A world-renowned choir takes to England’s second-oldest cathedral for an evening concert of popular music – with support from an auctioneer regular on BBC’s TV’s Homes Under the Hammer series.
The rousing singing of the London Welsh Male Voice Choir will echo around Rochester Cathedral, a place of worship dating back over 1,400 years, in the Medway town of Rochester on Saturday June 29.
Clive Emson Auctioneers, the largest land and property auctioneers on the South Coast, is sponsoring the event, which is being presented by the cathedral and the Institute of Directors (IoD).
The 40-strong firm was founded in 1989 by chairman Clive Emson, who is often seen on Homes Under the Hammer with his auction gavel at the ready and making good-natured jokes about off-the-pace bidders.
Clive said: “It is the absolute pleasure of our company to sponsor this great concert by the London Welsh, who are vocal giants of their craft. It’s a coup to have the choir here, including solo performances by Hannah Boulton, a soprano, and Scott Farrell, the cathedral organist.”
He added: “Whilst my booming auctioneer’s voice is no doubt music to the ears of sellers and buyers alike, depending on who’s bought what for what price, that’s about as tuneful as it gets with me. I’ll leave the melodic stuff to these rousing professionals.”
London Welsh sang the Olympic Anthem at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics, which drew a TV audience peak of 26.3 million, and is a regular draw for big sporting occasions.
The 22-strong repertoire at Rochester Cathedral includes popular Welsh song Myfanwy, which is an ode to a woman of the same name, Les Miserables’ poignant musical hit Bring Him Home and audience favourite Can You Hear Me?
