Boy singer hits a very high note
A CHORISTER from Hinckley is believed to be the youngest boy in the world to have gained a top professional music qualification.
Treble Sebastian Carrington was 11 when he took the DipABRSM exam last December.
Equivalent to a first-year degree, he has just been informed that he passed with distinction, a feat that has been described by his music tutor as “extraordinary”.
The exam called on Mensa member Sebastian, now 12, to sing 12 pieces from memory in a 35-minute recital performed to two assessors.
He was also required to write programme notes for the works, by composers ranging from Mozart to Britten, and to sight-read a further piece that he had not seen before.
Sebastian, who is homeschooled by his mum Denise, said: “I loved learning all the repertoire.
“The Benjamin Britten pieces were among the most challenging due to the long phrases that required iron lungs.
“I was nervous on the exam day but once I started singing I felt in my element and viewed it as a performance.
“I can’t believe that I’ve achieved a distinction.”
Singing tutor John Gull, who has been coaching Sebastian since he was seven, said it was an “extraordinary” achievement.
His pupil had already achieved Grade 8 in singing, with distinction, aged 10. Sebastian has also achieved Grade 8 in piano, Grade 8 in music theory and Grade 6 on the organ, all with distinction.
A chorister at Coventry Cathedral since 2015, where he sings four times a week, he is also assistant organist at St Michael’s in Stoney Stanton, St Michael and All Angels in Croft and St Mary the Virgin in Broughton Astley.
Sebastian has his own YouTube channel where he can be seen performing some of the exam pieces.
His ambition is to become an opera singer, concert pianist, part-time organist - and scientist.
One of his earliest achievements was an A-grade in GCSE astronomy at the age of eight and chemistry is one of his favourite subjects.