Upcoming Concerts
and Events
Summer School 2024: June | Learn, sing and record pieces by Grieg, Lauridsen and Delius
Join Choir of the Earth’s marvellous Musical Director, Ben England BEM, for the first two weeks of our 2024 Summer School, where we will learn, sing and record: Våren by Edvard Grieg; Dirait-On by Morten Lauridsen’ and To Be Sung Of A Summer Night On The Water 1 by Frederick Delius.
Summer School 2024: July| Learn, sing and record pieces by Bob Chilcott
Join Choir of the Earth’s marvellous Musical Director, Ben England BEM, for the second two weeks of our 2024 Summer School, where we will learn, sing and record: MLK by U2, arranged by Bob Chilcott, and The Singing Heart by Bob Chilcott.
Summer School 2024: August| Learn, sing and record pieces for an Evensong in Finland
Join Choir of the Earth’s marvellous Musical Director, Ben England BEM, for the grand “Finnish” of our 2024 Summer School - an exciting collaboration with Tapiola Chamber Choir and Olari Church in Finland. We will learn, sing and record Kirjoittaa on minull' miel by Jaakko Mäntyjärvi and Like As The Hart by Herbert Howells. You will also have an opportunity to come and sing with Tapiola at the Olari Church in person on 24 August 2024 and perform these pieces in a special Evensong service. Find out more and book here.
Learn, sing and record Johann Sebastian Bach’s Magnificat
Join our marvellous Musical Director, Ben England BEM, for our highly-anticipated course to learn and record J.S. Bach’s Magnificat!
Enjoy six weeks of teaching with superb resources and the opportunity to submit your recordings to be part of the final performance, which will premiere as part of our Christmas 2024 programme of events.
Come and Sing Haydn's “Nelson” Mass Tour | LONDON
Come and sing Joseph Haydn’s “Nelson” Mass with Choir of the Earth and Labrador Events, led by Ben England BEM. Our London event will take place in St Gabriel’s Pimlico on Saturday 23 November 2024. Please go to labradorevents.com for further details and booking.
Come and Sing Haydn's “Nelson” Mass Tour | SEVENOAKS
Come and sing Joseph Haydn’s “Nelson” Mass with Choir of the Earth and Labrador Events, led by Ben England BEM. Our Sevenoaks event will take place in St Nicholas Church on Thursday 13 February 2025. Please go to labradorevents.com for further details and booking.
Come and Sing Haydn's “Nelson” Mass Tour | HOVE
Come and sing Joseph Haydn’s “Nelson” Mass with Choir of the Earth and Labrador Events, led by Ben England BEM. Our Hove event will take place in All Saints Church on Friday 14 February 2025. Please go to labradorevents.com for further details and booking.
Come and Sing Haydn's “Nelson” Mass Tour | ISLE OF WIGHT
Come and sing Joseph Haydn’s “Nelson” Mass with Choir of the Earth and Labrador Events, led by Ben England BEM. Our Isle of Wight event will take place in All Saints Church, Ryde on Saturday 15 February 2025. Please go to labradorevents.com for further details and booking.
Come and Sing Haydn's “Nelson” Mass Tour | BATH
Come and sing Joseph Haydn’s “Nelson” Mass with Choir of the Earth and Labrador Events, led by Ben England BEM. Our Bath event will take place in Manvers Street Baptist Church on Sunday 16 February 2025. Please go to labradorevents.com for further details and booking.
Come and Sing Haydn's “Nelson” Mass Tour | NORWICH
Come and sing Joseph Haydn’s “Nelson” Mass with Choir of the Earth and Labrador Events, led by Ben England BEM. Our Norwich event will take place in St Peter Mancroft on Tuesday 4 March 2025. Please go to labradorevents.com for further details and booking.
Come and Sing Haydn's “Nelson” Mass Tour | MANCHESTER
Come and sing Joseph Haydn’s “Nelson” Mass with Choir of the Earth and Labrador Events, led by Ben England BEM. Our Manchester event will take place in Hallé St Peter’s on Thursday 6 March 2025. Please go to labradorevents.com for further details and booking.
