On the 18th of March the Redbridge music department gave Year 8 an amazing opportunity to take part in a Welsh opera singing workshop. This workshop had many sessions run by Rachel and Miles from The Welsh National Opera. This workshop gave the year 8 students many opportunities to fully immerse themselves into the extraordinary world of opera as well as giving them the chance to sing some classic opera songs.
One of the sessions started with a quick game of ‘the fish game’ run by Miles. They swiftly moved onto warming up their voices with Rachel, which included giving the children a chance to go through the technical side of opera. For example, they learnt where their Larynx was and they got to feel the changes in their cheeks when they sang different notes. They were also taught how to sing up and down scales.
The children learnt a new song called ‘Magpie’. They sung the song whilst Miles was playing the piano along to the children’s singing, giving the year 8s a chance to hear what it would sound like in a Welsh opera. It also gave some of the kids some of the confidence which they will later use in life. When they sung, they were also taught the correct posture for a singer throughout the periods of the sessions. The year 8s were given the chance to make up a storyline to the songs they were singing, making it feel more like their pieces of music. The session finished with another fun game of ‘fill the gap’ run by Miles.
Ellie Axton and Finley Noyce – Student Journalists
