A Ratcliffe Power Station cooling tower was the unlikely setting for the recording of a new charity single being released today and now available to download and buy, with all proceeds going to Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People.
Members of the Kent-based Institute Collective choir gathered at Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, near Nottingham, to record two choral tracks in a cooling tower, in aid of Loughborough children’s charity, Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People.
The choir was given special permission by Uniper to perform in the cooling towers; the setting was integral to creating the unique sound that echoes throughout the compositions.
Leicestershire-based Rainbows has been providing palliative and end-of-life care for babies, children and young people across the East Midlands for more than 30 years.
Award-nominated composer Hughie Gavin and award-winning composer Vince Pope were inspired to start the project after seeing Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station’s closure in the news, and each created a composition as a tribute to the structures. The audio recordings will provide a unique way to remember the history of the cooling towers after they are demolished towards the end of the decade.
Hughie Gavin, Director of Institute Collective choir, said: “Music has the power to unite and inspire – to be a thing of beauty and transcendence. To record inside a cooling tower and use the remarkable acoustics to provide a lasting reminder of the enormous contribution the cooling towers at Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station made to life in and around the local area was an honour. That the money raised will go to Rainbows Hospice is a perfect tribute.”
During the recording last summer, Mr Gavin directed 13 members of the Kent-based ensemble to raise their voices inside the cooling tower, as microphones recorded the echoing chorus.
The tracks will not only be used for fundraising but will continue to support the hospice longer term as part of its music therapy programme for babies, children and young people under its care.
Rosie Robinson, Music Therapist at Rainbows Hospice, said: “Thank you so much for recording and sharing these music tracks with Rainbows. As well as raising funds for Rainbows, we can also use them in our music therapy. They are both powerful and hauntingly beautiful and will be used to help create a relaxing and ethereal music experience over which the babies, children and young people can add their own sounds either using instruments or their own voices. They have been added to my playlist so I can have them for sessions both here in the hospice and as part of our outreach programme delivering music therapy across the East Midlands.”
This was the last fundraising initiative by the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station team for Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People. Over the past two decades, the team on site have supported the charity through various fundraising activities, raising more than £185,000.
Sean Atton, Site Manager at Uniper’s Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, said: “We have supported Rainbows for over 20 years. We’re really pleased to be able to support them during decommissioning with this musical record of the cooling towers.”
Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station is currently undergoing decommissioning following its closure at the end of September 2024.
The suite of music, called Songs for 8 Towers, is now available for purchase and download from music streaming platforms https://instituterecords.bandcamp.com/album/songs-for-8-towers-2 and https://orcd.co/songsforeighttowers, and all proceeds will go to Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People.
