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West End star 'moved to tears' at Jersey Sings

Chris Craddock
BBC Jersey communities reporter
Reporting fromSt Helier
Angela Ferguson
BBC News
BBC Three girls are smiling and wearing T-shirts saying Music in Action and Jersey Sings! They stand in front of chairs in St Helier Methodist Centre. BBC
Summer, 11, Evie, nine, and Freya, 11, say they loved the experience

Schoolchildren who got the chance to sing with stars of the West End have said it was an "amazing" experience.

Hundreds of children took part in the Jersey Sings Across the Bay event, performing songs such as A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman and specially arranged compositions.

Laura Pick, who is currently playing Elphaba in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria in London, said: "I got really emotional," adding she cried while listening to the children performing.

One of those taking part, Freya, 11, said the event was "important because people need to know that it's not scary to sing in front of people and to feel like they are expressing different emotions".

Hayley, Flo and Oak are standing next to each other. They are all smiling and wearing white T-shirts, two of which have Jersey Sings! on them.
Hayley, eight, said it was a fun experience, while Flo, eight, said it was "really exciting" and Oak, also eight, said it was "really amazing"

Laura Pick said it was great to visit Jersey for the first time, adding that she had also shed a tear while listening to the children "singing their hearts out".

Oliver Tompsett, who played Fiyero as part of the original cast of Wicked and Galileo in We Will Rock You, was also at the event.

"I got really emotional and turned to Oliver and I was crying," said Pick.

She said it was really important that charities like Music in Action organised such events to give children opportunities that they might not otherwise have had.

Laura Pick has long curly blonde hair and is smiling. She is wearing a colourful striped summer dress as she stands in the Methodist Centre.
West End star Laura Pick said she was moved to tears hearing the children sing

Also taking part in the event at St Helier Methodist Centre were Summer, 11, Evie, nine, and Hayley, Oak and Flo, all aged eight.

At a special evening concert, Tompsett and Pick performed songs from the musicals.

Speaking after the event, Freya said: "It's crazy but I never thought I would be able to do that."

She said that "seeing the actors and seeing everyone have fun and just express their feelings" was her favourite part of the day.

Summer said: "It feels like I can express myself through singing", adding that it was "amazing" to sing with other people including West End stars.

Oak told BBC Jersey: "I felt a bit nervous but, at the same time, really excited."

Oliver Tompsett is smiling as he stands in front of rows of seating in a performance space. He has short brown hair and is wearing a white shirt.
West End star Oliver Tompsett also took part in the event, as well as performing an evening of songs from the musicals alongside Laura Pick

Matt and Sarah Winter said being in the audience to watch their daughter sing with the rest of the group had been emotional.

Mr Winter said it was "a cracking performance" and they felt "a little bit tearful hearing all those children sing".

Matt and Sarah Winter are smiling and have their arms around each other. Matt is wearing a colourful black shirt with plants and flowers and Sara is wearing a green dress.
Matt and Sarah Winter said it was emotional listening to their daughter and the rest of the children who performed at the event

Christina Tedders from Music in Action said it had been "a really important community event".

She said it could have "a really big impact" on children, boosting their confidence and experiencing "the joy of singing together", which was why the charity continued to put so much effort into it.

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