City firm bands together with West End star on Christmas music project

RPC Harmony works with Jon Boydon, star of The Jersey Boys, to record Christmas song to help support homeless charity.

RPC Harmony, the choir at City law firm RPC, has worked with Jon Boydon, renowned West End star, to record classic 'Merry Christmas Everybody' to fundraise for St Mungo's Broadway.

The project will support St Mungo's Broadway's basic skills programme, which works to help those who have come off the streets to develop their numeracy and literacy skills so they can enter the workforce and gain independence.

According to the charity’s recent Reading Matters campaign, around half of homeless people struggle to read. Around a third of the charity's clients lack the skills to complete a form without help. This is double the average of one in six people in the UK who struggle with literacy.

This project is unique not only because St Mungo's Broadway has a fully equipped and professional recording studio – which it uses as part of its basic skills programme – but because RPC Harmony launched earlier this year as part of a commitment to the health and wellbeing of RPC staff.

RPC Harmony has been working closely with conductor Esmeralda Conde Ruiz, who is part of Music In Offices, one of the leading providers of workplace choirs in the UK.

RPC Managing Partner Jonathan Watmough said: "Music therapy not only resonates with our own people who find that singing once a week significantly helps them cope with the stresses of working in a demanding environment, but that we also help to contribute our efforts and fundraising to support St Mungo's Broadway to teach their clients confidence through music as part of their basic skills curriculum."

"It's been brilliant to witness the coming together of two very different groups of people who may never naturally do so. The mighty power of music and a shared purpose has allowed everyone to work together and have a lot of fun. For me, this project highlights the importance of music in building confidence and wellbeing. It has been an absolute privilege to be invited to participate,"commented Jon.

Hayley Conboy, Corporate Partnerships Manager, said: "We are delighted that RPC Harmony and Jon Boydon have teamed up to support our work at this time of year. We think the idea is an absolutely great way to have some fun, spread some festive cheer and to help make a difference to the lives of homeless men and women. Over 50% of our clients struggle with basic Maths and English and this can be a considerable obstacle to overcome.

"All the money the song raises will be used to provide personalised support to homeless people who struggle with literacy and numeracy, helping them to rebuild their lives. We cannot thank everyone at RPC enough for their support, both at this time of year and throughout."

Award-winning filmmakers Dingo Bill shot the recording as a short documentary, which can be viewed here, meanwhile the music was arranged and produced by guitarist Andrew Waterson, together with Matt Catlow, who runs the recording studio at St Mungo's, laid down the track.  

'Merry Christmas Everybody' will be available until 6 January, and can be found here.