Come and Sing Haydn's “Nelson” Mass Tour | EDINBURGH
Come and sing Joseph Haydn’s “Nelson” Mass with Choir of the Earth and Labrador Events, led by Ben England BEM. Our Edinburgh event will take place in St John’s Church on Saturday 8 March 2025. Please go to labradorevents.com for further details and booking.
Come and Sing Haydn's “Nelson” Mass Tour | DUBLIN
Come and sing Joseph Haydn’s “Nelson” Mass with Choir of the Earth and Labrador Events, led by Ben England BEM. Our Dublin event will take place in St Ann’s Church on Monday 10 March 2025. Please go to labradorevents.com for further details and booking.
Johannes Brahams: Ein Deutsches Requiem with Bergen Philharmonic - Course Launch
We are so excited and honoured to collaborate with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir again, this time on Brahms’ Requiem in German (Ein Deutsches Requiem). Ben England BEM, will teach the Requiem, starting with our course launch on Monday 8 April 2024 at 17:00 UK time. The launch is open to all as a taste of what we offer and how it works. Please sign up to take part in the full course.
Choir of the Earth Hall of Fame 2024 | Unveiling our new Top 30 live with Ben!
Our Members voted, we’ve counted and the Top 30 Hall of Fame pieces for 2024 are ready to be unveiled! Join Ben England BEM live or later as he counts down YOUR favourites.
Deadline to submit recordings: Sing for Sub-postmasters (We Are The Champions)
Don’t forget, recordings are due for the Sing for Sub-postmasters (We Are The Champions) project on Saturday 23 March 2024 at 22:00 UK time. Please see your email for details. Thank you so much in advance for all your hard work!
Bergenphilive livestream: Bergen Philharmonic presents Beethoven's Violin Concerto & Brahms’ Requiem conducted by Edward Gardner
On 22 March 2024 at 19:30 CET (18:30 GMT), Bergenphilive will livestream Bergen Philharmonic orchestra & chorus’ concert of Beethoven's Violin Concerto & Brahms’ Requiem, live from the Grieghallen in Bergen, Norway. The recordings captured at this performance will form the basis of the learning and recording resources for Choir of the Earth’s Brahms’ Requiem course starting on Monday 8 April 2024.
COTE Watch Party: chat along with Bergen Philharmonic’s concert on Friday 22 March 2024 at 18:30 UK time
This is a watch party for Choir of the Earth Members who would like to chat during Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir’s concert of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Brahms’ Requiem, conducted by Edward Gardner on Friday 22 March 2024. The chat will begin at 18:15 UK time ahead of the concert starting at 18:30 UK time. There will be an interval of 30 minutes between the Beethoven and the Brahms but the chat will continue throughout. The concert should end around 21:00 UK time and this premiere (and therefore the chat) is due to end at 21:15 UK time.
Learn, sing and record Samuel Barber’s Agnus Dei with Choir of the Earth
Join Choir of the Earth's marvellous Musical Director Ben England BEM from Monday 26 February 2024 at 17:00 UK time as he launches our brand new digital choir course to learn, sing and record Samuel Barber's Agnus Dei - Barber's own choral arrangement of his famous Adagio For Strings.
>> WATCH THE COURSE LAUNCH HERE <<
Whether you know if from orchestral recitals, movie soundtracks or a nightclub dance floor, Samuel Barber's Adagio is an instantly recognisable piece of classical music. His choral arrangement - a setting of the liturgical Agnus Dei - is just as achingly beautiful and a real favourite amongst those who have sung the piece.
We invite absolutely everybody to enjoy this launch session, where Ben will play the guide tracks recorded for us by the fantastic Fieri Consort, as well as some other treats. We then invite you to join us in learning this transcendent piece with Ben and other singers around the world, line by line, voice part by voice part on YouTube.
Once you have learned the music, you are invited to use our world-class resources to record yourself singing it at home and include your voice in a global performance.
Sing Queen's We Are The Champions for sub-postmasters affected by the Post Office Horizon scandal
Join us in a powerful act of solidarity and a call for justice, as we learn and record a new version of WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS by Queen to raise awareness and funds for the sub-postmasters caught up in the Post Office Horizon Scandal.
