Young Vocalist Competition 2024

On 12th Oct 2024, I took a group of three students - Ian Nyachoti, Harlene Singh and Ruth Maanzo - for the 4th edition of the Young Vocalists Competition preliminaries held at Peponi school. These three students did their best in selecting and preparing two songs each of contrasting styles: Ian performing “Mourning song “ (Serpentwithfeet) and “At last” (Etta James), Ruth with “Misty” (Ella Fiztgerald) and “Body and soul” (Anita Baker) and Harlene with “Hopelessly devoted to you” (from Grease) and “Fever” (Peggy Lee). They would be heard practising and giving each other constructive feedback. The competition went well, and one of our students, Harlene Singh, was selected as a finalist, to perform on 27th Oct 2024 at the same venue.

Here are some thoughts on the competition from Harlene in her own words.

Grace Nangabo (Ms.)

On Saturday, 12th October, Peponi school was the stage for an exciting preliminary round of the Young Vocalists Competition preliminaries.

In a very laid-back, low-key environment- certainly a contrast to the jittery, tense atmosphere of our own Braeburn auditions—Ian Nyachoti, Ruth Maanzo, and I took the stage, with none other than our maestro- Ms. Nangabo who accompanied us on the piano, and gave us the nod to get in time with our performances, or even to 'check out' the refreshments table, which by the way, were nothing compared to our Braeburn samosas. It wasn’t just about performing though; we also had the chance to hear some incredible voices from other schools country-wide, which made the day even more special and memorable.

And the best part? We’ve made it to the finals! I feel honoured to have been chosen to represent Braeburn even more- stay tuned to see if I can bag us a nice shiny trophy.

Harlene Singh 13S