By Aalia Khan
Parkinson Lane Community Primary School and Calderdale Music Service in Halifax will take to the world’s most famous stage for the Schools Prom. The Calderdale Massed Ensemble will perform at The Royal Albert Hall in the first of three evenings of the Schools Prom concert series presented by national youth music organisation Music for Youth.
Calderdale were delighted to be chosen to perform following an application process, and nearly 650 children will be taking to the stage on the 10 November.
The school will embark upon a song made famous by the late Qawwali performer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The school’s ambitious project looked at the work of Razia Sultan. They explored themes of equal opportunities, right versus wrong, just against the unjust and what we leave our loved ones when we pass on.
The children have been taught Qawwal “Tumhein Dil lagi” by Shahbaz Hussain and Bobby R.S, established artists in their own rights. This project presents a way of learning and experiencing new music styles to blend and amalgamate the different genres of art.
Bobby said “For the majority of the school it wasn’t their first language and it was quite daunting for them as it was a new language and a new musical style. But as soon as we started to teach them the words slowly they sang it so well and it sounds like their first language. It has been truly amazing.”
The schools involved in the project are All Saints CE (VA) J & I School, Holy Trinity P.S CE, Luddenden CE School, Mount Pellon Primary Academy, Parkinson Lane Community Primary School, St Augustine’s CE, St Mary’s Catholic PS, Warley Road PS, Halifax High, The Crossley Heath School, The North Halifax Grammar School.
Rizwana Ahmed, deputy headteacher, acknowledged the hard work undertaken by pupils and staff. “The staff of the school have really excelled themselves, and having seen the children performing I know the audience of the Royal Albert Hall will not be disappointed.”
Mrs Akhtar Hussain informed that the song depicts a battle with chants being thrown from one party to another. “At intervals the chants are broken by individual performers that made your insides glow with pride.”
All children will wear costumes; an interpretive dance will accompany the 650 strong choir, giving the audience an aural and visual feast whilst inviting them to become a part of the battle of good overcoming wrong.
An audience at the Victoria Theatre enjoyed a sneak preview in July, which was very well received with much of the audience hoping to make the journey to see them perform for a second time at the Royal Albert Hall.
A flash mob was also performed on the 14th of October in the centre of Halifax, in which 650 students came out and sang.
