Sam O’Rourke
I was heavily involved with the Stoke-on-Trent City Music Service from a very young age, right up until I left school. Initially, I was a member of the City Youth Training Choir before moving on to the City Youth Choir.
Whilst I was there, I picked up and then began to hone my skills as a singer and member of an ensemble in general. As my passion for music developed, I was encouraged by staff at the Music Service to audition for the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain. This audition was successful and I became a member of The National Youth Children’s Choir, before graduating on to the National Youth Training Choir and finally, the National Youth Choir. Here, I enjoyed some phenomenal performance experiences including performing in the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.
Since then I have gone on to complete 3 years of training and obtained a BA(Hons) degree in Musical Theatre at The Arts Educational Schools, London. From then on I was lucky enough to begin an interesting and exciting career in the Musical Theatre industry.
Upon graduating, I played Gideon in ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ at the prestigious Regents Park Open Air Theatre. This was followed with other touring shows and most recently I appeared in the West End production of ‘Half a Sixpence’, in which I regularly played the lead role of ‘Arthur Kipps’.
I feel very lucky and owe a lot of this success to The City Music Service. Not only was it a fantastic social and personality building experience throughout my childhood and teenage years, but it also taught me vital skills that have had a direct result on my career. These skills still help me in my work on a day to day basis. It’s fair to say that not only has it helped me in my career, but it’s also helped to shape me as a person. I hope that The City Music Service is able to present these opportunities to young people for many years to come!