News & Press

On Wednesday the 12th December, over 500 people gathered in St James’s Church, Piccadilly for The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts inaugural Carol Concert.

The magnificent Church, designed by Sir Christopher Wren, provided a most fitting setting, with its long tradition of involvement in the arts. Amongst other claims, the church is able to boast that poet and artist William Blake was baptised there and the church has long been hailed as a concert venue attracting a wide range of artists from Handel to REM. Last week the church was filled to the brim with friends, celebrities, and enthusiasts of the charity who came from far and wide to show their support for Children & the Arts.

The concert opened with the angelic voices of The Choirboys who sang the first two verses of Once in Royal David’s City. Other musical performances included Collegium Musicum of London, Notting Hill Preparatory School Choir and Blake who sang their new single White Christmas.

The audience were also treated to seasonal readings read by celebrity guests. Rowan Atkinson read Christmas by Sir John Betjeman, while Jeremy Irons read The Christmas Tree by C. Day Lewis and Sydney Carter’s Standing in the Rain. Kate Adie, Ambassador of Children & the Arts, gave a hilarious rendition of John Julius Norwich’s The Twelve Days of Christmas which sent ripples of laughter through the congregation.

Amid the festivities, James Naughtie, presenter of Radio 4’s Today Programme took to the pulpit to remind the congregation of the work done by the charity and to make an appeal on behalf of Children & the Arts. James spoke of the importance of the arts for all children and how the support of everyone gathered at St James’s would help in the charity’s goal of making the arts more accessible to children throughout the UK.

The message was met with enormous generosity and the event raised over £37, 000.

Highlights of the Carol Concert will be broadcast on Classic FM between 9pm-11pm on Friday 21st December.