800 students from the New England region will perform in New England Sings!

Director of the New England Conservatorium of Music Susanne James said that the event is a fantastic opportunity for remote school students to sing in a huge choir environment.

“I think it’s a real acknowledgement that every child has a voice, it doesn’t matter where you come from,” she said.

“The best part is that it goes for six months, some of these students are really quite isolated so we send people to work with them before they come together with hundreds of other students from the region.”

School children from Armidale, Bellingen, Walcha, Ashford, Glen Innes and Tamworth are just some that will be singing up a storm.

Ms James said that often students in regional towns miss out on opportunities to meet other students and work together to create a performance that will draw a significant crowd.

“It’s free to be involved and it isn’t competitive, a lot of students get discouraged in audition situations but we accept anyone from any school in the region,” she said.

“It’s really important for their professional development, but also for some students it’s the first time they get to engage socially with such a high number of people from different backgrounds.”

The New England Conservatorium of Music has commissioned students to write the music that the children will perform.

The students will sing  three pieces by composer Luke Byrne and Invictus by Paul Jarman.

Ms James said the music has had a profound effect on the students involved.

“It has really touched their hearts, it’s really amazing to see, especially when they sing Invictus, it really represents the resilience of the human spirit,” she said. 

New England Sings! will take place on Sunday October 16 at Lazenby Hall, University of New England.

There will be one performance at 11am and one at 2:30pm.