Doorstep Carols 2021 - Impact Report
Doorstep Carols 2021
DOORSTEP CAROLS OFFICIAL THEME TUNE - composed by 12-year-old George Rink, produced and directed by voice artist Jane Pickworth (of Love Monster), Tony Reed, Genre Lead for Animation at CBeebies and composer Chris Renshaw (Thomas the Tank Engine) with the help of local singers and schoolchildren in Shrewsbury.
“I think this has to be one of my favourite shows I’ve worked on! I spoke to so many people around the county and it was lovely to feel so involved with the community during a beautiful event bringing people together during such a difficult time.” Sofia Hartwell, reporter for BBC Radio Somerset
Broadcast across the UK by 32 Local BBC Radio Stations and BBC Sounds, and featured on BBC Breakfast, Doorstep Carols brought the nation together in song on 15th December 2021. This is represented by a marked increase in listening figures across Local BBC Radio stations.
With the aim of raising awareness around the social and psychological value of collective music, Link for Good forged relationships with 18 partner charities to raise money and created connections, in particular for those otherwise isolated during the Christmas period. Charities included, The Ruth Strauss Foundation, Spread a Smile, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Ex Cathedra’s Singing Medicine, The Voices Foundation, Severn Hospice, Demelza Children’s Hospice, The Firefighters Charity, Youth Music, Triborough Music Hub, The Rhythm Studio Foundation, Dementia UK, Alzheimers Society, Love Music, NHS Charities Together, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, Military Wives Choirs.
Engaging with Care UK - a major UK care provider, over 102 carehomes provided the opportunity for their residents to sing along with the nation and their loved ones.
Once again, Doorstep Carols had a significant positive social impact.
“Doorstep Carols over the two years we’ve been doing it, has created a community here where we never had one before. Because of Doorstep Carols, we now have a What’s App group and meet up every week. Now there’s a committee responsible for organising the carols every year too!” Sally Feben-Smith, Kingston - Isle of Purbeck:
Feature events across the country demonstrate the reach and appeal of Doorstep Carols.
PopChoir took centre stage with a choir of over 100 at Trafalgar Square. The Spread a Smile Choir made up of seriously ill children and their siblings sang outside Great Ormond St Hospital, creating a special sense of connection with those singing inside.
Ex Cathedra’s Singing Communities team were outside St Paul’s Church in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, linking up with the Birmingham Children’s Hospital where they offer their singing medicine programme. In Civic Square, at South Loop Park, Birmingham, they served hot chocolate from the Floating Front Room, with the radio broadcast played out in the park. Organiser Rach Bromfield of the 'Department of Dreams', says: "Doorstep Carols really speaks to the neighbourhood work we're doing in Ladywood. This is a beautiful way to connect through the joy of song over mince pies, mulled wine and hot chocolate."
BBC Bristol led the singing with a choir under Concorde at Bristol Aerospace with the support of the Salvation Army band singing in Filwood, West Bristol.
BBC Radio Kent broadcast from Whitefriars in Canterbury with Canterbury Cathedral girls choir linking up with communities with reporters across the county.
In Winchester the Cathedral Chamber Choir and Winchester Acappella choir led singing outside the Cathedral supported by the Military Wives Choir.
The Cambridge Gospel Choir led singers outside Kings College Cambridge, Madelaine Cordes led singing on a cruise ship in the Channel.
At HMP Swaleside, prisoners were provided with words and given the opportunity to sing from their cells.
"We're having such fun. Although it is a secular event, everyone is pitching in from the local Rev, to a choir of children, handbell ringers and local people on the green." Prue Peters, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex
Rev Tom Atfield of Shrewsbury Abbey captured the essence of Doorstep Carols as a modern day take on an old tradition saying that “Singing brings people together in a really special way and gives people a point of connection. The tradition of wassailing through the dark days of winter is as old as time. We’ve now found a new way of doing that through technology and good organisation.”
With the impact of Covid 19 still very much present, many Christmas events were cancelled and many people found themselves once again isolating at home. Doorstep Carols, for the second year running enabled a sense of connection for those unable to be with loved ones. One post on the Me, Myself and Chronic Illness Blog said “To all my chronically ill friends who like me are unable to go outside, don't miss out - sing from your sofa or your bed and enjoy the festivities!!”
