Northern Ireland’s top school choirs named in live final of BBC Radio Ulster School Choir Of The Year
Dalriada School, Ballymoney and St Patrick’s Primary School, Drumgreenagh, Rathfriland have been named as Northern Ireland’s top senior and junior school choirs in the live final of the BBC Radio Ulster School Choir Of The Year.
Published: 18 April 2016
Presented by John Toal and Kerry McLean, the final was broadcast from the Ulster Hall, Belfast, on BBC Radio Ulster on Sunday 17 April. It was also announced at the final that the competition will return next year.
Sixty-five choirs battled it out over the course of the past nine weeks and six schools from across Northern Ireland took part in the live final, with three competing respectively in the junior and senior categories.
The awards to the two schools were made by guest judge Carrie Grant, a vocal coach and television presenter.
The rest of the judging panel was made up of Ciaran Scullion, Head of Music, Arts Council for Northern Ireland; Richard Yarr, Senior Producer Classical Music, BBC Radio Ulster and Dominic Peckham, Artistic Director with the Ulster Youth Choir.
Each choir was invited to perform two songs and the judges decided which two choirs from the junior and senior categories would go head to head to pick up the two titles.
Dalriada School performed The Conversion Of Saul and The Lord Bless You And Keep You, while St Patrick’s Primary School performed Can You Hear Me? and Ching-A-Ring-Chaw.
In the junior category Holy Family Primary School from Omagh were runners-up, and Ebrington Primary School, Londonderry, were second runners-up, and it was Carrickfergus Grammar School who were runners-up and New Bridge Integrated College, Loughbrickland, second runners-up in the senior category.
The choirs taking part in the Junior category final were: St Patrick’s Primary Rathfriland; Ebrington Primary Londonderry; and Holy Family Primary Omagh.
In the Senior category competing in the final were: Carrickfergus Grammar; Dalriada Ballymoney; and Newbridge Integrated College, Loughbrickland.
The two-hour live radio programme also included a performance from Soprano Rebekah Coffey and Capella Caeciliana under the direction of Donal McCrisken.
The competition is produced in association with the Ulster Youth Choir, supported by the Arts Council for Northern Ireland and is part of the BBC Music NI project.
The two overall winning choirs will feature across a range of BBC Radio Ulster’s programming and events during this year.
If you missed the programme, catch it again via the BBC Radio iPlayer by logging on to: bbc.co.uk/radio and follow the links to BBC Radio Ulster.
Films and photos of the choirs’ performances will be online at bbc.co.uk/schoolchoiroftheyear
Details of next year’s competition will be released in due course.
CC
