Words by Smiley Team
Connecting the world through song, three inclusive choirs sang together for UN Zero Discrimination Day in a recording premiered by Classic FM this afternoon on 1st March 2021. Together, over 200 vocalists worked from their homes on a new arrangement by Steve Dunachie of the classic ‘I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing’ by The New Seekers.
The singers included members of The Mixed Up Chorus, bringing people together across cultural, religious and political divides; the Sing for Freedom choir, uniting refugee survivors of torture and their allies from across the UK; and the Soundabout Inclusive Choirs, which give a voice to people with learning disabilities. They partnered with the renowned a cappella choir, The King’s Singers, to produce their final recording.
Patrick Dunachie from The King’s Singers said: “Having begun to work alongside these choirs last year, it is beautiful to see the spirit of ‘Finding Harmony’ in action, as they come together with us to create a musical performance, despite severely challenging circumstances.
“We hope this collaboration will bring smiles to many faces around the world, inspire others to be creative and defiant in how they make music, and also highlight an important initiative by the UN”.
Available to watch on Youtube, the song is designed to raise awareness of the international day of zero discrimination, organised by the UN, while bringing people together, many of whom face severe social inequalities.
UNAIDS created the awareness day to highlight how inequalities in all their forms negatively impact society and obstruct efforts to improve economic, social and health issues in communities.
Clare Cook CEO of the charity Soundabout added: “These singing groups have one key thing in common – a commitment to musical inclusion. The vision of the Soundabout Inclusive Choirs is to create musical communities without barriers and we are so proud to stand together with this powerful group of singers against discrimination of all forms.”
They believe that through social activities such as singing, people can overcome the divisions in society that leavle people isolated and without support.
Holly Jones and Jeremy Haneman, Directors of Together Productions, which runs the Mixed Up Chorus and the Sing for Freedom Choir said: “We believe that building bonds of empathy and community through the arts is one of the most powerful ways to create change.”
To help maintain the choirs for social inclusion, donate to Soundabout or Together Productions, who run The Mixed Up Chorus and Sing For Freedom.
