Christmas Carols with Stars of Stage and Screen
The Prince’s Foundation for Children & the Arts second annual carol concert on 10th December 2008, sponsored by Bank of America, saw friends, supporters and ambassadors of the charity gathering together for an evening of festive cheer.
Pauline Collins, ambassador for Children & the Arts had the 500 strong congregation in stitches with Shirley Valentine’s recollection of her son Brian’s uproarious appearance in the school nativity play, and Harry Potter star Zoe Wanamaker delighted the congregation with The Grinch Stole Christmas by Doctor Zeus. Don Warrington swapped his dancing shoes for a rendition of Talking Turkeys by Benjamin Zephaniah.
The Official harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales, Clare Jones performed O Holy Night, a piece she had arranged herself, on a magnificent harp that was given to His Royal Highness in 2006 by renowned harpist Victor Salvi. The harp incorporates the motifs of The Prince of Wales’s feathers, the symbol of the daffodil and a dragon.
Other performances included; tenor Alfie Boe singing Gabriel’s Message an old Basque carol, Collegium Musicum of London, Queen’s Gate Junior School and The Chapel Choir of St Thomas’s School, Clapham.
The appeal came from long standing ambassador Penelope Keith, helping the evening to raise over £30,000 which go towards ensuring 10,000 children have a sustained and high quality experience of the arts.