Take part from the comfort of your own home and record using your smartphone. No singing experience is required – everyone is welcome! It only costs a £5 donation and all net proceeds will go to the Horizon Scandal Fund.
Here’s how it works:
Learn the music with Choir of the Earth’s marvellous Musical Director Ben England BEM on YouTube. The live teaching session took place on Friday 23 February 2024 at 18:00 UK time, but don’t worry if you couldn’t make it or if you’ve come across the project since then - the deadline to send us recordings is Saturday 23 March 2024 and sign-up will stay open until then. Just catch up on the recording of the session at a time that suits you best.
When you’re confident you know the song well enough to give it a go yourself, just follow Ben's simple instructions to record the music in your own time. Please don’t worry about it being perfect - our sound engineers are geniuses and will snip out anything strange or startling.
Send it to us by Saturday 23 March 2024 at 22:00 UK time. We will do the rest! Please feel welcome to send in multiple recordings - the more the merrier!
So, raise your voice for justice! Register now!
Choir of the Earth presents: Summer School 2023 - A Concert Performance
Members of Choir of the Earth met online in June, July and August 2023 for our popular Summer School, where they learned a diverse range of pieces with Musical Director, Ben England BEM. Singers recorded their individual performances at home, which were then mixed by our amazing audio engineers. These international performances have been accompanied by stunning imagery to help tell the story of the pieces. This online concert will be hosted and conducted by Ben England BEM and absolutely everybody is very welcome to attend.
Click here to go to the concert.
The music varies widely in style and period, from baroque Bach to contemporary Cage. The concert also include two very special pieces that have been composed for Choir of the Earth from Martín Palmeri and Patrick Hawes.
It is free to attend our concert, although donations big and small are always very welcome to help Choir of the Earth reach more singers worldwide who could benefit from the choral opportunities and community we provide.
gamechoir presents: Sweden from Minecraft and Fus Ro Dah from Skyrim - World Premiere!
Join our sister choir, gamechoir, and our awesome conductor Ben England BEM as he livestreams the world premiere of gamechoir's performances of:
🎮🧱 Sweden from Minecraft #SingForSpecialEffect
🎮🗣️ Fus Ro Dah! Dragon shout from Skyrim #WorldsLoudestFusRoDah
These projects have been produced to support SpecialEffect's #OneSpecialDay raising important funds to help gamers with physical disabilities.
Click here to go to the concert.
Click here to donate as much as you can comfortably afford.
Click here to find out more about SpecialEffect and the epic work they do.
Choir of the Earth presents: Bohemian Rhapsody - A Concert Performance
Members of Choir of the Earth met online in June, July and August 2023 for our popular Summer School, at which we learned a diverse range of pieces with Musical Director, Ben England BEM. One of these pieces was Queen's rock hit Bohemian Rhapsody. This is a fantastic choral arrangement for mixed voice choir by Philip Lawson.
Our singers recorded themselves singing this piece at home, mostly using their smartphones, and then our amazing audio team mixed their voices in the recording studio to produce the final choral performance.
At this stream, Ben will go live to premiere the final track, firstly conducting the piece live with the score onscreen for those singing along at home, and then playing our new music video, featuring imagery to complement the Choir’s wonderful recording.
Watch it live or later at: https://youtu.be/8x_jSAAIHfA
Choir of the Earth presents: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - A Concert Performance
Members of Choir of the Earth met online in June, July and August 2023 for our popular Summer School, at which we learned a diverse range of pieces with Musical Director, Ben England BEM. One of these pieces was feelgood classic Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life from Monty Python's The Life Of Brian. This is a cheery choral arrangement for mixed voice choir by Paul Ayres.
Our singers recorded themselves singing this piece at home, mostly using their smartphones, and then our amazing audio team mixed their voices in the recording studio to produce the final choral performance.
At this stream, Ben will go live to premiere the final track, firstly conducting the piece live with the score onscreen for those singing along at home, and then playing our new music video, featuring imagery to complement the Choir’s wonderful recording.
Watch it live or later at: https://youtu.be/kgmewZpl-Og
Vote in the Choir of the Earth Hall of Fame 2024!
