Infant Voices Festival 2027
Portsmouth Music Service is proud to deliver this event commissioned and funded by Portsmouth Music Hub.
Infant Voices Festival gives KS1 children from across Portsmouth the opportunity to come together, sing, perform, and celebrate music with other schools across the city.
The festival includes a week of performances hosted in schools across Portsmouth, followed by an optional showcase concert at Portsmouth Guildhall for Year 1 and Year 2 pupils.
For 2027, we will be embarking on a space-themed musical adventure, exploring songs from Out of the Ark Music’s My World: Space songbook alongside a selection of songs from Portsmouth Music Service’s SpaceScape Songbook.
What do Schools have to do?
Join the online planning session on Wednesday 11 November at 4:00pm (Teams)
Teach five community songs before your allocated festival date
Prepare one class song to perform at your allocated festival
Why take part?
Inspire a love of singing and performing in your pupils
Enjoy a fun, space-themed musical experience with schools from across Portsmouth
Build confidence through a shared performance with hundreds of children.
Opportunity for Year 1 and 2 pupils to perform at the prestigious Portsmouth Guildhall as part of the Infant Voices Showcase performance
Frequently Asked Questions
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The Infant Voices Festival Week takes place from Monday 22 February to Friday 26 February 2027.
Schools can also choose to take part in the Infant Voices Showcase at Portsmouth Guildhall on Tuesday 16 March 2027 at 6:00pm.
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Festivals take place at host schools across the city. When registering, schools can indicate their preferred dates and venues and will then be allocated a festival session.
Tuesday 23 February | 9:45am - 11am | Portsdown Primary School
Tuesday 23 February | 1:15pm - 2:30pm | Southsea Infant School
Wednesday 24 February | 9:45am - 11am | Manor Infant School
Wednesday 24 February | 1:15pm - 2:30pm | St. Paul’s Catholic Primary School
Thursday 25 February | 9:45am - 11am | Langstone Primary Academy
Friday 26 February | 9:45am - 11am | Stamshaw Infant School
Friday 26 February | 13:15pm - 14:30pm | Cottage Grove Primary School
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Morning Festivals: Arrive by 9:35 for a 9:45 start. The festival will finish by 11:00
Afternoon Festivals: Arrive by 13:05 for a 13:15 start. The festival will finish by 14:30.
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Schools may bring up to three classes in any combination of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, subject to venue capacity.
For example:
One Reception class, one Year 1 class and one Year 2 class
Three Year 2 classes
Any other combination that works for your school
Please note, while we will always do our best to accommodate your preferences, if you wish for three classes to take part in the Infant Voices Festival Week, we cannot guarantee that all three classes will be able to attend the same festival session. In some cases, due to venue capacity, a third class may be allocated to your second-choice festival. Should this be necessary, we will contact you directly to discuss the arrangements.
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All schools taking part will learn and perform five community songs.
In addition, each school attending the festival should prepare one solo song:
Schools taking part in the Guildhall Showcase will be allocated a solo song that they will perform at the festival and the showcase performance
Schools not taking part in the Guildhall Showcase may choose a song from the suggested solo song list or select their own song, provided it fits the Space theme.
Please note all schools should prepare a solo song, regardless of whether they plan to take part in the Guildhall Showcase.
All music, lyrics and backing tracks for the community songs and any allocated or suggested solo songs from the Out of the Ark and Portsmouth Music Service resources will be provided.
If your school is only attending a festival and chooses to perform a different solo song, the backing track must be provided to Portsmouth Music Service in advance of your allocated festival. Please ensure that backing tracks are instrumental only, with no adult or children's voices included.
To help create a confident and engaging performance, children should learn all songs from memory and be familiar with the lyrics before attending the festival.
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Absolutely! Costumes and simple props are welcome, but they are entirely optional. The focus is on enjoying the music and singing together.
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Schools may bring one class (approximately 30 children) from either Year 1 or Year 2.
If additional places become available, schools will be offered these on a first-come, first-served basis.
Festival Information
How to access the songs
This year’s Infant Voices Festival uses songs from both the Out of the Ark Music’s My World: Space songbook and Portsmouth Music Service’s SpaceScape songbook, giving schools access to a wide range of exciting space-themed repertoire. Most songs are from the Out of the Ark Music’s My World: Space songbook, while songs available through SongSource are clearly labelled.
Out of the Ark Music’s My World: Space
Log in to your Out of the Ark account, or create one if you do not already have one. Registration is free: www.outoftheark.co.uk/login
Email Portsmouth Music Service with the email address linked to your Out of the Ark account.
Portsmouth Music Service will link your account to the Portsmouth Music Service organisation account.
Once linked, the My World: Space songbook will appear in your list of eSongbooks within your Out of the Ark account.
You will then be able to access:
Song lyrics
Backing tracks
Lyric videos
These resources can be accessed either by streaming online through your Out of the Ark account or by downloading and using the Words on Screen Player.
If your school subscribes to Sparkyard, access to the Out of the Ark Music’s My World: Space is already included within your existing subscription. Simply log in with your Sparkyard account details to access the resources.
Portsmouth Music Service’s SpaceScape Songbook
Songs taken from the Portsmouth Music Service SpaceScape Songbook are clearly identified in the repertoire list below and can be accessed via SongSource.
If you have any difficulties accessing either resource, please contact Portsmouth Music Service for assistance.
Choir A Community Songs
A Martian Flew To Planet Earth
Does The Man In The Moon Make Music?
Big Bang Planet (Song Source)
Choir A Showcase Schools Solo Songs
Shooting Star (Song Source)
Choir B Community Songs
Great, Green, Google-Eyed Alien
Big Bang Planet (Song Source)
Choir B Showcase Schools Solo Songs
For schools taking part in the Festival only (not the Guildhall Showcase), you are welcome to choose a solo song from the suggested list below or select another song with a space theme. Your chosen song does not need to come from the Out of the Ark Space Songbook or SongSource.
Showcase Performance Information
Tickets
Tickets for the showcase are £9.50 and families will have first access to booking via the Guildhall website using the special schools booking link before later being made available to the general public. This will be sent to schools in due course.
Tickets are initially limited to a maximum of 4 tickets per child, with additional tickets available to book at a later date.