Youngsters from the county take part in sing-along led by Jessie J and other chart stars

Two of the East Riding Schools Music Service’s biggest annual events have had to move online this year.

The Big Sing and the Battle Of The Bands are usually held at Bridlington Spa but have been held virtually in 2020.

Emma Calvert, head of East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Schools Music Service, said: “Nearly 7,000 students from East Riding Schools enjoy singing with us each year at Bridlington Spa and The Junction, Goole.

“We were devastated when we had to cancel the events, but we were not going to let it stop us, and we quickly found new opportunities and ways to continue to engage young people in singing.

“We teamed up with Norfolk Music Hub, which has a lot of experience of delivering large scale singing events online, to create a countrywide Big Sing.

“The prospect of singing with over 50,000 young people from across the UK meant that we attracted the attention of global superstars who agreed to lead and teach the songs.”

Technology also stepped in to help the Battle Of The Bands event go ahead, although this year it will be a celebration of students’ creativity, rather than a competition.

Organiser Ben Croombs said: “The Battle Of The Bands event provides contemporary musicians with the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of some of the biggest artists and perform on the famous Bridlington Spa stage.

“This year, despite the difficulties we have faced, we have still been able to showcase the talent of East Riding students to a large audience, via the East Riding Music Hub social media channels.

“We are encouraging students to be creative and we are really looking forward to seeing what they come up with.”

A series of online tutorials have been commissioned, funded by NYMAZ, a youth music development charity. Students were able to learn how to create layered video recordings of their performances and ask questions to the Schools Music team.

The music videos are due to be premiered on the East Riding Music Hub’s social media channels on Friday 3 July.

Councillor Julie Abraham, portfolio holder for children, young people and education, at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Staff at the Schools Music Service have done a wonderful job of finding innovative ways to keep talented young people being creative during the lockdown.

“As well as using technology to maintain music lessons for around 1,000 students in the East Riding, they have ensured the show has gone on when it comes to big events like The Big Sing and The Battle Of The Bands.”