BBC
Radio 2 Young Choristers of the Year 2002
James
Eager and Lucy Rhodes have been crowned the winners of the prestigious
BBC Radio 2 Young Choristers of the Year Competition.
Singing
their way to success, James (aged 11) from Llysworney in the Vale
of Glamorgan, and Lucy (aged 14) from Harrogate, beat off stiff
competition from the hundreds of other young contestants.
The
host for this year's event, held at All Souls Church in London,
was singer and Songs of Praise presenter Aled Jones.
A
former choirboy, Aled was delighted when asked to front the event:
"Having
experienced my own success as a choirboy, I leapt at the chance
to get involved in the competition as it does so much to encourage
the efforts of young choristers throughout the UK.
"The
standard of entrants is always exceptional and tonight's finalists
were among some of the best choral singers I've ever heard, they
all deserve the highest praise."
Among
the judging panel were HRH The Duchess of Kent; James O'Donnell,
Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey and David
Grant, gospel singer and voice coach.
Alongside the titles of BBC Radio 2 Choirboy and Choirgirl of the
Year the winners each received a trophy and £500.
A further
£1000 award goes to their choirs - James sings with the Llandaff
Cathedral Choir and Lucy with St. Peter's Church Choir in Harrogate.
They
will also be appearing on a variety of BBC programmes including
Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night and Sunday Half Hour, and
Radio 4's Sunday Worship and the Daily Service.
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