23/03/12…..American choir to visit Thame Primary School

A CHOIR from Florida, in the U.S. will be dropping in to St Joseph’s primary school in Thame, on Monday (March 26).

The 12 strong Junior choir is from the Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, Florida is currently on a tour of schools and will perform to St Joseph’s schoolchildren. In return, St Joseph’s 20- strong school choir will be singing a selection of songs from ‘Zimbe’, a fusion of traditional African song and jazz.

The whole school will then perform ‘Blest be the Lord’, with the school choir in descant. The school is then hoping to put on an English Afternoon tea for the Thame choir performs at Birmingham Symphony Hall

This is the second time in two weeks that St Joseph?s Catholic Primary School in Thame have found themselves in the news. They were invited to perform at the Oxfordshire Music Service?s Grand Spring Concert at the Birmingham Symphony Hall last Monday, March 19.

Joining the Oxfordshire Primaries Massed Choir, St Joseph?s choral group took part in a performance of Oxonia – a choral work composed by John Traill, Director of Music, St Anne’s College, and Lecturer at St Catherine’s College, Oxford. The choir took part in the first performance of this piece at the Schools Prom at the Royal Albert Hall last November.

?This was an amazing opportunity for our pupils to perform at this venue, considered by many to be one of the finest concert halls in Europe,? said Claire Kerr, Headteacher, St Joseph?s Primary School.

The concert involved many Oxfordshire music groups including the Oxfordshire Youth Big Bands, The Oxfordshire Schools? Symphony Orchestra, The Oxfordshire Youth Chamber Choir and the Oxfordshire Youth Wind Band.