A TALENTED teenage singer from Warwick had a right royal day out recently.
Nefeli Terzopoulou, an AC Academy Scholar with the Warwick-based choir and music charity Armonico Consort, received an invite to the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey.
Her scholarship is funded by the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Fund (PWCF) which was founded by the King when he was Prince of Wales. PWCF nominated 17 year-old Nefeli to receive the invitation to the historic occasion.
Nefeli said: “I couldn’t believe it when I found out I was invited, I was in total shock and excitement.
“And then being there, well it was a life-changing experience to say the least. This has been such an inspiration for me to keep pursuing my singing.”
She met and spoke with Dame Sharon White – chair of John Lewis Partnership and Waitrose, and Michael Jary – chair of Duchy Originals Limited, which provide Waitrose Duchy Organic income for PWCF to support good causes through its grant-making programmes.
And much to Nefeli’s deligt she also met Ant and Dec.
Despite moving to Cheltenham, Nefeli continues to sing in the Warwick-based AC Academy after-school choir, making the 100-mile round trip twice a week for rehearsals.
As a scholar, she receives free specialist singing lessons with Elizabeth Atkinson and mentoring from Armonico’s founder director Christopher Monks. She has also had the opportunity to sing alongside Armonico Consort’s professional singers in major concerts including at the Royal Albert Hall.
As well as having fun and making friends, Nefeli says that singing has helped to build her confidence and overcome anxiety, particularly during stressful exam periods.
“Armonico and singing have been my rock; it just clicked. I get a real feeling of euphoria when I sing. You can forget your issues and I just love the music, whether it’s Bach or Handel or ‘O Fortuna’ from Carmina Burana. AC Academy Warwick came at just the right moment for me.”
AC Academy is Armonico Consort’s singing education programme, which reaches 15,000 young people a year through its in-school Choir Creation scheme and after school AC Academy choirs, offering life-changing experiences and first-class performance opportunities.
Armonico Consort’s Encore Appeal is raising funds to support more Choir Creations in schools, especially in deprived areas. Visit www.armonico.org.uk for further details.
