Hello everyone,

I am currently in Warwickshire in my family home, self-isolating as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. It is a scary and very strange time, but I am grateful to be with my family, and to have some time to reflect on 2019.

And I have much to be grateful for! About two years ago, Pat called me to ask me to audition for The King's Singers! A few months later, I was offered the Second Countertenor job and my life drastically changed in an instant. It's totally different to my old way of life: tonnes of travel, self-employment, learning more types of music than I knew existed, working from home, not having IT support at the drop of a hat, eating supper at 5 pm...the list could go on!

I thought it would be fun to let you know about some of the things from my first year that I am most grateful for...

Top of the list are the wonderful friends I have made: my five fellow King's Singers, our wonderful archivist Manfred and his wife Sigrid, and our colleagues at Intermusica to name just a few!

A close second, is the fact that I have developed the knowledge and confidence to teach choirs all over the world. If you had told me two years ago that I'd have to stand up in front of large groups of choristers and give constructive criticism, I would have run a mile! But it was something that I always secretly wanted to be able to do. I was lucky (in hindsight) to have been thrown in at the deep end as, in the first workshop I led, Pat (who was buddying me) decided he needed the loo 1 minute in, so I had to go solo for the first few minutes!

I am also very grateful to have the opportunity work closely with our charity, The King's Singers Global Foundation. Over the past year we have been working very hard to review the workings of the charity. It has been so exciting developing our Finding Harmony Ambassadors project in which we are working with three musical charities that are creating social cohesion through the power of music. And thank you to our many many donors who have generously supported the work of the Foundation.

I am also grateful to have met so many fans from across the world. It is heart-warming to hear how our music is appreciated by people including stories from many who have said that The King's Singers has helped them through dark times. Our fans are also very generous; on more than one occasion, I have had gluten-free home-baked goods delivered to my dressing room :-) In the middle of a long patch away from home, home-baked goods mean the world!

Our worldwide travel is of course also a complete joy, and something which I feel particularly grateful for given the current locked-down state of the world. It will be unsurprising to those of you that know me well, to see that I have summarised a year of travel with some stats:

Year2019Number of pieces performed1891 Number of pieces of music learned over 300 (only 2700 more to go in the King's Singers library)Number of concerts98CollaborationsAbel Selacoe
Ed Gardner and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Armonico Consort
NDR Radiophilharmonie
Verdi Orchestra
Wallis GuintaNumber of services1Number of lectures2Days in sub-minus-30 celsius4Number of summer schools1Number of masterclasses24Rounds of bowling3Rounds of bowling in which I came last3Number of joint performances with local choirs15Number of flights92Number of times I was told I look 18many! (especially in Italy)Countries visited23

USA
Canada
France
Russia
Netherlands
Germany
Hungary
Italy
England
Poland
Switzerland
Northern Ireland
Austria
Japan
Hong Kong
China
Guernsey
Scotland
Czechia
Belgium
Kosovo
Faroe Islands
RomaniaUS States visited15

OR
WA
KS
IA
IL
OH
MI
LA
AZ
NY
DE
MO
RI
CANumber of times someone told me they like my accent:uncountableNumber of days doing recording sessions7Number of discs recorded2

The Library Vol. 1, and Finding HarmonyNumber of music video recording days3Languages sung21

English
Latin
Estonian
French
Spanish
Catalan
German
Japanese
Italian
Finnish
Georgian
Gaelic
Mexican
Yiddish
Xhosa
Zulu
Cantonese
Mandarin
Korean
Faroese
Hungarian
and even, Coyote and Jazz Band!Grammy Ceremonies attended1Number of 30th birthdays spent in Lucerne, Switzerland1 (and soon to be two as Jules and I realised that he, like me, will spend his 30th birthday there too!)Number of times I was told told I look like Harry Pottertoo many to listNumber of times asked to pose for a selfie with someone’s Harry Potter glasses(thankfully only) 1

I hope you enjoyed those! It was good fun putting them together.

And I hope that I get to see you again soon.

