Band Out

Sing for the Love of It – Whitehaven – featuring....Orgill School, Ennerdale Primary School, Frizington Primary School, Gosforth CE Primary School, Hensingham Primary School, Mayfield School, Seascale School, St Bridget's School, St Mary's CP School, St James' CE Junior school, St Patrick's School, Thornhill Primary School, St Gregory & St Patrick's Primary School.

On Tuesday 15^th February, 13 schools took over the Dunboyne Hall at Whitehaven Civic Hall to Sing for the Love of It. The schools had chosen their own song for the evening performance for parents. Some schools opted to perform together for a boost in confidence, volume and joy! The parents were a fantastic audience supporting all the children right to the end and even joining in with the singing from time to time. There were so many children performing, that we couldn’t fit everyone on stage at the same time. Beat It Up, SoundWave’s resident drumming group kept the atmosphere playful and lively while the children changed positions in between the performance sets.

 Collectively, the song choices were learned by all the children for an epic afternoon sing-song led by SoundWave vocalists, Sarah Wallcook and Mouse Day and Young Vocal Leaders from Millom School (Rebecca, Ebony, Lily, Hannah), Lakes College (Kian), Carlisle College (Josh, Beth) and the band fronted by Jilly Jarman and featuring Jenny Leah from BlueJam. The Young Vocal Leaders were a joy to behold as they warmed all the children up, leading them in games and songs as they waited for the performance to get started.

 The stage was designed by newcomer to the area Murray Wasson. On a tiny budget he made quite an impact with his colourful hearts suspended about the stage and his work contributed a long way towards the atmosphere of celebration in the room.

 Favourite songs from the day were the I Can See Clearly Now, Janie Mama and The Gospel Medley.

 Quotes from the day:

 Liz, Inclusion Coordinator/Choir Leader Mayfield School “Just wanted to say a massive congrats and thank you for yesterday to you and the whole team. All of us at Mayfield (especially staff!!) had a great day. We were very impressed with the organization, help and support and the decoration of the hall etc was brill. The pupils loved it all and this was down to your team's outstanding efforts to accomodate our needs. We very much appreciate the work that was put in beforehand by Dave, yourself, Chrissie and anyone else behind the scenes who we did not meet. It is not always easy to enable our pupils to access events on a big scale where they can behave and join in like everyone else but that was definitely achieved yesterday. Please can you also thank Murray for his helpfulness and escorting duties on the night. A mention also for the staff at the New Life Church who made us feel so welcome. All pupils from every school sang so well (obviously supported by a great band!) and so many smiles proved you are doing a grand job in promoting singing and performance throughout our area. Well done!”

 Teacher, St Patrick’s School, Cleator Moor “I valued rehearsing the songs with the other schools as it gave me ideas on how to change the songs and make them more exciting; e.g. actions and making up own verses to fit the music. This was an excellent event which everyone enjoyed. I can’t wait to participate in another event.”

 Helen Armstrong, School Improvement Officer “Just wanted to pass on my congratulations to you all for such a brilliant 'Sing for the Love of it' event on Tuesday afternoon. I know I only was part of the audience for the afternoon, but it was truly wonderful to see the level of engagement of the children, the fantastic lead from the front and the way the vocal leaders contributed so well. I'm sure the evening was splendid. All the heads I spoke to were really pleased with the quality of the event and the input. Please pass on my enthusiastic appreciation to your team -  a great job!”

Child from Thornhill School “Didn’t Mayfield School sing beautifully.”

Beth “That little girl nearly made me cry. She said that when she grows up she wants to be like me.”

SoundWave would like to thank staff from the Sports Centre, especially Stephen Miller who brought the benches across for us. Staff from the New Life Church who went above and beyond to make all the children and staff feel welcome. Staff from the Civic Hall who worked tirelessly to ensure that everything ran smoothly on the day.

Teachers, you are brilliant! Thank you so much for your enthusiasm, energy, patience and dedication in preparing the children for the event and to such a short deadline. Parents, thank you for supporting the event and making future events possible through your attendance. Children! Thank you for your beautiful singing, for your smiles, your energy and the way you light up the whole room when you go on stage. You were fantastic! Musicians in the band really saved the day at the last minute and turned up trumps with a fantastic job that elevated the music to that level it only attains when it is truly ‘live’. Thanks to Murray for his beautiful decorations and for mucking in all day with lighting and supporting different groups. Beat It Up for pumping up the atmosphere with the audience in the evening. And a special thanks to the Young Vocal Leaders – The way you all step up to the task as it presents itself is brilliant. It’s impossible for you to show what you’re capable of in rehearsals when there’s no one there to interact with – but when the curtain goes up your confidence and willingness to respond to and inspire younger children around you is a joy to behold. A big thanks to Sing Up and ContinYou for supporting this event with Sing Up Cluster funding.