SOPM Christmas single is the gift of music

The school is aiming to raise £5,000 for its Music in Healthcare initiative at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.

Its teachers are excited for everyone to hear their annual Christmas single, which was released this afternoon.

This year the single is eight minutes long and features a medley of four classic Christmas carols.

• Watch SOPM’s 2024 Christmas single here

The video also takes a more serious tone this year, as opposed to previous years which have been quite light-hearted.

‘The process took around six weeks in total,’ said SOPM founder and director Tyler Edmonds.

‘We have more staff than ever, so we had to record 17 different people and several instruments.

'We also recorded the music video at the Town Church over two days.’

So far they have raised £1,000 for their initiative, which seeks to bring music into healthcare at the hospital. Earlier this year, three members of the SOPM team had the opportunity to train as healthcare musicians.

Over the course of their training, they visited several wards at the PEH and witnessed the profound effects that music can have on patients. They are now raising money so they can deliver weekly music sessions at the hospital.

‘Each year we try to up the ante, so the job gets more difficult each year,’ said Mr Edmonds.

‘Without Mikey Ferbrache, one of our staff members, we would not be able to do it.

He records everyone, produces the music, puts all of the music together and edits the video. He does almost everything.’

Staff numbers have grown in recent years, so getting everyone in the same place at the same time was difficult.

‘Seeing the video come together is amazing. As teachers we are not often in front of the camera or recording ourselves so this is definitely the highlight of the year for many of us.’