A couple of months’ ago I received a call from a choir. Now, I’ve worked with many, varied clients to provide PR support, from big corporates like Thames Water and Lloyds Bank, to new businesses such as Barrel Top Wagons and Baking Matters. But this was something a little different.
The Exeter Philharmonic Choir has been singing for some 160 years, although none of the original members now remain (sorry, had to pop that in). I’ve lived in East Devon for nearly 20 years, and I had never heard of them. To be fair, this might be because I’ve never had a relationship with choral music; theatre, comedy, pop music, films, those are more my line.
The choir, it transpires, perform in three major concerts a year, plus Christmas Carols at Exeter Cathedral. So what did they want from me? I may have Grade 3 in singing, but I’m not sure I’m the soprano I once was. Of course, it transpired the choir needed to let more people know about their concerts, in particular the March concert at the Cathedral. They had taken a decision to try PR, and my name had come up to provide PR support.
The concert was intriguing – a sea-themed extravaganza featuring pieces by Mendelssohn and Vaughan Williams and the debut of The Seafarer, written by Andrew Millington. Andrew was Director of Music for Exeter Cathedral until last year, and is the choir’s conductor. His piece was written around the Exeter Book, an Anglo Saxon book kept at the Cathedral.
I knew this was going to be a challenge, as performance PR is uncharted territory for me. But I found it really inspiring – the members of the choir are so committed, the choir is, of course, non-profit, and the story behind Andrew’s new piece was intriguing – and a good hook.
So I’ve spent the past two months writing and distributing press releases, speaking to magazine and editors, talking to radio and TV and supplementing the choir’s social media output. I was very fortunate to receive support from all the lovely local media, with the event receiving coverage in Exeter Living, Exeter Life, Western Morning News, BBC Radio Devon and more. Thank you all. And with a bit of forward planning, I have secured a feature article with Devon Life, with photographs taken (at the concert rehearsal) by the ever-talented Matt Austin.
Finally, the night of the performance came round, and the choir had kindly invited me to go along. I turned up at the Cathedral with layers (it can be cold in these places!) with a friend who had far more experience of this type of performance, being Welsh and a wonderful singer.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the concert blew my socks off. The choir were amazing, the soloists impressive, the orchestra, the Bournemouth Sinfonietta, just fabulous. They all enjoyed themselves and received a massive amount of applause afterwards, particularly Mr Millington.
From what I could see, there were lots of people in the audience. I’ve yet to find out how numbers compare to previous events, but I do hope my work had a positive effect. If all went well then I’ll be starting to work out a PR strategy for the choir’s concert in October, their very first ‘Lord Mayor’s Charity Concert’. Now that should be fun!
Just for a moment I toyed with the idea of auditioning for the choir myself. Just for a moment. Then I remembered I am so much better with words than music. No-one leaves the room when I start writing.