After reaching the final of the prestigious BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2021 competition, Jake Thomson of St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh gave a performance described by one of the judges as “absolutely beautiful” but it wasn’t quite enough to land the title.
Twelve-year-old Jake, from North Berwick, had reached the last six of three boys and three girls after his performance of Be Thou My Vision in the semi-final impressed the trio of judges. In the final, all competitors sang a Christmas Carol, with Jake choosing Bethlehem Down by Peter Warlock.
Judge David Grant said: “This song really focuses on the telling of the story and there was an assured ease at the bottom of his voice. I feel Jake is a very strong singer.”
Fellow judge Lesley Garrett said to Jake: “You created a wonderful atmosphere here. You could have heard a pin drop; it was spell-binding. You drew us to you to hear this interesting story. I could hear the foretelling of the suffering of Christ.
“I loved the bottom of your voice – that C-sharp was just gorgeous. I don’t think you are quite as comfortable [at the top] as you are with the lower sounds, but you can afford to be. I thought that was an absolutely beautiful performance.”
Alas for Jake, despite this high praise, the standard of singing among the finalists at Salisbury Cathedral was exceptional and it was 16-year-old Ruby from Guildford who was chosen as the winner after what the judges acclaimed as a “flawless” performance. The runner-up was 14-year-old Mila from Rochdale. After the announcement of the winner, Jake joined Ruby and all the semi-finalists at the end of the show for a special arrangement of John Rutter’s Angels’ Carols led by presenter Aled Jones.
Rev Canon Dr Marion Chatterley, Vie-Provost of St Mary’s, said: “Jake’s success in the competition is a tribute to the hard work he has put in since he became a Cathedral Chorister in P5. Over the past four years he has developed his singing and the results were apparent when we heard him in both the semi-final and the final.
“Our Cathedral choristers work incredibly hard to produce something very special. They learn to work as a team, to listen to one another, to the lay clerks and to the organ, and the result is music that lifts and transforms our experience of worship.
“If you have a child in P4 or P5 who loves to sing and who is ready to make the commitment to singing every day with our choir, please contact us at organist@cathedral.net or viceprovost@cathedral.net and we can explore whether it would be the right thing for your child.”
Young Chorister of the Year was staged jointly by BBC Radio 2 and Songs of Praise. Hundreds of contestants entered this year, aged from 10 years up to and including 16 years. Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, said: “To hear all these young voices perform is mesmerising and I’m sure it was a very difficult decision for the judges. Congratulations and well done from everyone at Radio 2 to all the finalists.”
The final can be watched again here.
