Founder and music director of Cappella Romana Dr. Alexander Lingas will lead the Byzantine Chant Ensemble in the Coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Buckingham Palace recently announced His Royal Highness King Charles III has requested “Greek Orthodox Music” at his coronation service in honor of his late father Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. With this Dr. Lingas began forming the Byzantine Chant Ensemble, especially for the occasion.

Singers in the group are highly qualified – having served internationally as cantors in cathedrals and parishes, as educators for the Byzantine Music School of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, and have been in many specialist choirs.

Dr. Lingas shared in a press release, “As a scholar and practitioner of the ancient traditions of Byzantine chant, I am deeply honored to have been asked to help realize the request of His Majesty, King Charles III that the Coronation include a musical tribute to his late father, His Royal Highness the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Integrating Greek psalmody into the equally ancient rites of the Coronation Service is a profound and beautiful demonstration of the deep appreciation for Orthodox Christianity long shown by both His Majesty and the late Duke of Edinburgh.”

Music and other service details will be released by Buckingham Palace at a later date.