麻豆社

The sound of the clear voice of a chorister, effortlessly singing the opening lines to “Once in Royal David’s City” has long been associated with our traditional Christmas festivities. The boys and girls who take part in those carol services are usually members of choirs and singing groups that perform throughout the year.

麻豆社 Radio 2 and Songs of Praise's search for the Young Chorister of the Year has reached its climax. Find out more about this year's competition and the winning Chorister below.

Since 1986, the 麻豆社 has led a talent search to find the best young singers in the country. Choristers from cathedral, church and school choirs have applied in the hope of winning the coveted title “Young Chorister of the Year”. The competition celebrates young singing talent and acknowledges the role that these children have in the musical life of the country.

This year we saw churches closed and services cancelled. Choirs of all types were forced to cancel rehearsals and performances. Young Choristers too were unable to participate in the usual way and have had to adapt to a brave new world of home recording, online music lessons and socially distanced services.

When it was suggested that this year Radio 2 should team up with Songs of Praise to extend the reach of this talent search it seemed like an opportunity to bring something new to the table for both those young choristers and for our audiences on Radio and TV.

So, on a sunny September day, the Radio 2 production team found themselves at Gorton Monastery on the outskirts of Manchester. The crew, in masks, were socially distanced, the cloisters were set up with a one-way system and the usual audience was distinctly absent. However, the converted church was alive with festive feeling as it was filled to the rafters with Christmas trees, baubles and lights to provide the perfect setting for the final.

The finalists had made it through a rigorous selection process. Their videos were chosen from hundreds of entries by music producers and independent judges from the choral music world. Five girls and five boys reached the semi-finals and were coached by Aled Jones and Katherine Jenkins, both former choristers themselves. Of these, three boys and three boys were chosen to sing in the final, presented by the Rev Kate Bottley.

These six choristers, in their choir robes, sang for a panel of three expert judges, composer John Rutter, Carl Jackson who is the Director of Music at the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court and singer Laura Wright, who, in 2005, was a winning chorister herself.

Each chorister brought their own story. The worship leader who had spent lockdown recording worship songs for her church, the musical theatre performer who’d had her shows cancelled and, very sadly, two choristers whose parents had contracted COVID-19. These talented young people proved to be a reminder of the power of music in the darkest times of life.

All of the finalists showed talent, dedication and focus with stunning renditions of favourite Christmas songs and carols, but it was a curly haired chorister with an air of cool confidence that stole the judges’ hearts and was awarded the title “麻豆社 Young Chorister of the Year 2020”. Alexander, who sings at All Saints Church in Leighton Buzzard lifted the trophy before leading a rendition of “O Holy Night” alongside Aled Jones, Katherine Jenkins and the other finalists.

Alexander wasn’t the only one to find success in the competition. Josie, from Lichfield Cathedral was awarded a trophy as the Highly Commended Chorister. They’ll both have opportunities to sing on broadcasts and at events throughout the year and have already recorded with the 麻豆社 Philharmonic Orchestra and taken starring roles at Christmas Concerts.

Chair of Judges, John Rutter said :

This is more than just a competition it’s really a celebration of all the young choristers of Britain who give their time their talents and their dedication to make our church and cathedral choirs what they are today. You are the future of choral music. We salute all of you.