my house.
The course was directed by Geoff Weaver, an internationally known and very talented church musician. The staff and choristers were all very nice. We stayed at the Kingswood School, just up a hill from the centre of town. There’s a service every weekday in the school chapel and at the weekend we went down to the Abbey, a magnificent and overwhelming building where we gave a recital and led a couple of services.
The music was quite varied: from a gospel workshop to one of Mozart’s short masses, you never get bored or fed up! I was also pleasantly surprised that I could keep my voice in almost perfect shape. During the week you could go down and explore Bath and buy some delicious fudge, go swimming at the Kingswood pool or just chill out with your new friends. The highlight for me was singing in the Abbey; a magical and awesome experience that I recommend to all choristers! I hope more of you will join us next year!
Karalyn Gardner
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