Until then,

Eddie

Instagram: @edwardbutton1

Hello everyone,

I am currently in Warwickshire in my family home, self-isolating as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. It is a scary and very strange time, but I am grateful to be with my family, and to have some time to reflect on 2019.

And I have much to be grateful for! About two years ago, Pat called me to ask me to audition for The King's Singers! A few months later, I was offered the Second Countertenor job and my life drastically changed in an instant. It's totally different to my old way of life: tonnes of travel, self-employment, learning more types of music than I knew existed, working from home, not having IT support at the drop of a hat, eating supper at 5 pm...the list could go on!

I thought it would be fun to let you know about some of the things from my first year that I am most grateful for...

Top of the list are the wonderful friends I have made: my five fellow King's Singers, our wonderful archivist Manfred and his wife Sigrid, and our colleagues at Intermusica to name just a few!

A close second, is the fact that I have developed the knowledge and confidence to teach choirs all over the world. If you had told me two years ago that I'd have to stand up in front of large groups of choristers and give constructive criticism, I would have run a mile! But it was something that I always secretly wanted to be able to do. I was lucky (in hindsight) to have been thrown in at the deep end as, in the first workshop I led, Pat (who was buddying me) decided he needed the loo 1 minute in, so I had to go solo for the first few minutes!

I am also very grateful to have the opportunity work closely with our charity, The King's Singers Global Foundation. Over the past year we have been working very hard to review the workings of the charity. It has been so exciting developing our Finding Harmony Ambassadors project in which we are working with three musical charities that are creating social cohesion through the power of music. And thank you to our many many donors who have generously supported the work of the Foundation.

I am also grateful to have met so many fans from across the world. It is heart-warming to hear how our music is appreciated by people including stories from many who have said that The King's Singers has helped them through dark times. Our fans are also very generous; on more than one occasion, I have had gluten-free home-baked goods delivered to my dressing room :-) In the middle of a long patch away from home, home-baked goods mean the world!

Our worldwide travel is of course also a complete joy, and something which I feel particularly grateful for given the current locked-down state of the world. It will be unsurprising to those of you that know me well, to see that I have summarised a year of travel with some stats:

Year2019Number of pieces performed1891 Number of pieces of music learned over 300 (only 2700 more to go in the King's Singers library)Number of concerts98CollaborationsAbel Selacoe
Ed Gardner and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Armonico Consort
NDR Radiophilharmonie
Verdi Orchestra
Wallis GuintaNumber of services1Number of lectures2Days in sub-minus-30 celsius4Number of summer schools1Number of masterclasses24Rounds of bowling3Rounds of bowling in which I came last3Number of joint performances with local choirs15Number of flights92Number of times I was told I look 18many! (especially in Italy)Countries visited23

USA
Canada
France
Russia
Netherlands
Germany
Hungary
Italy
England
Poland
Switzerland
Northern Ireland
Austria
Japan
Hong Kong
China
Guernsey
Scotland
Czechia
Belgium
Kosovo
Faroe Islands
RomaniaUS States visited15

OR
WA
KS
IA
IL
OH
MI
LA
AZ
NY
DE
MO
RI
CANumber of times someone told me they like my accent:uncountableNumber of days doing recording sessions7Number of discs recorded2

The Library Vol. 1, and Finding HarmonyNumber of music video recording days3Languages sung21

English
Latin
Estonian
French
Spanish
Catalan
German
Japanese
Italian
Finnish
Georgian
Gaelic
Mexican
Yiddish
Xhosa
Zulu
Cantonese
Mandarin
Korean
Faroese
Hungarian
and even, Coyote and Jazz Band!Grammy Ceremonies attended1Number of 30th birthdays spent in Lucerne, Switzerland1 (and soon to be two as Jules and I realised that he, like me, will spend his 30th birthday there too!)Number of times I was told told I look like Harry Pottertoo many to listNumber of times asked to pose for a selfie with someone’s Harry Potter glasses(thankfully only) 1

I hope you enjoyed those! It was good fun putting them together.

And I hope that I get to see you again soon.

