BBC launches 'X factor'-style hunt to find choir for King's Coronation
BBC launches ‘X factor’-style hunt to find singers for the King’s Coronation Choir… with even beatboxers and jazz musicians invited to apply
- The choir will perform the day after the King is crowned at a concert in Windsor
- Those taking part in the competition will be filmed for a television programme
The BBC has launched an X Factor-style talent search to find singers for a Coronation Choir.
All kinds of singers, from beginner beatboxers to professional jazz performers, are being encouraged to apply for the choir.
It will perform the day after the King is crowned, during a concert in Windsor on May 7.
Agencies acting on behalf of BBC Studios have been asked to invite applications from the public and those taking part will be filmed for a television show documenting their bid to perform for the King.
Would-be choristers are being asked to send in showreel videos which will be curated by BBC Studios and televised as part of the channel’s build-up coverage.
The choir will perform the day after the King is crowned, during a concert in Windsor on May 7
The choirs will perform in a concert the day after the King’s coronation
Applicants have to fill out a form of ‘basic questions’ and submit a clip of themselves performing.
The BBC’s invitation reads: ‘Perhaps you are in a duet, trio or quartet? We want to hear from all skill levels, all ages and all genres!’
The invitation also appears on the Royal website, where it is explained that the choir will be a ‘diverse group created from the nation’s refugee choirs, NHS choirs, LGBTQ+ singing groups and deaf signing choirs’.
The television show could even follow the format sometimes used on The X Factor, with producers prepared to break up established singing groups to form the final choir.
The selection process is a far cry from the way Royal aides put together a 400-strong choir for the 1953 Coronation ceremony.
Those choristers were selected from a limited pool, including singers from Westminster Abbey, St George’s Chapel, St Paul’s Cathedral and members from selected churches in Scotland and Ireland.
A source said organisers of the Coronation events have struggled to recruit singers. As well as resorting to casting calls, producers have been looking to recruit performers from abroad to boost numbers.
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