Alexander Olleson takes BBC Young Chorister crown
There may have been no audience present, but the BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2020 provided an outstanding winner in Alexander Olleson from Leighton Buzzard.
Broadcast on Songs of Praise on BBC One and on Radio 2, a revamped format saw three girls and three boys compete against each other in the final at Gorton Monastery in Manchester just before Christmas – rather than naming separate boy and girl winners as in previous years, this year’s competition awarded just the one title. Olleson, 13, who is a member of Bedford School Chapel Choir, chose Reger’s The Virgin’s Slumber Song to sing in the final, in front of a judging panel that included composer John Rutter and soprano Laura Wright, herself a former Young Chorister winner. The six finalists were mentored beforehand by singers Aled Jones and Katherine Jenkins.