Felsted musicians through to Britain’s Got Talent Semi-Final

Three Felsted School musicians are through to the Semi-Finals of ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent as part of the Chineke! Junior Orchestra.

Sana A-J (aged 16 from Goffs Oak), her brother Shesh (aged 14) and Charles C-P (aged 16 from Cranham) are all music scholars at Felsted, where they study with Junior Guildhall in London as part of Felsted’s unique partnership. All three are members of the Junior Guildhall Orchestra, the Felsted Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain as well as being members of the Chineke! Junior Orchestra.

The Chineke! Junior Orchestra is a youth orchestra of Black, Asian and ethnically diverse players aged 11-22 founded in 2015 by Chi-chi Nwanoku OBE, with the aim of creating opportunities for BME musicians in mainstream orchestras where they are currently underrepresented.

At the beginning of the year, the young musicians auditioned for the Britain’s Got Talent Judges at the London Palladium. Their audition gained a standing ovation and four ‘Yeses’ from the Judges with Simon Cowell saying “Your talent is off the chart; where you go is limitless.” With the live shows delayed by the Covid-19 outbreak, there was a long wait for the musicians, but they were delighted to hear they had been selected as one of just 40 acts through to the Semi Final.

Sana comments; “It was a fantastic experience performing to the Judges and to such a large audience and then progressing to the next round. We have really enjoyed this experience so far and are looking forward to the next stage of the competition.”

The Chineke! Junior Orchestra is currently rehearsing for the Semi-Finals which will be airing on Saturday evenings on ITV and STV. To support them, viewers can download the free BGT app to get 5 free votes, or call the number displayed on the night.