The Sixteen is able to provide guidance and advice to young singers through Trinity College of Music’s award-winning Mentor Scheme. This scheme allows selected students at Trinity College of Music to work in collaboration with The Sixteen and be mentored by members of The Sixteen. The module enables students to experience the working life of a musician and/or ensemble, thereby cultivating an appreciation of the expectations and demands of the profession and an awareness of current issues and debates. Participants observe rehearsals and concerts and also receive individual help and advice from their mentors.

One of the current mentees, Kara Flourish, describes her first few months on the scheme:

As part of the new Masters course at TrinityLaban, students have the chance to elect themselves for a project and I was thrilled to be offered the chance to be part of the Mentor scheme where we get to meet professionals in the music industry and learn their trade from them. The first rehearsal I went to was in November, where they were midway into a recording period of music by Monteverdi. Despite last minute delays to the start of the session we were still warmly welcomed by all and met our individual mentors for the first time. My mentor Charlotte, a former student at the Royal Welsh college of Music and Drama like myself, and a student of the same voice teacher as me seemed to have been perfectly matched to me and was charming and helpful throughout the day. From singers who were relatively new to The Sixteen to those who have been members since the choir was first formed, it was genuinely wonderful to meet such normal yet talented people who so obviously love what they are doing.

Once the session had started we were at last able to watch Harry Christophers at work and were first treated to only the male voices of the choir. Taking place in St Silas the Martyr, the glorious music swirled around what can only be described as the perfect setting for such majestic singing. The versatility and brightness of the Tenor section in particular was so exciting to witness. The phrasing of the intertwining musical lines was done with such care and beauty and the commitment by all singers to the interpretation and text was clear to see and hear. This is what made the biggest impact on me that day, the amount of energy each singer put into communicating the text, something which I will now strive to improve on as a performer and choral singer myself.

This term alone I have been lucky enough to see how the choir work during a recording session and during rehearsal periods leading up to a performance. In December I went to see The Sixteen rehearse at the Warehouse, Waterloo and on this occasion heard a variety of different compositions. Here I witnessed the great camaraderie amongst the choir members and also between director and choir. (I guess you can expect such a calm and friendly atmosphere when the choir has had over 70 engagements this year alone and spend most of their time it seems in each other’s company.) The pace of the rehearsal was to be admired. Nothing needed to be said more than once, there was not one moment of time wasted meaning that more detail and precision was applied to the music. It is now 2012 and I am looking forward to seeing the choir throughout the next six months and cannot wait until our next encounter.