St George’s Children’s Choir Club

We are offering an after school children’s choir club for two age groups.

The choir club aims to foster:

• a love of music through singing

• the building of confidence in performance

• music reading and vocal skills

The children learn through singing games and getting to know songs, secular and sacred, from all over the world.

Opportunities to perform will occur throughout the year and also at monthly “All Age Sunday Church Services”.

2025

Wednesday 15th January to 26th March (10 sessions). Half term break, Wednesday 19th February.

3.45 doors open, class for all 4-5pm

£100 for the term

Age range 5-11 year olds.

Bursaries available upon application.

Click here to register your interest.

Marcella Di Garbo, Italian soprano, is an enthusiastic and gifted teacher and performer across the UK and in Italy. From earliest years she has been singing in groups led by renowned teachers and conductors with a specialty for children’s work and has had a desire ever since university days in Genoa, to pass the gift on in her own teaching practice - beginning with work for Trillargento, a branch of El Sistema. She came to London in 2017 on a scholarship for the Master of Performance course at the Royal College of Music, studying with Sally Burgess. Her solo career continues with performances in opera, including at the Brighton Early Music Festival and the Teatro Martinetti in Garlasco. Currently she is teaching musicianship at The Nucleo Project (a group pioneered in North Kensington in 2013, now linked with Sistema England); and giving individual singing lessons to all ages, through Demisemiquaver Studio. She has developed her choral training skills in the Kodaly method - another inspiring source which she encountered very early on - at a summer course in 2022 (AIKEM, Kodaly Society in Italy) and online.

Marcella says :

I have always been fascinated by the genuine response of children to music; it captivated me from an early age and I long to bring that experience to others. Following the inspiration of Maestro Abreu, founder of El Sistema, who said ’Music transforms adversity into hope - challenge into achievement.. and dreams into reality’, I love to set positive goals and then strive to achieve them with the best quality possible for all who I teach, and for myself. Learning with joy is for me the foundation to all I want to bring to children’s education.

The Choir Club staff will include Richard Nicholls and Jennifer Thorn, who are also performing musicians and teachers.

Jenny is an experienced violinist and chamber musician who has toured with many chamber orchestras and opera groups in the UK, and enjoyed a time in the BBC Radio Orchestra playing a wonderful variety of popular songs. Jenny teaches violin at the Centre for Young Musicians and at Putney High School. A keen singer, Jenny has also taken voice and choral conducting training.

Richard currently teaches music at St Peter's CE Primary Chippenham Mews. Previously he taught at St Thomas', St Barnabas & St Philip's CE Primaries and at Fox. Prior to moving to London Richard was Music Director at Geelong Grammar, Glamorgan, The Melbourne Youth Choir and Melbourne Voices.