Join Choir of the Earth to sing for Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee
Hit international online choir, Choir of the Earth, is inviting absolutely everybody worldwide to take part in a free project to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
To mark 70 years since Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne, Choir of the Earth has launched a global project to learn, sing and record a new arrangement of the national anthem of the United Kingdom, God Save The Queen, which it will then present to Her Majesty.
The Choir’s Founder, Mark Strachan BEM, provides more detail:
In honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Choir of the Earth will learn, record and present to Her Majesty a new arrangement of God Save The Queen composed by Ralph Allwood MBE, with a new verse written by our own Choir of the Earth poet.
Absolutely everybody is very welcome to join this exciting project! It is free for everyone right across the world and you do not need to have any singing experience. It is open to everyone!
More than 1,200 people have already signed up and we are on track to make this the largest group ever to sing for The Queen in this way! We would love this to be the largest tribute ever to Her Majesty, so please consider joining and bringing all your family and friends with you. There is no limit to the number of people in this choir.
We shall present our recording to Her Majesty on Wednesday 1 June 2022 as part of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, and premiere it to the public online the following day.
Choir of the Earth’s God Save The Queen project promises to be one of the largest Platinum Jubilee projects, with more than 1,000 people signing up within the first 48 hours alone. The Choir are excited to welcome many more singers to join them, as one chorister explains:
It’s really exciting to have the opportunity to take part in the Jubilee celebrations in a way that includes everybody, no matter where you live, what age you are, or even whether or not you think you can sing! You don’t even have to leave your living room and you can still be part of something really special.
I would encourage everybody to sign up for this brilliant project. Everyone at Choir of the Earth is so welcoming and the rehearsals are such fun. When I joined I was nervous about recording my voice, but honestly, even the recording process is really easy. Just go for it and come and sing with us - after all, how many chances in life do you get to sing for The Queen, especially on an historic event like this?
The new arrangement of God Save The Queen to be sung by the Choir was composed by Ralph Allwood MBE, who will also lead the online rehearsals to teach it, live from his London home. Choir of the Earth will be the first to record this new arrangement.
The Choir will sing three verses, the third of which has been written by Choir of the Earth’s own resident poet, Alexandra Brooke. The new verse reflects on Her Majesty’s 70 years on the throne and thanks her for her dedicated service to the public during these years.
The choir will be accompanied by the organ at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle – The Queen’s private chapel – and played by Luke Bond, the Assistant Director of Music there.
Those who register to take part will be invited to a series of free online sessions with Ralph Allwood MBE to learn the music, which will run from Tuesday 15 – Sunday 20 March. For those who cannot attend the live sessions, these are also recorded for participants to watch at a time that best suits them. Learning tracks are also provided, with each voice part emphasised, to help singers learn their parts.
Following the last session, Ralph will invite everyone to record their voices at home. No special equipment is required – participants are encouraged to use the voice recording facility on their mobile phones and full instructions will be given.
Choir of the Earth’s professional sound engineers will then mix all of the submissions together in the recording studio to create the final choir, which will be presented to Her Majesty’s Private Secretary on Wednesday 1 June, before being premiered publicly via YouTube on Thursday 2 June.
This recording will be presented to Her Majesty almost exactly one year on from the Choir’s tribute to her late husband Prince Philip, when more than 1,500 people worldwide joined together to sing his favourite hymn, Eternal Father, Strong To Save, to mark what would have been his 100th birthday. This recording, also directed by Ralph Allwood MBE and presented to The Queen, is available at:
Further information about this exciting new Platinum Jubilee project and how to take part is available on Choir of the Earth’s website at https://choiroftheearth.com/god-save-the-queen.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
All media queries should be directed to Choir of the Earth’s Communications Manager at communications@theselfisolationchoir.com.
Choir of the Earth began life as The Self-Isolation Choir, which was founded in March 2020 as a response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Its rebranding from as Choir of the Earth in 2021 reflects how the choir has grown and matured from a pandemic phenomenon to an established choir, leading the way with digital singing innovation and climate neutral music-making. The Choir now has more than 6,000 international singers from over 30 countries. Further information about current, future and previous projects is available at https://choiroftheearth.com.
Follow Choir of the Earth on social media: Choir of the Earth on YouTube | @ChoirOfTheEarth on Twitter | Choir of the Earth on Facebook | choiroftheearth on Instagram.
Ralph Allwood MBE was Director of Music at Eton College for 26 years and is now a freelance choral director, teacher and conductor. Ralph has conducted choirs for 40 live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3. In 2017, the Archbishop of Canterbury presented him with the Thomas Cranmer Award for Music and Worship. Ralph is the Director of the Rodolfus Foundation and Choral Courses, which he founded in 1980. Find out more about Ralph at: https://ralphallwood.com
Luke Bond, the Assistant Director of Music at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, will play the organ at St George’s Chapel for this recording. Luke played for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.