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, explains, “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. 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 to Her Majesty, so please consider joining and bringing your family and friends with you.”
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 new arrangement of God Save The Queen was composed by Ralph Allwood MBE, who will also lead the online rehearsals to teach it, live from his London home. 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 choir will be accompanied by the organ at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle – The Queen’s private chapel – and played by Luke Bond.
Those who register will be invited to a series of free online sessions with Ralph to learn the music on 15 – 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 and practise between rehearsals.
Following the final 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 1 June, before being premiered publicly via YouTube on 2 June.
Further information about this wonderful project and how to take part is available on Choir of the Earth’s website at https://choiroftheearth.com/god-save-the-queen.
