Christmas Programme 2023
🎄 Merry Christmas, Choir of the Earth!
Whatever faith you have (or whether you have any at all), we hope you have enjoyed counting down to Christmas Day with us during December. Here is the final piece for this year:
Check what's in today's bauble here!
Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful day full of all your favourite things and we look forward to seeing you again in 2024!
With lots of love and wishes for a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!
❤️ Team COTE ❤️
🧑🏼🦳🧔🏼♂️👨🏻🦰👩🏻🧑🏻🦰
On Thursday 21 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, we will hold a post-concert Christmas party on Zoom.
We will have a short gathering in “the big room” followed by 5 x 15-minute ‘shuffles’ into breakout rooms so you can chat in smaller groups. The team will be shuffled too so it’s the luck of the draw who you will ‘meet’ on the day.
The details to join the party are here:
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82417260233?pwd=eBObW3gv6SO9W4wH1GMSaDbFP1kP8C.1
Meeting ID: 824 1726 0233 | Passcode: eggshells
We hope to see you there!
On Thursday 21 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, we will premiere Choir of the Earth’s brand new Christmas performance for 2023: Ralph Vaughan Williams’ festive Fantasia on Christmas Carols and Bob Chilcott’s magical Mid-Winter!
The ever-brilliant Ben England will conduct on-screen for those singing along at home, and we invite absolutely everybody to join Mark the rest of the Team in the live chat to share festive cheer.
On Wednesday 20 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Ben will go live to present the world premiere of Pacis Et Caritas, composed specially for Choir of the Earth by Patrick Hawes, with text inspired by our Founder, Mark Strachan BEM.
Ben will firstly conduct this special piece live on screen for those who wish to sing along at home, then share a music video that pairs the performance with images to evoke the spirit of the piece. Absolutely everybody is very welcome to join us, live or later.
On Tuesday 19 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, join Mark and Ben by the virtual fireside for a cosy chats with Ben McKee, one of the Fieri Consort basses. He will answer your questions and talk about his career, experience of working with Choir of the Earth so far and much more.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is necessary to list this event as a YouTube Premiere in the first instance for practical purposes - however it is intended for Choir of the Earth Members only and will be hidden from public view as soon as the premiere finishes. Please do not share the link.
This is Choir of the Earth’s fourth Christmas since its inception in 2020, during which we have recorded so much wonderful Christmas music together.
On Monday 18 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, we will premiere a musical selection box of the Choir’s past performances, accompanied by beautiful festive imagery to give them that extra Choir of the Earth sparkle! ✨
Absolutely everybody is invited to enjoy this concert, live or later, so please do share it widely.
Over the previous days, we have enjoyed Choir of the Earth’s Concert Films for John Cage’s 4’33”, Mozart’s Lacrimosa arranged by Martín Palmeri, and Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon, arranged by Kirby Shaw.
On Saturday 16 December 2023 at 14:00 UK time, we will show a selection of these videos back-to-back in a special Outstanding Encores premiere, which absolutely everybody is very welcome to enjoy, live or later.
On Friday 15 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, join Mark and Ben by the virtual fireside for cosy chats with Tom Kelly and Josh Cooter, two of the Fieri Consort tenors. They will answer your questions and talk about their careers, experiences of working with Choir of the Earth so far and much more.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is necessary to list this event as a YouTube Premiere in the first instance for practical purposes - however it is intended for Choir of the Earth Members only and will be hidden from public view as soon as the premiere finishes. Please do not share the link.
On Thursday 14 December 2023, Mark will make his way to Ben’s studio for a brand new Over To You session! The stream will last 3 hours so feel free to pop in and out, wrap your Christmas gifts or join in the always-lively chat while you watch.
You can expect lots of great music performed by the best choir in the world (yes, that’s you!), as well as fun chat and quite a few giggles too!
Please note this event is intended for Choir of the Earth Members only - please do not share the link.
