What a crazy time we’ve lived through – performing musicians and music educators alike having to reinvent themselves on a seemingly daily basis. For most of us it’s been a huge emotional roller-coaster, and while we’re all desperately hoping the worst is behind us, I think we’re all aware that we may yet have to work a few miracles to keep music live and alive.

To be a silenced musician is to live as a wounded animal, and I’m sure many of us have been hit hard. We’ve been deprived not only of the thing we so love, but also of our sense of identity; this sense of loss is also felt keenly by many young musicians, for whom music is often a deeply enriching and defining part of their lives as they grow up.

The thing I missed most in the last long, and often silent 18 months, was the sound of a large choir, and most especially that thrilling, corporate joy to be found in a great youth choir. It was amazing to witness the real sense of team spirit, as choral leaders in so many areas came together on the airwaves and on the internet to fight for choral music, especially in the face of often confusing and contradictory guidance from government. The imagination of so many organisations in creating all sorts of on-line activity was heartening, but somehow the painful isolation of solitary screen contact only underlined how physical and social interaction is the very heart of the choral experience.

‘To be a silenced musician is to live as a wounded animal, and I’m sure many of us have been hit hard’ 

For Gabrieli Roar – our extensive choral training programme for young singers - all this presented a great challenge. The sadness of having to cancel two seasons of summer choral residential courses was accompanied by determination to ensure the project emerged with even more vision and drive. Bluntly, was this somehow the moment to create a statement, to plan more ambitiously, and to provide wider opportunities to a greater number of young singers, and in so doing help rebuild the nation’s young choirs?

And so, after discussion with many of our partner choirs, the idea of ‘Re-Creation’ took form. A great national choral ‘reboot’ based around Haydn’s Creation – a piece which is unquestionably wonderful yet within the bounds of possibility in a short rehearsal period, acknowledging that for many young singers, 18 months without sustained choral activity would inevitably have led to a loss of skills and confidence. We set an initial target of connecting with at least 1000 young singers. Most excitingly, our list of partner choirs has grown from around a dozen to over 30.

We arranged five performances in iconic English cathedrals, from August this year to February ’22 – Worcester, Ely, Romsey Abbey, York and Durham, an important step as we develop Roar into a truly national resource. The young participants perform alongside Gabrieli’s own singers, and with the Gabrieli Players, and we are thrilled that many of the UK’s leading soloists will take part too. As always with Roar projects, it will be something of a ‘baptism of fire’, but our young singers tell us time and time again how much they value these challenging experiences where, with our support, they reach very high levels of musicianship.

‘Our work has proved that the higher one sets the bar, the higher young people jump’ 

Gabrieli Roar is built on four principles: opportunity, excellence, collaboration, and diversity helping young singers to excel, develop their confidence in their own abilities and nurture a love of choral music. Gabrieli Roar is uncompromising in its commitment to enriching people’s lives through music.

Every Roar project challenges our young performers - unapologetically so. Our work has proved that the higher one sets the bar, the higher young people jump; the barrier between young and old, professional and amateur is indeed a largely artificial one. 

Our first pilot project took place as part of the Three Choirs Festival back in August. To deliver this project in the current climate has been an enormous challenge for Gabrieli and indeed all of our partner choirs, but it was so inspiring to hear the thrilling sound of massed young voices in Haydn’s great work– ‘Let there be light!’  

‘Re-Creation’ performances

Saturday November 13, 2021
Ely Cathedral

Saturday February 12, 2022
Durham Cathedral

You can find out more about Gabrieli Roar here. 

Below, 250 young singers from Gabrieli Roar recently joined the Gabrieli Consort & Players for this magnificent performance of Parry’s magisterial anthem, 'I was glad'.