On Sunday, 3 June 2012, the Chamber Choir of the Royal College of Music joined the London Philharmonic Orchestra on the River Thames in London to perform at the conclusion of the Diamond Jubilee Pageant for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. One of the dozen singers was the recipient of the Blair Wilson Award, Oscar Castellino.
Watch their performance as broadcast by BBC
television in this 15-minute extract on YouTube.
Coverage of the Jubilee Pageant on the Thames in which Oscar sang continued well into June 2012 across the world. The India section of the BBC News web site carried this report by BBC News India , in which she featured not only Oscar, but also fellow singers from India, Amar Muchhala and Joanne D'Mello.
"In the two days since the pageant, photographs of the Royal College of Music Chamber Choir singing on the Thames are fast becoming iconic images of the day," wrote Sarah Rainey in the Telegraph on 5 June 2012. "Drenched, windswept, battered by the elements, the troupe sang their hearts out to the Queen and encapsulated the spirit and stoicism of the day." Read the full report in the Telegraph here.
Barging down the Thames - across the world!
The resilience of the RCM singers made headlines across the world. In India, the Navhind Times reported on the event and paid a glowing tribute to local singer,
Oscar. Read their report here.
Following the Choir's performance in the Diamond Jubilee Thames Pageant, the RCM singers made several TV appearances. They were billed as one of the highlights of the Jubilee on the BBC, when Oscar joined several of the female singers to talk about their cold, wet experience on the Thames. Watch the interview here.