Southend girl picked to sing for the Queen!

Jubilant Jessica Smith has been chosen from thousands of hopefuls to sing in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Thanksgiving Service at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Jessica, 12, who belongs to Southend Girls’ Choir and is a pupil of Southend High School for Girls, will sing in the unique Diamond Choir at the televised service on Tuesday 5th June.

The Diamond Choir, organised by the Cathedral, is made up of children from across Britain who were selected from more than 400 auditions in 18 cathedrals. 

All the participants are aged from 10 to 13-years-old and sing regularly in church, school and community choirs.

Jessica, who went to St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, for her audition, said: “I am really excited to be able to sing for the Queen at St. Paul’s Cathedral. It will be a great experience and an opportunity to sing with children from all over the country!”

Jessica’s mum Hiranthi Fernando added: “To be invited by Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in this way is a great honour and privilege for us both. Thanks to the Southend Girls’ Choir, Jessica is able to sing a variety of music and perform in prestigious venues.  I am also grateful to Liz Elliot, singing teacher at Southend High School for Girls, who prepared Jessica for her audition.”

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s Executive Councillor for Culture, Councillor Derek Jarvis, said: “Congratulations to Jessica for achieving this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sing for the Queen at this most historic occasion. Her success in being chosen once again demonstrates the outstanding talent being nurtured by the renowned choirs and other performing opportunities in the borough.”

The Diamond Choir will sing a specially-composed anthem by Will Todd called The Call of Wisdom’ alongside the Choristers of St Paul’s Cathedral Choir and the boys of the Chapel Royal.

The Reverend Canon Michael Hampel, Precentor of St Paul’s, said: “The Diamond Choir has captivated children from across the UK since we launched the project back in March.

“With the children coming together two days before the Diamond Jubilee service they will have to work very hard in that time to be ready to sing for the Queen, hundreds of dignitaries and an audience of millions across the country and overseas. However, the audition standard was incredibly high so we are certain the Diamond Choir performance will be a huge success.

“Once again we would like to thank all the children who applied to be in the Diamond Choir and we hope those who didn’t make the final choir will enjoy watching the service on television and continue their passion for singing.”