BPS Community Choir Performs at Mayor of London Event
The Battersea Power Station Community Choir shared the stage with Jazz singer-songwriter, Jamie Cullum, at a one-off pop-up event in front of London’s iconic Trafalgar Square Christmas tree yesterday evening to support the Mayor of London’s annual Winter Rough Sleeping Fundraising Campaign. The event was held to raise money and awareness for four London charities working to end homelessness – Centrepoint, Depaul UK, New Horizon Youth Centre and Albert Kennedy Trust
Jamie Cullum and the BPS Community Choir performed ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ and ‘Winter Wonderland’ together, followed by several festive classics sung by the choir.
Ania Kalacinska, Battersea Power Station Community Choir member, said:
“We couldn’t quite believe it when we received the invitation to perform alongside Jamie Cullum on stage in Trafalgar Square. It’s a huge honour and we are extremely excited to be a part of this fantastic event which is supporting a cause that I know many of the Battersea Power Station Community Choir are very passionate about. We have made many memories together since the choir was founded back in 2016 and I’m certain this will be an experience that none of us will ever forget.”
Founded in 2016, the BPS Community Choir has grown from 14 to over 80 active members between the age of seven and 80 years old. The vision was to create a choir that would bring neighbours together in the ever-changing Battersea landscape, which has the regeneration of the iconic Battersea Power Station at its heart.
This sense of community and neighbourly support was never more important than during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the choir switch to singing together online for 18 months. For many members, coming together once a week provided the support and companionship needed to get through such a challenging time. During the lockdown, local Battersea resident and multiple award-winning artist, Sting, heard about the choir and took the opportunity to get involved by organising a special collaboration with them. The group came together to virtually record an exclusive rendition of ‘Hymn’ from the critically acclaimed musical, The Last Ship, which features an original score with music and lyrics by Sting himself. The BPS Community Choir and Sting were also joined by the cast of The Last Ship, to collaborate on this unique version of the song.
Reunited in person in early 2021, the BPS Community Choir gave a stellar performance at the welcome celebrations for the first residents moving into the Power Station in May. Another milestone performance followed in September, when the choir sang The Jam’s ‘Going Underground’ for the Mayor of London and Secretary for Transport at the opening of the new Battersea Power Station Underground station. The Northern Line Extension celebrations continued with further performances from the choir at the Line of Light, a free outdoor festival in October featuring lights and visual projections along the 3km route between the new stations at Battersea Power Station, Nine Elms and Kennington.
In addition to their festive performance with Jamie Cullum, the BPS Community Choir will be singing at The Battersea Ball, one of the largest charity balls in London, on 15th December to help the Battersea Crime Prevention Panel raise funds for local community projects including the Battersea Summer Scheme. For more information, please visit www.batterseaball.org.uk
The BPS Community Choir is completely free for anyone to take part and you don’t need to have a great voice, be able to read music or have a musical background to join. For more information on how to get involved, please email choir@batterseapowerstation.co.uk.