42 choirs to sing Handel's Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall with Suzi Digby

KENSINGTON, U.K. - Oct. 3, 2013 - PRLog -- The Really Big Youth Chorus, with professional orchestra and soloists, will be conducted by Suzi Digby OBE, a tireless champion of choral singing among young people and the inspiration behind The Voices Foundation, Vocal Futures and the London Youth Choirs.

The Scratch^® Youth Messiah seeks to encourage young people to perform Handel's much-loved work in its full SATB version, and is promoted by Scratch Concerts Ltd alongside Messiah from Scratch® which has been an annual pre-Christmas fixture at the RAH since 1974. To encourage young singers to join regardless of their experience, choirs participating in The Scratch^® Youth Messiah can sing as few as three choruses, or as many as eleven. We are delighted that over half the choirs joining The Really Big Youth Chorus on 1 December have chosen to learn everything. 'Youth Messiah mentors' from both the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and the London Youth Choirs will provide vocal support to encourage the least experienced singers.

Suzi Digby says "I'm absolutely thrilled to be working with young people from all over the country in what I know will be an exhilarating concert. This is a brilliant opportunity for young people to be able to perform one of the most popular choral works of all time and maintain the choral heritage for which this country is known throughout the world."

The Scratch^® Youth Messiah will be raising funds for Water Aid through programme sales, sponsorship, advertising and personal donations. Representatives from WaterAid will be working with participating schools and choirs to raise awareness of the need for clean water in developing countries, and to encourage pupils to raise funds prior to the concert.

The Scratch^® Youth Messiah kicks off at 14h15 with The English Festival Orchestra and top prize-winning soloists who will be chosen by audition. The evening performance of Messiah from Scratch® with The Really Big Chorus will be at 19h00.

ENDS

Notes for editors

Website: http://www.youthmessiah.co.uk

Twitter: @Youth_Messiah

Water Aid:  http://www.wateraid.org/uk/get-involved/events/events/sing-for-water#/news-id-upcoming-events

1. The Scratch^® Youth Messiah starts at 14h15 on Sunday 1 December at the Royal Albert Hall. Youth choirs will rehearse in the Hall from 11h30.

2. The Scratch^® Youth Messiah is presented by Scratch Concerts Ltd, which promotes Messiah from Scratch® every year at the Royal Albert Hall with The Really Big Chorus. The performance of Messiah from Scratch® in 2013 will be as usual at 19h00, following The Scratch^® Youth Messiah.

Website: http://www.trbc.co.uk

Twitter: @ReallyBigChorus

3. Suzi Digby OBE has worked internationally with choirs for many years, and has been at the vanguard of the revival of singing in schools and amongst young people in the UK. She is creator of The Voices Foundation (the UK's leading National Primary Music Education Foundation), of Vocal Futures, and co-founder (with Rachel Staunton) of London Youth Choir. She is passionate about building the next generation of singers and works tirelessly all over the world to achieve her ambitions, with numerous television and radio appearances testifying to her enthusiasm and commitment in this vital area of education. She received the OBE from HM The Queen in 2009 for outstanding services to music education.

http://www.suzidigby.com

4.  The Really Big Chorus is the UK's largest choral society with around 12,000 singing members. It began life in 1974 when Canadian Don Monro, then a student at Imperial College, joined with fellow scientists to hire the Royal Albert Hall and fill it with amateur singers for the very first Messiah from Scratch® : no rehearsal at all for the chorus, just an electrifying, adrenaline-filled performance. Other RAH concerts in May and July ('the last night before the Proms') have rehearsals on the day, and TRBC also organises singing breaks to prestige overseas venues, and relaxing choral cruises.

http://www.trbc.co.uk