For one night only on Thursday 3rd October 2024, members of the public, Southern Regional College (SRC) staff and students took to the recording studio in SRC’s Armagh campus to rehearse, record and sing their hearts out to the Oasis single “She’s Electric”, as a fundraiser for the charity Aspire NI.
The event saw staff and students from SRC’s Music Department put out a call on social media for members of the public to come together for one night and create an impromptu chorus crew choir, welcoming both signers and karaoke wannabes alike.
A preview of the single and accompanying video is expected to be released on social media in the coming weeks leading up to Christmas, with the full single being available to purchase, raising vital funds for Aspire NI’s work here in the local area.
Aspire NI works with children and young people in Northern Ireland to support educational attainment where there is low family income or poverty. The Northern Ireland Audit Office reported in March 2024 around a fifth of Northern Irish children live in relative poverty. This has a significant impact on the health, education and economic outcomes of children and young people.
Leading the choir was musician and composer Rachael Power. Rachel has written music for multiple youth choirs and spent the summer in the United States leading choirs at summer camps. The College was delighted to have Rachel’s expertise in leading the chorus crew on Thursday night.
The College’s Music Department has been working with Aspire NI since 2016, with music students playing, singing and recording a Christmas track each year. This year is the first year the Christmas single has been opened up for the public to join.
Over the past three years, the Music Department has raised a total of £2,000 for Aspire NI and is hoping to continue fundraising these vital funds for the charity with this year’s single.
Amy Carson, Music & Performing Arts Production Coordinator at Southern Regional College commented:
“We are thrilled to be collaborating with Aspire NI once again! It’s always an amazing opportunity when we can get our students involved with the work that Aspire do. Also, a big thank you to Rachael Power for coming down and making us into wonderful choral singers!
We can’t wait for everyone to check out the video when it is released – keep an eye out on socials.”
A special thanks goes out to students who recorded music for the track and those who were studio engineers for the evening. This includes Aaron Beattie (drums), Jos Lennon (bass), Niall Wilson (piano), Joel Clarke (lead guitar), Saran O’Machail (acoustic guitar), James Aulds (rhythm guitar), Ben Cambell (studio engineer) and Eoin Campbell (studio engineer).
