Photo: Courtesy
Performing forQueen ElizabethII before her death was quite a career milestone for members ofThe Queen’s Sixchoir.
The vocal sextet, who live in the U.K.’s famedWindsor Castle, has had its fair share of history-making moments — its members have performed at the2018 royal weddingofPrince HarryandMeghan Markleand the funerals of bothPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Her Majesty.
“All of these events are kind of like a whirlwind,” Queen’s Six founder Simon Whiteley tells PEOPLE. “They come along, and there’s a huge amount of press interest, and just as quickly as all the cameras appear, they disappear.”
Behind the scenes, The Queen’s Six — comprised of members Whiteley, Lissie Paul, Tom Lilburn, Nick Madden, Dominic Bland and Andrew Thompson — along with members of the bigger Lay Clerks of St. George’s Chapel choir (which they are all part of) spend their days preparing to lend their voices to various events at the palace.
Courtesy
The casting process is an arduous one, says Madden. To get into the Lay Clerks, he recalls a slew of interviews before a sight-singing test as well as an audition in front of other members of the choir.
“It’s quite exhilarating, and it’s a tough job to get, and it should be. Once you’ve got the job, you have this for life,” says Madden.
Adds Whiteley: “It’s good and right that they do it that way because they’ve gotta know you can deal with the high-pressure situations.”
For example, duringPrince Philip’s funeral, Whiteley remembers a “very pared-down, intimate service in the chapel,” due partly toCOVID-19. Only four members of the choir were asked to partake in a performance.
Queen Elizabeth at the funeral of Prince Philip, her late husband.Jonathan Brady - WPA Pool/Getty Images
During his first week on the job in March 2007, it was the beginning of Holy Week — andQueen Elizabethwas scheduled to attend the Easter Sunday morning service in St. George’s Chapel, he recalls.
“[The Lay Clerks of St. George’s Chapel] take it in turns to sing solos. At the end of my first week, it happened to be my turn to sing a solo, and there was a very big solo down for the service that the Queen was coming to. So that was a bit of a baptism of fire, which I will never forget,” he says, adding that the Queen “apparently did say nice things about my performance.”
The group of six is currently on holiday from their post at Windsor Castle. They’re spending the off-hours doing what they love — performing — but this time, thousands of miles away from the royal family.
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“We’re in the States for the whole week,” says Whiteley, whose group The Queen’s Six will make theirNew York City debutat Town Hall on Tuesday with an encore performance on Wednesday.
“It’s an amazing office,” says Madden of life at Windsor Castle. “I think you sort of walk into the building, and you go: ‘[I’m] pretty lucky to be working here.’ "
source: people.com