Until then,

Eddie

Instagram: @edwardbutton1

Hello everyone,

I am currently in Warwickshire in my family home, self-isolating as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. It is a scary and very strange time, but I am grateful to be with my family, and to have some time to reflect on 2019.

And I have much to be grateful for! About two years ago, Pat called me to ask me to audition for The King's Singers! A few months later, I was offered the Second Countertenor job and my life drastically changed in an instant. It's totally different to my old way of life: tonnes of travel, self-employment, learning more types of music than I knew existed, working from home, not having IT support at the drop of a hat, eating supper at 5 pm...the list could go on!

I thought it would be fun to let you know about some of the things from my first year that I am most grateful for...

Top of the list are the wonderful friends I have made: my five fellow King's Singers, our wonderful archivist Manfred and his wife Sigrid, and our colleagues at Intermusica to name just a few!

A close second, is the fact that I have developed the knowledge and confidence to teach choirs all over the world. If you had told me two years ago that I'd have to stand up in front of large groups of choristers and give constructive criticism, I would have run a mile! But it was something that I always secretly wanted to be able to do. I was lucky (in hindsight) to have been thrown in at the deep end as, in the first workshop I led, Pat (who was buddying me) decided he needed the loo 1 minute in, so I had to go solo for the first few minutes!

I am also very grateful to have the opportunity work closely with our charity, The King's Singers Global Foundation. Over the past year we have been working very hard to review the workings of the charity. It has been so exciting developing our Finding Harmony Ambassadors project in which we are working with three musical charities that are creating social cohesion through the power of music. And thank you to our many many donors who have generously supported the work of the Foundation.

I am also grateful to have met so many fans from across the world. It is heart-warming to hear how our music is appreciated by people including stories from many who have said that The King's Singers has helped them through dark times. Our fans are also very generous; on more than one occasion, I have had gluten-free home-baked goods delivered to my dressing room :-) In the middle of a long patch away from home, home-baked goods mean the world!

Our worldwide travel is of course also a complete joy, and something which I feel particularly grateful for given the current locked-down state of the world. It will be unsurprising to those of you that know me well, to see that I have summarised a year of travel with some stats:

Year2019Number of pieces performed1891 Number of pieces of music learned over 300 (only 2700 more to go in the King's Singers library)Number of concerts98CollaborationsAbel Selacoe
Ed Gardner and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Armonico Consort
NDR Radiophilharmonie
Verdi Orchestra
Wallis GuintaNumber of services1Number of lectures2Days in sub-minus-30 celsius4Number of summer schools1Number of masterclasses24Rounds of bowling3Rounds of bowling in which I came last3Number of joint performances with local choirs15Number of flights92Number of times I was told I look 18many! (especially in Italy)Countries visited23

USA
Canada
France
Russia
Netherlands
Germany
Hungary
Italy
England
Poland
Switzerland
Northern Ireland
Austria
Japan
Hong Kong
China
Guernsey
Scotland
Czechia
Belgium
Kosovo
Faroe Islands
RomaniaUS States visited15

OR
WA
KS
IA
IL
OH
MI
LA
AZ
NY
DE
MO
RI
CANumber of times someone told me they like my accent:uncountableNumber of days doing recording sessions7Number of discs recorded2

The Library Vol. 1, and Finding HarmonyNumber of music video recording days3Languages sung21

English
Latin
Estonian
French
Spanish
Catalan
German
Japanese
Italian
Finnish
Georgian
Gaelic
Mexican
Yiddish
Xhosa
Zulu
Cantonese
Mandarin
Korean
Faroese
Hungarian
and even, Coyote and Jazz Band!Grammy Ceremonies attended1Number of 30th birthdays spent in Lucerne, Switzerland1 (and soon to be two as Jules and I realised that he, like me, will spend his 30th birthday there too!)Number of times I was told told I look like Harry Pottertoo many to listNumber of times asked to pose for a selfie with someone’s Harry Potter glasses(thankfully only) 1

I hope you enjoyed those! It was good fun putting them together.

And I hope that I get to see you again soon.

