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WATCH: Ed Sheeran surprises young choir to open church’s new song school
Choristers for an Ipswich church set to become a minster in the new year were treated to a surprise visit from Ed Sheeran last night.The Framlingham-raised superstar dropped in on a group of youngsters from St Mary le Tower’s choir rehearsing for Christmas carol services.During his visit, he told the group about how singing in a choir helped him hone his skills as a child while complimenting their abilities and encouraging them to practise.He had been invited by the church’s vicar, Reverend Tom Mumford, to open its new song school, at Tower House.Reverend Tom has been friends with Ed since they were teenagers.St Mary le Tower is set to become Ipswich Minster on January 19.
Ed Sheeran dropped in on young choristers at St Mary le Tower in Ipswich. Picture: Tom MumfordReverend Tom described his church’s redesignation as a ‘great honour and historic moment for the town’. He said: “Ed’s commitment to Ipswich and to the future of young people and music is second to none.“He’s an incredible advocate for the town and for young people getting into singing. “We’re proud of him as a local lad, and we’re honoured he officially opened our song school.
He was there to open its new song school. Picture: Tom Mumford“My hope is that his commitment and work will encourage many more young people to explore singing, and what better place in Ipswich to do that than at Ipswich Minster.”St Mary le Tower shares the building its song school sits in with Citizens Advice Ipswich.Reverend Tom said its renovation was made possible by a former member of the church who died. He said the choir was nationally renowned.
Mr Sheeran learned to sing in church choirs. Picture: Tom MumfordHowever, Reverend Tom said they were short ‘about 40 people’ under the age of 18 and had been doing outreach, particularly in impoverished parts of Ipswich and East Suffolk.Once it becomes Ipswich Minster, St Mary le Tower will also launch a new junior community choir.Mr Sheeran unveiled a plaque at the song school last night.Regarding Mr Sheeran’s time with the children, Reverend Tom said: “He was amazing with our young choristers, listening to them, asking them questions, and answering plenty of questions about Ipswich Town.” As a reader, we know the value you place on trusted local journalism. At SuffolkNews we are committed to delivering the very best coverage from communities right across the county, and we can only do this with the support of our readers.By becoming a subscriber you not only support us in this mission, you also unlock a whole host of benefits, including unlimited access to our ad-lite SuffolkNews website and digital editions of all our weekly newspapers. You can find out more about subscriptions here.Use the promo code AshJones to get an annual subscription for less than £25 – we really appreciate your support. Thank you.