Stage Door Chat - Kernow Voice (Whitemoor)

As well as welcoming established stars to the stage, Hall for Cornwall regularly hosts local talent, among which are the budding stars of the future.  Kernow Voice, Whitemoor, were among the groups of young performers raising money for the Cornwall Music Therapy Trust.  Kernow Voice is an ongoing singing project organised and supported by Hall for Cornwall.  The opportunity to perform is an integral part of the project and Stage Door went along to have a chat with some of the singers.

I started by chatting to Blade and Gemma (Age 9) who sing in the junior section.  We talked about performing on the Hall for Cornwall stage.  You might expect young people to find the prospect of facing an audience of up to 980 odd a bit daunting but these two seemed pretty relaxed about it.

"We're used to it," they explained. "We've been here before and it gets easier the more you do it."  Gemma has been in Kernow Voice since the project started and so has nearly 3 years of singing experience behind her already.  Blade hasn't been with the project quite so long but has learned to enjoy performing. He told me that other members of his family get "really bad stage fright" but he's done it more often so it doesn't bother him.

I asked them what they would be singing. "A School Rap and Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines" they told me.  They like both songs but said the rap was their favourite of the two pieces.  If they had to choose a favourite song from the entire Kernow Voice repertoir, it would probably be "Consider Yourself" from Oliver.

The junior section of Kernow Voice Whitemoor had the job of opening the Kidz 4 Cornwall show with their two songs.  They were followed later in the programme by the senior section.  I spoke to Helen and Melissa (Age 15 and 16) who are relative newcomers to the project what they felt about singing with Kernow Voice.

In just two months this was their third performance with the group so they too were relatively relaxed about performing though they were a "bit nervous" they admitted. They told me that it was a good project for people their age to be involved with and that they enjoyed performances and being part of the group.

Kernow Voice is one of the longest running community performing arts projects run by Hall for Cornwall.  As well as being a great ongoing experience it was very clear from chatting to these young performers that the experiences offered to them through the project were allowing them to develop the confidence to enjoy performing on stage.

One of the benefits of this type of project is that it can instill a life-long joy for singing and it certainly seemed that the young people I spoke to were on that route.  Gemma and Blade, for example, hope to continue into the senior section, by which time they will be true "veterans of the stage"!

For additional details about Kernow Voice, including the adult singing group, contact Isobel King on 01872 321971