Last year, for our third birthday, Choir of the Earth held its very own Hall of Fame vote, to find out which are our most popular recordings. We had a wonderful time counting down our Top 30 and even produced a CD (limited copies still available in our shop).
In the last year we have recorded so much new music that it feels only right to do it all over again. That’s why we have launched our Choir of the Earth Hall of Fame 2024 vote. We have created a list of every track Choir of the Earth has ever recorded, including under our former name, The Self-Isolation Choir, and there are over 400 in all! We are asking our wider choral family to choose your favourite COTE recordings. This year, with an ever-growing list, you can choose a whopping 15 tracks!
As we approach our fourth birthday (at the end of March), Ben will go live to present our new Top 30. Will your favourites go up or down the list? Where will our new entries place? Keep an eye on the website and we'll let you know where and when to find out!
CLICK HERE TO VOTE IN CHOIR OF THE EARTH'S HALL OF FAME 2024
The vote will close on Sunday 18 February 2024 at 22:00 UK time.
Post-concert Christmas Party on Zoom
On Thursday 21 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, we will hold a post-concert Christmas party on Zoom.
We will have a short gathering in “the big room” followed by 5 x 15-minute ‘shuffles’ into breakout rooms so you can chat in smaller groups. The team will be shuffled too so it’s the luck of the draw who you will ‘meet’ on the day.
The details to join the party are here:
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82417260233?pwd=eBObW3gv6SO9W4wH1GMSaDbFP1kP8C.1
Meeting ID: 824 1726 0233 | Passcode: eggshells
We hope to see you there!
Christmas 2023: A concert performance Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols and Chilcott’s Mid-Winter
On Thursday 21 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, we will premiere Choir of the Earth’s brand new Christmas performance for 2023: Ralph Vaughan Williams’ festive Fantasia on Christmas Carols and Bob Chilcott’s magical Mid-Winter!
The ever-brilliant Ben England will conduct on-screen for those singing along at home, and we invite absolutely everybody to join Mark the rest of the Team in the live chat to share festive cheer.
Pacis et Caritas | A conducted performance and music video by Choir of the Earth
On Wednesday 20 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Ben will go live to present the world premiere of Pacis Et Caritas, composed specially for Choir of the Earth by Patrick Hawes, with text inspired by our Founder, Mark Strachan BEM.
Ben will firstly conduct this special piece live on screen for those who wish to sing along at home, then share a music video that pairs the performance with images to evoke the spirit of the piece. Absolutely everybody is very welcome to join us, live or later.
Fireside chat with Fieri Consort - Bass
On Tuesday 19 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, join Mark and Ben by the virtual fireside for a cosy chats with Ben McKee, one of the Fieri Consort basses. He will answer your questions and talk about his career, experience of working with Choir of the Earth so far and much more.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is necessary to list this event as a YouTube Premiere in the first instance for practical purposes - however it is intended for Choir of the Earth Members only and will be hidden from public view as soon as the premiere finishes. Please do not share the link.
A COTE Christmas: A concert film of Christmas favourites performed by Choir of the Earth
This is Choir of the Earth’s fourth Christmas since its inception in 2020, during which we have recorded so much wonderful Christmas music together.
On Monday 18 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, we will premiere a musical selection box of the Choir’s past performances, accompanied by beautiful festive imagery to give them that extra Choir of the Earth sparkle! ✨
Absolutely everybody is invited to enjoy this concert, live or later, so please do share it widely.
Outstanding Encores: 4’33”, Palmeri’s Lacrimosa and Bridge Over Troubled Water
Over the previous days, we have enjoyed Choir of the Earth’s Concert Films for John Cage’s 4’33”, Mozart’s Lacrimosa arranged by Martín Palmeri, and Bridge Over Troubled Water by Paul Simon, arranged by Kirby Shaw.
On Saturday 16 December 2023 at 14:00 UK time, we will show a selection of these videos back-to-back in a special Outstanding Encores premiere, which absolutely everybody is very welcome to enjoy, live or later.
