Mendelssohn's Elijah Young Singers coaching projects
In May and June 2011, Gabrieli ran a coaching project with each of four youth choirs: the Chetham’s Chamber Choir, the North East Youth Chorale, the Taplow Youth Choir and the Ulster Youth Chamber Choir.
The aim? To get the 181 young singers prepared for the challenge of singing Mendelssohn’s great Elijah with Gabrieli Consort & Players at the BBC Proms on Sunday 28 August 2011, and for Gabrieli’s recording of the piece in September 2011!
Each project took Paul McCreesh and members of the Gabrieli Consort across the UK: to Manchester, Chester-le-Street, Taplow in Maidenhead and Belfast, Northern Ireland. Paul led the choir through tutti rehearsals working on the choruses in Elijah, providing insight into the work’s religious context and fascinating first performances along the way. In sectional rehearsals, the young singers had the opportunity to work on technique and voice production with experienced members of the Gabrieli Consort, many of whom are also teachers in their own right. 
The young singers will have the chance to work with these professional singers again in the Royal Albert Hall and in the recording, taking place in the Watford Colosseum; a very unique opportunity to put what they have learnt in the coaching projects into practice in a professional engagements.
Click below to see what the Gabrieli singers had to say about each of the coaching project days!
Chetham's Chamber Choir coaching project
North East Youth Chorale coaching project
Taplow Youth Choir coaching project
Ulster Youth Chamber Choir coaching project
Gabrieli would like to thank the Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation, the D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust and the many individual donors for their support of the coaching projects.