We are delighted to share the video of children from Collège Guynemer in Nancy (France) singing and playing Just One World, this year’s Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages song. The school orchestra and choir performed and recorded the song in English and you can click here to see the video.
Collège Guynemer is linked with Benton Park school in Newcastle, who will be visiting Nancy in May.
The choir and the orchestra of the music teacher Mrs Manonni are proud to participate to the festival for the second year.
Déborah Keeton, Collège Guynemer, Nancy, France
Just One World – the Festival Song
Children from schools, choirs, orchestras and community groups across the North East region are singing, playing, signing and recording Just One World as part of the Festival this month. The Festival Song is a great way to encourage children to sing in different languages and be part of the Festival, which is a regional celebration of our diverse languages and cultures and our connections to the world.
Declan Baharini (International Newcastle) and Sarah Edgar (Newcastle City Council, School Effectiveness) have helped develop this project, which is led by Georgina Biddle and Gareth Miller (Music Partnership North), who have also engaged all the music hubs and services in the region to support schools and groups to engage. Gareth wrote and arranged the song and International Newcastle and our partners at Newcastle University (Language Resource Centre) and Durham University (School of Modern Languages and Cultures), as well as in communities have provided translations and recordings in British Sign Language, Bengali/Bangla, French, Greek, German, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Urdu, Romani, Spanish, Yoruba, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian.
The singers and performers will submit videos this week and a compilation recording will be produced by Gareth Miller at Music Partnership North, showcasing the talents of children from across the North East – and Nancy – singing in many different languages. This is the second time that a song has been part of the Festival, now in it’s third year. Be inspired by performances by the region’s children and young people in the compilation video of the 2022 Festival Song: I am a small part of the world.
It is fantastic to have this recording from our partners in Nancy and so impressive to see the French children playing instruments and singing in English. When the global and local situation is so challenging, partnerships bringing children and schools together to develop links, understanding and friendships are even more important.
Thank you to Déborah Keeton, the choir and orchestra and Mrs Manonni from Collège Guynemer for taking part.
Declan Baharini, Director, International Newcastle and Co-ordinator, Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages