The world’s largest children’s choir concerts returned to UK arenas for a 30-date tour recently, calling on audio design and delivery services from Britannia Row Productions. Through Young Voices, more than 2.5m children have been gifted the opportunity to perform in arenas worldwide with touring solutions worthy of any pop or rock act.
Developing from what was originally to be a one-off adult choir in a Welsh rugby stadium more than 30 years ago, the Young Voices brand has today become one of the most significant and important outlets for youth performance. A commemorative plaque has been installed at London’s O2 Arena in recognition of 500,000 children having performed in the venue since it opened in 2007, officially naming its north side, The Young Voices End.
‘For a child, Young Voices can often be their first large-scale live musical experience so it’s vital we get it right,’ says Young Voices CEO, Ben Lewis. ‘Britannia Row felt the same – they wanted to bring their expertise in delivering a totally professional experience to the children and artists. You start to think along the lines of “if you could design a child’s first concert, how would you make that as impactful as possible?”
‘Being in a big group, surrounded by your friends takes the nerves away, so they feel free to express themselves. It’s important to show off the tech so when they look around the arena they can see the incredible PA system, rigging, lighting set-up and mixing desks, and they know they are part of something that is beyond anything they’ve been involved in before.
‘A key element from the start was to have the same production values for the children as for adults,’ he adds.
This year, the sound system comprised SSL L550 mixing consoles for both FOH and monitors, with L-Acoustics K2 main and side hangs, Kara II for the choir hangs, KS28 subs, Kara II for front fill and LA12X amplification. Shure PSM1000 systems were used for IEMs alongside Axient radio mics.
Lewis explains that because the children – 5,000-9,000 per concert courtesy of local schools – are singing rock, pop, classical, gospel, jazz and hip-hop in one night, it’s the perfect setting to appreciate how different genres can sound. ‘We want to introduce these children to the widest variety of genres and styles but in the most authentic way possible. Britannia Row helps us do that. What other concert could segue from into a medley.’
‘My dad, David Lewis [founder of Young Voices, and arranger of the original adult World Choir), and Britannia Row’s Bryan Grant clicked the first time they met. My dad wanted the same production levels as a stadium concert but didn’t have the budget, so it was very much a case of, “this is what we’ve got, and this is what we’re trying to achieve”. From the very start, Bryan understood that desire for excellence and said, “as you grow, we can grow”. He helped us because he believed in the concept and in us as a team. I’ll always be grateful for that.’
Now handled by Account Executive Tom Brown, it’s a relationship that has stood the test of time. And while it’s an experiential night out for 7-12 year olds, Young Voices has also become the kind of unique tour many renowned mix engineers love to work on.
‘We bring in some interesting talent,’ Lewis says. ‘When you look at the engineers and the different people that have been on our tours; the late, great Barry Bartlett [sound engineer and Britannia Row Productions Training Course Director], and Colin Pink, we’ve had the most amazing people leave their imprint on our legacy.’
‘PA tech Paul Gardiner, monitor engineer Dee Miller and I come back year-after-year because it’s very worthwhile for us,’ Audio Crew Chief, Grace Howat agrees. ‘We all find it very wholesome and we’re proud to be involved. It’s such a contribution and the collaboration between all teams within this production make it a special tour to deliver.’
The Britannia Row Productions touring audio crew is completed by Luke Cohen as Stage Tech; Gavin Tempany as FOH engineer; Fergus Mount as RF Tech and Bart de Wit as System Engineer.
Due to the number of vocalists, the Young Voices audio set-up is also cretied with the largest monitor system in the world. ‘That’s certainly not easy,’ says Lewis. ‘There are 200 schools to manage, and the technical elements that go into that is quite something.’
And it’s not just the UK which benefits from this concept; Young Voices also visits North America: ‘Our US producers also work on Trans-Siberian Orchestra and use Clair Global for their audio,’ Lewis elaborates. ‘It was only a couple of years into us bringing the tour to America and using Clair that Britannia Row became part of the Clair Global family, and they made everything easy.’
‘It’s all about working together to give more access and opportunities to kids to think about live music as an industry,’ says Howat. ‘When the Clair acquisition happened, we knew that they had a very similar philosophy to the work that Britannia Row does, and that’s important. At the end of the day, Clair is a family-run business with maverick thinking, it’s ground-breaking and it pushes boundaries to be the best it can.’
This year’s performers include Nandi Bushell, the viral drumming sensation who found well-deserved fame as a ten-year-old protégé when she challenged Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl to a drum battle. He was so impressed she was consequently flown to LA to play at the Forum with the band.
‘I phoned her dad while we were on tour last year to pitch Young Voices and to have Nandi on the next tour with us,’ says Lewis. ‘He said, “We’re in, because Nandi’s brother is in your choir next week at the O2 Arena and he’s so excited to sing”. We’re so glad to have her, she takes centre stage in her own right playing covers of The Who, Metallica, Arctic Monkeys and more – I’m sure a lot of parents were asked for drum kits after the show this year.’
More: www.britanniarow.com
