The Royal Choral Society performs at the naming ceremony of Queen Mary 2 at Southampton

Text by Sheila Keen
Photos by Nigel Sagar

There are few things in life that will ever equal the excitement the Royal Choral Society felt at being asked to participate in the Naming Ceremony for the Queen Mary 2. The time drew nearer, Christmas got in the way, and then came the 5th of January, and we were given the music and travel details at our final rehearsal. Our jaws were still on the floor. There remained that air of disbelief and growing excitement as the request turned to reality, and we found ourselves riding on a coach bound for Southampton.

Once we reached the city limits our coach driver kept glancing at his map, but then there were gasps of "there it is!" and we knew we were headed in the right direction. As we drew nearer, the Queen Mary 2 got bigger and bigger, until we stood beside her on the dock and craned our necks to see her beautiful prow inscribed with her name. We had to queue for security and cabin assignments, then we were directed to the appropriate shed. After a quick cup of tea we were called to rehearsal. We couldn't walk from the shed to the auditorium without passing by that boat, and it was impossible to not look at her. Way, way up, at her - our reason for being there. We entered the lower level of the temporary auditorium which had been built for the Naming Ceremony.

It was filled with performers, crew, and a monumental amount of equipment, but we finally found the stage and waited for our cue. Anthony Inglis and the orchestra seemed a long way away from us, and there were problems seeing, but everyone on that stage was so happy to be there. The musical run through went well, from Heather Small proving how huge her voice is, to Lesley Garrett grinning from ear to ear as she joined with us in the National Anthem. And then we were sent back to the shed for another cup of tea before the full dress rehearsal, but not without a quick glance at our boat. And a few snapshots.

The shed was enormous and filled with portakabins which held our luggage, the stars and the toilets. The rest of the shed was draped to allow for various dressing rooms, canteen, and a full kitchen. We were beginning to understand the scale of this project. It was enormous, but that seemed to suit the organizers who had every detailed planned for and executed in style. We wanted for nothing. We just sat back and enjoyed every moment. The wind and rain tried to dampen our spirits as we re-entered the auditorium for the dress rehearsal, but it didn't even get close. The rehearsal was fascinating for us as it contained all the lighting and speeches which were to be delivered the next day. We were an appreciative audience and "aahhed" appropriately when the test bottle of champagne was smashed against the hull.

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