With resources, words, music and mp3 backing tracks, available free online, many schools took the opportunity engage children. Collective music has been restricted in schools during the pandemic and many schools have struggled to reintegrate this into the timetable. Music is enormously socially and psychologically beneficial for children, building confidence, social awareness, a sense of positive group identity and supporting mental health. With the support of Voices Foundation, Youth Music and Triborough Music Hub as well as Shropshire County Council, who supported the integration of the music into the school syllabus, Doorstep Carols provided schools and families with all they needed to engage children in a collective music event.
In future years Doorstep Carols looks to
build upon its existing infrastructure, to create strong and lasting links with councils and the department for education with the aim of integrating resources and messaging into the music and PSHE curriculum across the UK.
secure clear charity messaging to ensure donations are made in association with the event.
improve messaging and engagement to reach a broader audience and become a national tradition accessible to all.
Doorstep Carols 2021
This year, on the 15th December at 6pm, the nation, with the help of BBC Radio, will join together in song. This will be an extrordianary national fundraising event, highlighting the social and psychological benefits of collective music.
This is BRITAIN’s BIG SING!
I’m happy to support Link For Good and hope that the singing en masse will remind us all that music, especially vocals, can bring everyone together whether in unison or harmony. We must not let recent troubles make us fearful of using our voices.
TIM RICE
Last year Christmas was cancelled, but Doorstep Carols brought people onto their doorsteps to sing collectively in the midst of the pandemic.
Carols on the Doorstep 2020 was broadcast on 35 local radio stations and covered from Shrewsbury by BBC Breakfast News, Channel 5, The One Show and BBC Midlands Today and in national press. It led to amazing scenes of participation from individual streets and neighbourhoods across the country - with instrumentalists on doorsteps, people singing from carols sheets, drinking mulled wine etc. Communities put their own spin on things and collected for charities of their choice.
This year, Link for Good is placing a special emphasis on the social and psychological benefits of collective singing, in particular for children and supercharging this event. This year we have are growing our charity connections to include multiple charities that recognise the value of music in the context of the work they do. This includes AgeUK, Demelza Children’s hospices, Mind, and Great Ormond Street Hospital, Spread a Smile, Dementia UK as well as Youth Music and more.
With the help of Street Theatre’s talented professional singers as well as Pop Choir, Cathedral choirs across the country and more, we are supercharging this extraordinary event for Doorstep Carols 2021.
Our aim is a record-breaking event. A nationwide carol service - facilitated by BBC radio - no-one isolated.
Adding his support to Carols in the Street and Link for Good, Sir Tim Rice said:
“I hope that singing en masse will remind us all that music, especially vocals, can bring everyone together whether in unison or harmony. We must not let recent troubles make us fearful of using our voices.”
The Plan
15th December 2021 6pm-7pm
TUNE IN – DOWNLOAD - SING
We are relaunching our website from last year – www.doorstepcarols.co.uk – all materials (song sheets, sheet music and street organiser packs & media kits) will be hosted here, along with the list of radio stations taking part. All people need to do on the night is Download the words and sheet music - Tune in to their local radio station – Sing or play along!
The running order – a total 60 minute broadcast time with 45 minutes of well know Christmas music backing tracks.
Jeremy Lund who has rewritten the parts making them more friendly for children to play and sing along.
Tracks are being recorded with the BBC on Nov 18th. Participating stations will receive the backing music in advance.
We have confirmed participation of virtually all local BBC radio stations and BBC Soundswho will stream the backing tracks in unison between 6pm and 7pm on 15th December.
We are producing resource packs for schools. Sheet music will be available for everyone to download from the website. www.doorstepcarols.co.uk
Doorstep Carols in the Street 2021 can go ahead whatever the status of covid restrictions.
We have the confirmed participation of:
Great Ormond Street Hospital where children will sing from the ward knowing that they are singing in unison with their loved ones
Spread a Smile children’s choir – this choir of terminally ill children will join with the families of children being treated at GOSH and will sing outside the hospital on the night.
Pop Choir have proposed choir of 300 at a surprise London location
Youth Music are engaging their network of music organizations to participate.
