The final selection for the Coronation Choir, which features more than 300 amateur singers, has been made.
In celebration of King Charles’ coronation, the choir will be performing at a much-anticipated public event over the Bank Holiday weekend.
But what exactly is the coronation choir? Who is in it? When will the group be performing?
MailOnline reveals everything you need to know about the Coronation Choir ahead of the big weekend.
The Coronation Choir, which features more than 300 amateur singers,will be performing at a much-anticipated public event over the Bank Holiday weekend to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III
What is the Coronation Choir?
The Coronation Choir is a 300-strong band of amateur singers from across the UK, each of them brought together into one group to perform in front of the newly crowned King Charles III.
The build-up to the Coronation Choir’s performance is captured in the BBC documentary Sing For The King: The Search For The Coronation Choir.
The programme will be shown on the evening of Friday, 5 May, 2023, at 20:00 BST on BBC One.
Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden, TV choirmaster Gareth Malone and Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse will offer advice to the choir members as they sing together for the first time.
‘It’s the most wonderful opportunity for hundreds of very dedicated singers,’ says Amanda.
Also involved is Rose Ayling-Ellis, the deaf former EastEnder and 2021 Strictly winner, who’s been concentrating her efforts on UNIFY, an all-deaf group of singers set up just a year ago.
‘I’m here to give them the confidence to perform on stage. It’s nerve-racking to perform to the world so I can give them advice on that because I’ve done loads of nerve-racking stuff now!’
The Coronation Choir, a 300-strong band of amateur singers from across the UK brought together to perform in front of the newly crowned King Charles III. Strictly judge Motsi Mabuse, pictured, together with Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden and TV choirmaster Gareth Malone, will offer advice to the choir members as they sing together for the first time
Who is in the Coronation Choir?
Over 700 amateur singing groups applied to be a part of the Coronation Concert.
Those chosen include farmers from Northern Ireland, NHS workers in Hull, London firefighters and cab drivers, a Welsh male voice choir, Yorkshire’s only female South Asian choir and Gaelic singers from Scotland’s Western Isles.
Gareth Malone, star of BAFTA-winning TV series The Choir, has been pulling no punches when it comes to helping the singers.
‘I mean business,’ he said. ‘I know they’ll be nervous, but it’s important to make people aware of the challenges while also setting them realistic goals. I know we can pull it off.’
James Wilkinson, 81 – who sang in Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation back in 1953 as an 11-year-old – had some advice for members of the Coronation Choir ahead of their performance.
James Wilkinson, 81, who sang at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation aged 11, offered advice to this year’s choirboys
He said: ‘One thing I would tell them is to write it all down, I wrote an account of it at the time, and I suppose it made sense.
‘I was a journalist all my career and I suppose that was the beginning of it really that I wrote an account of the Coronation as a boy.
‘And I think they should do that. Not just talking about the big things that happened but the little things, the conversations they had and the incidents they noticed because those are the things that bring history to life.’
When will the Coronation Choir perform?
The Coronation Choir will perform at the Coronation Concert, which will be held at Windsor Castle on Sunday, 7 May, 2023.
Among those working hard are the Just Sing choir from Northern Ireland.
‘It started with a sing-song in my home,’ says choir manager Tori Hannath. ‘This was in 2021 and we were homeschooling our four children and my husband was working from home during Covid.
‘Things were stressful but when we put on some songs and all the family sang along to them, everyone seemed happier.’
The Coronation Concert will take place at Windsor Castle and will feature appearances from Sir Bryn Terfel and Take That
Tori suggested to her friend Heather Burns that they start a choir and Just Sing, comprising 70 women from Portadown, was born. Twenty of them will be at Windsor.
‘Gareth’s overriding message has been, “Practise, practise, practise“,’ says Tori. ‘It helps that the song we’ll sing is brilliant and once we’ve got it into our heads we’ll be able to sing for anybody. Including the King!’
The lineup for the Coronation Concert features some household names, with Lionel Ritchie, Katy Perry and Take That all set to perform.
It will be the first time ever that a public concert has taken place at Windsor Castle, with as many as 20,000 people expected to attend the event.
SRC: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
