WELCOME TO
MJ2 LTD


FUND RAISING GALA CONCERTS,
MILITARY & HISTORICAL PAGEANTS
AND OTHER EVENTS



MJ2 LTD
25 Lower Belgrave Street, London SW1W 0NR
Tel: 020 7259 0503
Email: christopher.joll@mj2ltd.com

 

The Team

CHRISTOPHER JOLL
Writer, Director & Producer
Christopher Joll has over 25 years experience of devising, designing, writing, promoting, directing and producing major fund raising events in support of charities. From 1976 to 1977 Christopher was on the fund raising committee of the The Queen’s Silver Jubilee Appeal (chairman, Sponsorship Committee), from 1985 to 1990 he was an adviser to English National Opera, from 1990-2000 he was a director of British Youth Opera and since 2000 he has been on the advisory committee of the Household Cavalry Museum Trust.

PHILIP EVANS
Music Director & Visuals Editor
Philip Evans trained as a commercial photographer and has an extensive knowledge of classical music. He brings both these skills together in compiling the music, which is a very important part of MJ2 pageants & other events, and in his role as the audio-visual programme editor.

CLARE CECIL
Copyright & Administration
Clare Cecil is responsible for identifying and obtaining copyright consent for all the copyright protected material used in MJ2 productions. She is also responsible for security management and the administration of events.


MJ2 LTD
Credentials

Highlights of MJ2 charity event management activities include:

  • The Royal Gifts Exhibition at St James’s Palace – a display of the gifts received by The Queen during the Silver Jubilee year ranging from a Rolls-Royce to a children’s letter. The Queen opened the exhibition and it attracted very large attendance figures, contributing significantly to the Silver Jubilee Appeal.
  • The Royal Cartoons Exhibition at the Press Club – the largest collection of newspaper cartoons of the Royal Family ever staged. This free exhibition had two substantial fund raising spin-offs:
    • 'We are Amused” – a book of the cartoons in the exhibition
    • A Royal Gala Cartoon Auction at Bonham’s – in the presence of HRH Prince Michael of Kent at which the exhibition cartoons, donated by national newspapers, were sold
  • “José Carreras & Friends” – a one night Royal Gala Concert, held in the presence of TRH Prince & Princess Michael of Kent at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in aid of the Jose Carreras Leukaemia Foundation, and performed by José Carreras, Agnes Baltsa, Ruggiero Raimondi and Katia Ricciarelli. The event raised £500,000 and further fund raising spin-offs included a TV programme (sold to TV stations worldwide), a video and a CD of the event. (The concert provided the idea for the subsequent commercial series of 3 Tenors Concerts).

  • “Serenade for a Princess” – a Royal Gala Concert starring Montserrat Caballé staged at the Banqueting House, Whitehall, in the presence of HRH the Princess of Wales, in aid of British Youth Opera.

  • Edward MacLeod Memorial Concert – a concert held at the Hyde Park Hotel starring Kit & the Widow, Gary Magee and Enrique Perez de Guzman.

  • “Concert for a Prince” – a Royal Gala Concert starring Nellie Miriciou staged at Windsor Castle (the first such event to be staged there following the post-fire restoration) by British Youth Opera and the Purcell School in aid of those two organisations and in the presence of HRH the Prince of Wales.

  • Paternoster Square Demolition Ceremony – Christopher devised a unique ceremony to mark the start of demolition of the much reviled 1960’s Paternoster Square, next to St Paul’s Cathedral. Supported by the Central Band of the Royal Air Force and watched by a large crowd of invited guests the Lord Mayor took the controls of a mechanical digger to start the demolition process.

  • Household Cavalry Christmas Carol Concert – held at The Guards Chapel in aid of the Household Cavalry Museum Trust in the presence of HRH the Princess Royal and featuring Rory Bremner. The event raised £140,000 for the Museum.

  • Household Cavalry Pageant – an historical and ceremonial Pageant held on Horse Guards Parade on 12th June 2007 (using the 6,600 seat stands erected for “Trooping the Colour”) in the presence of The Queen and other senior members of the Royal Family, to mark the opening of the new Household Cavalry Museum and to raise funds for the Museum. Written, produced and directed by Christopher, the Pageant was narrated by Michael Portillo and featured the voices of Dame Judi Dench and Stephen Fry. The Pageant recreated many of the events in the Regiments’ history including the Coronation Procession of King Charles II, a cavalry charge at the Battle of Waterloo, and scenes from the Relief of Gordon, the First and the Second World Wars. Over 200 horses, two Mounted Bands, 60 military vehicles and 600 soldiers provided a display of mounted ceremonial not seen in London since before the Second World War. The Pageant achieved a net return of 30% on costs. A DVD of the Pageant was produced after the event.

  • Royal Hospital Centenary Pageant 2008 – Christopher is currently planning a major new fund raising historical Pageant for the Royal Hospital Chelsea to be staged biennially over 2 nights starting in June 2008 in aid of the Chelsea Pensioners Appeal. The 2008 Pageant will feature Dame Judi Dench, Michael Portillo, Rory Bremner, Timothy Spall and Joanna Lumley.

  • Army Benevolent Fund and HQ London District – Christopher has recently been commissioned to produce a biennial Army Pageant on Horse Guards Parade, commencing in 2009, to be staged over 2 nights and to replace Beating Retreat in those years in which it is held. The Army Pageant 2009 will bring to life events from Boadicea’s revolt to the Boer War, including the biggest ever re-enactment of the Charge of the Light Brigade, and will involve King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, 1st Bn Irish Guards, the Company of Pikemen & Musketeers and the Light Cavalry of the Honourable Artillery Company, the massed bands of the Household Division and two Naval Field Gun teams.