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MusicMrs J RichardsWNO singing clubThree pupils from Stanwell - Maxine Pwele,Emily Alford (both Year 7) and Olivia North(Year 8)- were recently part of the WNO dinnerheld at Buckingham Palace and attendedby Prince Charles. Maxine has very kindlywritten an account of the event for us:Welsh National Opera’s Singing ClubEmily Alford, Olivia North and I are membersof WNO’s Singing Club and we enjoy it verymuch! In term time we meet every Saturday atthe Welsh Millennium Centre, and for the pastyear we have been working on a speciallycommissioned new opera ‘Face in the Mirror’.We did staging as well as singing andit’s all been great fun, but hard work too! Weeven went in every single day of the half termholiday from 10-5, including the bank holidays!By now we’ve toured around 4 differentvenues; Western-Super Mare, Port Talbot,Gloucester, and finally Cardiff. These wereprofessional performances, with lighting,stage managers and lots of props and the audiencesloved it. But that’s not all we’ve beenup to!Recently we, as Singing Club, were invited tosing at a WNO gala event... in BuckinghamPalace! This exciting occasion was held inhonour of the company’s patron, PrinceCharles. We were singing in one of the maingalleries as the guests were arriving.On arrival, we entered the palace through aback entrance and climbed many steep staircasesthat led us to a small room where wehad the ‘highest quality’ royal sandwichesbefore the performance. It seemed that everyonestill couldn’t believe we were actuallyeating lunch inside Buckingham Palace, itwas just so amazing!Then we went through a very grand room toget to where we were going to sing. There washigh security at the palace and sniffer dogswere weaving around the room. We moved onquickly to a wide gallery full of huge portraits,gold and yet more gold. It really was a veryimpressive sight.We sang for a long time and everyone alreadyhad dead legs. But then we were told thatPrince Charles was going to come and everyonebecame super excited! We heard the clickingand saw the flashing of cameras and weknew His Highness was on his way up thesplendid staircase.So there we were, singing our hearts out as HisRoyal Highness came up the stairs and looked,listened and smiled. After we’d finished thesong, Prince Charles and the people with himapplauded while smiling joyously. He thencame over and spoke to us about the tour, rehearsalsand what it’s like to be a SingingClub member. Everyone was just smiling andnodding, everyone was in total awe!We were all overjoyed with how well it hadgone and that we had sung in Buckingham Palace!WOW! What a night!Well done girls and thanks to Maxine for writingsuch a descriptive account! For anyonewho thinks that they may be interested in joiningthe WNO singing club – there is no formalaudition process, and it is for pupils aged 10 –14. (See Mrs Richards for further information.)Pupils have worked diligently to prepare for their practical assessments in GCSE, AS and ALevel Music this term.