LYC North East is a choir for children in school years 3 – 6, based in Tottenham. It’s the fourth LYC regional choir, created as part of our 10th anniversary plan to bring brilliant musical education closer to home for more young people across London.

LYC North East is for children in school years 3-6 who live in Tottenham and surrounding areas of North East London.

You don’t need to have any previous experience of singing, or of singing in choirs or groups. And if you do sing already, it doesn’t matter what style you sing in, or what music you like to sing: there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ singer for a choir, and we sing all sorts of music!

To join LYC North East you first need to audition. That might sound scary, but we make a big effort to ensure that the experience is friendly and supportive. We won’t make bad comments or try to catch you out, we want to see and hear you at your best! We also think it’s important to hear you as part of a group, rather than on your own, so your audition will take the form of a workshop with others.

To find out all about auditioning, visit the Join LYC page.

As a member of LYC North East you will meet every Thursday during term-time for rehearsal.

Rehearsals are always from 4.30-5.30pm. At rehearsals you’ll learn and practice songs and skills, developing abilities and confidence as you go. We frequently invite guest leaders to introduce special music and activities.

You will also get to take part in social activities and make new friends, and new best friends (trust us!)

Other LYC North East membership benefits include your LYC t-shirt, all your music for the term, and access to our secure online members zone, MyLYC.

Finance should not be a barrier to participation in LYC. 

Standard membership fees for the 2024/25 year are £430 with the option to pay more if you want. Membership fees go towards covering the cost of running the choirs. As a charity, LYC subsidises membership fees by around 60% of the true cost of membership through grants and fundraising.

LYC also has a comprehensive financial assistance scheme which offers full or partial help with membership costs, grants for travel to and from rehearsals and concerts, free concert tickets for families, and help with the cost of concert uniform. In 2023-24, we gave financial support to 30% of our membership.

There is so much to get out of being a member of LYC North East: vocal and musical skills and training, experience of concerts, recordings and music videos, social activities and amazing friendships – but don’t take it from us! Watch this video to hear from LYC members.

ASK AWAY!

 

If you’ve got any questions about LYC North East, we’ve almost certainly got the answers! Drop us an email and we’ll be happy to help.

Picture of Laurel Neighbour

LAUREL NEIGHBOUR

Conductor (LYC North East)

(she/her)

Laurel is a musical director and singer with a passion for sharing music-making with others. She currently leads the staff choir for King's College London, conducts Note-orious Community Choir and is leading the new choir London Youth Choir North East. Laurel completed an apprenticeship with the Royal Opera House Thurrock Community Chorus in 2018, led the London Humanist Choir for ten years, worked for many years for Music in Offices. Laurel made her conducting debut at the BBC Proms in 2019 in John Luther Adams' In the Name of the Earth, and conducted Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem in November 2022 with Wokingham Choral Society.

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Laurel studied music at the University of Nottingham and sang as a choral scholar at St Mary's. Growing up in Kent, she sang with Kent Youth Choir, played in Ashford Youth Jazz Orchestra, and learnt to play several instruments in her Mum's folk band. Upon moving to London she was a member of London Youth Choir itself in its founding year, singing with the chamber choir in their performance with The Rolling Stones at the O2 Arena in 2012.

Laurel has performed with many professional choirs, including St Martin-in-the-Field's Voices, London Contemporary Orchestra, Echo Vocal Ensemble, London Choral Sinfonia, National Portrait Gallery Choir, and St Paul’s Cathedral Consort. She is an alumna of Genesis Sixteen, the choral training programme of internationally renowned chamber choir, The Sixteen. She has toured the UK and made several TV and radio appearances with Gareth Malone's Voices, including UK tour “Singalong-a-Gareth”  as a lead vocalist, and penny whistle and ukulele player  in Autumn 2022.

Laurel is also passionate about getting younger voices singing. For several years she was project director for Dartford Choral Outreach and currently leads Hampton Court Palace’s Songstars project, providing singing support to state primary school children in South West London who have limited access to music. Laurel also currently teaches curriculum music for Southwark Music Service, and works as a choral leader with Voces8 Foundation and Voices Foundation.

In her spare time, Laurel can be seen pedalling around London on her purple Peugeot racing bike, Polly.

UNLOCKING YOUNG PEOPLE’S POTENTIAL THROUGH THE POWER OF CHORAL SINGING

[email protected]

+44 (0) 7388 623178