We meet Briony from The London Funeral Singers and find out more about how she got started and why music is such an important and evocative part of a funeral service.
Before we begin, can you share a little bit about what you do and how you got started?
I co-founded The London Funeral Singers with my best friend Penelope Shipley. We met as performers in a show in 2014 - she had just thought of the name and she asked me if I wanted to do it with her. We never thought we’d be here 10 years later with nearly 500 funerals behind us and 150 singers on our books!
We mostly run things from behind the scenes these days. We hold singer auditions, choose singers for each service, help families plan their music, and liaise with funeral directors and venues.
Rise and shine… what’s you morning routine?
I’m a very slow riser, so my three-year-old gets us up at 7am and I nurse a strong coffee for a good hour before doing anything. I work from home, which is great because I can spend lots of time with my daughter but also leave her with a grandparent and shut my office door when it’s time to work!
Looking around, can you describe your workplace to us?
My home office is in our attic, so I have a lovely desk by the window but I also share the space with all of our stored stuff in the eaves! It can be a bit lonely but I spend a lot of my days on the phone or on WhatsApp to Penelope, as we take care of every service between the two of us. When we were singing, our workplaces of course would be churches and crematoria around the southeast – I love seeing inside old churches so that was always a nice part of the job.
Who are your customers and how do you serve them?
Our customers are usually people who have recently been bereaved and have never planned a funeral before. So they’re often grieving but also have this quite scary task to fulfil at the same time. I love being able to take some of their worry and pressure away, reassure them and answer their questions, because it’s a lot to take on even at the best of times let alone when you’ve just lost someone.
What do you like best about what you do?
I love hearing back from clients how happy they were that they booked our singers. It’s a bit of a bold move sometimes and they’re not always sure how it’s going to go, so when it goes better than they even expected I can feel their gratitude and relief. Sometimes they even talk about how it helped with their grief, and that’s the best feeling in the world.
Tea break…. what’s your guilty pleasure?
Chocolate bourbons or chocolate Hobnobs. A biscuit without chocolate is a waste of a biscuit.
Who or what inspires you?
Our singers inspire me! When we hold auditions I’m amazed that singers of such quality want to work for us, and it makes me feel so confident when I’m talking to a potential new customer. And Penelope inspires me too – we have very different and complimentary skills, so I’m really glad to have her as a business partner to do all the stuff I’m not so confident with. And as a mate of course!
Have things changed in your line of work since you first started?
Funerals are becoming more and more personalised. There are loads of great new services that focus on creating a really thoughtful and healing funeral service, and including music has been a big part of that too. Live-streaming is much more popular now since the pandemic (probably it’s only upside!) which means funerals are now more accessible too.
The type of music hasn’t changed much for us though – the list of the most popular hymns swaps about a bit each year, but when it comes to live singing people still love the old classics best.
What advice would you give to someone who is interested in your line of work?
I wish I had had more confidence in myself and not felt like so much of an impostor. But the only way to get through that is to keep doing it, keep asking questions when it’s appropriate, and learn as you go. It also took me way too long to realise that churches are cold and singers need to layer up!
Name any books, films, blogs, podcasts or other resources that you would recommend?
I love podcasts, so I listen to Cariad Lloyd’s Griefcast, How Do You Cope with John Robins, and Where There’s A Will There’s A Wake with Kathy Burke.
Heading home… After work, what do you do to relax and unwind?
I sing in the choir at my local theatre which scratches the itch of not doing funeral services any more! I’m in a couple of virtual book clubs, and I also work part-time as a voiceover artist. I’m having a second baby in a few months so that will keep me busy!
What’s on your bucket list?
Travelling mostly, just waiting for my kids to be big enough. We’re celebrating 10 years of The London Funeral Singers this year so roll on 20!
Have you thought about what you’d like for your own funeral?
A big choir of course! A relaxed service, and everyone singing along to Here Comes The Sun by The Beatles in four-part harmony.
What would you like your epitaph to be?
“She left people a little bit happier than when she found them.”
A big thank you to Briony for sharing her day with us. Do take a look at The London Funeral Singers in action...