Let Christians all with Joyful Mirth, a carol setting words found in an old church gallery in Dorset, has been announced as the winner of the Full Choir category in ‘A Carol for Christmas’ competition. Owain’s carol will be performed by youth choirs from across the UK, and then broadcast by Classic FM on the 22nd December. The 322 carols entered for the competition, by composers aged 9 to 83, were judged by Stephen Cleobury CBE (Director of Music, Choir of King’s College, Cambridge), John Rutter CBE (composer, conductor and record producer) and David Hurley (The King’s Singers).
During an afternoon event on 18 December, Owain will work with Stephen Cleobury, John Rutter and the winning composers of the first three categories in a workshop environment, where the compositions will be performed by youth choirs from across the UK. The events will be recorded for broadcast on Classic FM, presented by Tim Lihoreau, on 22 December.
Commenting on the winners, Stephen Cleobury said: “The response to the competition was tremendous and it was very difficult to choose the winners. Overall the quality of entries has been exceptional.” David said: “I am delighted to be involved with this competition and have thoroughly enjoyed working with Stephen Cleobury and John Rutter. The standard in all the categories has been great, and in the King’s Singers’ category we received many skillfully crafted works. We are enjoying getting to know the winning composition, which is set to a wonderful 14th Century text, and we look forward to performing it in King’s College Chapel on 18th December. I also look forward to putting names and faces to all the winners”.