On Wednesday 13 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, join Mark and Ben by the virtual fireside for cosy chats with Nancy Cole, one of the Fieri Consort altos. She will answer your questions and talk about her career, experience of working with Choir of the Earth so far and much more.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is necessary to list this event as a YouTube Premiere in the first instance for practical purposes - however it is intended for Choir of the Earth Members only and will be hidden from public view as soon as the premiere finishes. Please do not share the link.
On Tuesday 12 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Ben will go live to share Choir of the Earth’s performance of pop classic Bridge Over Troubled Water, written by Paul Simon, with a beautiful choral arrangement by Kirby Shaw.
Ben will conduct the piece on-screen for those singing along at home, before introducing and playing a music video featuring beautiful imagery that evokes the spirit of the piece. Absolutely everybody is very welcome to come along live or enjoy later.
We are very proud to present the world premiere of a piece commissioned by Choir of the Earth from Argentinian composer Martín Palmeri.
On Monday 11 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Ben will go live to present the world premiere of this exciting piece, firstly conducting live on screen for those who wish to sing along at home, then sharing a music video that pairs the performance with images to evoke the spirit of the piece. Absolutely everybody is very welcome to come along live or enjoy later.
Over the previous days, we have enjoyed Choir of the Earth’s Concert Films for Pachelbel’s Magnificat, Bach’s Jesu Joy Of Man’s Desiring, and Indodana arranged by Barrett & Schmitt.
On Saturday 9 December 2023 at 14:00 UK time, we will show a selection of these videos back-to-back in a special Outstanding Encores premiere, which absolutely everybody is very welcome to enjoy, live or later.
On Friday 8 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, absolutely everybody is very welcome to join Choir of the Earth for the premiere of our performance of 4’33” by John Cage.
Our audio recordings of this piece have been mixed in the studio to produce something very unique, and the accompanying video will showing our members and team performing it on-screen. However, this performance is not simply a passive experience - we invite the audience to immerse themselves in the piece and perform it along with us at home.
On Thursday 7 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, join Mark and Ben by the virtual fireside for cosy chats with Lucy Cox and Hannah Ely, two of the Fieri Consort sopranos. They will answer your questions and talk about their careers, experiences of working with Choir of the Earth so far and much more.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is necessary to list this event as a YouTube Premiere in the first instance for practical purposes - however it is intended for Choir of the Earth Members only and will be hidden from public view as soon as the premiere finishes. Please do not share the link.
On Wednesday 6 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Choir of the Earth's Musical Director Ben England will go live to premiere the international Choir's performance of Indodana - a traditional isiXhosa piece, arranged by Michael Barrett and Ralf Schmitt. Ben will conduct the piece live for those wishing to sing along at home, then premiere a special music video to accompany with the music.
Absolutely everybody is very welcome to come along live or enjoy later.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
📄 Please click here to view and download a poster that you can share with your family and friends
On Tuesday 5 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Choir of the Earth's Musical Director Ben England will go live to premiere the international Choir's performance of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by J.S. Bach. Ben will conduct the piece live with the score onscreen for those singing along at home, before introducing and playing our new music video, featuring evocative imagery to complement the Choir’s wonderful recording.
Absolutely everybody is very welcome to come along live or enjoy later.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
📄 Please click here to view and download a poster that you can share with your family and friends
On Monday 4 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Choir of the Earth's Musical Director Ben England will go live to premiere the international Choir's performance of Pachelbel's Magnificat. He will conduct the piece live for those wishing to sing along at home, then premiere a special music video to accompany with the music.
Absolutely everybody is very welcome to come along live or enjoy later.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
📄 Click here to view and download a poster that you can share with your family and friends
On Saturday 2 December 2023 at 14:00 UK time, Choir of the Earth will premiere a very special version of its members’ performance of Vivaldi's Dixit Dominus, paired with imagery specially selected to enhance the storytelling.
🖥️ Click here to join us at the premiere
📄 Click here to view and download the poster to share with your family and friends
On Friday 1 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Choir of the Earth Members and guests will hear the international Choir's final performance of Vivaldi's Dixit Dominus for the first time. This stream will be presented live by Musical Director Ben England, who will conduct on-screen for those singing along at home.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
📄 Click here to view and download the poster to share with your friends and family