Why We Sing

This year’s annual concert by The Musical Youth Company of Oxford (MYCO) involved about seventy young performers, including new recruits and this year’s leavers.  The concert provides a good opportunity for less experienced Company members to demonstrate their talent in solo numbers, or to take their first steps into the limelight as part of a small ensemble.  What was most striking about “Why We Sing” was the depth of talent the Company was able to call upon, and on this evidence MYCO is well placed to maintain its high performance standards and reputation for excellence.

The staging was appropriately straightforward, with a few raised platforms allowing some members of the Company to sit down during the solo numbers and providing levels when the whole company was singing.  It was obvious that some thought and effort had been put into building attractive tableaux, and the constant subtle adjustments brought visual interest into a format that can be excessively static.  The dress code was all black in a broad range of styles, combining unity with diversity.  The lighting plot made subtle use of colour to reflect the mood of different musical numbers, while the sound design, combining static microphones across the front of the stage with one or two radio microphones for soloists, maintained a good balance between the singers and the band.  The musicians provided excellent support for the singers.

The programme could have been more varied: yes, there was some comedy; yes, there were some more upbeat numbers; but a significant proportion of the songs performed were emotional ballads or duets, sung in a consistent style by a succession of talented young women.  But hey, it’s a nice problem for the Company to have, and no doubt the Musical Youth Company of Oxford will continue to go from strength to strength thanks to its incredibly capable and determined membership, and inspirational leadership.

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.