Until then,

Eddie

Instagram: @edwardbutton1

Hello everyone,

I am currently in Warwickshire in my family home, self-isolating as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. It is a scary and very strange time, but I am grateful to be with my family, and to have some time to reflect on 2019.

And I have much to be grateful for! About two years ago, Pat called me to ask me to audition for The King's Singers! A few months later, I was offered the Second Countertenor job and my life drastically changed in an instant. It's totally different to my old way of life: tonnes of travel, self-employment, learning more types of music than I knew existed, working from home, not having IT support at the drop of a hat, eating supper at 5 pm...the list could go on!

I thought it would be fun to let you know about some of the things from my first year that I am most grateful for...

Top of the list are the wonderful friends I have made: my five fellow King's Singers, our wonderful archivist Manfred and his wife Sigrid, and our colleagues at Intermusica to name just a few!

A close second, is the fact that I have developed the knowledge and confidence to teach choirs all over the world. If you had told me two years ago that I'd have to stand up in front of large groups of choristers and give constructive criticism, I would have run a mile! But it was something that I always secretly wanted to be able to do. I was lucky (in hindsight) to have been thrown in at the deep end as, in the first workshop I led, Pat (who was buddying me) decided he needed the loo 1 minute in, so I had to go solo for the first few minutes!

I am also very grateful to have the opportunity work closely with our charity, The King's Singers Global Foundation. Over the past year we have been working very hard to review the workings of the charity. It has been so exciting developing our Finding Harmony Ambassadors project in which we are working with three musical charities that are creating social cohesion through the power of music. And thank you to our many many donors who have generously supported the work of the Foundation.

I am also grateful to have met so many fans from across the world. It is heart-warming to hear how our music is appreciated by people including stories from many who have said that The King's Singers has helped them through dark times. Our fans are also very generous; on more than one occasion, I have had gluten-free home-baked goods delivered to my dressing room :-) In the middle of a long patch away from home, home-baked goods mean the world!

Our worldwide travel is of course also a complete joy, and something which I feel particularly grateful for given the current locked-down state of the world. It will be unsurprising to those of you that know me well, to see that I have summarised a year of travel with some stats:

Year2019Number of pieces performed1891 Number of pieces of music learned over 300 (only 2700 more to go in the King's Singers library)Number of concerts98CollaborationsAbel Selacoe
Ed Gardner and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Armonico Consort
NDR Radiophilharmonie
Verdi Orchestra
Wallis GuintaNumber of services1Number of lectures2Days in sub-minus-30 celsius4Number of summer schools1Number of masterclasses24Rounds of bowling3Rounds of bowling in which I came last3Number of joint performances with local choirs15Number of flights92Number of times I was told I look 18many! (especially in Italy)Countries visited23

USA
Canada
France
Russia
Netherlands
Germany
Hungary
Italy
England
Poland
Switzerland
Northern Ireland
Austria
Japan
Hong Kong
China
Guernsey
Scotland
Czechia
Belgium
Kosovo
Faroe Islands
RomaniaUS States visited15

OR
WA
KS
IA
IL
OH
MI
LA
AZ
NY
DE
MO
RI
CANumber of times someone told me they like my accent:uncountableNumber of days doing recording sessions7Number of discs recorded2

The Library Vol. 1, and Finding HarmonyNumber of music video recording days3Languages sung21

English
Latin
Estonian
French
Spanish
Catalan
German
Japanese
Italian
Finnish
Georgian
Gaelic
Mexican
Yiddish
Xhosa
Zulu
Cantonese
Mandarin
Korean
Faroese
Hungarian
and even, Coyote and Jazz Band!Grammy Ceremonies attended1Number of 30th birthdays spent in Lucerne, Switzerland1 (and soon to be two as Jules and I realised that he, like me, will spend his 30th birthday there too!)Number of times I was told told I look like Harry Pottertoo many to listNumber of times asked to pose for a selfie with someone’s Harry Potter glasses(thankfully only) 1

I hope you enjoyed those! It was good fun putting them together.

And I hope that I get to see you again soon.

Until then,

Eddie

Instagram: @edwardbutton1