Play: Young Voices

Last February, I was lucky enough to find myself at the O2 watching an extraordinary spectacle: 7,638 children from dozens of different schools singing in harmony.

This was Young Voices in action. Young Voices are, “the largest children’s choir on the planet”. Their aim is to provide children with a music experience that they will remember and benefit from for the rest of their lives. Incredibly, over the past 17 years they’ve introduced over one million children to live music.

Last February, my daughter and the choir from her school were among the children who sang as part of Young Voices, and they had the time of their lives (I could tell because we had brought some binoculars along). To add to the occasion, a raft of talent joined them, such as the Beatbox Collective, Basement Jaxx vocalist Sharlene Hector and street dance specialists Urban Strides.

And what an experience it was. My daughter is still buzzing: “it made me feel very cool and was very, very, very fun. I thought I was a pop star for the night”. Luckily for the kids, however, they couldn’t see or hear their parents in the audience who were swaying and singing along just as enthusiastically.

Written by Ben Stewart, Head of Strategy at Now

Read: Debate: Learn. Listen.