The Pegasus Academy Choir was back singing with “Young Voices” this year and was on top form on Monday 25th April. This time it was made up of the brand new Cypress Choir and the Ecclesbourne Jam-Bus Choir.
The day started as two separate choirs as they disembarked from their two separate sites, but as soon as they met at Waterloo station they became one. We gathered at the London Eye and enjoyed watching buskers on the South Bank and singing along with one to some Beatles classics. We then caught the Thames Clipper from Waterloo Pier and sailed down the Thames seeing all the London sights from the river. After eating our lunch and singing songs from the Young Voices repertoire the whole way, we stepped off the boat at North Greenwich Pier at the O2 Arena. The excitement in the pupils was now building and we sang all the way meeting other choirs on the way singing the same songs. With 8000 other children in the Young Voices choir, we were in good company.
We arrived and to our surprise we had been given two VIP boxes to perform the show in! The pupils were hugely excited by this, and the staff too were very grateful for the sofas and extra space this brought! We all felt like celebrities. The rehearsal then started and the choir found their voices as the songs we had worked so hard on for so long started to fall together. After this we all ate our packed dinners in the VIP suites and waited for the parents to arrive to create the giant audience for the evening. The lights were now shining bright, the mumble of the arena built the tension and all pupils from the PAT were all pointing down spotting their parents below. With the voices we heard during the rehearsal now 10 times louder, the show kicked off with a bang! And what a show it was.
Beat boxers, street dancers, famous sopranos, pop stars and all the 8000 children of Young Voices performed magnificently. We sang a Muppets’ Medley, songs from the Lion King, Beatles songs and many others with giant smiles on our faces. Mr Spoerer’s favourite moment of the night was one of the Cypress pupils tugging on his arm to announce, “This is the greatest moment of my life!” This made all the hard work making the trip happen all worth it. A very late night for all but definitely worth it for the amazing experience for all. Bring on 2023.
A huge thank you to Miss Ball, Ms Richards, Miss Hardaker, Ms Nicols, Miss Barker and all the parents who helped make this trip happen so smoothly and giving up their time to make an unforgettable experience for all the pupils.