Fireside chat with Fieri Consort - Tenor
On Friday 15 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, join Mark and Ben by the virtual fireside for cosy chats with Tom Kelly and Josh Cooter, two of the Fieri Consort tenors. They will answer your questions and talk about their careers, experiences of working with Choir of the Earth so far and much more.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is necessary to list this event as a YouTube Premiere in the first instance for practical purposes - however it is intended for Choir of the Earth Members only and will be hidden from public view as soon as the premiere finishes. Please do not share the link.
Over To You - LIVE with Ben and Mark
On Thursday 14 December 2023, Mark will make his way to Ben’s studio for a brand new Over To You session! The stream will last 3 hours so feel free to pop in and out, wrap your Christmas gifts or join in the always-lively chat while you watch.
You can expect lots of great music performed by the best choir in the world (yes, that’s you!), as well as fun chat and quite a few giggles too!
Please note this event is intended for Choir of the Earth Members only - please do not share the link.
Fireside chat with Fieri Consort - Alto
On Wednesday 13 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, join Mark and Ben by the virtual fireside for cosy chats with Nancy Cole, one of the Fieri Consort altos. She will answer your questions and talk about her career, experience of working with Choir of the Earth so far and much more.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is necessary to list this event as a YouTube Premiere in the first instance for practical purposes - however it is intended for Choir of the Earth Members only and will be hidden from public view as soon as the premiere finishes. Please do not share the link.
Mozart’s Lacrimosa arr. Martín Palmeri | A conducted concert performance and music video by Choir of the Earth
We are very proud to present the world premiere of a piece commissioned by Choir of the Earth from Argentinian composer Martín Palmeri.
On Monday 11 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Ben will go live to present the world premiere of this exciting piece, firstly conducting live on screen for those who wish to sing along at home, then sharing a music video that pairs the performance with images to evoke the spirit of the piece. Absolutely everybody is very welcome to come along live or enjoy later.
4’33” by John Cage | Performed by Choir of the Earth
On Friday 8 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, absolutely everybody is very welcome to join Choir of the Earth for the premiere of our performance of 4’33” by John Cage.
Our audio recordings of this piece have been mixed in the studio to produce something very unique, and the accompanying video will showing our members and team performing it on-screen. However, this performance is not simply a passive experience - we invite the audience to immerse themselves in the piece and perform it along with us at home.
Fireside chat with Fieri Consort - Soprano
On Thursday 7 December 2023 at 19:00 UK time, join Mark and Ben by the virtual fireside for cosy chats with Lucy Cox and Hannah Ely, two of the Fieri Consort sopranos. They will answer your questions and talk about their careers, experiences of working with Choir of the Earth so far and much more.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is necessary to list this event as a YouTube Premiere in the first instance for practical purposes - however it is intended for Choir of the Earth Members only and will be hidden from public view as soon as the premiere finishes. Please do not share the link.
Indodana | A conducted performance and music video by Choir of the Earth
On Wednesday 6 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Choir of the Earth's Musical Director Ben England will go live to premiere the international Choir's performance of Indodana - a traditional isiXhosa piece, arranged by Michael Barrett and Ralf Schmitt. Ben will conduct the piece live for those wishing to sing along at home, then premiere a special music video to accompany with the music.
Absolutely everybody is very welcome to come along live or enjoy later.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
📄 Please click here to view and download a poster that you can share with your family and friends
Vivaldi’s Dixit Dominus | A concert film premiere by Choir of the Earth
On Saturday 2 December 2023 at 14:00 UK time, Choir of the Earth will premiere a very special version of its members’ performance of Vivaldi's Dixit Dominus, paired with imagery specially selected to enhance the storytelling.
🖥️ Click here to join us at the premiere
📄 Click here to view and download the poster to share with your family and friends
Vivaldi’s Dixit Dominus | A concert performance by Choir of the Earth conducted live by Ben England
On Friday 1 December 2023 at 17:00 UK time, Choir of the Earth Members and guests will hear the international Choir's final performance of Vivaldi's Dixit Dominus for the first time. This stream will be presented live by Musical Director Ben England, who will conduct on-screen for those singing along at home.
🖥️ Click here to open this event in YouTube
📄 Click here to view and download the poster to share with your friends and family