Choral flashmob stars in Christmas card from University
Matt Pickles | 23 Dec 12
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Earlier this month, a normal Saturday morning in Broad Street was interrupted when a lone girl standing beneath an umbrella broke into song.
Other people walking by, including a group of men and women in helmets and hi-visibility jackets, stopped to accompany her in a pitch perfect arrangement of ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’.
Onlookers stopped to watch and take pictures, before breaking into applause in the end. What they did not know was that this group was actually the choir of The Queen’s College, who sang under direction from Dr Owen Rees, a fellow, tutor and organist at the college and a reader in the Faculty of Music.
‘We were all drenched by the rain, and we weren't sure if we could film in those conditions, or that anyone would want to hear us, but thankfully there was a brilliant response from the crowd,' says Tom Wilkinson, who organised and filmed the event for a virtual Christmas card from the Public Affairs Directorate.
'It takes a lot to get a reaction out of Saturday shoppers, so it's a testament to Queen's College Choir that we had as many people stop and stare as we did.
'The choir were fantastic. They'd done a concert the night before, they had another concert that evening, but they all really got into the spirit of the flashmob and acted their parts wonderfully.
He adds: 'The ‘builders’ somehow got their hands on lots of building supplies and brought them along to add to their costumes that Saturday morning.’
The video can be seen above, or on YouTube. We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