Demelza Children’s Hospice have confirmed participation of the children in their care and their families
CareUK are working to engage all of their 152 carehomes
Winchester Cathedral choirs will lead a special event at the Winchester Christmas market
Guildford Cathedral Choirs are preparing to lead a special event in Guildford.
Ely and Canterbury Cathedral Choirs have also expressed their interest in participating in hub events.
Ex Cathedra will lead song in Birmingham City centre, linking with their Music Medicine and Singing Playgrounds networks to engage children’s hospitals and schools.
We are working with the military engagement branch to engage soldiers, home and overseas. with the help of BFBS.
The 'epicentre' of the event will be carols from Shrewsbury town square, broadcast by BBC Radio Shropshire. Other local radio stations use the same carols audio feed, interspersed with their own reporting from the streets in their area.
Street Theatre have confirmed their commitment to provide professional singers from their list of brilliantly talented performers. Communities can nominate their street to receive a singer who will lead them in song.
Every day we are engage more communities. We aim to reach prisons, homeless shelters, sports teams, EVERYONE!
Imagine this, people gathered in their streets, instruments, minced pies, mulled wine.
A group of elderly people shielded in their care home but tuned in on their radios.
Children together on their hospital ward watching on tv.
A Cathedral choir begins to sing in Winchester, joined by the army in Scotland, joined by professional singers on the ward and in the streets, joined by the sports team at their local ground (or from Australia), joined by the children in the playground and the elderly in their care-home, joined by the supermarket staff in the aisles and the posties at the depot.
The nation, no one isolated, all together, in unison.
© Rebecca Smith September 2021
All rights, including but not limited to copyright and moral rights, are strictly reserved and asserted under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Let’s Sing Together
Using the power of collective singing for the benefit of children
When Julia Donaldson’s grand-daughter reported that she was not allowed to sing at nursery because “singing spreads germs”, she responded in The Guardian saying “I feel it is criminal to stop people singing, particularly children, and I worry that there would be some children who grow not able to sing. We all know that singing is what keeps us in good health.”
Singing has been of vital social importance for millennia. It is central to our positive sense of collective identity; from the songs we sing as children in the playground, to the songs sung by sports fans in the stands. When we get on or feel aligned with a group or an individual we might remark that we feel ‘in tune’ or ‘in harmony’. We understand the meaning of the phrase because we know how it feels to sing together.
The benefits of Singing
There is an established body of evidence documenting the lasting mental, physical, educational and social benefits of singing, in particular in groups. Professor Graham Welch, the professor of music education at the Institute of Education, spokesperson for the National singing programme for school children, Sing Up, has commented that,
“Singing has psychological benefits because of its normally positive effect in reducing stress levels through the action of the endocrine system which is linked to our sense of emotional well-being. Psychological benefits are also evident when people sing together as well as alone because of the increased sense of community, belonging and shared endeavour.”
Singing together could act as an antidote to the negative social and psychological impact of lockdown. This is true for all people but it is most vital for our children.
The Challenge
Some evidence suggests that there may be increased transmission of COVID 19 when large groups sing together indoors, for a sustained period of time. Although this evidence is not conclusive, it is recommended that group singing should take place with reduced numbers, reduced volume or outdoors to mitigate risk. The government guidelines for safer singing suggest singing outside.
Many schools and choirs will remain fearful of allowing children to sing indoors. It is therefore possible that children may not be allowed to sing together through the winter months. If this is the case some children will have spent the best part of two years without singing regularly together. It is concerning to think that anxiety about singing could continue to impact children long after it is safe to do so.
There are safe ways for children to sing together. For example, ExCathedra’s Singing Playgrounds is an established, award-winning whole-school singing programme in which children are trained children to lead others in singing play. This is a programme that can be introduced by staff and encouraged in outdoor spaces. Sing-Up have launched their Summer of Singing programme which aims to “get pupils ready to learn by improving their mental wellbeing, while at the same time rebuilding school communities, values and culture through singing together.”
The past 18 months has largely silenced our collective singing voice. The effect is social, psychological and educational. But negative effects can be safely undone and the benefits of singing are many.
It is vital that we find ways to remind ourselves, each other and our children of what it sounds like and what it feels like when we sing together.