A star-studded live broadcast of Choral Evensong featuring two choristers from Ely attracted a global audience of 19,000 and raised £770,000 for charity.

Amongst the 250 singers who took part in the virtual fundraiser were Ely Cathedral choristers Alfie Bottley, 12, and 15-year-old Mimi Hughes.

Other performers included choristers past and present from Norwich, Wakefield, Winchester, Llandaff Cathedrals and Westminster Abbey, alongside contributions from Stephen Fry, Alexander Armstrong, Sir Simon Russell Beale and Church of England priest, broadcaster and former 80s pop musician, Richard Coles.  

So far the project has raised almost £800,000 of its £1m target for the Cathedral Choirs’ Emergency Fund and almost £4,000 of the 50,000 target for the Rodolfus Foundation, a charity which runs residential singing courses, a youth choir and partnerships with local choirs to encourage young people from all backgrounds to sing.  

The Virtual Choral Evensong project was the culmination of over 950 video and audio submissions gathered from around the world.

The piece was opened and closed with Cosmo Sheldrake’s Evening Chorus, an improvisation using endangered British birds’ songs recorded in Dorset woodland.

Watch the broadcast here and donate here.