From Kuala Lumpur to Liverpool, schools, choirs and individuals- including 14 Cathedral Choirs – are signing up to sing a musical message to G7 leaders ahead of the Summit in Cornwall in June.
‘Imagine if we could put children’s voices at the heart of G7 and make the summit relevant to their young lives.”
Resources have just been released on the Sing2G7 website – an ambitious vision to encourage children and young people to get their voices heard by the G7 world leaders with a song created and written by Sir Tim Rice and Peter Hobbs.
Singers are invited to post their renditions of the song online using the hashtag #Sing2G7 and tagging in @Sing2G7. The organisers also plan a ‘mega-zoom,’ joining singers in a global rehearsal just before the summit in June.
All resources are free but those who can are invited to contribute to the choristers’ Crowdfunding appeal to raise £5,000 for Unicef’s ‘Give the World a Shot’ Covax campaign.
Christopher Gray, Director of Music at Truro Cathedral where the choir has been at the centre of project said:
‘We were delighted when Sir Tim agreed to write a song for us for the project. One of the many beauties of ‘Gee Seven’ is that every child can enjoy singing it.
“Music has the power to connect and move us beyond all barriers, even Covid. We’re excited to see the song Gee Seven is already bringing together children from all over the world, overcoming barriers of culture, background and pandemic restrictions in a way that only music can.
“Tim Rice’s lyrics have ‘Joseph’-like appeal and Peter Hobb’s tune is catchy and memorable. The end result is an attractive, accessible song, that provides a way in for children to engage with issues relevant to their present and future lives.’
There are two versions of Gee Seven to suit all abilities – one with unison melody and piano and the other with additional three-part harmonies and a fuller piano accompaniment. Both are free to download from www.sing2g7.org.
There are also Education packs for classroom use and already over 10,000 young voices in 16 countries have signed up to sing, from individuals in lockdown to school choirs to Brownie packs to a South African township choir. Over 100 primary schools in the UK are taking part as well as 14 cathedral choirs. International sign-ups include singers in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Portugal, Malaysia, Spain, USA and Vietnam.
The Sing2G7 initiative is the brainchild of Chris Gray, Director of Music, Truro Cathedral and Esmé Page, Founder of the charity Cornwall Hugs Grenfell, who worked together in 2018 on the song Grenfell From Today which saw over 6,000 voices worldwide join in musical solidarity to mark the first anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire.
The song, Gee Seven, is a gift from lyricist Tim Rice and composer Peter Hobbs to Truro Cathedral Choristers, specifically for the Sing2G7 initiative. It was specially arranged for their voices by Joseph Wicks (The Gesualdo Six). Aimed at young children, the catchy song takes an extravagant romp around the number seven throughout history.
Sir Tim Rice said:
‘I wanted to write a song that is fun and toe-tapping so that children enjoy singing it.’ Towards the end, the song shifts emotionally, pointing to the fragility of ‘our only earthly home’ and ending with an urgent message to G7 leaders to collaborate and take their responsibility seriously to each other and to the rest of the world.
‘In the context of history and science, we are very, very small and this is just our moment in time,’ continues Rice. ‘We’re saying to G7 leaders, you just happen to be our leaders in this moment, so watch it.’
The song video of the choristers singing, shot by a large pro bono creative crew led by Director of Photography Chris Yacoubian, is intercut with footage to bring home key concerns of climate change and world poverty.
Partners in the project are Truro Cathedral, Truro School, Cornwall Music Service Trust, Cornwall Council, The Diocese of Truro, Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station and Future Leaders Network.
