THEY sang their hearts out.

Children from schools across the borough joined Huddersfield Choral Society at Huddersfield Town Hall last night to create a 900-strong choir.

The ‘Choral Explosion’ event was part of the choral society’s 175th anniversary celebrations.

And the venue was packed to the rafters for the sell-out performance.

Organiser Barbara Lawson, school improvement officer for music in Kirklees, said: “The children are getting the experience of performing in the town hall and singing with such a world class choir.

“It’s a fantastic experience and partnership for them – and the Choral Society were very keen to work with the children too.

“We called it Choral Explosion because it was an explosion in the size of a choir and I don’t know if we’ve ever had a choir of 900 singing at the Town Hall before.”

Huddersfield Choral Society vice president Jenny Lockwood introduced the musical programme of songs from around the world last night.

Conductor Sue Hollingworth was asked to choose the music and Em Whitfield Brooks penned a narrator’s script to link the pieces together.

Em said: “Children from Moorlands Junior School are the narrators. We thought it’d be more fun that way and in the spirit of the project instead of having a fusty old person doing it.

“We’ve done it as a voyage which sets off from Liverpool and links all the songs together geographically and it has a nautical theme with the narrators dressed as sailors.

“One of the children’s grans made all their sailor scarves and they look brilliant. They are all very good and they’ve worked very hard.”

Nine-year-old Olivia Taylor from Christchurch Woodhouse School, said: “We’ve been singing some songs and during a song called Hari Coo Coo some of us from my school were dancing with saris.

“We’ve been practising for five weeks and I’ve really enjoyed it.

“I’ve sang in the school choir before but I’ve never danced with saris – I’d like to do it again.”

Conductor Sue Hollingworth said the men from the choral society were great role models for the boys.

“Some of the songs are written in two parts – one for the boys and one for the men,’’ she said.

“I think singing is on the up in the whole country and boys singing is on the up too.

“The boys and girls have all done very well and it sounds great when they are all singing in harmony.

“One piece is nine parts and we only got together to put all the parts together this morning but it has all come together very well.

“We’ve also had bells playing and drums and dancing and the piano so there’s been range of different sounds.”

The schools taking part were: Christchurch Woodhouse, Ashbrow Juniors, Birdsedge First, Carlton, Crossley Fields, Crow Lane Primary, Eastborough, Fieldhead, Fixby J&I, Ravenshall, Highburton First, Kayes F&N, Leeside, Longley, Marsden Infants, Nields JIN, Paddock JIN, Skelmanthorpe F&N, St Paulinus, St Saviours, Upperthong J&I, Lindley Junior, Thornhill JIN, Moldgreen JIN, Newsome Junior, The Staincliffe Singers, Moorlands Primary, and Huddersfield Choral Society’s junior choir.